Page 135 of Stolen Moments

“Yes, you are. Listen. I didn’t know the extent of what went down with Emery. Rylann only said her parents were horrible people. But now, everything makes sense, and why Ry’s been so hard on you. She wants you to see that you made a mistake and for you to fix it.”

“I can’t fix it when she’s dating another man. I lost her, Jace. I—” My voice cracks as tears tickle my nose.

“No, you didn’t. They aren’t dating. They are just friends,” he cuts me off.

Some of the shame and guilt I’m holding for kissing her last night washes away. I still shouldn’t have kissed her without knowing for sure.

“I knew it!” Eli barks out, pumping his fist. “I love being right.”

“How’d you know?” Jace asks.

“I saw the way her eyes kept searching for Mason. When the dude placed his hand on her back, her body stiffened. Shit like that.”

“Why were you watching her in the first place?” I growl.

He shrugs. “I was afraid you were going to cause a scene, so I was watching out for you. Plus, it’s what I do. I have to constantly watch out for shady fuckers in my industry. Keep myself and my clients safe from schizoids, and let me tell you, there are a fuck-tonin Hollywood.” Eli looks off into the distance, making me think there is more to what he’s saying.

“So, what now?” I ask.

“Now, you get your girl back, duh.”

I look at Cameron and lift a brow in question.

“What? Just because I don’t want to be in a committed relationship doesn’t mean I don’t love love. I love receiving love, giving love, spreading love.” He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively at me. “Besides, I liked you better when you were getting laid.”

“What the kid is trying to say” — Jace throws his thumb at Cameron — “and failing terribly at is … we want you to be happy. When you were with her, you were happy.”

“What Jace really means is…” Cameron mocks. “You’ve been in an insufferable, grouchy dickhead the last couple of months, and we are all tired of it.”

Eli laughs. “Cam’s right. But seriously, though, you love Emery. You told me so. Now, do you want to fight for her or walk away again like a coward?”

My hackles rise at that apt description. I want to argue, but he’s right. I’m a total chicken-shit for walking away.

“Mase,” Jace injects. “It’s a fake fiancé. If I can get past all the shit that happened with me and Rylann, you can get past this. Don’t be stupid. Don’t waste time that could be spent together.”

Hearing Jace gloss over all that happened last year so nonchalantly brings tears to my eyes. When he found out the truth it broke him, and in some ways, me too. My big brother spent seven years without the love of his life, and during that time, he suffered a fuck-ton of heartache. I don’t want to waste seven years, let alone seven hours.

Emery did lie, but what I did was worse. I walked away, abandoning her when she needed me to listen. To be there as her support system. To hear her out and be empathetic. To be her rock. Her shoulder to lean on.

She was young when her parents convinced her to marry someone as a business arrangement instead of for love. Who even asks that of their children in this day and age? Assholes. That’s who.

I don’t want to be just another asshole that lets Emery down.

“I want to fight for her. But where the hell do I start?”

Emery has always been cautious, and based on what I know and have ascertained with her confession, her parents have never given her the security she needs to know she’s loved. They used her and held her to impossible expectations. It was hard enough to get her walls to crumble the first time. Now? I don’t know if I stand a chance.

“Biden her,” Cameron states.

“What?” I ask, confused by his outburst.

“I said, Biden her,” he says again like I know what the fuck he means.

“Please explain because I have no idea what the President has to do with this.”

“Don’t judge, but I was bored and started watching reruns. There was this one episode where the guys tell the main character to ‘Biden’ the guy she wants to hook up with. It means just be there. Like the trusty fucking sidekick, you’re always there at her side.”

Eli snaps, “I’ve seen that episode. FuckingNew Girl.Great show and fucking genius, Cam.”

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