Where The Ice Gives Way (Charlotte and Blake) novel Chapter 192

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Where The lee Gives Way

Chapter 192 Fuck–You–Boots

Theo

“Alright,” I say, clapping my hands together. “Let’s get step one done.” I grab her purple suitcase from beside the chair and drag it onto the bed. Emily

laughs as I unzip it and flip the lid open.

“Do you even know what you’re looking for?”

“No,” I say honestly, already rifling through her carefully folded piles. “But I’ll know when I find it.”

She makes a soft little sound and sits forward, watching me pull out a jumper, then a pair of pants, then another jumper that looks too soft to be used for

revenge.

“No,” I mutter. “Too cosy. We are not going for hot chocolate and forgiveness today.”

I dig deeper and finally find light–blue, high–waisted, tight–as–hell–looking jeans. “These,” I say, holding them up.

Emily takes them with a smile. “Okay.”

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“And…” I keep searching. “Aha.”

I pull out a black top. It’s simple, fitted, long sleeves to keep her warm, but I know, it’s going to stick to every curve. Yes, thank you. Emily’s smile grows as I pass it to her, and then I find something very interesting. I spin toward her and hold the little black bra with all the padding against my own chest. “And

this.”

Emily’s eyes go wide. “Theo!” She snatches the bra from my hands so fast I barely see her move.

I raise both hands innocently. “Just trying to help a girl out.”

Her whole face is pink now. “You are ridiculous.”

“Correct. Go change.”

She gathers the clothes against her chest and runs for the bathroom, laughing under her breath as she shuts the door. I sit on the edge of the bed and wait until the bathroom door opens, and then I look up. And forget how words work. Emily steps out slowly, fingers tugging at the hem of the black top. The jeans fit her like they were made for this exact morning. Her hair is still loose, around her shoulders, her face bare, her eyes a ile unsure as they search mine. She looks beautiful, and dangerous, and Munroe is about to realise the girl they threw away has come back wearing the kind of confidence that cannot

be caged.

“Well?” she asks quietly.

I stand, and my mouth opens, but nothing comes out.

Her cheeks darken. “That bad?”

“No.” My voice cracks because apparently I am thirteen now. I clear my throat. “No, petal. That is very, very far from bad.”

Her fingers stop twisting in the hem of her shirt, and she gives me a smile that ruins me in the best way. I reach into the suitcase again because I need something to do with my hands before they do something stupid, and I find the long black coat. It has a cinched waist, big buttons, and a neckline that will

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Chapter 192 Fuck–You–Boots

make me uncomfortable in my own pants all day. Perfect.

I hold it out. “This.”

Emily slips into it, and I walk around her, tugging the shoulders into place before fastening the middle button. She watches me, quiet and amused, as I step

back and assess the situation as if I have any right to make fashion decisions.

“Yes,” I say. “Good. Terrifying. Elegant. Slightly criminal. Reary beautiful.”

She looks down at her old joggers and scrunches her nose. “The shoes rum it.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll make a pit stop for something better before we get there.” I grin. Trust the vision.”

The next twenty minutes are a form of torture I survive only because I love watching her come alive. Emily sits near the little mirror and does something to

her hair with two small twisted buns at the top and the rest falling around her shoulders. Then she puts on a little bit of makeup. Just enough to sharpen

her eyes and bring colour to her mouth. She leans close to the mirror, focused, tongue caught between her teeth, and I adjust myself twice before deciding

to stand near the fire like a Victorian ghost.

A knock hits the door. Thank fuck. I stride over and open it, and Charlotte nearly shoves me through the wall. “What the hell?” she says, already moving

past me. “Girl, you look freaking hot.”

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Emily giggles, and Blake steps in behind Charlotte and looks from Emily to me, then back to Emily. His brows lift at the same time Charlotte turns to me.

“What is happening?”

I lean against the doorframe and try to look casual. “Oh, yeah. Right. I forgot to tell you guys.” I glance at Emily, and she smiles at me like we are sharing.

“We’re coming to Munroe.”

Blake’s eyes narrow. “You’re what?”

Emily straightens. Her shoulders go back and her chin up. “I have choices to/make there,” she says.

I shrug and grin at both of them. “We have a plan.”

By the time Gareth is called in and the plan is explained again, everyone is more on board than I expected. Maybe they see what I see. Emily is ready to

fight for herself. Gareth listens quietly, arms crossed, eyes steady on her, and when she finishes, he nods once.

“Alright,” he says. “I’ll support you.”

Emily’s breath leaves her in a small rush, and Blake claps his hands together. “Great. We’re going to ruin Thomas’s morning.”

Charlotte elbows him. “We’re going to help rogues.”

“We can multitask,” I say, thrilled with how this is going already.

Twenty minutes later, we are back in the truck, heading toward the nearest shopping centre before Munroe. Blake drives, Charlotte sits in the front seat, and

Emily sits beside me in the back, her knee bouncing lightly near mine. I lean closer. “Shoe size?”

“Why?”

“Trust the vision.”

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