Collide (Collide #1)(3)

Emily cast a smile that matched Olivia's. Her emotions levied between the sadness of the circumstances that landed her in New York to happiness that she was taking a huge leap in her relationship with Dillon by moving out there - even if she wasn't living with him.

She took a sip of wine and propped her feet on the ottoman. "I'm happy, too, friend."

Olivia wore a curious expression. "Did Dick give you anymore hell about the living arrangements?"

"No, he didn't," she remarked, "but he definitely wants me to move into a place with him by the end of the summer."

"Well, you tell him that he's going to have to fight me off during that battle," she huffed.

Shaking her head, Emily laughed at Olivia's statement.

"I'm serious, Em; he needs to give you some space right now with this move."

"Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere for a while." Emily glanced around the apartment, her eyes resting on the stacks of moving boxes in the corner. "I'm really not looking forward to that," she said, gesturing toward them with her head.

"I don't have to work tomorrow," Olivia replied, pouring her second glass of wine. "We'll do it then. For now, let's just relax a bit."

Over the next few hours, that's exactly what they did. Relaxed. No talks of cancer. No talks of death. No talks of life's expectations. Just two close friends sharing a bottle of wine in their apartment. One friend returning to the city she grew up in and one friend beginning a new chapter in her book of life.

Two weeks later, Emily stood in front of the Italian restaurant located in Midtown Manhattan. She pushed the door open to what would be her new job for the summer. Her eyes scanned the place for the man that hired her a few days before - Antonio D'Dinato, a native New Yorker in his late twenties.

"There you are, Emily," Antonio smiled as he approached her. "Are you ready for your first day?"

Smiling, she took in his dark, shoulder-length hair. "As ready as I'll ever be."

"A little overwhelming for a Colorado country girl, but your resume showed you have enough experience to handle the place. I'm sure you'll fit right in."

She followed him into the kitchen where he introduced her to the cooks on the line. Each of them held a friendly smile, but Emily knew from waitressing her way through college that the friendliness would soon come to an end. Eventually, they would be yelling at her to pick up her orders from the window, and no doubt their faces would be less jovial. She threw on her black apron when Antonio directed her to a young waitress around her age. With a smile on her face, Emily studied her hair. It was a rainbow fest of every color imaginable, streaking through an overlay of bleached blonde.

"Hi, I'm Emily," she smiled as she approached her. "Antonio said that I'm shadowing you today."

The girl returned the smile and handed Emily an order book and a pen. "So you're the new cat on the block, huh? I'm Fallon; it's nice to meet you."

"Yep, the new cat. It's nice to meet you, too."

"Well, have no worries. I think I started working here straight out of the birth canal." Her laughing gray eyes were wide. "I'll show you the ropes, and before you know it, you'll be able to run around here with a blindfold on."

"Sounds good to me," Emily laughed.

"I heard you're from Colorado?"

"Yes, Fort Collins actually," Emily answered.

"You drink?" she asked, handing her a cup of coffee.

"One of my addictions, thanks," Emily took the cup from her. "Have you lived in New York your whole life?"