EvieDad took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair. “I don’t want to fight with you either.”“Good. Let’s agree to disagree and move on.”“Evie, it isn’t that simple. I know this kid. He is bad news.”“I don’t understand how you can say that. You don’t know him. You knew him for five minutes in your classroom ten years ago. He is not the same person he was. I’m not the same person I was ten years ago.”He shook his head. “A leopard doesn’t just lose his spots.”“What does that even mean?”“It means the man is incapable of thinking of anyone except himself. He will hurt you. He’s only using you. You are a pretty young woman and that’s all he sees. I can’t stand the thought of that punk touching my little girl.”“I get that this might be hard for you to hear, but there have been other men in my life. You have never reacted so strongly to any of them.”“Because they weren’t him,” he spat.“No, they weren’t. Xander isn’t selfish. Not by a long shot.”“That kid thinks it is funny to
XanderI checked the time and cursed. I didn’t know how to get myself to be where I was supposed to be at the right time. I was blaming the project this time. Once again, I had gotten caught up and lost all track of time. I whipped into the parking lot of the casual restaurant where I was meeting Evie for lunch.I walked inside and scanned the restaurant. Her black hair immediately caught my eye. She was looking down at her phone, probably wondering where in the hell I was. I made my way to the table. She looked up and smiled.“I’m sorry,” I blurted out. “I tried to get here.”“You’re right on time,” she said, getting up and giving me a quick kiss before taking her seat again. “Your time, that is.”I laughed and sat down. “I have tried every trick in the book. I set my watch ahead. I have my phone give me ten-minute warnings. Nothing works.”“It’s really okay. I plan for you to be a little late and get some work done while I wait.”I wrinkled my nose. “I really am sorry.”“Don’t be.”
XanderEvie burst into laughter. “I might have to ask him to find other ways to get back at you. I like all of your body parts right where they are, as they are.”I grinned. “Me too.”“Is he helping you?”“Yes, for the most part. The guy is a genius when it comes to the mechanical side of things. He could put together a boat with his eyes closed. He knows what will work and what won’t. He’s my sounding board. My ideas can be a little wild at times.”“I’m glad you have a friend like that.”“He’s demanding a percentage of the profits,” I told her.“Are you going to concede to his demands?”“Of course. I really couldn’t have done it without him. I’m not going to tell him that. Not yet. I still have a long ways to go before I can get this on an actual ship and in the water.”“How long did it take you to get your first design sold?” she asked.I blew out a breath. “Years. Probably about five years. Even after I got the design sold, it took another two years before it hit the water. None of
EvieNelle was scowling at something behind me. I turned around to see what had her encouraging premature wrinkling. “Will you stop?” I scolded.“I can’t help it,” she muttered.“Yes, you can. This is why I didn’t want to come here. You are going to be picking apart that poor bartender all night. Give him a break.”“He sucks,” she said. “No wonder he doesn’t make any tips. I wouldn’t tip him a penny.”I sighed, sipping on the drink that really wasn’t all that good, but I was not about to tell her that. “If it wasn’t for him, you would never have a day off. He is a necessary evil.”“Evil maybe, but I’m not sure how necessary it is.”“Pay attention to me,” I demanded.She finally looked at me. “You are a needy date.”I laughed. “You have no idea just how needy I am.”“Gross.”I shrugged. “It’s true.”“I guess that means you guys still haven’t managed to find some alone time this week?”I groaned. “No. He had to go out of town to talk to someone about something that had something to do w
Evie“For a first date, yes. I don’t want him to meet me and see me stuffing my face,” Nelle said.“Oh, that’s a good point,” I said.“But I do want to meet him. You’ve got me excited to meet the little brother of your perfect man.”“He’s a good guy. I like him and I know you will.”We sipped our drinks, our eyes drifting around the bar as it began to fill up. It was still early, but I considered myself an old lady. I couldn’t stay out until the wee hours of the morning. I had to work tomorrow. I did not want to show up with a hangover. After learning a hangover was just really not worth it and completely preventable, I had made a conscious decision to avoid them like the plague.“Do you think Xander is the guy that will father your future children?”I nearly choked on my drink. “What? What are you talking about? Why would you ask me that?”She shrugged. “I don’t know. I was just thinking about our future.”“Our future, like me and you?”“Yes. Me and you. You are pretty wrapped up in
XanderI was tinkering on my boat when my phone rang. I glanced over, ready to let it go to voicemail until I saw Evie’s number. I quickly wiped my hand on my pants before grabbing the phone.“Hello,” I said, unable to stop the smile from spreading over my face.“What are you doing?” she asked.“I’m working on my boat.”She laughed. “Of course, you are. Your actual boat or the little boat you are using as a prototype?”“My actual boat. What are you doing?”“Well, my client canceled at the last minute. Turns out I have nothing to do on a Friday night. I was wondering if you were free.”“I’m always free for you,” I told her.“I like that.”“Come out to the boat,” I said.“Are you sure? If you’ve got big plans to tear apart a perfectly good boat, I don’t want to get in your way.”“Woman, I’m free. You’re free. Get your ass out here or I will hunt you down. You cannot put this man off another day.”Her sweet laughter came through the phone. She thought I was joking. I wasn’t. I was so fuc
Xander“I’ll go ahead and get started,” she said with a coy smile as she pulled her shirt from her pants, yanking it over her head.I looked down at my phone and saw a number I didn’t immediately recognize. Then it hit me. It was an Oregon number. “Hello?”My dad cleared his throat. “Xander.”I thought about hanging up immediately. If I didn’t answer, then he couldn’t tell me.“Dad,” I said. Everything fell into slow motion.Evie standing topless in front of me faded from my view. I saw nothing. I felt nothing. “Xander, it’s Kade.”I gulped down the lump in my throat and turned away from Evie. I continued my walk down the stairs and moved to the edge of the room, trying to put some distance between me and her. I needed space. I couldn’t breathe.“What?” I asked, my throat feeling raw.There was only one reason my father would call me. He knew it, and I knew it, but I wanted him to say the words. I needed to hear the words, or I wouldn’t believe it.“There was an accident,” he said, ad
EvieMy heart was shattering into a thousand pieces. The look on his face told me everything I needed to know. I had heard his side of the conversation. I had seen his shoulders slump before he threw them back. He was trying to pull himself together.“Xander,” I whispered.He had a blank stare on his face. “I, um, he—”I felt a tear stream down my face. “Kade?”He slowly nodded. “Yes.”I didn’t want to make the wrong assumption, but I was pretty sure I knew what had happened. I wanted to believe I was wrong. I could be wrong. Please, let me be wrong. “Is he, uh, is he—”“Yes.”I gasped. Hearing the confirmation made it all real. “I’m sorry,” I breathed before stepping closer.“It’s fine.”“Xander, it isn’t fine,” I told him. I put my hand on his arm. He flinched and pulled away. “What can I do?”“Nothing.”I could see him shutting down, pulling away. He was crawling into his corner to lick his wounds. “Can I get you a drink?” I offered.I had no idea how to help him. I was grasping at