Emma was waiting at the airport. She kept looking for her sister until a giggle caught her attention. Kathryn was walking towards her while flirting with some guy. Typical Kathryn, Emma thought, shaking her head.
Kathryn finally noticed her sister waiting for her. She coyly dismissed her admirer.
"Emma! How are you? I missed you!" Kathryn hugged her sister.
Emma squeezed Kathryn tight. "I've missed you!"
Kathryn's eyes were still on the departing stranger.
Emma followed her gaze and shook her head as they headed out of the airport.
Emma and Kathryn arrived at her place.
Kathryn took in the apartment. "Emma, this place is so cute! I love it." She walked to a comfortable couch and put her luggage next to her as she plopped down.
"Hey, so I have a work thing to go to. Do you want to come with me?" Emma asked as she walked back from her room wearing a fresh blouse.
Kathryn kicked off her shoes. "It's nice to be home."
"Hey, what happened with your boyfriend, what was his name?" Emma asked.
Kathryn rolled her eyes. "He wanted to come with me but I told him I needed some space." She sighed and turned to Emma and got up as she spotted a photo of their parents on their wedding day. She smiled as she approached the picture. "Mom was my age," Kathryn said.
Emma smiles fondly. "It was the perfect wedding. The Boathouse, the big band, ceremony at sunset."
Kathryn scrunched her nose. "Except for that dress. Emma the synthetic lace and the inverted box pleats were horrible."
"I thought it was beautiful," Emma said.
Kathryn shakes her head and turns to a pile of newspaper clippings. "What are these?" she said with a teasing smirk.
Emma rushes to cover them, "Oh nothing important. Just a few old wedding announcements. I was going to recycle it."
"Emma, these are more than a few. Were you going to recycle them into wallpaper?"
"Okay, there's this writer, James Rogers, he writes the best ones. I only keep his. I just love the stories and the crazy proposals. Nevermind. It's not your thing." She organized the clippings.
Kathryn was trying to muffle her giggles.
"How long are you staying for?" Emma asked.
"Just two weeks. The fall fashion shows are done, so I don't have work," Kathryn replied.
"Okay, hey, you never answered if you wanted to come to my work thing."
"I'll pass, I'm going to have dinner with some friends from Milan."
"Oh, okay. If you change your mind we will be at the new place Wonderland at St. Marks and A."
"Okay," Kathryn said.
"St. Marks and A," Killian said as he clicked the seatbelt in place.
"Yes, sir," the taxi driver answered and promptly signaled and began heading to the given destination. n.
Killian relaxed on the backseat of the car as he glanced at the planner on his lap. He sighed as his fingertip traced the edge repeatedly.
Emma was laughing with Ruby.
Graham walked up to them.
"Emma, what did I get, Tamara? She was just thanking me." Graham asked, puzzled.
Emma smiled. "A nice bottle of Cristal, and some champagne glasses."
He scratched his trimmed beard. "I'm surprised she believed the present was from me."
Emma laughed, "Oh, don't worry. It wasn't my best gift wrapping job."
Graham scoffed, "I could do a decent job at gift wrapping."
Emma's brows raised in disbelief.
Ruby was silently watching the exchange. "Hey, Emma. Do you want a drink? I'm going to the bar."
Graham cleared his throat. "I could grab you, ladies, some drinks. Maybe some liquid courage?"
Ruby nodded. "I'll take a Cosmo."
Graham turned to Emma.
Emma shook her head. "I'm not drinking tonight. Thanks."
He smiled and walked towards the bar.
Emma turned to find a scowling Ruby. "You should have smiled and said I'll have a Bay Breeze. Followed by some intense flirting, interoffice sex... accidental pregnancy,
a shotgun wedding, and a happy ending. How many times do I have to tell you the plan?" Ruby sputtered out.
"Wait, why a Bay Breeze? Ruby, you don't get it. I don't want him to think I'm irresponsible." Emma glared at her friend.
Ruby sighed, "Okay, to answer your question, party pooper: a Bay Breeze because drinking a good-sized glass of pineapple juice a couple of hours before doing the deed can help make your bodily fluids taste and even smell better for his pleasure. So he can enjoy his time down there."
Ruby finished her explanation with a wolfish smirk.
Emma scrunched her face. "Rubes, you are wrong. Graham appreciates the way I am."
