  I didn&quot;t come to New York to tell Emily Carlton I love her. I came because I couldn&quot;t let her go off to see some dickhead who hurt her without having backup. I know I&quot;ve been that dickhead, but I won&quot;t be him this time. She&quot;s flushed in the hall lights, a warm, lush shade that makes me want to kiss her everywhere. I want to capture her with my hands, my mind, so I can have her like this whenever I want. &quot;My heart has been yours since you walked into the pool house to steal my towel senior year at Oakwood,&quot; I continue. Emily&quot;s lips part, those amber eyes blinking as she sucks in a slow breath. If she tells me to leave, I will. I&quot;ll walk out of here and never come back, never insert myself into her life again when she hasn&quot;t asked for it. Instead, she holds out a hand. &quot;Give me your phone.&quot; I take it out, unlocking it for her. S

  <div class="flex">
  <div class="item-main">
  <div id="quillEditor" class="episode-content ql-editor">Timothy Adams is a sore loser. We play games on the plane back from New York. It&quot;s been a while since I traveled first class, but with him, I wouldn&quot;t care if we were stuffed in with the bags. Sitting next to him, hearing him laugh and seeing him smile, is amazing and maddening. &quot;It&quot;s a word game app,&quot; he argues, jerking his chin at my phone in his hand for emphasis. &quot;You&quot;re going to win by default.&quot; &quot;That&quot;s not true,&quot; I say, wrenching the device away from him. &quot;Man up and compete already.&quot; He narrows his gaze. &quot;You&quot;re going to attack my masculinity in the middle of a commercial flight?&quot; Then I feel a tickling at my waist and stifle a surprised shriek. &quot;Sorry,&quot; I say to the flight attendant and t

  <div class="flex">
  <div class="item-main">
  <div id="quillEditor" class="episode-content ql-editor">&quot;You&quot;re not going back to New York for your ex,&quot; Timothy states from behind me as I throw my makeup and toiletries into the tiny suitcase on my bed. &quot;It&quot;s work,&quot; I insist. &quot;I&quot;ve been here a week, and even though I told my collaborators what&quot;s going on, they need assurances. Especially Ian, because he&quot;s central to the funding of this entire venture.&quot; The past two days, we&quot;ve been hanging out around the house and the studio. I think he&quot;s worried about me since Sophia fell into the pool, waiting for me to fall apart. I won&quot;t, but I like having an excuse to spend time with him. Once I&quot;ve got my essentials into my bag, I zip the thing closed and drop onto the bed. Timothy crosses to the edge of the bed, leaning over

I didn&quot;t come to New York to tell Emily Carlton I love her. I came because I couldn&quot;t let her go off to see some dickhead who hurt her without having backup. I know I&quot;ve been that dickhead, but I won&quot;t be him this time. She&quot;s flushed in the hall lights, a warm, lush shade that makes me want to kiss her everywhere. I want to capture her with my hands, my mind, so I can have her like this whenever I want. &quot;My heart has been yours since you walked into the pool house to steal my towel senior year at Oakwood,&quot; I continue. Emily&quot;s lips part, those amber eyes blinking as she sucks in a slow breath. If she tells me to leave, I will. I&quot;ll walk out of here and never come back, never insert myself into her life again when she hasn&quot;t asked for it. Instead, she holds out a hand. &quot;Give me your phone.&quot; I take it out, unlocking it for her. She opens my contacts and hits a number, telling the driver downstairs he can leave. Her meaning sinks 

CHAPTER 53