Emily's Choice Read Free Page B

rearranging the furniture.
    It was no
wonder she’d studied interior design at college, interned at a design firm in
Santa Fe the entire time she was at college, and had plans to open her own firm
once the wedding was over.
    As she
silently crept up the stairs to Jason’s room, she made sure to jump lightly
over the seventh stair from the bottom. No reason to alert Joe of her
late-night visit. Her plan was to slip into bed with Jason and sneak home
before anyone got up in the morning. She covered her yawning mouth, ready to
snuggle with Jason and find sweet oblivion in sleep. After four years of
sleeping together every night, this forced separation was wreaking havoc on her
rest. Well, that and the pregnancy-related exhaustion.
    Finally, she
stood outside his door, and as she turned the handle, she thought she heard
voices. She let go of the doorknob and looked behind her, scared his father had
caught her. The hall was clear. Shrugging her shoulders, she opened the door
and walked inside.
    Tears
immediately filled her eyes, and a barely stifled gasp nearly gave her presence
away. Her hands slowly rose to her mouth, pressing firmly against her lips to
keep the scream of horror locked inside.
    Jason stood
next to his bed, his arms wrapped around her cousin’s naked body. Lila’s hands
were busy unbuttoning his shirt and Jason’s lips were dancing across her face
and down her neck. His hands were busy reshaping Lila’s breasts, and judging by
her moans, she liked the new shape.
    Emily’s eyes
closed against the picture in front of her, bile rising fast. She cast one last
glance at the love of her life and caught Lila’s pale blue eyes shining with
satisfaction, a smirk on her face. Emily spun on her heel and raced down the
stairs not bothering to avoid the squeaky step. She ran out of the house and
across the yard in tears.
    Out of
breath and devastated, Emily crashed into the kitchen, collapsing against the
door. She covered her face with her hands, sobbing as her knees gave out and
she slid to the floor.
    They were
supposed to get married this afternoon. How long had this been going on? Had he
ever loved her? What about their baby?
    Her mind
spun out of control with all these thoughts. There was no way she could go
through with the wedding. No way could she spend the rest of her life with him.
She’d never be able to look at him again.
    Anger,
disgust, and a deep hurt settled in her heart. She couldn’t bear to face the reaction
this news would bring in the morning. The pity and righteous anger would surely
be present when her family heard. It would make the whole thing more real than
she could handle.
    She had to
get out of town before everyone woke up. Rising shakily to her feet, she
stumbled up the stairs to the room she shared with Hope. Finding the room
empty, she briefly wondered where Hope was as she pulled out her suitcases.
Shrugging aside the thought, and more than a lot grateful for the solitude, she
threw enough clothes into one suitcase to get by for a couple of weeks. She
could always have the rest of her things shipped to her when she got to where
she was going.
    She snuck
down to the bathroom and gathered up her makeup, toothbrush, and shower gear,
throwing them into her toiletry bag.
    “What are
you doing, Em ?”
    Emily gasped
and spun around. Hope, her stepsister by marriage but her sister by heart. They
were as close as real sisters; they shared everything and were hardly ever seen
without the other. It had been an awful adjustment when they’d graduated high
school and gone off to college. Emily had gone with Jason to Santa Fe, and Hope
had returned to her roots and traveled back East to Boston to attend Harvard
University, which was her father’s alma mater. She was getting a business
degree while also beginning her modeling and photography career. Like Tyler,
she was home for the wedding, though unlike Tyler, she had a condo in Boston
rather than a house on the other side of the