"I don't think there's enough appreciation going on if no one is getting naked," Ruby said with a sly smirk.
Graham came back carrying Ruby's drink and handing it to her.
"Emma, did you get that thing I left on your desk this morning?" he asked with slight nervousness.
Emma's heart started racing could it be true that he sent the flowers? "On my desk?"
"Was that okay? I mean we've never had that kind of relationship before," Graham said.
"It was great," Emma answered quickly.
"Good... I wanted to make sure you were okay with it.
I'm sorry, I should have asked before assuming," Graham confessed as his name was called out by the bar. "I'm sorry I'll be right back."
"Ruby, oh my God! It was him. He gave me flowers!" Emma squealed.
"Emma, stop it! This is real life, not a fairy tale. Now it's the time. You go up to him and tell him how you feel. Go NOW!"
Emma walked toward Graham with anxious energy. She couldn't believe it, he felt the same way. Graham was at the bar chatting up with one of the guys from shipping the closer she got the more excited she was getting until she noticed something caught his eye.
Emma followed his gaze and her heart stopped. No, please, no, no, no. Emma tried walking faster but she wasn't the only one that had sped up. Graham and Kathryn were seconds away from shattering her dreams. Still, she begged whoever would listen to be wrong.
Kathryn and Graham had locked eyes and nothing seemed to distract them.
Graham smiled. "Hello."
Kathryn returned the smile and with a breathy tone replied, "Hi."
Emma stood in front of them with her heart sinking.
"Oh, hey, Emma," Kathryn said as she looked away from Graham for a second.
Graham's eyes followed and smiled fondly at Emma.
Emma knew she had to introduce them but it was the hardest thing she had ever done. "Oh, sorry, Kathryn this is my Graham, I mean my boss, Graham. Graham, this is my sister, Kathryn."
"Emma, you never said your sister was in town or how lovely she is," Graham said.
Kathryn turned to Emma, "I can see why you love your job so much. I would be a workaholic too."
Graham blushed "Emma is a great assistant. I could never survive without her. As if I don't take enough advantage of her already... I dropped my dry cleaning slip off on her desk today."
Emma whispered, "Of course it was his dry cleaning slip...I'm such an idiot."
She tried smiling as she watched the man she loved escort her sister to the bar for drinks while making plans to go out dancing later.
An accented voice in her ear startles her. "Love, were the flowers too much?"
Emma gasped as she turned to face him. Recognition quickly set in: "They're from you. The angry marriage-hater."
"Yes, love. Did you like them? Or was it too much?" Killian asked.
"Please, excuse me for a second." Emma said and made her way to the emergency exit.
Once outside she screamed out a slew of profanities that would make a sailor blush.
...then, she noticed she wasn't alone.
There was an anniversary celebration happening.
could this day get any worse?
She apologized for her outburst and went back inside.
Killian had stared at her in amusement. She was a puzzle for him to solve.
Emma walked back to him. "I'm sorry. You were saying."
"Lass, I just asked if you received my flowers? I mean your flowers. Oh, and I have something for you," He smiled as he took out something from his satchel. "I'm here to deliver this."
"Oh, my God. Thank God. I have been looking for it everywhere," Emma said, relieved.
"You left it in the cab the other night and it was either the engagement party tonight or Thursday's bikini wax." He gave her a once over, "I thought my presence at the waxing would be unwelcomed."
"You read it?" she asked with disbelief, upset at the invasion of privacy.
"Aye, I tried to read it. How else would I find where to return it? It was very difficult with the little cramped handwriting. You know, they do have these computer date books now that take care of everything for you."
"I don't need to be taken care of," she growled at him.
"Would you like to have a drink with me?" he asked, ignoring her tone.
But it was a semi-nice gesture, Emma reasoned. "Thank you for returning my Filofax. That was...very nice," she replied.
He could tell by the tone of her voice that there was a dismissal coming. "Lass, it's a drink, not a week in Oahu. Come on. Just one drink."
"I'm sorry. I'm really not great company right now," she sighed as her eyes returned to Graham and Kathryn.
"All right, I got it. Perhaps I'll bump into you on Thursday?" The scowl on her face quickly gave away her feelings on the matter. . "Maybe not. I'll see you around," he said and walked away.
