Page 12 of Played By the Fool

“How long are you staying in town?” Emilia asks me.

“We’re supposed to head out in two days. But now I wish we were staying longer.”

“Are you liking Starlight Bay that much?”

“Sure, I like Starlight Bay. But I like you more.”

I can see the pink creeping into her cheeks as she smiles. I love her smile and the way she looks up at me.

“You’re headed to Lake Renegade?” Emilia asks.

“We are. We have family there that we’ve never met in person. Only video.”

“How long are you staying there?”

“We’ll be staying about a month.”

“Will you come back to Starlight Bay before you head home?”

“I would like to if that’s okay with you.”

And there’s that smile again, I love her smile. It takes us about ten minutes to get to John’s apartment. When he answers the door, he tries to refuse to let us in. But in the end, I told him he can either let us in or call the police. Either way works for me. He chose to let us in. I stayed in the living room with him and the girls went with Kali to grab her stuff. I still feel sad for her, he made her believe he was something he wasn’t. And he brought my Emilia into it. I hope karma catches up to him.

It didn’t take Kali very long to pack up, but the look on her face when she was done made me so angry. Angry that John did this to her and to Emilia. And now he’s sitting here like he’s the victim.

“Are you sure it’s okay for me to stay at your place? I really don’t mind staying at a hotel,” Kali says as we make our way to Emilia’s place.

“No way. You said you can’t change your flight unless you pay more. So you’ll stay with us,” Emilia says to Kali.

“I really appreciate this. I don’t know how I’m going to tell my parents. They’ve already put down deposits for the wedding.”

“I think he should have to pay them back,” I say.

All three women turn to look at me.

“This whole thing is his fault. It’s only right that he pay your parents back.”

“Ciarán’s right. If our roles were switched? My dad would make him pay,” Emilia says as Courtney nods.

I take Emilia’s hand as we walk. Internally I’m cheering because she doesn’t pull away. She just smiles and holds my hand. I don’t know how I know, but Emilia is mine. And I need to come back here after we visit Lake Renegade. I don’t want to be away from her at all. But I also need to meet my family. I’ll explain it to her before I leave.

Chapter Six

Emilia

Walking back to my house with Ciarán was magical. I know my sister and Kali were with us…but whenever Ciarán would say something to me? It was like it was just the two of us.

After Ciarán left, Courtney and I stayed up talking with Kali. She’s going to be staying with us for a couple of weeks. As much as I’m hurting, I can’t even imagine how she’s feeling.

“Morning,” I hear Kali say as she comes into the kitchen.

“Hey, morning. You hungry? I was about to make some eggs and corned beef hash.”

“That sounds yummy. Can I help?”

“Sure, if you could chop the potatoes that would be a lot of help.”

We work in silence for a little while.

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