Page 14 of Stolen Moments

How the heck can I pay the rest of Chris’s tuition without having to sell a kidney? I have a trust, but I don’t like to use it unless absolutely necessary.

You could tell Chris.There goes my dumb brain again.

I’m not telling my brother. He would kill me. Besides, paying for Chris’s education is the least our parents can do, even if I have to play the game a little longer.

I put on my favorite flannel pajamas and climb into bed. Sleep doesn’t come easily as I toss and turn, thinking about my predicament. And the evergreen eyes of the man who stirred something inside me that has long been dormant. What that feeling is, I don’t know. It doesn’t matter, though. I’ll never see him again.

But if I do…

I don’t think I can resist him a second time.

Chapter five

Mason

January

The sound of ahorn blares as I glance in the rearview mirror at the asshat honking. Rolling my eyes, I turn up the volume on the radio.

“I can’t go anywhere, you dick,” I grumble.

Traffic is at a standstill in the arrival lanes at the airport. Of course, Cameron has to pick the busiest time of day, on the busiest day of the week, to make an appearance. Thankfully, Rhys stayed back at my brother’s best friend and honorary Miller brother, Levi’s house, hanging out with his twin girls.

Rhys and the girls are best friends, and they get along like family. It wasn’t hard to convince him to stay back with them while I went to get his other uncle. I’m glad he did because I don’t think he’d survive sitting in this clusterfuck traffic. The kid is cool, but there is no way he could sit through this nightmare without complaining. I’m barely surviving.

I’ve been staying with Rhys for the last few days while Jace and Rylann are on their babymoon. She’s due in a few months, but since she’s had a rough first trimester with morning sickness, Jace planned a surprise trip for her.

Watching Jace find true happiness here in Oregon is still taking some getting used to. He and Rylann are crazy about each other. They have a fantastic kid, with another on the way. He’s finally living the life he’s always wanted.

My heart stutters. The nanoscopic-sized ache I carry when I see them together has grown exponentially over the last month. Since her.

Emery.

I really thought there was something between us. We had a good time talking on the plane. We flirted and laughed. The chemistry was there. But then she walked away, without a backward glance.

Did I read her all wrong?

I think back to the flight. The way her breath caught in her throat when I put my hand on her thigh and whispered in her ear to play along.The way her eyes stayed locked on mine, attempting to discover what lay beneath.

With anyone else, I would have been uncomfortable with such an intimate act. But with her, I wasn’t. I could have stared into her topaz eyes all day, getting lost searching for all the flakes of honey mixed in. I desperately wanted to kiss her plump lips and that cute little beauty mark at the corner of her mouth.

I push thoughts of her away, blowing out a deep breath. I have got to let her go. No matter how many times I think I see her, it’s just a trick of the eye. A mirage.

I check the time. Cameron should be walking out of the airport any minute. The cars continue to crawl slowly along. A break opens up, and I quickly move into the right lane along the curb.

Come on Cam.

Up ahead, a tall brunette catches my eye. Her head is down, staring at the phone in her hand.

It can’t be.Can it?

My heart beats wildly as I drive past.

The woman lifts her head, and the world seems to stop spinning. It’s her.

I slam on the brakes and throw the car in park, hazards on. Without thinking, I throw the door open and fly out of my seat, charging towards her like a bull. “Emery!”

She looks up, pinning me with her brown eyes. As much as I want to play it cool, I can’t. She’s finally in front of me.

---