Stolen Course (Wrecked and Ruined #2)(39)

“I don’t give two shits who you are now. You could turn into a purple flying monkey and I’d still love you. You’re my family.” Her eyes get wide and fill with tears. “Jesus, Sarah, is this why you pushed everyone away? Oh my God, is this what happened with Brett? You didn’t want to disappoint him?”

“No!” she screams and jumps to her feet at the very mention of his name. “Brett is my biggest change and regret. I just don’t love him anymore, and he wouldn’t f*cking accept that!”

“Let’s everyone calm down.”

“Wait, do you still love me?” I jump to my feet alongside her as fear floods my veins. If she fell out of love with Brett, maybe she hates me now too.

“No. I mean yes! Yes, I love you.” She looks around the room before repeats my words back to me with a timid smile. “You’re my sister.”

“Well okay then,” I say, flopping back down onto the couch, filled with relief.

Instead of sitting in the chair, she moves to sit next to me. I’m done with the seriousness of this conversation. I quickly collect myself then whip out the old trusty humor.

“Look, we’re in this together. I’m not going anywhere. I don’t care how much you have changed. It looks like we have a lot of catching up to do. Good thing we live together now.” I give her a wink. “I see many ‘get to know you’ wine nights in our future.”

“I don’t drink anymore,” she whispers.

“Okay, well you can watch me drink while we talk.” I pat her leg and offer her a crooked grin. We both start laughing, and she leans her head on my shoulder.

Finally, f*cking finally, something feels right with Sarah. It’s crazy how one hour-long conversation can change everything. I still feel guilty as hell for not having been there for her, but we are at least on the right track now.

“Those jeans make your ass look big,” Sarah pulls me into one last hug before I leave.

“Your hair looks like shit,” I tease back.

She leans away and gives me a huge smile. “Next week?”

“I’ll be here. Maybe you can call me if you get a chance?”

“I’ll try,” she replies, looking down at the floor.

“Thanks, Dr. Clark.” I extend a hand but at the last minute go in for a hug. I’m really f*cking happy, so he can suck it up and take it.

“All right, Emma. We’ll see you next week.” He quickly pushes me away, and Sarah quietly laughs behind him.

Today has been amazing.

As I walk to my car, I pull my phone out to text Caleb. I toss it around for a minute, trying to decide what to say. Separation. That is what we agreed on when it came to him and Sarah, but this is something I want to share with my boyfriend. I know that by now Eli has dropped off my keys and probably told him where I went. I’m not going to let Mr. Broody ruin this for me.



Me: I’m on my way back. I’m in a really good mood. Please don’t ruin this by acting like an ass.

Caleb: Um. Okay? Thanks for the vote of confidence.

Me: I’m sorry. I’m just really f*cking happy right now, and I wish I could share it with you.

Caleb: Good visit?



Holy shit! Is he asking about Sarah? I’m not giving him the details that I know he doesn’t want. So I decide to keep it short and simple.



Me: Yeah. It was great! Can we go out to dinner?

Caleb: Sounds like a plan. See you soon.



And just like that, I kept up my end of the bargain and Caleb did the same. It looks like he and I might actually be able to make this work. This day just got even better.





I WOKE up early this morning and decided to surprise Caleb with coffee at work. Poor guy got stuck working two Saturdays in a row. I know I’ve only been in town for five weeks, but I’ve missed our weekends together. Recently, I’ve been busy doing some free shoots for local magazines to try and get my name out there. So between my running around town at odd hours for work, visiting Sarah two afternoons each week, and Caleb’s work schedule and woodworking hours, the last two weeks have had us running in different directions.

Saturday is usually our lazy day. No work or Sarah between us, just the two of us spending quality time together. This basically consists of lying in bed naked all day. Half the day, we make love. The other half, we just chat or watch funny movies. Thankfully he has a four-day next weekend, and he has already informed me that I’m not allowed to wear clothes the entire weekend. That makes days like today slightly bearable.

I’m patiently standing in line, waiting to order Caleb’s coffee and my scone, when I see a familiar face out of the corner of my eye.

“Casey?” I catch her attention, and when her eyes meet mine, for a brief second, they fill with surprise before immediately returning to a flat expression.

“I’m sorry. Do I know you?”

“It’s me. Emma—”

“Erickson,” Eli finishes, walking up behind her. “What’s up, babe?” He nods to me while rubbing his hand over Casey’s back.

I’ve seen Eli probably two dozen times since moving to Chicago. He is always with Caleb or some combination of Brett and Caleb. But I don’t think I’ve ever noticed how attractive he is before now. Sure, he’s got a nice body. I’m not blind. But he’s wearing a tight baby-blue button-down that really makes his toffee-brown eyes stand out. His hair isn’t the usual shaggy mess I’ve seen. It’s perfectly styled. It’s obvious he is trying to impress her, but it honestly confuses me.