Bake Until Marriage

Chapter Eleven

"Hi."

"Hi." Damian swallowed as Emiko's voice spilled through his phone. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm his nerves. He wasn't sure why he felt so nervous about talking to her now, this was a woman he had known for years, and one he was going to marry. Maybe. That was still up in the air at this exact moment. He cleared his throat and sat back in his chair. "You wanted to talk?"

"Yeah." Emiko's voice was soft, and he could hear her shift wherever she was sitting. "I think we have a lot to talk about, especially after yesterday."

Damian snorted and ran his fingers through his hair. The fallout from both of their photos had been nothing short of nuclear, and he had been spending most of his morning fielding questions from his wedding planner and his father. Thank god one of the PR reps from Wayne Enterprises was handling the press. Damian was sure his head would actually explode if he had to talk to one of them. "Yeah. I think we do."

Emiko took a deep breath and paused for a moment, as if she was trying to gather courage before she started talking. "I don't think we should get married." She seemed to reconsider her words. "Actually... I don't want to marry you."

Damian sighed, and closed his eyes, feeling relief flood his chest again. He rubbed a hand down his face. "Oh, thank god. I don't want to marry you either."

Emiko snorted on the other line, a small chuckle escaping. "Well, don't sound so happy about it. Damn. I'm not the worst person you could marry."

He felt a smile pull at the edges of his lips. She really was a good friend, and maybe in another life this would have worked, or he would have grown to love her. But... he couldn't. Not after he met Raven. "Let me clarify, I can't marry you."

"Yeah, I can see that. And so, apparently, can the rest of the world now." She laughed, and that seemed to break the tension between them. Whatever initial fears and reservations they both had about this conversation seemed to dissipate. "It's Raven, right? From the bakery? I've only met her a couple of times when I visited, but... she's cute. And from what I remember, she's nice, but also seems to be able to put you in your place if you need it."

Damian snorted. That was an astute assumption.

Emiko hummed, her tone teasing. "And you seem to really like her, based on the way you were trying to mold your face to hers."

"Hey." Damian glared at nothing in particular, feeling only mildly indignant. His heart felt a hundred times lighter with every passing word. He didn't expect for the conversation to go this way, but he was glad for it. It meant there were no hard feelings between them, and Emiko didn't love him beyond friendship. "You were letting some strange European kiss your shoulders on the beach."

"He's not just some strange european. His name is Bastien, and he's very sweet." Her voice was playful, and he could hear the smile in it. There was another pause, as if she was trying to build up her courage to continue speaking. "I like him a lot. We've... been dating in secret for a few months. I thought maybe it was just some kind of fling, or pre-wedding jitters, but... I really like him." She winced, but forced herself to continue, even though talking about it was hard. "I wanted to tell you in person, Damian. I didn't want to string you along any more, but I felt like it was something I needed to say to your face. Not over text or even the phone."

"I appreciate the candor." He shifted, his stomach twisting as he thought about what he was going to say next. "I... I was trying not to fall for Raven. I never thought I would find someone like her. I was happy to marry you, please don't misunderstand. But it was more out of duty to our families than anything else."