Options

By angellwings

How he finds himself in this particular situation is still a mystery to Alex. He'd wandered into this particular room looking for Emma and since she'd been annoyingly stuck to Frank Churchill's side lately he thought he'd find her with him. But, for once, Emma wasn't by Frank's side.

Alex knew why the minute he saw who Frank was stuck talking to.

James Elton.

Alex didn't really care for Frank Churchill. He was pretentious and something about him seemed…fake. He was putting on a show for some reason. Emma didn't see it but it couldn't be more obvious to Alex. However, as much as he disliked Frank Churchill he had to give him credit for somehow putting up with Senator Elton. Alex could see it was the last place Frank wanted to be, which Alex could actually sympathize with. Elton had done something to upset Emma and it was more than just firing her. Emma hadn't confided in him what that something was which worried him even more. There wasn't much Emma didn't tell him, especially where it concerned the business.

Which meant whatever happened didn't really concern the business and that left Alex with a sour taste in his mouth. So the fact that Frank doesn't seem to like Elton either wins him a miniscule amount of points in his book.

"Are you a client of Emma Approved, Mr. Churchill?" James asked with a smarmy grin. Alex quirked a brow and tried to discretely lurk nearby.

For a split second he wondered when he'd become so good at lurking. He lurked outside of Emma's office, lurked around her and Frank when they were all out together, and now he was lurking around Frank Churchill and James Elton. He never used to lurk. When did he start lurking exactly?

"No," Frank said with a deep chuckle. "Emma's very talented but I think I can manage on my own."

"That's what I ended up telling her and look how beautifully that turned out," Elton said as he looked across the room and smiled at Caroline.

"You were Emma's client?" Frank asked in a disbelieving voice.

"For a while," Elton said with a nod. "But we ended up parting ways. She has many talents but I don't think matchmaking is one of them. It's hard to find love for others when you don't seem to know what it is yourself. Don't you think?"

Frank was silent for a moment and Alex was curious as to what that pause meant.

"Being in love and knowing what love is are two very different things, Senator. I think a person can see love between two people without being in love themselves. Emma may not have experienced the kind of love you're referring to but she seems to have a very long list of people who care about her." Alex grinned gratefully as Frank defended her. Alex knew Emma had misjudged the situation with Elton and, honestly, the character of the man himself but one mistake did not mean she was completely unqualified for her chosen career. Alex was almost ready to stop lurking and move on until Frank spoke again. "Myself included, I might add—"

"Yes, I'd noticed you two had become particularly close. I'd be careful around her, Frank. She can be a bit cold on occasion," James Elton said with a tone of superiority that made Alex angrily curl his fingers into a fist.

Emma? Cold? And how exactly did Frank care for Emma? What did that mean? And why did Alex even care? Frank was free to feel for Emma in any way he wanted. It didn't concern Alex.

"I don't know about cold," Frank said slowly as if he thought Emma truly was lacking some sort of feeling but he couldn't place what it was.

What? Were these two men stupid? Yes, Emma had her flaws. He'd be the first to admit it. But lack of emotion was not one of them. Emma was the most passionate person he'd ever met. He'd never argued with a person more than he argued with her. She had instincts and opinions and the ability to argue them with a fervor he'd rarely seen before. Maybe her arguments were occasionally weak and maybe sometimes she wasn't as eloquent as others could be but her passion for her work and the people she cared about should never be doubted. Especially not by these two men who didn't really deserve her concern to begin with.

"It's infuriating, isn't it?"

Alex jumped at the new voice and sheepishly met Annie's eyes. "Are you listening to this too?"

Annie smirked at him and shrugged. "I'm curious as to what other people see when they look at her."

Alex gave her a knowing look. "No, you're curious as to what Frank thinks of her. Ryan told me about your plotting. Aren't we supposed to leave the matchmaking to Emma?"

Annie quirked a brow at him. "You think Emma would make a match for herself? You do know her right? How she's resigned herself to being single for all eternity?"

"Resigned isn't the word, Annie. She's determined to be single. That's different than resigned. Resigned implies that she doesn't think she could find anyone. Emma knows she could find someone. She just chooses not to," Alex said as he and Annie moved away from Frank and Elton.

"Either way, she's chosen wrong. So she has high expectations? There's no reason someone out there won't meet them. Frank's confident, ambitious, and charismatic. Who else does that sound like to you?" Annie asked with a grin.

