Everything hurt. The hours seemed like wild horses. Dawn broke around Cole. She spent most of the day on the sofa, crying herself out of tears, watching the sky turn tauntingly through shades of silver and gold. She tried to be brave, to be strong, to be less pathetically embarrassing. But her inner Scarlett O’Hara was AWOL—tomorrow being another day seemed like scant consolation. And while she sometimes tormented herself with idle fantasies of Aiden coming back, of sweeping her into his arms, full of sorrow and declarations of eternal devotion, she knew it wasn’t going to happen. She wasn’t sure she could ever bear pain like this again. Later… later… later… Her phone bleeped. And, like a fool, she scrabbled for it, wrecked with hope and fear and hope. It was Harper: “I MOVED MY FOOT!!!!!” **** She slept and didn’t sleep, and the hours sped and sluggished by. And finally, she rang home. Hazel picked up. “What’s wrong?” she said before Cole even had a chance to speak.
“Hey now,” Cole protested. “He offered me money and the apartment.” “Like you were going to take it. How long was he with you? Did he know you at all?” “We were kind of in the middle of an argument at the time.” “Right. But it’s been over a week.” It had. And Cole had told herself she wasn’t hoping for anything. Except she must have been. Because now she felt silly.Ellery kicked the tree moodily. “Stop feeling sorry for him. I expect he’s feeling sorry enough for himself. Or Lancaster’s found him a new whipping girl.” “Don’t.” “Sorry.” “Did you really come all the way to Kinlochbervie to say ‘I told you so’?” “No.” She pulled her hood up and disappeared into its shadows. “I came to ask if you want to live with me.”Cole nearly fell off the swing. “Live with you?”“Yeah. Thought I should move out. Do some shit with my life or something.” “What sort of shit did you have in mind?”She kicked the tree again. And then, apparently finding
▪️ Emily ▪️ Whoever said drinking would make your clothes fall off wasn’t lying. Emily woke up and instantly knew something was wrong. First of all, she never slept naked. And she certainly didn’t share her bed with anyone else, yet here she was, in a hotel room with someone snoring next to her, and she had no clothes on. Oh, and her head was seconds away from exploding.She closed her eyes, hoping the spinning room and thumping headache would lessen, but instead she he felt sicker than ever when a foot brushed against her. Almost afraid to see who was lying beside her, Emily cracked an eye open, then squeezed it shut. Oh, no. No, no, no. Please, God. Maybe she was still drunk and had moved on to the hallucination portion of the night. Or was it morning? Cautiously, she again peered at the naked man stretched out on the her bed. Fuck. This is not good. Emily sure as hell wasn’t drunk anymore, and she certainly was
▪️ Emily ▪️ “To Olivia and Liam. May they have a long and happy life together.” Emily raised her glass in a toast, then kissed Olivia's cheek. “I love you.” “I love you too,” she said. “And thank you so much for this and everything else.” “Anything for you.” Liam gave Emily a hug. They’d met in business school, and though he was the antithesis of Emily—Liam was friendly, charming, and likable—they’d meshed, and after graduation turned their friendship into a partnership and started their own marketing firm. They poured everything they had into it, and now it was one of the hottest, trendiest companies in New York City, priding themselves on spotting styles and fledgling companies before they became popular, and employing innovative, creative people who weren’t afraid to think outside the norm. “Take care of her, or I’ll beat your ass.” “Yeah, yeah, ma'am.” Liam, who was big and brawny, snorted. But he had a heart
▪️ Emily ▪️ “Yeah, well, I paid for it. Trust me.” “Hangover?” Olivia cast her a sympathetic glance and gave her arm a squeeze. “Make sure you drink lots of water.” “Now who’s hovering?” Emily teased her as she continued to pour from the pitcher. “But yeah. You know I don’t get drunk. Guess I let it all get to me.” “I know you’ve been my big sister who never stopped watching out for me, but it’s time you got your own life in order.” “My life is fine.” “Because you have none. All you do is work and go home, and until now, worry about me.” Emily squirmed. “I didn’t mind. And I have a life. I go to the theater and ballet. I work out.” “That’s not a life, when you do it with people you don’t care about.” A painful noise escaped her, one Emily never wanted to hear from her pretty face. “You’re not fooling me. We know you bury yourself in the company and give it your everything. But it’s time for you to take a b
▪️Ace▪️ “Why’re you so interested in my sex life?” Irritated, he poured himself another glass of champagne. “Not yours, idiot Emily's. That girl never allows herself to have a moment of fun. She doesn’t exactly talk about sex. In case you haven’t noticed, she's…uptight a little of...goody two shoes. I can’t even imagine her having sex, she’s so closed off.” Oh, trust me, she’s had sex. She e knows her way around a dick.Ace shifted in his seat, his satisfied body and him wanting more is a testimony to that. “She’s not so uptight. And I wasn’t aware you shared sex stories, especially since you met the beautiful Olivia—ow.” Ace rubbed his arm. “What did you punch me for?” “Because. Don’t talk about Olivia and sex. It’s disrespectful.” “And so are you, trying to figure out Emily's sex life,” he shot back, defensive of Emily for some bizarre reason. “If you don’t want anyone thinking of you and Olivia doing the deed, don’t try and ferret out intel on E
▪️Ace▪️ “Why shouldn’t you? People don’t work for free.” Liam eyed him. “Tell me all about those private yachts.” “Oh, yeah. You should see some of those babies. And the people spend money like water. My tips were awesome.” He’d spent the last three years as a personal assistant to an older, extremely wealthy businesswoman, and that had included taking care of all the woman’s needs—business and pleasure. Ace had learned valuable lessons in the corporate world, and the woman's generosity in paying for his education, in addition to the lavish salary and tips, had enabled Ace to save money to pay for an apartment when he made the decision to return to New York. “I’ll bet. But, selfishly, I’m glad you’re home. Even though you said everything was great, I still missed you. I didn’t like having you on the other side of the world.” He hugged Liam. “I love you. And I missed you too. Much as I loved it over there, I really did miss you all.”
▪️ Emily ▪️ If Ace thought he would rush right out and call his supposed reference, he was sadly mistaken. Emily fully intended to enjoy the rest of Olivia and Liam's wedding. Emily could see Ace shooting her looks, but Emily deliberately set her phone on the table and folded her arms. Inside, however, she was a mess. Amber had been with her for over five years and knew her like a well-worn suit—in fact, she picked out most of her clothes. How was she going to handle everything without her? The Company had a big presentation at the end of the month, and she was handling all the minute incidentals leading up to it. “We’re going to check out now. Our plane leaves at eight, and we’ve got last-minute packing.” Olivia slid her arms around Emily's neck and kissed her cheek. “I love you so much. Thank you for everything. I couldn’t have asked for a more magical wedding. Or a better sister. I wish Mommy could’ve been here.” She sniffled. “She would’ve loved Liam, don’t you think?” It was a