Emily's Choice Read Online Free

ranch.
    Groaning at
the intrusion and heart racing, she ignored her stepsister and ran back to
their room.
    Hope
followed closely on her heels, slipping into the room before Emily could shut
the door on her. She gasped at the scene in front of her. “Oh my God, Emily!
Are you and Jason eloping?”
    Emily burst
into a fresh round of tears. Clutching the toiletry bag to her chest, she sank
down onto her bed and buried her face into the bag.
    “Emily?”
Hope said uncertainly, placing a hand on Emily’s shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
    “Lila. He’s
kissing Lila!” Emily choked out.
    “Who?” Hope
asked in confusion.
    “Jason!” she
wailed.
    “What are
you talking about? How could you possibly know?”
    “I . . . I .
. . I saw him.”
    “When?”
    “A few
minutes ago.” Emily stood up and threw the toiletry bag in the closest suitcase.
“Oh God, I have to get out of here!”
    “She was
kissing him? That bitch! When I get my hands on her. Mom’s going to . . .”
    “ Shh !” Emily cautioned, worried Hope was going to wake the
house with her yelling.
    “What about
the wedding?”
    “Wedding?”
Emily growled in disgust. “There isn’t going to be a wedding,” she spat out. “I’m
leaving. I can’t be here in the morning. Not when everyone finds out. I can’t
bear it.”
    “But where
will you go?”
    “I don’t
know, and I don’t care so long as it’s far away from this place.”
    Hope put a
staying hand on Emily’s arm. “Why don’t you come to Boston with me? I have a
huge condo, and you’re welcome to stay with me as long as you want. I’m hardly
ever there, and when I am, I’m so freaking lonely. It’ll be nice to have a
familiar face around.”
    “I don’t
know. Isn’t it expensive? I won’t have a job right away.”
    “It’s okay.
My trust pays for the condo.”
    “But that
money is for you from your father,” she stated flatly, keenly aware that it was
the only thing Hope had left of her father, who had died of a heart attack when
Hope was four.
    “Whether you’re
living there or not, the trust is still going to pay for the condo. It’s just
money. I have my memories of him in here,” she said, pointing to her heart. “The
past four years have been amazing, getting to know his side of the family
again, hearing stories, seeing pictures, and just being surrounded by them.
That more than anything has brought him back to life for me.” She shook her
head and waved her hands in front of Emily’s face. “We’re getting off-topic
though. This is a no-brainer, and I’m making the decision for you. You will
come live with me.”
    “I don’t
know, Hope, it just seems wrong. And what about the baby?” Emily asked,
wrapping her arms around her belly. “I’ll have to find my own place before the
baby comes.”
    “Why? It’s a
three-bedroom, Em . There’s plenty of space.”
    “I don’t
want to take advantage of you.”
    “You aren’t.”
Hope reached out and squeezed Emily’s hand. “I’m offering. You’re my sister and
you need this. Please come.”
    “I don’t
know, Hope,” Emily hedged.
    “How about
this? Come stay until you figure things out. It’s far away from here, and the
distance will help you sort through everything. I don’t care if you stay
forever, but if it makes you feel better to think of it as a temporary thing,
then be my guest.”
    Emily
scrunched up her face while she thought it over. It sounded great, exactly what
she needed. She just worried about overstaying her welcome. Hope had a whole
new life, and she hadn’t planned on a roommate, or a baby, for that matter. But
she did need someplace to go, at least temporarily. And Hope was offering that
to her. She nodded slowly, coming to her decision. She’d go and she’d be
grateful; she wouldn’t overstay her welcome and she’d do whatever she could to
be a good roommate, for however long she stayed. “Okay, yes.”
    Hope’s face
lit up. “I’ll go pack.”
    Fifteen
minutes later,