Page 53 of Stolen Moments

I almost squirm at their glare, but I hold still.

Scarlett walks away, but Rylann sticks around. She sighs and rubs her swollen belly as she watches Scarlett slip into the bathroom. “Ignore her. She means well. We want you to be more than just our business partner. We care about you. I know you don’t like to talk about your family and what brought you out here. While I wish you would share, I understand being guarded. I wasted a lot of time grieving, and it left me empty. If I didn’t have Scarlett by my side, supporting me and forcing herself on me, I don’t know where I’d be. Without her and her husband’s help, I wouldn’t have been able to reconnect with the love of my life.”

I only know bits and pieces of her story. She had this glumness about her, even before her first husband passed away from cancer a couple of years ago. Then, she was a walking zombie. Her once sad eyes are now warmer and brighter than ever. She’s practically a ray of sunshine these days.

“We’re here for you. You know that, right?”

I nod, not sure how to respond to her kindness.

“When you’re ready to open up, we are waiting for you.”

My throat closes, and my eyes well with tears as Rylann waddles off down the hall to the bathroom to join her equally pregnant friend, leaving me with a lot to think about.

I’ve only ever had one friend, and even then, it wasn’t like what my colleagues were offering. Chris is my best friend, but he’s my brother and it’s not quite the same as sharing things with girlfriends.

The problem is, I don’t know how to have real friends or how that works.

Chapter eighteen

Mason

Emery:I just boarded the plane. I’ll see you tonight, Mr. Bossy.

I hold back my grin as I reread the text Emery sent me. “Excited” is putting it mildly for how I feel about seeing her tonight. It’s been two months too long since we’ve been in the same town. Since I’ve been able to hold her.

Kiss her.

Despite our great weekend, Emery was hesitant when we said our goodbyes in the hotel parking lot. She had me worried for a minute. I was prepared for her texts to become infrequent and eventually taper off. I mean, what would a woman like her want with a guy like me? I travel too much and work too hard.

But I was serious when I told her I would see her again soon. I’ve kept in constant contact, never letting her forget that she’s on my mind. For every text I send, she sends one in return. My efforts have been working, and even though we agreed to be only casual, we’re more than that.

For once in my life, I will not give up on what I know we can build together. Especially when I’ve only had a small taste of her. I want more.

No. Ineedmore. She’s all I’ve craved since I saw her from afar, in the mirror at the airport.

Her messages are the best part of my day. When I miss them, there’s this ache in my chest, like a mix of heartburn and emptiness. It’s the same ache that grows the longer I go without seeing her.

I push the uncomfortable feeling down and look around the restaurant, making sure my idiot brothers aren’t around, before I return her message.

I’m meeting them for lunch today. It’s been a while since us brothers—Eli, Cameron, and I; not counting Jace since he now lives in Oregon—have gotten together.

Mason:I can’t wait to see you.

Emery:Me too. When do you want to meet? Chris’s event should end around 9pm.

I look at my watch. Eight and a half more hours until I lay eyes on her in person.

I’m not the sappy guy who falls for a girl and moons over her, but with Emery, I am. There’s just something about her that feels different. When I’m with her, it feels right.

My ex, Brittany, would be pissed to know I am making the effort to make a relationship work. My crazy work hours were one of the biggest gripes she had when we dated years ago. That, and the fact that I never “paid her any attention”.

I was just starting my company, and things were off to a rocky start. The code Kenzo and I had been creating wasn’t working, so yeah, I pulled crazy hours. She wanted to move in together and a proposal. She dropped hints constantly, but I wasn’t there yet. I was hurt when she broke things off. Well, I was more hurt by the way she ended our relationship.

She came to my apartment—with her new boyfriend—to collect her stuff and to rip me a new one, letting me know it was because of my selfish, workaholic ways that she was leaving me for someone else. Someone who put her first.

I cared about the girl. She was beautiful and smart, but there was always something lacking between us. Maybe I wasn’t ready. I don’t know. Since then, I’ve dated on and off, but no one has stuck with me like Emery.

Then, there are the dates like the one Cameron made me go on, where the women I meet are only there to get closer to one of my brothers.

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