“So you bought it. Why?” Emma readjusted her position, uncrossing and recrossing her legs, and arched a fiery brow.
“This place has been a part of the town since I was little. I didn’t want to see it gone.” Dillon shrugged. “Plus I liked Mr. McNabb. He was one of the few people who didn’t treat me differently simply because of who my parents are. He didn’t care.”
Emma’s eyes narrowed, playful in a nervous kind of way. “I probably already know the answer, but I have to hear you say it…why a nightclub?”
She said the word “nightclub” like it was distasteful. Her little button nose wrinkled. He grinned. This woman knew him entirely too well and yet there was so much she didn’t know.
“Actually, it was Janey’s idea. She said, and I quote, ‘This town could use a little livening up and you’re just the man to do it.’ I agreed with her.”
Amusement flitted across Emma’s eyes then faded a breath later. Instead, her amber eyes filled with sadness, glistening with unshed tears.
It made his chest tighten when they were downstairs and did so again now. He couldn’t stand to see tears in her eyes. Seeing them had sunk him eight years ago. Emma had always been strong, the one in charge. She didn’t hesitate to confront him when she assumed the trouble he and Janey got into was his fault. She was one of the few people in this town who wasn’t intimidated by his size or his name. He admired her for that.
The emotion in her eyes also wrenched at his gut simply because it provided a firm reminder she hadn’t come to recount childhood memories. She had a reason, and instinct said it wasn’t pleasant.
“I’m sorry.” Emma shook her head and dropped her gaze to her lap, her fingers toying with the edges of her jacket. “I’m stalling.”
“I noticed.” He sat back in his chair, settled his elbows on the armrest, and folded his hands over his stomach, offering her a smile. “Why don’t you tell me what you came here to say and get it over with? It’s like pulling off a bandage. The slower you do it, the more painful it is. Rip it off quick, and it doesn’t hurt so much.”
A ghost of a smile flitted across her mouth. “It’s not good news.”
“Yeah, I gathered that much.”
She closed her eyes, drawing in a deep breath and releasing it in a slow, serrated stream of air. Dillon gripped the arms of the chair to keep from reaching out to her. Something had happened to Janey, and that very thought left him tied in knots. He hadn’t seen her in over a year. He called on a regular basis to chat, to check in with his best friend, but lately Janey’s voice was tight and distant. The phone calls usually lasted less than two minutes and ended with a lame excuse about having “things to do.”
The distance between them hadn’t been there before, and it drove him crazy not knowing what went on in her life. It made him sick to his stomach to think something bad might have happened to her.
Emma lifted her gaze to his, those amber eyes looking simultaneously lost and intense, and a stone of dread dropped in his stomach. He remembered that look. Too well. She looked at him the exact same way when he found her in the pouring rain in the middle of Rugby Park in the center of town. Right after her mother died.
“She’s…” Emma’s throat bobbed. “She’s…”
Her voice wavered then stopped and she swallowed again.
“Just say it, Em.” His gaze locked with hers. Dillon gripped the arms of his chair tighter. “Please.”
“She’s dead.” One single tear escaped down her pale cheek.
Her words hit him with all the force of a meaty fist straight to the gut. The air left his lungs, along with a soft curse. He sat in stunned silence, staring past Emma to the two-way mirrored window beside the door. A single thought playing like a broken record through his mind. He’d lost his chance to make amends with his best friend.
Chapter Two
God, why didn’t he just say something?
Emma shifted in her seat and peeked at Dillon’s still form. He’d been sitting there staring at the ceiling for what seemed like forever, like the white tiles above him contained the answers to the mysteries of life. His head rested on the back of the chair, hands draped loosely on the arms.
So unbearably calm and silent while she fought to control her emotions. Tears burned behind her eyelids, itching to follow their predecessors down her cheeks. Being in the same room with him flooded her mind with memories, half of which revolved around him, all of which revolved around Janey.
Saying the words out loud, having to watch his eyes slide shut when the news hit him was more awful than she imagined. If she got through this without having a complete meltdown, it would be a miracle. Seeing him made her miss Janey something awful. It became a throbbing ache deep in the pit of her stomach. One she wasn’t sure would ever go away.