Chapter 56

▪️ Emily ▪️

“Have been with girls, sure. But here today and gone tomorrow. A couple of months and we grew bored. That’s how it always was. They weren’t real relationships. Maybe…” He stopped and chewed his lip, looking sweetly vulnerable. “Maybe because I was always comparing them to you.”

“Me?” she repeated. “What’re you saying?”

Ace, who hadn’t removed his hands from Emily’s shoulders, now slid them around her neck. “I’ve already told you I had a crush on you. From the first time I saw you at my parents’ apartment, standing a step or two behind Liam, looking all nervous and out of place yet so damn sexy, I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

“And now here we are.” Emily framed Ace’s face with her hands. “All these years later and I’m not much smarter than I was back then.”

“You didn’t need to be. I was the one who had growing up to do. And I know what I want and who. You.”

“I’m right here.”

“So am I. I’ve never b