Right In Front Of Me

Chapter 2

Occurs five years after the last chapter
------

Emma finished placing the last of the cutlery on the dinner table. She had set up two extra places for her guests, who are going to join her and her three children.

It's been one year since she and Matt separated, leaving her in full custody of their children. Their marriage woes started months after their third child, Ethan, was born five years ago.

At the time, Matt had been away on tour with Busted, so Emma accepted any help she could get with the kids. One of her constant helpers was Stephen.

Once he was done with his work obligations, Stephen provided his services to Emma and helped her look after the kids. He'd pick up seven year old Ella and five year old Axel from school. Fix their dinners. Help them with their homework. He even changed Little Ethan's nappies once in a while. Acting as dad to his three children while he was on tour really rubbed Matt the wrong way. It was this jealousy that driven him and Emma apart.

Sensing conflict, Stephen backed off from Emma and the kids for a while, only seeing Emma whenever they did their radio show. Despite Stephen keeping his distance, trouble in Matt and Emma's marriage worsened.

So not wanting to cause any rift between the couple, Stephen left his TV and radio career in England and moved to Los Angeles. He wanted his best friend's marriage to work, despite his own romantic feelings for her. Emma begged him to stay, but Stephen couldn't be swayed out of his decision.

It seemed that when Stephen left their relationship would return to normal, but Emma was wrong. Matt continued to get jealous with any guy she happened to work with. After staying three more years with him, Emma finally divorced Matt. She couldn't handle the fact that Matt doubted her love for him. That, and the fact that Matt drove away her best friend away to America because of his insecurity.

Four years has passed since Stephen moved to the States and Emma has never heard from him since.

That was until she received a phone earlier that week.

"Hi, who's this?" Emma asked nicely upon answering the phone.

"Hello, it's me. Stephen." A familiar voice said on the other end of the line.

"Stephen?" Emma gasped. "Oh my God! It's been a long time since I've heard from you."

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I've just been really busy here in LA, you know, making a living."

"How have you been? I've missed you so much," Emma sobbed, not able to control her feelings anymore.

"I'm fine. I called because I was wondering if you wanted to meet up. I'm going to be in London in a couple of days to meet up with ITV for a show," Stephen explained.

"Yes...yes, I'd love to see you!" She gripped her phone tightly and squealed in excitement. "Come over to dinner on Saturday. I'm sure the kids would love to see their Uncle Stevie as well."

"That's fantastic! I'll see you then," he smiled to the phone. "Oh, is it alright if I bring someone with me? I'd really love for you to meet her."

"Oh...yeah, sure." Emma's smiled faltered upon the mention of Stephen's mysterious woman guest.

"Brilliant, I can't wait til Saturday! Bye, Em!"

"Bye, Stevie."

Since Stephen left, Emma has learned that absence does make the heart grow fonder. In fact, she came to the realization that she did not only love Stephen as a friend, but as something more meaningful. She had let the man she truly loved walk out of her life.

So she promised to herself that once she gets a hold of Stephen, she'll make sure to never let him go again. But the mention of a woman guest has put a damper on her plans; it seems that she has fallen victim to bad-timing.

The sound of the doorbell signaled the arrival of Stephen and his date.

Not ready to face the two, Emma yelled for her eldest daughter, who was lounging in their living room. "Ella! Can you answer the door, please? That should be your Uncle Stevie."

"Okay, mom," the eleven year old answered.

From the kitchen, Emma could hear Ella unlock the front door and open it.

"Ella, is that you?! Oh my, you've grown!" Stephen exclaimed.

Emma peeked around the doorway and saw Stephen hugging Ella tightly, even lifting her off the ground.

"Haha, Uncle Stevie! Let me down!" Ella laughed.

"Where's your brothers? Your mom?"

"Axel and Ethan are upstairs. Mom is in the kitchen."

"Oh, I see." Stephen lifted his gaze from Ella and looked down the hallway leading to the kitchen. It was then that he captured Emma's gaze. "Emma," he said with a huge smile on his face.

Emma abandoned her post and approached Stephen. As she got closer, she caught a glimpse of someone shyly hiding behind Stephen and the door.

Noticing this, Stephen looked behind him and coaxed a little girl from behind his legs and into the hallway, closing the front door behind them. "Come on, honey. Don't be shy." He lifted her off the ground and carried her against his side.

He returned his attention back to Emma, who was now just a few feet from them.

"Well, who's this pretty little girl?" Emma sweetly asked, reaching over to squeeze the girl's hand.

Shy, the girl pulled her hand away from Emma and wrapped her arms around Stephen's neck, and buried her face on the crook of his neck.

"Sorry about that. She's a bit shy. Must have got it from her mother," Stephen sheepishly smiled. "Anyway, this is Daniella. She's my daughter."