"Who was that and where can I get one?" Ruby asked as she kept her eyes on Killian's retreating body.
Emma was happy Ruby had such a short attention span. Her eyes drifted to one of the guys from the shipping who was waving her over and she darted in that direction.
Emma's attention returned to her sister and Graham. How could this happen to her?
Why? Why?
Growing up with Kathryn had been difficult for Emma since she had to be Kathryn's mother more than a sister.
She had seen her sister make a play for guys that had girlfriends, but this time it had happened to her.
Sure, Kathryn didn't know about her feelings for Graham but would it have even mattered?
Emma hated the obvious flirting happening between them as she made her way to them. Graham and Kathryn were laughing and enjoying each other's conversation.
Graham was the first one to notice her."Emma, do you want to come with us?"
Emma's eyes turned to Kathryn, who discreetly shook her head 'no'. "No, thank you. But Kathryn, aren't you tired?"
"Nah, I'm good. I can go all night long." Kathryn said, maintaining eye contact with Graham. "Let's go! Oh and Emma don't wait up! Love you!"
Kathryn grabbed Graham by the hand and dragged him out.
Kathryn had finally returned at 3 A.M. with a smile on her face. "Emma, why are you still awake?"
"I couldn't sleep so I decided to do some light cleaning. Harnessing my chi," Emma answered as she finished wiping the kitchen counter. She would never confess that she kept peeking through the peephole hoping the night of dancing ended because Graham wouldn't stop talking about her all night. She tried to pass the time doing all sorts of things from work to exercise. Cleaning her apartment had become her preferred form of distraction. Her place had never been as spotless as it was at this moment.
So she put on her bravest face possible to mask the sinking feeling she felt as her sister's smiling face greeted her.
"Emma, I had the best night of my life," Kathryn sighed. "Was that weird for you?"
"Why would it be weird?" Emma said defensively.
"Oh, good because we are meeting for lunch tomorrow. Tell me about Graham," Kathryn said with a gleam in her eyes.
Emma took a deep breath, "Uh, he dropped out of college then climbed every major peak in the world. Then he started Everest from his one-bedroom apartment. He turned it into one of the most eco-friendly philanthropic businesses in the world all before he was 30."
Kathryn smiled. "Wow."
"Yeah, and that's just his resume. Everybody loves him. He is an amazing boss. He loves his dog, Hunter, more than anyone. He would rather spend his time outside than anywhere else."
"He sounds amazing," Kathryn said dreamily.
"Yeah, but he isn't perfect," Emma added quickly.
"What do you mean?" Kathryn asked.
"Well, he hates apples, sometimes he wears sneakers without laces, and -" Emma started before Kathryn cut her off.
"Emma, those aren't exactly turn-offs," Kathryn stated.
"Kathryn, nothing happened between you two tonight, did it?" Emma asked with the last shred of hope she had.
Kathryn bit her bottom lip, "Well..."
"Oh," Emma said as her heart shattered completely. The only ray of hope she had was for Kathryn to lose interest like it was her habit or for things to fizzle out before her inevitable departure.
The next day Emma and Kathryn went to visit their dad to surprise him with the younger girl's presence.
The familiar bell rang as they walked in and a voice from the back called out, "Thank you for choosing Gilded General Store, how can I help you today?"
"Dad, it's just me," Emma said.
The man finally appeared with a wide smile."Oh Emma, sweetie. How are you?"
Before Emma can answer, Kathryn, interrupted."Surprise! I missed you, Dad!" Kathryn ran to hug her father.
"I didn't know you were in town. Why didn't you tell me you were coming? I would have picked you up from the airport!"
"Well, it was a surprise visit," Kathryn said.
"My two girls together. Is it my birthday?" he asked.
"Oh, Dad. Don't be silly! My gosh, this place looks exactly the same since the last time I visited."
"Kathryn, that's not true. I just stripped and re-varnished all the woodwork. Look at the new cash register. Digital."
"Yeah, I can't believe I didn't notice such improvements."
"Come on let's go upstairs, girls."
Kathryn and Emma talked idly as they set the table.
"There we go," Dad said as he presented their favorite pancakes in the shape of Mickey Mouse.
"Dad, aren't we a little too old for these?" Kathryn asked.
"No. You two will always be my little girls," he said warmly.
