Page 144 of Stolen Moments

I stand, ready to shake some sense into my girl, as Levi takes the microphone to give his best-man speech, forcing me back into my seat.

“Good evening, everyone. On behalf of the bride and groom, I would like to thank you for being here tonight to finally celebrate these two getting married. To Jace and Rylann!”

Everyone cheers, lifting their glasses into the air to toast the happy couple.

“Even though both of them have yet to make it through one of my weddings…”

Jace punches Levi in the side as everyone chuckles. Aside from our immediate family, very few people know Jace and Rylann’s full love story and how they both, at different times, missed their best friends’ weddings.

“I’m kidding, folks. These two people here beside me mean the world to me and my wife. So, what I really am is grateful and honored. Grateful for having them in my life, and honored to stand beside my best friend as he married the love of his life tonight. I know the road to each other wasn’t a straight line, but it doesn’t matter how you get there, as long as you’re here now. I have watched your relationship and family grow this past year, and I have never seen two people more in love. You fight for each other every day, with unwavering love and dedication. It is beautiful to watch, even though you gross us out sometimes. Right, Rhys?”

Rhys nods emphatically as the crowd erupts into laughter.

“With that being said, I wish you a lifetime of love and happiness. To the happy couple.”

“To the happy couple!”

Unwavering love and dedication.

Levi’s speech strikes a nerve. I can’t go back into my relationship with Emery half-cocked. Thinking about moving and doing something about it are two separate things. Not only do I need to get my ducks in a row and have a solid plan in place, but I need to act on it. I need to make it real and provide Emery with proof that I’m in this forever.

I pull out my phone, type a short email to my partners, and hit send, making my transition official. For the plan to work—like Jace said—I have to be here, and that starts now.

Emery needs to be shown how much she means to me, and that means I need to start over from scratch. No sex, just getting to know her all over again, only amplified. I’m going to give her all the reasons she needs to trust me again.

And more.

My eyes never leave Emery as she dances with her friends and my nephew. I chuckle to myself as he holds her hands and jumps around. That little turd better keep up his end of the bargain, or I won’t be paying him. Cost me forty bucks and three promised trips to the ice cream shop to convince him to dance with Emery all night, keeping that fucking Graham guy away from her.

I watch Emery slip away to the bathroom, creating the perfect opportunity for me to make my move. Like the stalker I am, I follow her. Not bothering to wait for her outside this time around, I stride right into the bathroom behind her.

“Mason, what are you doing in here?” She crosses her arms under her tits, lifting them in the air.

Fighting the urge to stare at their perfection, I check under the stalls to make sure we are alone before locking the door. “We need to talk,” I all but growl at her.

Calm down, asshole.I take a deep breath.

“No, we don’t. We said what we needed to say. Now, it’s time for us to move on.” She tries to walk around me, but I block her path.

I puff my chest, using the bossy tone I know turns her on. “No. That’s not going to work for me.”

I watch her lips part a fraction, no doubt still aroused by my gruff voice, as her body shivers before she stands tall, readying herself for a fight.

“Why is that?”

The pure sass and confidence in her tone make my dick twitch to life. She’s fucking beautiful when she’s angry.

“There is no moving on from you,” I state.

I tried, or at least I think I did, but I don’t think burying myself in work is really moving on. I was trying to forget, and there is no universe in which I am capable of forgetting Emery Rhodes.

She’s without a doubt unforgettable.

Not only is she gorgeous, but she’s smart, ambitious, resilient, kind-hearted, and generous to a fault. It’s those qualities that got her mixed up with her parents in the first place.

“What?” she asks, dumbfounded.

“You heard me.”

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