Silence passed between us, and I had a feeling she wanted to tell me more. Love shined in her eyes. Even though she hadn’t told me she loved me, I knew it would happen soon.
Pounding on the front door broke the spell we were under. Emma pulled away and looked at her bedroom door, then at me. “I wonder who that is.”
I stood and rested my palm on her lower back, guiding her out of the room and down the stairs. Emma’s mother passed by us with a wide smile and opened the front door, revealing a man. He was tall, had short, wavy brown hair he styled back, and bright blue eyes.
“You made it,” Lillian said. She giggled when the man kissed her lips before he squeezed past her to come inside.
“Dad?” Emma asked.
“I’ve wanted to tell you this for a while, honey,” Lillian said.
Emma’s father wrapped an arm around his ex-wife’s waist and tucked her against his side. “We’ve been seeing each other again. I hope this doesn’t upset you, sweet pea.”
Emma stared at her parents, jaw on the floor. Her parents shifted uncomfortably beneath the weight of her silence, clearly thinking of a way to smooth this over so Emma wouldn’t get upset.
Like the kind woman I knew she was, Emma shook herself out of her stupor and smiled. “No. It doesn’t bother me at all. Just a little surprised, is all.”
Her mother’s tense shoulders slackened, and her father relaxed, squeezing Lillian closer to him in a side hug.
“I’m so glad to hear that,” her dad said. Now noticing me, he frowned. “Who is this?”
Emma looked at me with innocent green eyes, her cheeks turning pink before she looked at her dad again. “This is Dimitri. He’s...”
My mate, I finished for her in my head. My demon rumbled in agreement.
“That’s her boyfriend,” Lillian said when Emma didn’t clarify who I was.
Her father looked me over while slowly nodding. “Lawyer?” he asked me.
“How do you know that?” Emma asked, surprise coloring her voice.
“Just how he carries himself,” her dad said with a corny smile. “I have a few friends who are lawyers.”
I watched as he crossed the space and stood before me. He stretched out his hand for me to take. For a split second, I hesitated. Even though this was Emma’s family, they were still human. But for my mate, I shook the offered hand, adding a little more pressure to make the human male wince.
“Pleased to meet you,” I said, keeping on my best behavior.
These people made Emma and raised her as the wonderful woman I knew and loved. I still wondered what had pushed Emma to try to kill herself when she was younger. My mind went straight to her parents and what they could have possibly said or done that sent her over the edge. My question would have to go unanswered for now.
“I’m John,” he said with a kind smile.
“Dimitri,” I murmured.
“Nice to meet you, Dimitri. You taking good care of my daughter?” He pulled his hand away from mine and crossed his arms over his chest. I wanted to scoff at his question but held back from doing so.
“Always,” I said.
The older man nodded and looked at Emma; his eyes softened as they landed on her. She stepped forward and hugged her father.
“I’ve missed you,” she whispered, and kissed his cheek.
“You know, I’ve missed you too,” he said back.
I wondered if they would tell her what happened a month ago. Her father had a heart attack, which created a chain of events for her to lose her memories. But as Emma’s mother guided us into the dining room for lunch, they never brought it up. I’d have to do it if they wouldn’t tell her anytime soon. Emma deserved to know.
Snow crunched beneath us and behind our car. A dull light shone through snow so thick that it was hard to see through. The headlights behind our car came barreling toward us, not showing any sign that they would slow down.
“Dimitri,” I said as I stared at the approaching truck. The crunching became louder and sounded like a freight train.
