Emergence (Awakening Series Book 2) Read Online Free PDF

children, we just won't have any... together anyway."
    His words were like a slap to the face. He had promised me that he would love me in sickness and in health, until death do us part, but it seemed now those terms were conditional. I didn't even really understand what he meant by "together", who else was he planning to have kids with? Was he cheating on me?
    How had I allowed this man, who I'd been with for five years, who used to love and cherish me, to become so hateful and irrational and unsympathetic? I'd just been told that I could never have children and he was blaming me as if it were my choice. That was not what love was.
    I needed to start making some difficult decisions about my future... without him.

Chapter 5
    Present
    Carson
    Lou Evans? Lou Fucking Evans?
    I reached over Eva and Caroline to shake Lou's hand, trying to keep the appearance of calm while my senses were on overload. I never expected to see her again, and yet my body was reacting as if she'd never left.
    As soon as Caroline and Eva, who were headed for the dance floor, were out of earshot, I turned my attention to Lou.
    God she was gorgeous. Just looking at her was causing my blood to heat.
    "Carson... What are you doing here?"
    What the fuck? What is she doing here?
    "Caroline's my sister, she asked me out for a drink. What about you, Meg ?"
    Her cheeks flushed and she pulled on her pony tail, laying it across her shoulder before meeting my eyes again.
    "Caroline invited me tonight too. We work together... I got that job at Foster & Company, obviously. " She paused, seeming to contemplate what to say next. "I honestly didn't think I'd ever see you again. You said you were in town for one night."
    "I was leaving the next day to go back to Athens," I said and shrugged, trying to appear indifferent. "I guess we both told some lies..."
    She looked down at her hands in her lap and then straightened her shoulders, raising her eyes back to me. "I'm sorry I left without saying goodbye. I didn't want t-"
    "It's cool, no harm, no foul," I interrupted her, feigning nonchalance. What I really wanted to do was kiss her, interrogate her, spank her, hold her close and never let her out of my sight again. I couldn't believe she was sitting there in front of me. All those months I'd thought about her endlessly and now there she was, having drinks with my sister.
    How could she share an experience like that with me, an immediate connection, and then just run off into the abyss? Didn't it mean anything to her? She's fucking married, that's how.
    "Is that how it's gonna be? You're going to pretend that night meant nothing to you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at me.
    I looked into their wide blue depths. "Well Meg , what did you expect? We had fun, you got what you wanted and went on back to your husband."
    She swallowed hard, and looked down. Her shoulders slumped. I suddenly had the urge to comfort her, but I held back, waiting for her to answer.
    "I guess I shouldn't have expected anything, but for what it's worth, I'm glad I ran into you again. I'd like a chance to explain, if you'll let me."
    What the hell do I say to that?
    "Hey Carson! Welcome home!" Anne Marie Taylor, Caroline's other best friend, launched herself into my arms as I peeled my gaze from Lou just in time to catch her. Then I looked back over at Lou, who fixed a fake smile on her face.
    "Hey pretty girl!" I said to Anne Marie, kissing her on the cheek.
    "This is Ben Underwood," Anne Marie said gesturing to the man I had just noticed she had by the hand. "He's been working on your grandmother's house. Ben, this is Carson Foster, Caroline's brother. He's just home from college."
    Ben looked me up and down, seemingly considering whether or not I was competition for Anne Marie's attention. I stood up and put out my hand. "Hey man, nice to meet you, I'm Carson."
    His eyes softened as he shook my hand firmly. "Ben, nice to meet you."
    "Likewise," I said before turning to Anne Marie. "Here, have my