Private Emotions – Promises (The Private Emotions Trilogy) by Elize Amornette

his number and waited patiently on the other end for him to pick up. “Emily, what have I done to be honored with hearing from you this fine day?” I could hear him chuckle in the background.
    “I’ve just been informed by Sophie that she is getting married this weekend and I was wondering if you would like to attend the festivities with me?”
    “Sophie already told me about what they had planned and the first thing that I thought of was if you would accompany me.” We laughed as we realized that we both had similar thoughts.
    “I guess great minds think alike and maybe you can pick me up at the shop on Saturday morning? I have something very special for them as my way of giving my blessing to their union.”
    “Sure, I can do that, but until then I would still like to see you for dinner this evening. I have something that I need to discuss with you that might be the start of a new life for both of us.” He was being a little aloof and had me wondering just what he was thinking. For some reason I was seeing wedding bells in my future. If he were to propose to me tonight, would I even believe that we had a chance together?
    “Pick me up after work and I can discuss with you what my plans are for the wedding, then you can tell me what you want to say.”

    We got to the restaurant and he went down on one knee. I was ready for him to make his grand declaration when he got up with a fork in his hand. It was on the floor when we got to the table and probably went unseen by the staff. I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or disappointed that he didn’t pop the big question.
    Taking my hand, he said, “Emily, I know you gave me the green light to look into finding you the right space for your new boutique and now I have some news that could change everything. Apparently the space that I told you about, the one next to my gallery, it is rumored to have several offers. I took it upon myself to make an arrangement with the owner so that you would have the first survey. I needed to set it up before anyone else claimed it. Now, before you say anything, know that I am not trying to run your life. This is entirely up to you.”
    “Well, I did tell you to look into it, and your description of the place has made me very curious, so I would at least like to see the place before I make any kind of decision.”
    “I’ll confirm it after the wedding but we will need to see the place on Monday evening if that is okay with you?”
    “It sounds like a plan to me, thanks for arranging it, Ethan. Now let me tell you what my plans are for Sophie’s wedding. They sprung this on me kind of quickly, but I was already in the process of making their dresses before she even mentioned that they were going to have the wedding this weekend. I’m going to present them with two Emily originals for them to wear down the aisle.”
    “That is so nice of you to do, especially considering that you are also the matron of honor in the ceremony. If you need any help whatsoever, I want you to know that I will be there to lend you a hand.” Ethan was being a proper gentleman and I could tell in his eyes that he really wanted to kiss me, so I waited until he made his move. As his lips touched mine, I fell into it and let him kiss me deeply and hard over the table.
    We had a very lovely dinner and talked about everything that happened at his parents’ place. He told me that his father had actually kept to his mother’s wishes regarding eating healthier. In fact, she was in the process of converting one of the rooms upstairs into a gym and they were both going to have personal trainers come in three times a week to keep them in shape.
    There was a light drizzle outside when we left the restaurant, so Ethan took off his jacket and put it over my head to prevent me from getting wet. We got in the car and he purposely drove to the site of what would possibly become my new boutique. He parked across the street so that I could get a close-up feel for the