Page 147 of Stolen Fate

Evelyn

Emilia huggedElliot extra tight by the front door. Simon was standing by, ready to take her to the airport.

Everyone was here to see her off: Jace, me, Elliot, and what was surprising, though I shouldn’t have been, was Jensen was there as well.

He hadn’t said much all morning, though I got the feeling he didn’t want to say goodbye to Emilia. Emilia was acting like everything was normal, but she was our mom’s daughter, through and through; she didn’t know how to hide her expression well. I wondered if there was something more going on between the two of them, and whether I should be saying anything about it.

“You be good, okay, Elliot? And remember to pester your dad to bring you to Boston to visit me.”

Elliot nodded seriously, and Jace and I shared a smile. “I will, Milia. I promise.”

“Good. I’m sure my family would really like to meet you.”

Though she was telling Elliot this, she looked up at Jace and winked at him. I let out a small groan and shook my head, feeling Jace pull me in closer to him. It didn’t look like he minded Emilia’s antics too much. Though I now wondered if it was because he was just an easy-going guy, or if he was looking forward to taking the next step with me…

To meet my crazy family.

Either way, I was ridiculously, inexplicably, and completely happy. I leaned over and kissed his jawline and felt him shudder against me. The powerful feeling I got whenever I noticed how much my closeness affected him was back, and I realized I didn’t want to go a day without feeling it.

I shot him a smile before moving away and walking toward my sister. Emilia stood up when she saw me coming, and I wrapped my arms around her slender figure. Emilia was born with dancer legs that seemed to go on for miles. She was taller than me by at least five inches, but she always had a slender build that made her feel fragile in my arms.

I realized then, I didn’t want her to leave.

Though I had enjoyed these past couple of months on my own, to not have to pretend that I was okay for my friends and family, I missed them. I missed everyone, but I missed my sister most of all.

“I hope you get the job,” I whispered to her. “It would be nice to live close to you again.”

She pulled away and smiled. “Yeah, me, too.”

Her eyes moved to someone behind me, and I didn’t need to look behind to know she was looking at Jensen.

At my questioning look, she blushed and avoided my eyes.

“I’m going to leave this alone for now,” I told her quietly. “But don’t think you can hide it from me forever.”

Her eyes widened in mock-innocence. Innocent she was not. “Whatever,” she said with a smirk and leaned down to grab her bags before Simon could. “We’ll see each other soon. Take care. And call Dad. He misses you.”

“Nuh-uh. The day my little sister lectures me about anything is the day hell freezes over.”

“Well then, it must be cold in hell right now,” she answered cheekily. “Call Dad.” Then she turned around and walked away, leaving us to stare at the empty doorway. I could see Jensen and Elliot leaving the room not long after that, with Elliot making Jensen promise he would teach him how to write. Before I knew what was happening, Jace was behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me in close so that my back was plastered to his front.

“You okay?” he asked.

I let out a small sigh and leaned my head back against his chest, feeling him kiss my head softly. “Yeah. It was really nice to see her again.”

“Good. She can come here whenever she wishes.”

“Thank you. For everything.”

“You don’t have to thank me for this, baby.”

“No?”

I turned my head around so I could look at him. Jace shook his head. “No. Making you happy is my pleasure. I want nothing more than to make you happy for the rest of our lives.”

“The rest of our lives,” I repeated. “That’s a big promise, Jace.”

“I know. And I plan on keeping it.”

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