Free The Rise of Emery James by Shae Scott Page B

his words begs me to shut down. To shut him out.
    To hide.
    "I'm not the same person I was back then," I say. I feel vulnerable and raw and it's uncomfortable. I want to scrape at my skin in an effort to dull the sensitivity.
    "Exactly," he says simply.
    When I don't say anything his face softens. "I'm sorry I pushed," he says quietly.
    I take a deep breath. I owe him something. He's been so good to me. So patient. I shouldn't punish him for taking an interest in me. I just don’t know how to give him the answers that he’s looking for. I don’t know how to give him back the girl that he lost. I lost her too and I have no idea how to get her back.
    "I know I'm not the same girl. Life happens, it changes who we are, who we thought we would be. If you're waiting for the old Emery to come back, then you're going to be disappointed. She's not here anymore," I say.
    "You're right. It's not fair for me to expect you to be the same person. I didn't really mean it that way. It's just. . .I feel this wall, Em. That's all. I feel this fortress that you've built around yourself and I want to knock it down. I want to meet the girl behind it, no matter who she happens to be. You don’t have to do it all on your own, ya know." He holds my stare for a moment, letting his words sink in. When I don’t say anything, he turns, picks up his boots and walks out the back door. I'm left standing there frozen in place, completely dumbfounded by his words.
    He keeps knocking me unsteady.
    He’s saying all the right things, just at the wrong time. I don't know what he wants from me. When he pushes like this I don't know if he's pushing as Cole, my new friend or Cole, the love of my life.
    That thought causes my heart to stutter.
    Love of my life.
    Was Cole the love of my life? And if he was, how did I ever marry another man? God, I'm so confused. My life is chaos. The one thing I do know. . .Cole Bennett is dangerous to my heart. Dangerous because he seems determined to expose it. He takes away the numbness that has protected me and he makes me feel everything in excruciating detail. He feels completely dangerous and while I know it would be easier to walk away from him and shut him out of my life, I just can't find the want-to to do it.

 
    Cole
     
     
    THE LAST FEW WEEKS have been hell on my concentration. Usually I spend my days so focused on my work that I look up and realize that I've been on the site for over twelve hours without even realizing it. The guys give me shit about it all the time. It used to drive my ex, Aubrey, crazy. But I love my job. I'm good at it and because I enjoy it I don't mind putting in long hours.
    Henry has given me a lot of opportunities. He started showing me the ropes when I was just a brat kid and he welcomed me back when I finished school. He's taught me a lot and I take care of his business like it was my own. One day I hope he lets me make that official. I've told him countless times I want to be his partner someday. He just smiles and tells me to keep working hard, but I see the interest in his eyes.
    Lately, though, I’ve been less focused. At least not on work. My attention has shifted and no matter what I'm doing, my brain tends to drift back to the soft brunette waves and amber eyes of Emery James. Screw her new last name. I'll never be able to call her Forrester. It sounds snotty and stuffy. I've seen pictures of her husband and well, the name fits. But it isn’t her. I still can't wrap my head around how they ended up together. The girl in the photos with him seems like a stranger, she's nothing like the girl I knew.
    But like she said, she's different now. Life changed her. I want to know why. That's part of my problem. I'm spending way too much time trying to figure it out. Trying to figure her out. I'm finding reasons to drop by her house. Finding reasons to stay there when I do. She doesn't seem to mind. I like to think that she actually enjoys the company.
    Emery Forrester seems lonely. Lost.