Page 194 of Terms of Exposure
So I said nothing.
My phone buzzed again.
Emma: I'm so excited for today!
I typed back, the smile returning.
Me: I am too!
A lie.
Damien and Emma's happiness could be suffocating.
"Pathetic," Sebastian had muttered, low enough for only me. "Absolutely pathetic."
"Disgusting," I'd agreed, biting back a laugh as Damien pulled out Emma's chair, tucking a napkin into her lap like she was made of glass.
"We should start a support group," he'd quipped. "Siblings of the Hopelessly Whipped."
I'd nearly choked on my pasta.
Emma and Damien would be there.
So wouldhe.
Maybe it wasn't a lie.
He made me laugh.
He made me smile.
Walking through a crowded fair beside him.
Watching Emma and Damien be disgustingly in love.
Eating funnel cake like calories weren't real.
Funnel cake.
Something twisted low in my belly—hunger and fear braided so tightly I couldn't separate them.
Maybe I'd just shareSebastian's.
Rosie's house looked as warm and inviting as it had last Sunday afternoon.
I barely had time to knock before the door swung open.
"Candace!" Rosie pulled me into a hug so tight it forced the air from my lungs. "Thank you so much for getting him out of the house. He's been driving me crazy all week."
"That bad?"
She released me, a smile on her face. "Let's just say he's looking forward to this."
"It's just the fair." I rubbed my arm, looking away.
"Mm-hmm." Her eyes twinkled. "Just the fair."
Sebastian appeared in the doorway in dark jeans and a henley that clung to his shoulders.
