Jason King is perfect. Whether it's the British accent, his flawless fashion sense or having been able to pick up life again after having been through trauma as a result from his kidnapping, everyone agrees that this man is immaculate.
However, thin...
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AS THEY WALKED INTO THE kitchen, Jason checked the outside exit and jiggled the lock of the door to find it locked—a huge relief. Emily, too, found comfort in this room.
"Finally," Emily sighed, "some time alone."
"Will it be like this forever?" she asked. "Just the two of us, alone?"
He shrugged his shoulders, at a loss for what to say. This time, he didn't want to make false promises, so he just looked at her, water glimmering in his eye.
Jason cocked his head to the side. "Did you have trouble breathing?" he asked. "I felt like I was having trouble breathing."
"Good to know I wasn't the only one." She smirked and picked up a heavy glass bottle filled with amber-colored liquid.
"How did your sisters even get out of going?" Jason asked. Emily's little twin sisters, Alex and Miley, were missing out on the King-Abbington dinner for the second time in a row—and they probably did it on purpose.
"They said they would be at some sleepover." Emily shrugged. "I think it's more of an excuse than a reality."
Jason sighed; he wanted to avoid the dinner as well. He felt more of a victim when he was around his family. "Honestly, what is their deal?" he asked. "I know canceling a wedding at the last moment wasn't the best idea, but I'm rather aware of what went wrong."
"They don't have to tell us," Emily confirmed. "Especially not eight weeks in a row." She shook her head and mumbled, "This whole thing is insane." She held the heavy bottle of wine up as a way of asking if he wanted some too.
"Jason?" she asked. He was dodging her question on purpose, and she knew it. "In all honesty. We can be honest now, right?"
Jason just nodded and leaned against the countertop while Emily poured two glasses. "Is River okay?"
After all this time, having only each other's company? "I can be honest," he said. But he didn't want to be, because it's true what they say: the truth hurts.
A smile spread across her face, and it reminded him of the wedding when he'd said no to marrying her and had explained to her why. He'd been influenced by her feelings for River, too, and her realizing she could be with him had brought the same smile to her face.
"He's great." She put the bottle away, slowly and softly without making a sound, and turned to Jason. "We don't see each other a lot now, but I'm planning on going back to Miami in a week or two." She held out his glass and closed the bottle off before putting her own glass to her lips.
"Really?" Jason asked. He couldn't help but be infected by her enthusiasm, and the corners of his mouth curled up.
Her nose wrinkled with her broadening smile, and for a second, her face transformed into the Emily from a year ago, a dull light shining on her skin, her face having the same smile. "I'm going to meet his sister for the first time," she continued. "I've only ever heard stories about her or heard her in the background when River and I were calling, but I've never met her before."
