Page 139 of Stolen Kiss

Emilia

Monday morning,I came into work a little earlier than expected.

I couldn’t sleep the entire night, and every time I closed my eyes, I had devastating gray eyes haunting my thoughts.

I had asked for an extra shot of espresso in my coffee this morning, and even when I was almost finished with it, I was still feeling tired.

I was so tempted to leave work and find more coffee.

But I had a billion things to do. I had really slacked off in my work since I started seeing Jensen, and now that I didn’t have him to distract me anymore, I had no excuses for putting off my work.

My phone ringing took me out of my thoughts, and I shouldn’t be happy with the distraction, but I was. At this point, I would have happily answered a spam phone call.

I looked at the screen, and smiled at the sight of Nadir’s name before picking up.

“Hey, you,” I greeted. It had been a while since I talked to her. She no longer taught. She had worked her way to being a director at Bowing’s now, and I thought she might enjoy that job more.

“Girl, do you know how long it’s been since you called me?”

“Hmm, about six weeks?” It had been a really long time.

She scoffed over the phone. “For all you know, I could have died in my bathtub, and you wouldn’t have had time to say goodbye.”

“Well, obviously you didn’t. You sound strong and healthy, Nadir.”

“I’ll live to one hundred just to spite you,” she said.

“You do that, okay?” I said softly. I hoped I never had to know a world in which she didn’t exist.

If anyone ever got past the rough exterior Nadir presented to the world, and worked their way to the center, they would have said her personality was a little off. I thought it mostly had to do with her lonely childhood and adulthood.

Not that I would tell her that.

But I loved her and all her quirks, and I was honored she allowed me to get past all of her walls.

“Tell me, what have you been up to? How’s the dance studio working out for you? Are any of your instructors giving you a hard time? Because I am only a plane ride away if you ever need help.”

I smiled. “Careful. If anyone hears you now, your badass reputation would be in the trash.”

She scoffed at that. “I am a badass. That’s not something that can just go away.”

I laughed. I missed seeing her. She’d flown out to see me a few weeks after the accident and had stayed with me for two months in my family home. Afterwards, she would frequently fly out to see me in Boston to help with my business planning, and without her help, this studio wouldn’t have been possible.

She had helped me with most of it. The planning for the studio, contacting potential clients, and even giving me advice on what to look for when I went through the planning process.

She also knew about the egg donation.

She had been the only one to know.

“I know,” I said.

“Tell me,” she said.

I knew better than to try to keep everything from her. Perhaps she heard it in my voice. Or maybe it was a sixth sense only she had when it came to me, but I had a feeling she knew something was troubling me when she decided to call.

So I told her everything. About Jensen and Elodie, and Jensen’s belief in fate, and my turmoil… everything.

When I was finished, my throat was dry and my computer screen had long ago shut off. I moved off the office chair and took a seat on the couch, stretching out my leg.

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