"Yes, I get it. He's perfect. But doesn't that seem a bit obvious? Besides, putting them together would almost guarantee world domination and I, for one, do not want to play a part in building that dictatorship," Alex said as he pasted on a playful smirk.

"You honestly don't think Frank would make her happy?" Annie asked as she gave him a curious glance. She either didn't like his joke or chose to ignore it and hear his hidden meaning.

"I think Emma needs someone to keep her grounded," Alex said with a sigh. "She gets carried away sometimes or tends to project her own feelings onto others. Most of the time it's unintentional and in those moments she needs someone who sees the reality of the situation. I don't think that person is Frank."

Annie grinned at him and he could have sworn she looked as though she was keeping some sort of secret. "I see, and who might that person be, Alex?"

He shrugged and looked down at the floor. He didn't enjoy this topic of conversation. Discussing the person Emma should end up with felt wrong for some reason. "I don't know. Someone low key to counter her tendency to be dramatic and someone who's not intimidated by all of her personality and energy—"

"So, someone who's down to earth, extremely honest, and not a pushover," Annie repeated.

"Yes, exactly," Alex said with a nod.

"So…you?"

Alex froze and gulped. "What? No! No, not me. I didn't mean—"

"Didn't you?" Annie asked with a knowing smile.

"No! Besides, Emma would never—I'm not the guy she—"

"Emma would never what?" Annie asked as she turned to face Alex.

"I'm her boring, indifferent, party pooper older brother figure. I'm not an option to her," Alex stated with an air of nonchalance that felt forced. He wasn't fooling Annie.

"Doesn't mean you don't wish you were an option. Does it?" Annie asked as he reached out to pat his arm in a comforting gesture. "Besides, maybe Emma will surprise you. I know she's surprised me more than once."

"Maybe," Alex said with a half hearted grin.

"Alex," Annie said in an admonishing tone. He recognized that tone. Sometimes he used that tone with Emma. "If you really care about her then show her. Don't just lie down and give up. You'll never have a chance if you don't try."

"I just wouldn't know where to beg—"

"There you two are!"

Both Alex and Annie turned to find Emma beaming at them in excitement. "I've been looking for you everywhere."

"Well, you found us," Annie said brightly. She shared a meaningful glance with Alex that let him know the conversation they'd been having before had not been dropped. They would come back to it later.

"This party is dying. We need to save it," Emma said as she glanced around the hall. "If it dies then people will leave and if they leave I'll be forced to talk to the hostess and I cannot handle that right now. Do not make me talk to Caroline."

Alex chuckled. "I don't think three people can save this party by ourselves."

"Not three," Emma said as she corrected him. "Ryan and Annie are a package deal so it's really four. And four people can easily save a party."

"How's that?" Annie asked with a smile.

"We dance!" Emma exclaimed. "You will find Ryan and let him throw you around the floor like the goofball he is. And you, Mr. Knightley, will dance with me."

Alex grinned and quirked a brow at her. "Oh, will I?"

"Yes, you will. You forget that I've seen you dance and I know that you're surprisingly coordinated," Emma said with a wide grin. "Besides, it's not like it would be weird or anything, right? I mean, we're not brother and sister after all."

Annie's eyes widened and she turned an excited look on Alex as if to say, 'See? You're totally an option.'

Emma held out her hand to him expectantly.

He tried not to think about his earlier conversation with Annie as he stared at her outstretched hand. Was Annie right? Did he want to be considered for Emma? It would certainly explain his odd behavior lately and his strong dislike for Frank Churchill.

"Brother and sister?" Alex said as he smiled fondly at Emma. "No, we're not."

Emma beamed at him as he took her hand and then promptly pulled him out onto the dance floor. His hand tingled from the feeling of her fingers locked with his and the sensation spreads up his arm. The idea of having feelings for Emma hits him like a ton of bricks and yet it's by no means an unwelcome idea. Suddenly, Alex had a lot to think about.

If anyone were to force Emma to reconsider her vow to be single for the rest of her life then why couldn't it be him? He understood her in a way Frank Churchill and James Elton never would. He smiled warmly at her as the feelings he never realized he had settled in his chest. They were still relatively new but they felt right. Like they'd always been there and he'd never paid them any attention.

Well, no more. He'd find a way to tell her…in time. Right now he wanted to enjoy the moment.

To enjoy her.