Free Crazy About You by Katie O'Sullivan Page A

important contracts on the line.”
    She narrowed her eyes. “Wait, are you telling me I can’t date?”
    “Something like that. It’s important to me, babe.”
    “Because your family thinks I’m your girlfriend?”
    His laugh sounded raw. “We’re moving in together, aren’t we? They think that means something more than roommates.”
    “Tony, you and I both know there’s nothing remotely sexual going on between us. I’m not Catholic or Italian, or…your type.” She was about to add “male,” but they’d never talked openly about Tony’s preferences. Emma had assumed. Now was probably not a good time to broach that subject.
    He paused, putting a dash of honey in his Jack Daniel’s voice. “Haven’t I helped you rack up a ton of support for the mayor’s recycling project? I’m always there for you, babe. Help me on this. No old boyfriends.”
    She huffed out the breath she’d been holding. It’s not like guys were beating down her door asking her out. Chase’s face flitted through her mind but she squelched that thought. He already walked away. “Fine, Tony. No old boyfriends. But you owe me.”
    “Whatever you want, babe.”
    “I’m also thinking I should find a different place to live. Having everyone think I’m more than your roommate is a little more than I bargained for.”
    “We can talk about it when you return to New York. You have your apartment until the end of August, right?”
    “True. Hopefully I’ll be back Friday night…” Her words trailed off when a door somewhere in Tony’s apartment banged open and the background noise increased. It sounded like a party in full swing. “Tony, what’s going on there?”
    “Sal and the guys showed up, unexpected-like. We wrapped up a big deal tonight. I mean, today.”
    She’d heard him talk about Sal before, a co-worker with a penchant for burning the midnight oil to get deals done. “Congrats on that. Enjoy your party.”
    “Listen, Em, I hope your brother is home soon. There’s nothing more important than family.” The background noise increased in volume. “Shit, I gotta go. Someone, uh, ordered takeout and it’s my turn to pay.”
    “Okay, I’ll talk to you—” The line went dead before Emma could finish her sentence. She stared at the receiver wondering what happened. Were they disconnected? She hit redial.
    “Hello?” The high-pitched, giggling voice answering the phone definitely did not belong to Tony Lenzi. Or his co-worker named Sal.
    “Can I speak to Tony? It’s Emma.”
    “He’s a little busy right now. I’ll tell him you called.” Click.
    Too stunned to speak, Emma returned the phone to its cradle, staring at it. What the hell? Who’s the girl answering the phone? Did Tony actually have a girlfriend she didn’t know about?
    After a quick dinner scavenged from refrigerator leftovers, she watched some mindless television and gave up on the idea of Tony returning her call. She put the dog out for one last time and climbed the stairs to her bedroom. The lacy purple curtains were the same ones she’d hung at the end of eighth grade. The double bed strewn with stuffed animals and throw pillows reminded her of the many times she’d escaped into this refuge to avoid her mother’s nagging or her brother’s annoying friends. Or the melancholy that overtook the end of her high school senior year.
    The day’s events played through her mind while she drifted off to sleep. One of Chase’s questions haunted her. Did she find what she was looking for in New York?
    She used to think so, but now she wasn’t sure.
    Emma had succeeded in escaping the memories and guilt that plagued her every time she thought about Daniel. Such a cliché—to become part of the well-known statistic of eighteen-year-olds who died in car accidents on prom night. For a long time, part of her wished she’d died in the accident along with her friends.
    Moving to New York City helped. The anonymity acted like a balm to her guilty