Page 154 of Stolen Kiss

I didn’t want to give up even another day.

It didn’t feel short. It felt right.

And I hoped Evelyn thought so, too. I didn’t want her to try to be sensible about this. To tell me I needed to be sensible about this.

Which was why I didn’t tell her about my move.Not yet. Not until the day of and I would need her help with the move.

Jensen had also paid for me to break my lease. I had signed on for one year, and I still had several months on the lease. I didn’t want to know how much he had paid, so I didn’t ask.

Sometimes, I just needed to let him take care of things for me, and I learned that was okay, too.

My ringing phone brought me out of my musing.

I looked down at my screen and found my brother’s name flashing.

He hadn’t called me in a while, and the last time I talked to my dad, he’d said Ethan was going through something, only I didn’t know what that was,

“Hey,” I answered.

“Hey, brat. How are you?”

There was still that playfulness to his tone, but it was tinged with something I couldn’t identify—sadness?

“I’m good. What about you? Is everything okay?”

“Yes, Emilia. Everything is okay with me.”

“Are you sure? You know you can tell me anything, right?”

I could hear the smile in his voice when he said, “Yes, I know. Just hearing your sweet voice helps.”

I frowned at the words, though I didn’t comment. My brother was pretty closed off. If he didn’t want you to know what was going on with him, you wouldn’t know.

“So, why did you call?” I asked him.

“Can’t a big brother call his baby sister up sometimes and see how she’s doing?”

“You want to see how I’m doing or you’re checking in? You know I’m okay, right?”

“Of course you are. You are one of the strongest women I know.”

I looked down at my lap. I was sitting on the floor right now, going through some boxes of my things. I was also in sweats.

“I don’t feel strong,” I told him, and that was the truth. Sometimes I felt scared. I was diving headfirst into this thing with Jensen because I couldn’t imagine not having him in my life, but sometimes I still felt scared, like I was setting myself up for a world of heartache later on.

Jensen’s mom still hadn’t exactly warmed up to me, and in our relationship, I knew I would always be the one who needed more help than him, physically. I wondered if he would ever tire of me. Even the strongest man would get tired sometimes, wouldn’t he?

“What’s going on?” Ethan asked. “It’s not like you to sound so unsure.”

“I’m seeing someone,” I told him quietly.

“Who?”

“You remember Jensen, right?”

“Jace’s friend?” I rolled my eyes at the way his voice had hardened marginally. “Isn’t he a little too old for you?”

“No. He’s not. He’s perfect.”

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