Matteo raised an eyebrow, unrattled by her words. After all, he had not slept with Amelia, regardless of the rumors.
"Ronan would be very scandalized to know you’re thinking of him in such a manner."
Emmeline snorted.
"And you say you don’t have a sense of humor! But I know better― I know you, Matteo. You’ve always been a serious workaholic. A stick in the mud, even when we were kids. You would never do anything that caused so much trouble if you were not led astray by a bad influence," Emmeline said darkly, her expression twisting into anger, leaving no doubt who she was referring to.
"If I’m such a stick in the mud, why do you want to marry me? Why are you so obsessed with me?" Matteo asked.
If Emmeline gave him a laundry list of reasons why she loved him, he would know what to do to make sure she gave up on him.
"You can’t ask a girl that, silly!" Emmeline exclaimed, a demure blush growing on her face. "I just love you a lot. You’re so tall, smart, and handsome... Oh, I can’t believe you made me say something so embarrassing out loud! You’re a terrible man, Matteo!"
Matteo despaired. Did he need to disfigure himself and become an idiot to be left alone? He shot his door a longing glance while Emmeline continued to squeal into her hands.
"Alright, you’ve wasted enough time here," Matteo said with a sigh. "I still need to get back to work."
"Alright, alright, I’ll let you off since I did come unannounced. But you owe me a date at the very least! Let’s go out tonight after work!" Emmeline declared with a haughty pout. "I had to endure so much stress because of your actions."
"I’m busy," Matteo insisted.
"I’ll wait right here then," Emmeline said cheerfully, oblivious to the horror in Matteo’s eyes. "You don’t need to worry about me, I won’t do anything that will jeopardize the company you love so dearly," Emmeline added sweetly.
Her nimble fingers came and readjusted his tie, smoothing the lapels of his jacket.
Matteo swatted her hands away and cleared his throat. "I can fix it myself."
"But I want to do it for you," Emmeline insisted. "Besides, what’s a little intimacy between a married couple? We’ll be doing a lot more than that in the future."
Matteo snorted. The irony was killing him. He had said the same thing to Amelia during their last dinner, only to have it repeated by Emmeline.
"Then what’s the hurry?" Matteo asked. "We have our entire lives ahead of us."
And he didn’t want to spend one extra moment with her.
Meanwhile, Emmeline blushed again, her face redder than a stop light, as though Matteo had said the world’s most romantic line. "You’re such a charmer! I knew I didn’t have anything to worry about, no matter what Kelsie said."
That got Matteo’s attention. "Kelsie Friesent?"
"Yep!" Emmeline beamed. "She and her boyfriend Caleb are attending our engagement party!"
"I see," Matteo said. Now he knew who was whispering nonsense into Emmeline’s ear.
"You can pick a place for us to eat then," Matteo offered, his tone suddenly lighter.
Emmeline clasped her hands in delight.
"Really? And you will agree to any place I choose?"
Matteo nodded. After all, money was no question, and he highly doubted that Emmeline would be willing to sit at a dingy pub in her designer suit or get grease stains all over her outfit at a diner.
"I want to go to your house!" Emmeline declared. "Let’s have dinner there!"
Fuck.
"That’s not a good idea," Matteo refused. "My home is messy, and none of us know how to cook."
Emmeline waved off his objections easily. "I’ll help you clean it up― or I can get Georgie to clean it up. She can cook for us too."
Georgie was one of the maids in Emmeline’s employ, who did everything to make sure Emmeline shone brightly like a diamond.
"Or is there something― or someone you don’t want me to see?" Emmeline demanded, her hands on her hips.
"What if there is?" Matteo retorted. "You can’t just invite yourself into someone’s home!"
"If Amelia Kentwood is living in your house, then all the more I want to visit," Emmeline insisted. "I’m the woman who will be your wife in the future. Your home is my home!"
***
"Urgh," Ronan complained for the umpteenth time, staring at Matteo’s closed door. "Why is she still inside?"
"Beats me," Amelia said, her eyes focused on the digital clock in front of her. The seconds seem to crawl by, almost mockingly. "They must have a lot to talk about."
With Ronan camped at Amelia’s desk, their colleagues gave her a wide berth. Apparently, Ronan’s sharp tongue had its own reputation in the office, second only to his sizable arm muscles.
Ronan shot her a pitying look. "You have nothing to worry about. Matteo is not a man that breaks his promises."
Amelia could only nod, as her stomach twisted into knots.
After what seemed like an eternity, the office door finally opened to reveal both Emmeline and Matteo walking out. But that wasn’t what caught Amelia’s eyes― her gaze arrowed on their linked arms, and the way Emmeline eagerly pressed herself to Matteo’s side.
Next to her, Ronan let out a hiss through his teeth.
Emmeline began to speak, her bubbly voice echoing through the office. "Thanks for escorting me out, Matteo! I’ll see you tonight at your home for our dinner date."
Then she turned and smiled at Amelia. "You must be Amelia Kentwood! Thank you for taking such good care of Matteo in these past few weeks. But I’ve got it covered from now on. You don’t have to worry."
Amelia froze, her heart sinking to her feet. She could only nod dumbly, shocked at what Emmeline was claiming. She turned her eyes onto Matteo, but his face was a blank slate, and he made no objection to Emmeline’s words.
He was also refusing to meet her eyes, choosing to glance at her forehead instead.
So it was true.
They really were going back to Matteo’s place to eat a meal.
Matteo cleared his throat. "You should be going now," he said gruffly.
"Right," Amelia said faintly. "I’ll just... pack my things then."
"Yes, you should," Emmeline said, a vaguely pitying look on her face. "Everything must return to their rightful places, and that goes doubly for people as well."