Chapter 72

Kelly “Hey Emmett, can we talk?” I asked, standing just outside of his office at the hospital, dreading the conversation I was about to have.

“That sounds like a loaded question. Come on in.” He said, setting his half-eaten sandwich down.

I quickly went into his office, shutting the door softly behind me. I fiddled with my fingernails for a moment, trying to find the right words to say. When they didn’t come, I just began and prayed it wouldn’t sound as awful as I pictured it.

“Emmett I-“

“You chose someone else?” He asked with a raised brow.

“How did…?”

“You have a certain look when you have bed news. I just assumed it was about our relationship since you came to my office this time.” He shrugged.

“Oh,” I said, not feeling any less guilty about the whole situation. “I am really sorry, you are a great man, and any girl would be lucky to have you.”

“Don’t be. I understand. I’m very disappointed that it’s not me, but you and Thorin always had something that we lacked.” He said with a sad smile.

“Did he tell you?” I frowned.

“No.” He shook his head. “Like I said, there was just something about you two that was different. But had you picked Jonas, I might have some words.” He snorted.

“Well, thank you for taking the news so well.” I laughed nervously.

“I wish you two all the happiness,” he said sincerely.

“Thanks Emmett. I know you’ll find love one day too.”

“Perhaps.” He sighed deeply. “Now go get out of here. You have a kingdom to run.”

I nodded and was about to turn away, but paused. I went around Emmett’s desk and gave him a big hug, taking him by surprise. He hugged me back and I went on my way, making sure he didn’t see the mist in my eyes. Of course, I chose Thorin, but that didn’t mean I didn’t have any place in my heart for Emmett or Jonas. Truthfully, I loved all three men. But it was as Emmett said, there was just something different about Thorin and I. And it was that that gave him the leg up on everyone. Perhaps it was because he never looked at me like a monster, or with fear. Although both Emmett and Jonas said they felt otherwise, Keres would tell me she could smell their fear, and I could see it in their eyes too. Or maybe it was the way he looked at me, he always made me feel so treasured, but not idolized. It was a perfect balance.

– – – – – – – –

Emmett My heart broke as I watched Kelly walk away. I was no fool, I knew this was coming for some time now. Ever since we got back home, Kelly and Thorin had gotten even closer to each other and Jonas and I had been put on the outskirts. But that didn’t make it hurt any less to hear it. I tried my best to rush the conversation along, getting straight to the point so we could both move on. No sense in fighting for her, I had too much respect for her to challenge her own feelings. Kelly was the type of person who would make up her mind and that was that. At least I lost to the better man. I wonder how Jonas will take the news. I doubt Kelly will call him while he is away signing peace treaties and making alliances. That would be just plain stupid, and Kelly wasn’t stupid.

“I finished my rounds, I’m gonna get out of here before I get sucked into another triple.” Julie said, peering her head into my office.

“Drive safe, and have a good night.” I said, nodding to her.

“You should get out of here too. You haven’t left the hospital in days.” She frowned.

“Yeah I did, on Tuesday.”

“Today is Saturday.”

“Is it really?” I said, looking at my calender.

“Time for you to get out of here too.” She said, strutting into my office and packing up my things. “Come on, let’s go. I have a frozen lasagna with our names on it.”

“But-“

“No buts, let’s go!” She said, dragging me out of my chair.

She was quite cute when she was being bossy. Did I just think that? I mean, I guess we have been working together almost nonstop for several months now. Heck, she did ask me out to drinks just the other day. Maybe there was something there after all. And now that I was officially dumped from my hypothetical relationship with Kelly, that left room for another….

“Fine.” I half smiled, following after her.

Maybe, just maybe, this was my second chance.

– – – – – – – –

Kelly “What is it you wanted to show me?” I asked as Thorin weaved his way through the palace, insisting I come with him.

“You will see,” he said.

He seemed nervous. Thorin was never nervous. That made me nervous. What could he possibly want to show me? I was especially confused when he had us take the newly installed elevator to the top floor, my floor.

“I did the remodeling…I hope you like.” He said, just before we stepped off the elevator, leading into my living room.

I gasped when I saw that my once sad-looking home was now fully furnished and decorated. Gone was the old furniture that smelled of moth balls, and in its place were sleek, sophisticated, yet comfortable furnishings.

“You did all this?” I asked.

“I called the sisters.” He shrugged. “They ordered, I paid, they told me where to put things. It worked out well.”

“Yeah, but when did you do it?” I asked out loud, almost immediately answering my own question, I hadn’t been to my room in several days, opting instead to sleep in my old bedroom on the first floor. “And how did they get the furniture here so fast? You only saw what this place looked like a few days ago.”

“You are queen now. All I had to say was that it was for you and everyone jumped like frogs!” Thorin said with a deep belly laugh. “And it had been nearly week since we…” He trailed off.

I felt flushed at the thought. Heat began to pool between my legs as flashbacks of that night ran through my head.

“Thank you so much for doing all of this.” I said, wrapping my arms around his neck. “It means so much to me.”

“You need comfortable place to find rest at night.” He said, giving me a quick peck on the lips. “Let me show you the rest.”

Thorin, or my sisters perhaps, didn’t miss a thing. Every last inch of every room was perfectly done. I almost didn’t want to touch anything, until, of course, we got to my bedroom. Then there was one thing in particular I wanted to touch. Taste too. But my less than pure thoughts were interrupted when Thorin went over to my dresser and cleared his throat.

“I will not push you to move forward any sooner than you are ready, but this is my drawer.” He said, yanking open the top right drawer, revealing what looked like two sets of clean clothes. There was also an unopened toothbrush and a few other personal items. “Just in case.” He shrugged with a small smirk pulling at his lips.

“I like your drawer.” I said, stalking my way over to him and pulling him towards me by his shirt. “Why don’t we give it a test drive? And maybe break in the bed too?” I said with my signature ‘f**k me’ eyes.

“I like your ideas.” He said, already ridding himself of his boots.