Page 64 of The Stolen Moments Trilogy

“Yeah, well… coach thinks I still have a chance at getting drafted if I work hard enough, but I’m not sure about that. Football training is so fucking rough, Minx. It’s such hard work that I barely even enjoy it anymore. I’m still thrilled when I’m on the field, but it’s not the same as it was in school. I don’t know. I guess we’ll see which direction life will end up taking me.”

Emilia nods. “Whatever you do, just make sure you’re happy. Don't get so caught up making a living—”

“—that you forget to build a life,” I finish, quoting the words my mother drummed into us. Emilia laughs and nods.

“What about you, Minx? You still want to be a lawyer like your dad?”

She nods absentmindedly, as though she isn’t quite sure. “Yeah, I do. I’m not sure what I want to specialize in, though. I don’t think I want to get into criminal law. I’m thinking corporate? I don’t know. Plenty of time to decide, I guess.”

“How about I build a huge company and you become my in-house council? We’d make a killer team.”

She smiles at me, her eyes filled with hope for the future, and my heart skips a beat. Emilia and I working together… the thought hadn’t occurred to me before, but now I’d love to see it happen.

My doorbell rings and we both frown. Asher is meant to be at work for the rest of the day — I specifically scheduled my tutoring session with Emilia so we’d have some alone time. I’m annoyed as I walk to the front door and yank it open.

Lisa stands in front of me, black tear marks on her face. She’s crying and starts to sob as she throws herself in my arms.

“Carter,” she murmurs. I wrap my arms around her and hug her back as I gently steer her into the house. She’s clinging onto me as though the world fell from underneath her feet. I sigh as I stroke her hair.

“What happened?” I whisper. She shakes her head and continues to cry her heart out. I rest my head on top of hers and let her be. If she’s crying like this, then that can only mean one thing. Fucking Mason found a way to hurt her again. I’m tempted to rough that asshole up a little, but Lisa would never forgive me, and coach would fucking bench me.

I steer her to the living room as best as I can, but she won’t budge. I groan and lift her into my arms instead. Her entire body is shaking from the force of her tears.

I carry her into the living room and come eye to eye with Emilia, who’s looking at me with eyes filled with heartache. She swallows hard and looks away as she takes a step back, nearly stumbling over my coffee table. Fuck.

I try to put Lisa down on the sofa, but she won’t let go of me. I glance at Emilia apologetically, but she isn’t even looking at me. Instead, she’s packing up her bag. I know how she feels about Lisa, and even though Emilia and I aren’t together, I still don’t want to hurt her.

“I… he — Carter… I can’t,” Lisa says in between sobs. I sit down on the sofa with her still in my lap and what should’ve felt like consoling a good friend suddenly makes me feel like I’m the worst person alive.

“I should go,” Emilia says, her voice shaky.

Lisa pulls away from me and turns to find Emilia standing in the middle of my living room. She scrambles off my lap and looks up at her. “Emilia,” she says. “No, please don’t go.”

Emilia looks at Lisa and tries her best to smile, but she fails. “I, uh… I won’t interrupt you guys,” she says. She picks up her bag with trembling hands and Lisa shakes her head. She grabs Emilia’s arm and pulls her toward her with so much force that they almost collide.

“I’m sorry,” Lisa says. She throws herself at Emilia and starts crying all over again. Emilia looks at me with wide eyes, but I shake my head. I have no idea what’s going on, or what could’ve happened. I breathe a sigh of relief when she hugs Lisa back and moves her hand over her back soothingly.

I lean back against the sofa and look at the two girls. “Was it Mason?” I ask. Lisa nods against Emilia’s shoulder and tries her best to stop crying, but every few seconds a sob tears through her throat.

“I… I was supposed to… I was going over. We were g-gonna have lunch together. H-he was still asleep, but there was a girl. He was in bed with a girl.”

I don’t doubt for a second that Mason orchestrated it so Lisa would see that. I don’t get that guy at all. Something has gotta be wrong with him for him to treat her the way he does.

“He’s an asshole, Lisa. Fuck him. You could have any guy you wanted the moment you set your eyes on them. Why the fuck does it need to be him? He doesn’t fucking deserve you.”

Emilia looks at me over Lisa’s shoulder and I can see the gears in her mind whirling. I just know she’s going to overthink and overanalyze what I said, and part of me wishes I could take it back. She looks down and avoids my gaze, doing her best to console Lisa instead.

Lisa pulls away and turns to face me. “But I only want him,” she says. I sigh and nod. I know the feeling — that’s exactly how I used to feel about Emilia. Hell, part of me still does.

Chapter 11

Carter

I stare at the text from my sister in annoyance and glance up at Asher who is pacing in the living room.

“So, Kate just texted me, saying she wants to come over to study. Says she needs some help?”

Asher’s eyes widen, and he nods nervously. “Oh, yeah? Yeah, that’s fine. I mean, we don’t have any plans tonight, right? She can come over. I mean, if you’re busy, I can tutor her?”

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