Chapter 24

“Ugh, I’m starving,” I shout as I walk into my house. Emilia walks into the hallway and smiles at me.

“Hey, you’re home,” she says. My heart starts racing. She looks cute as hell with her apron on and a smudge of flour on her cheek. She walks up to me and I pause in front of her.

She gently tugs on my hands, and I blink. I didn’t even realize I’d been rubbing my shoulders — they’ve been aching all day. Guess I’ve been pushing myself a bit too hard lately. Her hands replace mine and she stands on her tiptoes as she massages my shoulders, her expression serious. I stare down at her and smile.

I cup her cheek gently and wipe away the flour. She looks up at me and smiles so sweetly that my heart fills to the brim with tenderness. A simple smile from her makes me forget how shit my day was. My hands move to her waist and I wrap my hands around her. Her waist is so tiny than I can wrap my hands around her almost entirely. I fucking love it.

“Long day?” she asks. I nod and sigh as she works on one of my knots. A small moan escapes my lips and Emilia looks up at me with flushed cheeks. I grin at her and she bites down on her lip. I take a step closer to her until her body is flush against mine.

“How was your day, Minx? I barely saw you today.”

She’s been hanging out with Kate at school, and I’ve been avoiding Kate and Gabby like the plague. It’s gotten so ridiculous that I’m contemplating spending time with them just so I can have a few moments with my Minx. Our schedules keep clashing. We haven’t even been able to study together.

“It was good,” she replies, but her expression falls slightly. I know her day wasn’t good. It never is when she’s around Gabby, yet she keeps suffering through it for Kate. I don’t understand why she does this to herself. Her arms move around my neck and she closes the distance between us while my arms wrap tighter. She leans into my embrace and inhales deeply while I hug her. Hugs with Emilia are just the best. It’s one of those little things that always makes my day, no matter how shit it’s been. It seems like it’s the same for her.

“Oh, you’re home,” my mother says. Emilia jumps away from me and I stiffen. My mom is standing in the hallway and looks at us through narrowed eyes. I smile at my mom and she purses her lips. “Emilia has been helping me make chicken Kiev. I’m pretty excited about what it’ll end up tasting like. Looks good, anyway,” she tells me. I nod and follow her into the kitchen, grateful that she didn’t say anything about us hugging in the hallway.

I lean back against the counter as Emilia preps what looks like cauliflower mash. My stomach grumbles loudly and she laughs. I glare at her half-heartedly and watch as she finishes up dinner with my mom. A strand of her hair falls in front of her face and I gently tuck it behind her ear.

“How’d you end up doing on your calculus test?” I ask. “You said you’d text me, but you didn’t.”

Her expression falls and I sigh. I figured she didn’t do that well on it when she didn’t text me her results, but I was hoping I was wrong. She pouts and focuses on her mash instead.

“I’ll tutor you, all right? It’s really not that hard. Don’t worry about it, Minx.”

She nods, but she looks worried. Emilia has always hated not being good at something academically. She’s one of the few people I know that has always had her heart set on getting a scholarship, even more so since her dad told her that her mother took away her college fund. I know continuously failing calculus worries her.

I cup her cheek and make her face me. “It’ll be fine. I promise, Minx.”

She nods and smiles up at me, setting my heart at ease. Whenever she’s near me, I get so absorbed in her I forget anyone else is around. My mother clears her throat and we both stiffen. Seems like I’m not the only one who forgot about her, because Emilia looks up at me with wide eyes. I smile and pull away from her.

“Kate just texted to ask if Gabby can stay for dinner,” she says. Emilia and I both look at my mother in dismay and she laughs.

“Just say no,” I tell her. Mom shakes her head.

“Too late. They’re already on their way — should be here soon.”

I groan and move to escape, but my mom grabs my elbow. “No, you don’t,” she tells me. “I’ve barely seen you recently. You’re staying for dinner.”

Emilia chuckles, but my mom levels her with a stare. “You’re staying too, young lady.”

Emilia’s expression falls and I burst out laughing. My amusement is short-lived because the front door opens and Kate and Gabby walk in.

Gabby’s eyes light up when she sees me, and I cringe subconsciously while Emilia tenses.

“Oh hi, Carter!” she says. She practically skips towards me and throws herself against me before I can step away. She hugs me tightly while my arms lie against my sides. It’s awkward as hell.

I glance at Emilia. She’s gritting her teeth as she looks away. I sigh helplessly. I didn’t even do anything. I grab Gabby’s shoulders and forcefully remove her when she’s still hugging me ten seconds later. The girl has no shame at all.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” she tells me. She hooks her arm around mine and tries to drag me towards the dining room. I glance at Kate, but she sends me a pleading stare that I struggle to resist. What the hell am I supposed to do here? Emilia looks more and more annoyed with every second that goes by, while Kate looks happier with every second that I let Gabby cling to me.

“Uh, yeah. It’s good to see you too, Layla. Or is it Chloe? I can’t remember.”

Gabby freezes, and she looks up at me in disbelief while Kate throws me a look that would’ve killed me outright if it could. Gabby’s expression falls and it’s almost like watching a mask crack. For a second her inner harpy emerges, but she reins it in quickly.

“It’s Gabby, actually. I’m your sister’s best friend,” she tells me. I pull my arm out of her grip and place my palm on Emilia’s lower back.

“No, you’re not. Emilia is my sister’s best friend.” I glance at Emilia, my eyes running over her body on purpose before I glance back at Gabby. “And you, Abby, are not Emilia.”

She glares at Emilia, who I can tell is biting back a smile, and then looks up at me. “It’s Gabby,” she says. I shrug and walk past them. I’m tempted to pull Emilia along with me, but I know she wouldn’t like it if I did that.

“He’s such a dick,” I hear Gabby say, and I smile victoriously. Mission accomplished. “But that just makes him hotter,” she adds. Wait, what? What is wrong with this girl? How the hell does her brain work?

My mother laughs at my expression and shakes her head. She winks at me and I sigh inwardly. I just know this dinner is going to be hellish. At least Emilia will be there and I won’t have to suffer alone.