Chapter 17

                                    

                                          
Chapter 17
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Emma stared.
And stared.
And stared.
She could hear Drake echoing inside her head.
Over and over and over... bits and pieces of their conversation... His voice ricocheting on repeat as the words continued to swirl around her head endlessly.
"Isn't it obvious? We just have to get married!"
And over...
"Isn't it obvious?"
And over...
"Obvious?"
"... Have to get married."
And over.
"... MARRIED."
As Emma continued to stare at him in shock, she watched Drake's face morph into a smug smirk.
Emma regained her composure and gasped.
"What the hell did you just say?" she screeched, jumping up to glare at him.
Drake merely raised an eyebrow, looking amused. "Are you deaf, Collins? Do I need to repeat myself? I said our solution is quite simple. We're going to get married."
Drake stifled his amusement as he watched the woman's emotions run over her face.
Confusion, shock, anger.
He honestly didn't know why had he said it, but it was worth it to watch Emma's face go from shocked to confused to pissed off. Drake may have decided to be civil and act more respectful towards his child's mother - well, respectful for him, anyway- despite their struggling of trying to still be civil, but he still liked to rile her up.
Just for old time's sake, of course.
Drake cleared his throat and scooted his chair closer to the table, raising his eyebrows challengingly.
Emma opened her mouth, but closed it again as she took a seat.
She just felt as if she needed to sit back down to regain her breathing and control her emotions. Otherwise, she might do something drastic like punch him in the face - not that she would mind, of course.
"Have I rendered Emma Collins speechless?" Drake smirked, taking a sip of his drink casually.
"You're insane," Emma snapped, abruptly getting up from her seat. "If you'll excuse me, I have other things to do - get your hands off of me!"
Drake had wrapped his hand around her wrist, preventing her from leaving. "Collins, sit down."
Emma grabbed the newspaper and smacked his hand, "Leave me alone!" she hissed.
Drake snatched the paper from her with his other hand and placed it on top of the chair next to him, away from her reach.
He turned to her again with a scowl and rolled his eyes, but gently tugged her closer to him.
"Collins, everyone is watching." Drake said, smirking as Emma continued to try to pull her arm away from his hold. "Do you want more curious people wandering around in our business? Because if not, I recommend you sit down, hush up, and stop making a scene."
Emma glared at him, but looked up. People outside were giving them curious glances. Giving a quick reassuring smile to the nosy audience, she gently sat back down, only to slap his hand away from her wrist.