"Good, 'cause I love them! So delicious!" Kathryn said as Emma served herself quietly.
"So, Kathryn honey, how long are you here for?" he asked as he took a sip from his coffee.
"Two weeks, right?" Emma asked as she took a bite of her pancakes. "That's what you said."
"It depends on how some things pan out." Kathryn said with a smile.
Emma stared at her sister. "What things?"
Kathryn jumped up and ran to her purse when she heard her phone ring. "Hello? Hi!"
"Some new guy is chasing after her?"
"Dad, I wouldn't call it 'chasing'," Emma answered.
"Oh, Graham! I would love to!" Kathryn said.
"Emma?"
"Hmm, I'm sorry, did you say something?" Emma stared at her Dad.
"Sweetheart, are you okay?" he asked, concerned.
"Oh, just great. Everything's fine."
Killian walked with Victor to work.
"She's gonna call me. I guarantee it. I got a way with the ladies, trust me," Killian said with a wink.
"Sure, Jones," Victor said, rolling his eyes.
At work, Emma noticed some pages missing from her Filofax and Killian's name written in big bold letters with his number. "Oh, God! I'm going to kill him!" she seethed as she dialed his number.
"Hello?" a very happy voice answered.
"You idiot, you ripped a week out of my planner. Are you insane?" she hissed.
"Oh, that? Just a little experiment to see how you do without every second of your life mapped out. Lass, your life is bloody insane. Tell me what do you do besides work and helping people get married?"
Emma sighed, annoyed. "You know what that's not your business."
That comment didn't deter Killian. "How do you afford these weddings? It must get extremely expensive, the dresses, the airfares, the wine of the month club?"
"Hey, people love that gift, and I'm a frequent member. So sometimes they throw in a free Gewurztraminer."
"Wow. I'm truly sorry, that is terribly sad. Ah. Well, I would love to make it up to you. Okay? How about a new datebook or maybe just a date?" he asked.
"Uh, yeah. Sure. Let me just pencil you in. Except, you already did every Saturday for the rest of the year. Can you please, please find someone else to be creepy with?"
"I'm sorry I cannot. Tell you what, anytime you want to be around someone who doesn't need you to take them to a fitting or a cake-tasting or a coed mojito and burrito rehearsal dinner, just give me a call. You have my number," He said.
"Yeah. Not gonna happen," Emma said as she hung up.
Emma was filing away some documents when a young voice called out.
"Hey! Emma!" the young voice said.
"Hey! Are you getting too old for hugs?" Emma asked.
"No," The boy said with a big smile.
"Thank you. How are you, Henry?" Emma said as she squeezed him tight.
"I'm good. I'm meeting Graham," Henry said as he hugged her back.
"There he is!" Graham said.
"Hey, what's up?" Henry rushed to hug Graham.
"Henry, there's someone I want you to meet. This is Kathryn, Emma's sister. Henry is my little brother," Graham said fondly. "From the Big Brother Program at the Y."
"Oh. Hewwo," Kathryn said as if talking to a toddler.
Graham and Henry shared a look.
"Emma, Kathryn, and I are gonna take Henry to his baseball game. Would you like to join us?" Graham asked.
Henry jumped up and down. "Yeah, you should come!" the boy said excitedly.
"Sorry, kid, I've got so much work to do. I should stay here," Emma answered.
"Are you kidding me, Emma? Look, your boss is a jerk. I don't wanna have to fire you. Come on, let's go," Graham said.
"Okay. Only if you're sure." Emma said.
Kathryn, Emma, and Graham headed to the concession stand together. Once they were in line, Graham started ordering for them. "Let me get three Diet Pepsis, three fries and-?" He turned to the ladies for their choice in food.
"Kathryn, I don't think they have tofu dogs with meatless chili. Maybe you can have-" Emma said as she looked at the menu for an alternative for her sister.
"I want a chili dog," Kathryn said.
"I'm sorry. What?" Emma asked.
"What? It was too much of a hassle. Besides I need some good protein for when I go hiking," Kathryn said mischievously.
"You like to go hiking?" Graham asked, "No offense but you hardly seem like the type of girl who enjoys hiking. Especially in those shoes."
