Navy Blue - A Second Chance Romance (Complete)

Navy Blue: Chapter 25

Humid air whipped Emily's hair as she sat on the patio of Sam and Ali's New York apartment sipping lemonade and trying not to think about kisses. Finn kissing her. Finn kissing another woman. The sweet drink churned in her stomach.

When the call came from Sam that Charlie was in trouble, the choice for Emily to catch the first flight to New York was easy. They were the brother's she'd never had, practically more like family than her own.

Sam Harrington was the younger brother of Thomas. When Thomas was alive, they'd ravaged New York pretending to be The Three Musketeers and adopted her as their D'Artagnan in the summers she spent in the Hamptons during university. She much preferred spending her time away from school at the Harrington house to her own in those days.

After Thomas's death, Emily had stayed close to Sam and Charlie. There had been a brief period when Sam disappeared, moving across the country. But he'd come home and was settling in again. With the help of Ali.

Soon Emily would have to come clean with her own friends, burst their romantic bubbles about Finn. Emily didn't have the courage to talk to them now. Kerri hadn't texted, probably distracted by the club bouncer. Beth was asleep when she called Lance. Sophie and Mary, on the other hand, were harder to avoid, demanding an update. Emily sent her calls to voicemail, typed out a few vague texts, promising details at girl's night to try to put them off the scent.

Emily did spill the events of the last few weeks to her new friend. Ali had listened, put her arm around her and been the objective, rational support Emily needed. "He's a fool, Emily."

She studied the orange-tinged afternoon light reflecting off the glass skyscrapers of the city view before her, trying not to grimace. "No, he's not the same man I fell in love with all those years ago." She met her friend's sapphire eyes. "He's moved on and I should too."

Ali's long raven locks floated in the breeze from the Hudson. "What can I do to help?"

Kindness. Oh, how Emily missed it. Sam had certainly found the perfect compliment to his temperament when he asked Ali to marry him. Together, they'd be a force to be reckoned with. A force for good. "Know any single men looking to date a spinster?"

Those blue eyes blinked rapidly. "You're not a spinster."

"I feel like it these days."

A warm hand fell gently over Emily's. "Time to change that." A small smile crept across her face. "You know, I saw the way Charlie looked at you the night we went dancing. Anything there?"

Giggles erupted from Emily. The thought of her and Charlie... kissing Charlie. The notion was ridiculous.

"It's not that silly," sulked Ali.

"I'm sorry." Emily raised her drink to her lips to give her time to settle. "Charlie is like the baby brother I never had. I adore him. And he will make the lucky woman finally capturing his heart, blissful. But it won't be me."

This time, it hadn't taken much to get the charges dropped against Charlie. He was good at living up to his notorious reputation for partying and one-night stands. The world saw him taking after his father. But Emily knew the real Charlie, the one few got to see. The one who took the blame for other people's mistakes. As she waited for him to be released, she sat in the precinct lobby and wondered who he was protecting this time.

"Okay, Okay," Ali held her hands up. "Not Charlie. Hmmm, how do you feel about redheads?"

Emily's phone chirped. She expected another text from Sophie, but it was Mary.

Mary: Come home now.

Emily shut off her phone and sipped her lemonade, enjoying the silence.

New York had never appealed to her in the past as a permanent home. She loved to visit, but found the city too fast, too crowded, too impersonal. Perhaps this was what she needed now. A fresh start and a little help from her friends.

After an evening filled with good company and lively conversation, Emily felt refreshed as she pushed through the revolving door of the building housing the New York offices of Simpson, Simpson, and Waters. Unlike the low-rise structure in Washington, the firm took up the 35th to 38th floor of this towering monument to business. Open-layout and light grey were the hallmarks of this site, giving the space a feeling of energy and urgency.

Her office was only a cubicle, but it butted against a floor to ceiling window, perfect for daydreaming about possibilities in the morning mist. Emily tried not to let her mind wander to what was happening at a military base miles away. A sense of relief mixed with an impulse to lay her head on her desk when she received a text from Lance saying "the trial went well" followed by a winking emoji. "Just waiting on the results."

It was over. Finn had given his testimony and was out of her life. She forced herself to breathe slowly and waited for the lump in her throat to shrink.

"Are you Emily?"

Emily turned towards the source of the deep voice with a slight British accent. She met caramel-coloured eyes. "Yes."

A wide grin broke out across his face, revealing the cutest dimple she'd ever seen. "Great. I'm Griffin Truman." A large hand presented itself to her. "Mr. Waters said you'd come into town a week early."

Emily took the offering, enveloping her hand in the warmth of his. "Ah, the new recruit."