Page 136 of Stolen Fate

Emilia probably noted the weird look on my face, because she frowned at me. “What? Why are you looking at me like that? Do I have something on my face or something?”

I shook my head and pulled myself out of my thoughts. “Sorry. I was just thinking.”

“Must be some thought for you to be thinking that deeply,” she said, walking over to the dining table and taking a seat next to Jace.

She helped herself to some pancakes out on the table, and I looked away just as Elliot jumped into my arms.

I smiled and kissed his head, loving the way he felt in my arms. “Good morning Evelyn.”

“Morning, sweetheart. Are you hungry?”

“Yes!”

“Elliot,” Emilia spoke, letting out a small groan. “Can you do me a huge favor and not speak so loudly this morning, buddy?”

“Oh, okay.” Turning to me, Elliot whispered, “Milia has a headache.”

He had called her ‘Milia’ since their first meeting, because he couldn’t quite pronounce her name. I liked it. I thought it was super adorable.

“She has a headache, huh?” I asked, speaking a little louder than necessary.

She glared at me from her spot at the table. I smiled teasingly, while Elliot nodded.

“Well, she’s going to be in for the time of her life at rehearsal later.”

Emilia groaned and buried her face into her arms. Jace looked at me with a mix of concern and amusement on his face. I shook my head. Emilia would be fine. She’d bounced back from hangovers before rehearsal in the past—especially during her slightly rebellious teen phase, when she had gotten drunk and came down for breakfast the morning after, trying to hide it from everyone.

“Want to come with me to the mall today?” I asked Elliot.

He perked up at that. “Can we get the shoes that light up when you walk, Evelyn? Marcus has them and they’re so cool!”

I turned to Jace and found an indulgent smile on his face. “Of course, sweetie.”

“Yay. Can we go now?”

I let out a small laugh when he jumped off my lap. I pointed at the seat next to mine, and said, “Later. After you have your breakfast, okay?”

“Oh. Okay,” he said, moving back to his seat. Jace and I shared a smile before I piled two pancakes on his plate, drawing a smiley face with the syrup and listening to Elliot’s giggles.

* * *

Simon camewith us to the mall, though he mostly stayed in the background, watching as a hyper Elliot jumped from shop to shop, carrying our shopping bags.

Simon had been nothing but professional with me since Jace moved him back to his position as Elliot’s driver, though sometimes I did catch him looking at me a bit too long to be considered professional.

I pretended not to see it and I was just glad he hadn’t tried to make the moves on me since that first, and very uncomfortable, encounter when Jace caught us. I didn’t want to go through the awkwardness of letting him down gently again, then having to see him for however long his employment with Jace would be. I hadn’t really given him an answer that first time around, and luckily, we both pretended it had never happened. For that, I was grateful.

Elliot tugged on my arms when we passed a Build-A-Bear store. “Can we go in there? Evelyn? Please? Wilbert needs a friend and Daddy said he would take me here to build him a friend, but it’s been forever, and we still haven’t done it. So can we? Can we? Please?”

I looked down at Elliot. “Is this where you got Wilbert?” I asked.

He nodded. “I even kissed his heart before we put it in and everything.”

He looked up and gave me puppy eyes, and damn if I could ever say no to that. I hadn’t been lying when I told Jace I was weak when it came to Elliot’s blue eyes, and I had never been happier that he had inherited those eyes from his father and not his mother.

“Oh, alright. But one bear, okay? And we can’t spend too long. I still need to get you some lunch and then we need to go home. Deal?”

“Deal,” he said, holding out a little pinky to me. I smiled when I hooked my pinky with his. “Pinky promise.”

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