Page 131 of The Stolen Moments Trilogy

Carter looks at me, and the fact that I can’t read his expression breaks my heart. I don’t know the guy standing in front of me, yet I’m still clinging to who he used to be. I smile tightly and look away.

“Enzo, please give us a minute,” Carter says.

The chef nods at Carter and walks away, leaving the two of us standing here. I look up at him wide-eyed, and he smiles at me. “Were you planning on making dinner?”

“I…yes… I thought it might be nice to make Dad a home cooked meal. I hope you don’t mind.”

Carter frowns and walks up to me. He places his finger underneath my chin and lifts my face up. I look into his eyes, surprised. Just having him this close makes my heart race, and it’s got me feeling flustered.

“Emilia, do whatever the hell you want. You want to cook dinner? Do it. Honestly, just make yourself at home here. If I didn’t want you here, you wouldn’t be here.”

I nod and Carter smiles. I breathe a sigh of relief when he takes a step away. I can’t breathe when he’s this close to me. “Do you need any help?” he asks, and I shake my head. “All right. I’ll check in on your dad, and we’ll both join you for dinner soon, okay?”

I nod and collapse against the kitchen counter the second he walks out. I close my eyes and inhale deeply. This is ridiculous. It’s crazy that I still can’t be around him.

I’m absentminded as I cook, and it isn’t until I put the lasagna in the oven that I realize I made Carter’s favorite food. Or, well, what used to be his favorite food. I have no idea if it still is.

I’m nervous as I walk to the dining room. It’s still odd for me to see Dad and Carter laughing together. Dad never even mentioned Carter in all the years I was away. Not even once. I had no idea they were close enough for Dad to move in here, and I feel oddly left out. Carter seems to have become such a huge part of my dad’s life. How could I not have known?

I place the lasagna on the table and my eyes meet Carter’s. For just a second, I see the guy I used to know, the one I used to love. He looks up at me in excitement. It’s an intimate and adoring look, and my heart skips a beat. I blush and look away.

“It’s vegan,” I murmur. “Even the cheese is vegan. I only put in ingredients that are easy for your body to process, Daddy.”

Dad nods and smiles up at me. He digs in as soon as I’ve served him a slice, and Carter drops his cutlery to his plate loudly. He’s staring at Dad in disbelief and crosses his arms.

“What the fuck, John?”

Dad looks at him and shrugs.

“Months. For months I’ve been trying to get you to eat vegan cheese. You said you’d rather die than eat that crap, but the second Emilia puts it on your plate you eat it like it’s fucking bacon. What the fuck?”

Dad looks at him and shrugs again before smiling up at me. “Delicious, Princess.”

“Delicious? Delicious?” Carter repeats. “When I gave you the exact same thing you spit it out,” he says, his eyes narrowed.

I burst out laughing and walk up to Carter. I put a serving of lasagna on his plate and drop my hand to his shoulder.

“I can ask Enzo to make you something else if you want?”

He shakes his head and grins at me. His smile still makes my heart skip a beat. “Nah, it’s fine. Lasagna has always been my favorite.”

I nod and sit down next to Dad, opposite Carter. For a few moments, the three of us eat in silence, and it’s oddly nice. I haven’t had a family dinner in so long, and I’ve missed this. I’ve purposely been missing dinner under the guise of still being unable to get used to the time difference, or being tired. All in an effort to avoid Carter.

My phone lights up on the table and I glance at it in surprise.

“Who’s Sam?” Carter asks, his eyes my phone. There’s an edge to his tone that makes me nervous, and I instinctively shake my head. My heart is racing and I’m panicking internally, but I can’t quite figure out why. I grab my phone and silence it. It’ll be much easier to call Sam back after dinner, in the privacy of my room. I haven’t found a way to explain what’s going on yet. Back when Sam and I were still friends, I told him all about Carter. There’s no way he’s going to be okay with me staying here.

“Sam’s her boyfriend,” Dad says, and Carter stiffens. “You said you two were moving in together, didn’t you, Princess?”

I bite down on my lip and look down, avoiding Carter’s burning gaze. “I’m not really sure when that’s going to happen. I’m not sure how long I’ll stay here. There’s a lot to think about.”

Carter crosses his arms over each other and stares me down. “That explains why you said your entire life is in London,” he says, his voice harsh.

Dad glances at Carter and raises his brow. “That reminds me, how is Layla?”

My stomach sinks and I look at Carter in disbelief. “You’re dating Layla?” I ask, my heart twisting painfully. So that’s why she seemed so unhappy to see me this morning. The idea of Carter being with someone else wrecks me.

Carter grits his teeth and sends Dad a warning look. Dad holds his hands up in surrender and Carter shakes his head. “I’m not dating her,” he says.

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