"I can see why you would think that, but I love all that outdoorsy stuff. Hiking, biking, and climbing. But, to be honest, I haven't been hiking since my dog died. See, Emma and I had this adorable dog growing up, Tory. I just loved him. We would go on nature hikes and climbing adventures. Not a day goes by that I don't think about that bag of fleas. Good ol' Tory."
"Emma, how come you never mentioned Tory?" Graham asked.
"Oh, I don't know. I must have repressed the memory of Toby," Emma answered.
"Yeah. His name was Toby, but I called him Tory because I had a lisp," Kathryn responded.
"A lisp that turned your 'B's' to 'R's'?" Emma asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Don't feel bad. When I was a kid, I had a stutter," Graham said soothingly.
"We have so much in common," Kathryn said as she grabbed his hand.
"I'm going to leave you two for now. I'm gonna go out and shag some flies with Henry," Graham said as he squeezed Kathryn's hand. He got up to go out to the field.
"Ooh! I'm jealous. It sounds like so much fun. What are 'shagging flies'?" Kathryn yelled after him.
"What are you doing?" Emma asked.
"What? Kathryn scoffed.
"You hate dogs and meat and being outside," Emma said.
"No. I like yachts. I like flowers. I like...you know... tanning," Kathryn insisted.
"You hated Toby. The only animals you've ever cared about are dead ones with sleeves. You're just saying all this stuff because Graham is so handsome. Or some people think he is," Emma said.
"I did not hate that dog! I just hated it when he drooled on me. And I could like hiking if I tried it... maybe," Kathryn said.
"Hey, Kathryn? What do you say you come out here and show me what you've got," Graham called out.
"Ooh. Sounds like fun. Are we gonna shag now?" Kathryn asked as she made her way to him.
The courtship between Kathryn and Graham progressed quickly between dates to family meals with Mr. Goldman.
It quickly became obvious to Emma that things between her sister and Graham were not going to end anytime soon. She had lost count on how many times she had walked in on them in a compromising position.
One day at work, Emma got called into Graham's office in a panic.
"Emma! Which one sucks less?!" he asked as he showed her two ties.
"I like this one better," she said with a smile. Things might be a little different but he still valued her opinion.
"Good. Do you mind helping me with the tie?" he asked, handing it to her.
"No problem. I do it for my dad all the time," she said with a smile and added, "Are you okay? You seem nervous." She asked, concerned.
"I'm good. How does it look?" he asked.
"You look great, very handsome," she said.
"Thank you, Emma. I don't know what I would do without you," he said sincerely.
An hour later as she was about to leave the office, Emma noticed Graham had forgotten his wallet.
She rushed to find him at the restaurant the reservation was for. As she entered romantic music started playing by the band and a banner was released with the words Marry Me.
"Guys, guys! Hold it. She's not the one. She's not the one," Graham said.
When she heard that, her heart shattered beyond repair. It was final, he had chosen her sister as his life's companion. There was nothing she could do to show him she was the right one for him. There were no amount of breakfast burritos she could buy him because she wanted to make sure he had eaten or going beyond her job duties to show him she was irreplaceable that no one knew him better than her.
"I'm so sorry. I should've called, you forgot your wallet," she said lowly.
"Oh. Thanks. You didn't need to go out of your way to bring it," he said.
"Oh, I'm sorry I'm late," Kathryn said as she ran inside.
Graham yelled out, "Guys, now! Now!"
"Emma, what's going on?" Kathryn asked, confused.
"Come here, boy," Graham whistled and called out for Hunter. The dog came into view while holding a bag with his muzzle and approached his owner with a wagging tail as if he knew there was a cause for celebration.
"Will you please sit down a second?" Graham asked as he carefully took out a small black box from the bag.
"Sure," Kathryn said as she took a seat.
"I've been waiting my whole life for the right girl. Maybe I've been too busy trying to make something of myself but, I think I missed some of those moments. Kathryn, the second that I saw you..." he said and was interrupted.
"Yes!" Kathryn said quickly.
Graham smiled, "I knew we would be great together. Kathryn, will you marry me?" he said.
"Yes, of course, I will. Graham, I love you!" Kathryn said and they shared a kiss, sealing their commitment to each other.
Emma now knew she was not the one for him. The only problem is how do you mend a heart that has been pining for the same person for years? She would have to find a way. A new reason to wake up in the morning.