It was a peculiar sight; one Emma wasn't used to seeing. Yet, it was becoming more frequent each time. He was leaned back against the chair. His left arm rest on the side of the small table, outstretched towards her and only a breath away from her desperate fingertips. His right arm leaned over the handle of the chair. He allowed his body to slouch relaxingly. His short black hair was gelled to match his serious disposition. His chiseled jaw was sharp and fresh of a shave. Emma's mind was dust.
"What shall we have?" mumbled Eamon with his gaze on the menu. His question sounded directed at her, but his distraction made the question seem rhetorical.
Regardless, Emma answered. "I wasn't planning to eat anything. I just needed coffee."
"Nonsense," he answered. His head shot up to look at her. "You should eat something. They've got good food here and I'd enjoy the company. How long are you here for? Why are you here?"
Emma wasn't sure she'd ever heard him ask quite so many questions at once. It was overwhelming to have so much of his attention. She wasn't sure how to respond. It was all she'd ever wanted from him. The hospital environment reminded Emma that he wasn't hers. Jeff's garden had felt like neutral territory. She'd been Juliet that night and had garnered her confidence. In the hospital, she was just Emma. She didn't know how not to be a fool. "Um," she said with her mind drawing a blank. She couldn't remember his questions. Her surprise must have been evident. Eamon smiled with a light blush on his cheeks and said, "sorry. That was too much all at once yeah? How about you tell me why you're here and we start from there?"
He was... she couldn't believe it but, "you're blushing," she gasped in shock. Eamon's blush deepened. Realization dawned on Emma. "Sorry, that was rude." He waved her off, but his gaze was no longer on her. "Um, I'm here because of my new patient."
His head shot back around. "Gina, right? The Ovarian cancer patient who is terminal." Emma nodded. Her mood darkened at the reminder. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'm guessing it's not good news. How long?"
She swallowed away a heavy lump. "Stella says it'd be a miracle if she survived the night. Poor Charles is beside himself. Hopefully, his wife is on her way. Consoling grieving families is the one part of my job I'm terrible at."
Eamon chuckled a bit. "You've always been a bit awkward with that. I remember the one time when you had spent more time crying than consoling the family."
Emma chuckled. She remembered that time years ago. She was still a nurse then. A patient had died on Eamon's table and Emma had to relay the news. The husband had been so distraught that Emma had been brought to tears herself. Eamon had to walk in and be confronted with the new task of consoling them both. He'd never really let her forget that day either. "I care too deeply," she said in answer.
Eamon nodded. His mood sobered. "It's a quality I admire tremendously about you."
Emma was grateful to her darker skin for hiding her blush. As much as she wished he'd be hers, she wasn't quite ready for him to know her feelings. Emma cleared her throat. "Um, I know this is a change of topic but, um," she was so nervous to ask this. "Has uh, my sister spoken to you yet?" She needed to know if Larissa had caught on to her lie yet.
Eamon looked at her in confusion. "She's my girlfriend. We always talk."
Emma didn't need the reminder. "I know but um, has she said anything to you recently? About me maybe?" Emma cringed at the awkwardness in her voice. She wasn't sure how else to find out about Larissa without saying the words directly. Eamon was never one to meddle in their fights or drama. Emma prayed he still felt that way.
Eamon shrugged. His mood soured and a frown distorted his handsome face. "We uh," he cleared his throat. "Haven't spoken in three days."
His words were quiet. Emma wasn't sure she'd heard correctly. "Three days?" she asked for clarification. He nodded quickly and kept his eyes on the table. Emma was shocked – no, she was shaken to the core. Despite how much it irked her, Eamon and Larissa were usually joined at the hip. For them to have not spoken in a few days meant that something big must have happened.
"Uh, what happened?" she asked him carefully. She didn't want to pry but she was desperate to know.
"We had a fight. The biggest we've ever had."
"What happened? If you don't mind me asking."
He lifted his head and looked at her. "Larissa is pushing me for marriage. She says we've been together long enough and she's tired of waiting. The problem is that my parents do not want me to marry her."
Emma was beside herself. "Wait, they don't approve of Larissa?"
He shook his head. "They've never really got along. Larissa is perfectly respectable when we visit but somehow, they've all just rubbed one another wrong. My parents say they can't pinpoint it but something about her is sketchy." He rolled his eyes. Emma mentally high fived his parents. "Larissa says they're too stuck-up and need to get some life in them. Ironically, my parents say she's too immature. They know she's pushing marriage. On Sunday they told her that they will never allow me to marry her."
"Wow," Emma said breathlessly. She'd have loved to have seen Larissa's face when that happened.
"Naturally, because your sister can barely hold her tongue at the best of times, she let everything out. She told them that they're arrogant rich people who want to deny their son of his happiness. She said that they're only against her because she's poor." He sounded bored by the tale which was confusing to Emma. It didn't appear to bother him in the slightest. "She told them that they couldn't dictate who I married, and that it will happen whether they like it or not."
"What did you do?" she asked.
"Nothing. That only made Larissa mad. She said I should have defended her and told them we were getting married regardless of how they felt. I admitted that I didn't want to get married. She went crazy after that. She slapped me and stormed away. I haven't spoken to her since."
Emma whistled. "What drama! So, you don't want to marry Larissa?"
He shrugged. "I don't want to get married at all. Things are fine the way they are. I don't see why I need a piece of paper for us to be together. No one seems to get it though. All Larissa keeps insisting is that she get married before you."
Emma rolled her eyes. "No surprise there," she muttered. "Larissa's only goal is to one-up me. I'm not sure why she's so concerned over it." Emma shouldn't be saying these things, she knew that but she couldn't stop the word vomit. It was nice to express her frustrations to someone who intimately knew the cause of her frustration.
"It's something I've wondered too," he muttered. "You two really don't get along."
"I've tried but it's useless with her. She's always got a vendetta. Anything I say to her is taken as a personal attack or an opportunity for her to belittle me. It's got to the point that I'm not sure how to communicate with my own sister anymore. I always feel like I have to have my guard up around her."
Eamon's eyes were wide. "I had no idea you felt that way."
She shrugged. "There's no point changing it. I've tried for years."
Eamon'sfrown was deep. "Her attitude lately makes me question our relationship."
Hope warmed her chest. "Really? You're thinking of breaking up with her?"
He rubbed at his jaw. Emma noticed for the first time just how tired he looked. "Many of my friends and family have expressed similar opinions as you. They've made it clear that they don't want to visit with me if she's around. I'm not sure I like that."
Emma was ablaze with excitement. She knew. that she couldn't get ahead of herself. Things could still come back and bite her later. She had to be a silent third party with no opinions, despite how eagerly she wanted to tell him to leave Larissa. "I'm sorry. I wish my sister didn't make life so tough."
Eamon seemed pleased with her answer and gave her a smile. "On to better news. My father is being awarded by the medical board this weekend. There's a big fundraiser ball happening. All hospital staff are invited. Since you were, at some point, employed at the hospital, I got you a ticket."
Emma grinned. "That sounds exciting. Thank you."
"You'll be at my table." His smile faltered a bit. "I got two tickets for you. One for Joey too."
Emma smiled. She couldn't wait to see Joey and Eamon interact. She knew it would explosive. Having Larissa there would be the cherry to top it all.
"We'll see you then," she answered.