Page 41 of Stolen Dreams

“Yeah,” she confirms.“I just need to put these in a bag.”She holds up the items in her hand as she avoids looking at me when she walks into the kitchen to grab a plastic bag.

Once she comes back, I look over at her.“You ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be, I think.”She takes a deep inhale.“Let’s go.”

She goes to grab the suitcase, her hand falling on top of mine.“I’ve got it,” I say and she quickly raises her hand from mine.I say the words that I’ve said in my dreams before but never thought I would say them out loud.“Let’s get you home.”

ChapterTwenty-Three

LILAH

Iget out of the truck and follow Emmett up the steps of his house as he carries my luggage in one hand and the plastic bag in the other.My heart hammers in my chest as he walks into the house and looks back at me.

“Go pick a room,” he urges me, motioning with his head toward the side of the house where I know Lucy’s bedroom is, along with a couple more closed doors.“Any room is yours.”

“Okay,” I say, walking toward the hallway and looking behind me, wondering if he will follow me.“Is there a room you don’t want me using?”

“No one has ever been in those rooms,” he says, and I’m not surprised.“They both have a king-sized bed.”

“Well, I don’t want to—” I start, not sure which room to choose, and he walks in front of me.

“This one,” he chooses, walking past me toward the room at the back of the house, exactly where his room is, just on the opposite side of the house.He opens the door and steps in as I follow him, seeing the king-sized bed in the middle of the room.The walls are white, and the only color the room has is the blue throw pillows on the bed.Even the walls are white, and there is a small off-white dresser against one wall.I look around as my feet sink into the plush rug.“Is this okay?”

“This is more than okay.”I look at him as he puts my suitcase beside the dresser.“I bet this isn’t what you thought you would be doing on a Saturday afternoon.”

“I guess not”—he puts his hands on his hips—“but I could say the same to you.”

“You could say that.”I laugh and rub my hand over my face.“My top priority was going to take a bath and now—” I look around, trying not to cry out as I laugh.“And now I’m here with you.”

“You want to take a bath?”he asks in what has to be the sweetest voice he’s ever had.Actually, I think he uses the same voice with Lucy.

“It’s fine,” I say, but he just grabs my hand and starts pulling me out of the room.“Emmett.”

“You can take a bath in my bathroom,” he says over his shoulder, and I gasp as he pulls me from one side of the house to the other.

“Emmett,” I finally say when he stops in the middle of his bathroom, “I need clothes.”

“I can get you what you need,” he offers.“What color bra-and-panty set do you want today?”

“You are the most annoying human I’ve ever met.”I turn and start to walk out of the room.

“Fine, I’ll run the bath.You go get your things,” he says to my retreating back.

“I should show him and not go back,” I mumble as I walk back into the room, putting the suitcase on its side before opening it.I grab a shorts set with matching shirt before returning back to his bathroom.I can hear the sound of the water running at the same time it sounds like cabinets are slamming shut.“What is going on in here?”

“I’m trying to find the salt and bubble bath things Autumn got me for Christmas one year as a joke,” he replies, searching high and low for them.“I thought I put them away over here.”He opens another cabinet.“Here they are.”He pulls out a basket covered in cellophane wrapping.“Here.”He hands me the basket.“There is everything you need in there,” he says, and I can see he’s nervous.“I’ll be out there.”He points with his thumb toward the door.“Let me know if you need anything.”He quickly exits the bathroom and shuts the door behind him.

I look at the door, then the basket in my hands, and wonder what the fuck got into him.I close my eyes, feeling the pressure in the middle of my head start throbbing.I need to soak in the tub and relax, if only for a little bit.I put down the basket and then open the cellophane wrapper before taking the bubble bath out and heading over to the running water.I pour a bit inside before I undress and slide into the tub.I rest my head back and close my eyes.This is not what I thought I would be doing today.But then neither was coming home to someone in my apartment.My mind goes back and forth, wondering if it could actually be Derek, but then thinking the last thing he would want again would be to trouble me.

I stay in the bath until I feel my fingers start to prune.I get out and then wrap myself with a plush towel before slipping my T-shirt on with matching shorts.I make sure I clean up before pulling open the bathroom door, stepping through the closet, and then to the bedroom, stopping when I see him sitting on the edge of the bed.His head is down, and his elbows are on his knees.Gone are the jeans and T-shirt, and in their place are gym shorts and nothing else.

“Emmett,” I say, and he looks up at me, his eyes filled with something I’ve only seen once before.Worry, like when Lucy had gone missing, and he couldn’t find her.“Are you okay?”I ask.“Is everything okay?”

My feet make it to him, stopping in front of him, and squatting down between his legs.“Is Lucy?—”

“She’s fine,” he says, “Charlie came by to get her bag.She has a sleepover with Saige planned for tonight.”I nod at him, not sure if it’s perfect timing or just my luck.“I was just…” He sits up, and I move up from my position to standing.“I was just thinking about why you didn’t call me but called Charlie.”

“I didn’t really have a game plan.”I start to walk deeper between his open legs.“I just…” I shrug.“I wasn’t sure you would care.”

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