Read Online Emily's Choice by Heather McCoubrey - Free Book Online Page A

Wednesday?”
    “Yes.”
    “Fabulous. I’ll
do my best to get this place ready for you and Dad.”
    “Don’t
stress too much about it.”
    “Can’t wait
to see you guys!”
    “Us either.
Love to all three of you. Get some rest, Em .”
    Emily hung
up the phone and glanced around the apartment. It was Sunday afternoon, and she
had a lot of work to do to make their place presentable before Wednesday.
Dishes, dusting, vacuuming, laundry, bathrooms. The list was never ending. Plus,
the baby’s room was a disaster. Everything she’d received and bought had been
dumped into that room. Nothing was organized. The crib wasn’t even put
together.
     Since
she’d started at A Touch of Flair, the time had flown by. She loved the job,
she loved Kendra, and she felt she was making a difference. Kendra had brought
on the promised intern, Phil, to cover for Emily while she was out on maternity
leave. Emily really liked him.
    Lying under
the covers, the lights off and her alarm set, Emily rubbed her burgeoning
belly. Baby Girl was due in twelve days, and she was terrified. Of caring for
this tiny human. Of juggling work and child care. Of being solely responsible
for raising her to be the best woman she could be. Of all the little things and
all the big things.
    She wasn’t
supposed to be in this situation. Jason was supposed to be with her, standing
next to her and helping her. She wondered what he was doing right now.
    Adjusting
the pillow under her head, she closed her eyes, wishing for sleep to claim her,
but fear was eating away at her fragile confidence. Everyone said she’d make a
wonderful mother, but how did they know? How could they be sure? Just because
she’d always been able to make babies coo and little children laugh didn’t mean
she had what it took to raise a baby.
    Frustrated
at being unable to fall asleep, she sat up and reached for the baby name book.
She picked up at the O names, added a couple to her short list and continued to
the S names. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the name Sadie, which meant
princess.
    “Sadie,”
Emily said out loud. Smiling, she reached for her laptop and searched for
feminine flower names. The tradition in her family was that all the girls, for
as far back as Emily knew, had a flower middle name. Her own was Rose. She
scrolled through the search results, and like a flashing beacon, she saw a name
near the bottom, her favorite color and flower.
    Violet.
    Sadie
Violet.
    It was
perfect. Too excited to sleep now that Baby Girl finally had a name, Emily
slipped out of bed and went to the kitchen for a glass of milk. She picked up
her phone to call Gina with the good news when the doorbell rang. She glanced
at the clock and wondered who could be at the door at 10:00 at night.
    Cautiously,
she walked to the door and looked out the peephole. All the blood drained from
her face. How had he found her? What was he doing here? Should she ignore him?
Would he go away if she didn’t answer the door?
    Emily let
out a squeak when he rang the bell again.
    “Emily?”
    Kicking
herself for making a noise, she reluctantly opened the door, standing in the
small space she’d opened.
    “What are
you doing here?”
    Jason’s
eyebrows rose to his hairline. “That’s how you greet me?”
    “I don’t
have to greet you at all,” Emily said, and started to shut the door in his
face.
    He put his
foot in the way and pressed his hand on the door, pushing it open and walking
past Emily into the condo.
    “Get out!”
Emily yelled. “I didn’t invite you in. I don’t want you here.”
    “That much
is obvious, Em . But I’m not leaving until you tell me
what’s wrong.”
    He reached
out for her hand, but she wrapped her arms around the baby. His face dropped,
and for a second, Emily could see the pain and devastation Gina and Hope had
spoken of. She couldn’t believe he was here. He was still so handsome, so tall
and strong. He still made her heart flutter and her breath catch in her