“Are you serious? He didn’t give anything up. He chose his mental health, and I add to it, not demolish it like hockey did!”
“And what if he can’t handle you and the regular problems of a relationship? Then what?”
“Then we will decide that together. You don’t know shit about him!”
“I know he won’t add to your life,” he sneers, and my heart is jackhammering in my chest as they go back and forth.
Aviva covers her face, groaning, and then everything slows down. I see Callie and Nico yelling at each other, but I can’t hear them. I only hear my heart slamming into my chest. My palms are sweaty, and I feel a bit light-headed as I look between them, still unable to hear anything but the pounding of my heart. Sweat drips down my neck, and the lump in my throat is starting to suffocate me as everything Nico says comes at me at once.
What if I can’t handle our relationship? What if it’s too hard and I’m too weak?
But then I hear Callie’s voice from earlier. I want to be with you.
Then my dad’s voice. Anything you do, I am proud of.
Followed by Owen’s. You’ll never do anything without me.
I hear them over and over again, filling my head with their affirmations. And then all at once, I’m back in the room as Callie and Nico continue to yell back and forth. I glance at Aviva, who is trying to calm the situation, but she’s also trying to get Vance under control since he is now crying. It’s a clusterfuck, and I’m done.
I swallow hard, and I remember who the fuck I am.
Evan Michael Adler.
If I won’t allow my mind to ruin everything I have worked for, I sure as hell won’t let Nico Merryweather.
thirty-seven
Callie
I know Aviva is pissed and wants us to stop. I know that I shouldn’t be arguing with Nico like this, but I refuse to allow him to tear Evan down like that!
“Did I allow your own mother to tell your story? Or tear you down? No, I did not, so you will not do that to someone I love. I will not stand for it.”
“Don’t you see, Callie? I’m trying to protect you just as you protected me!”
“You don’t need to!” I yell back, throwing my hands up. “Why don’t you get that? I don’t want someone like my real dad, who is going to choose drugs or alcohol over me, and I know how I want to be treated because I watched Aviva and, hell, Jaylin go through men galore. For me, I want a relationship like yours and Aviva’s. Why can’t you trust my judgment?”
He doesn’t budge, though. Once more, he reverts to, “He doesn’t deserve you.”
Before I can even retort, Evan’s hands come slamming onto the table. The sound makes me jump as I whip my head toward him. He towers over me, and his eyes are dark as he looks across the table at Nico.
“You’re right. I don’t deserve her,” he says, and I grip his bicep.
“Evan, you—”
But he holds up his hand, stopping me midsentence. He doesn’t look at me as he says, “No one does. Honestly. She cares more about other people than she does herself. She has a work ethic no one can touch. She loves everything she does, deeply, and is so goal-driven, it’s amazing.”
I swallow hard as tears flood my eyes.
“I didn’t think I was in any shape to be loved by anyone. Not even my family or myself, but Callie has shown me I am. She has encouraged me, she has supported me, but most of all, she has loved me. How could I ever be deserving of someone like that? I can’t.”
A tear rolls down my face, and I look at Nico to see his reaction, but his face is blank. He only stares at Evan.
“But for some reason, she chose me. And Nico, listen, I chose her.”
Silence stretches across the room as I move my hand into Evan’s. He laces his fingers with mine before holding our clasped hands in his other one.
“When you came for my mental health back at campus, I could have walked away because I knew I would never be enough for Callie in your eyes. I’m sure a lesser man wouldn’t have kept seeing her just so they wouldn’t have to deal with you, but that wasn’t the case for me. I knew at that moment that I didn’t want to go a day without Callie. All of her. She has always made me feel like I was enough. With just a smile, a touch, or, hell, even when we run together. She’ll smoke me, but for some reason, I feel like I’ve won. She makes me feel things again, and I’m no longer on autopilot, surviving. I’m living. And I’m in love because of her love, my family’s love, and my passion to make sure no one ever feels the way I do when someone like you tries to tear them down.”
I watch as Evan’s words register with Nico, and he even looks as if Evan has hit him, rather than calmly told him how he feels. Good. I swallow my sob as I look back at Evan, so in love with him. I can’t even fathom how I got this man.
Evan looks down at me and smiles before wiping my tears after letting go of our hands. “Don’t cry, my love.”
My words are shaky as I say, “I can’t help it. I love you.”
He leans down and kisses my nose before standing tall and looking back at Nico. “I know you hate my sister, and I get it. I do. No one wants to be rejected. But I’m not my sister. We could go back and forth about how you feel she did you wrong, but none of it matters ’cause it’s the past.”
“She has nothing to do with my feelings,” Nico tries, but Evan shakes his head.
“If she didn’t, you wouldn’t be saying the things you are, because I’ve never done anything to you. I’ve always been respectful and kind to you.”
“I told you to stay away from Callie.”
He nods. “You did. But in my defense, I didn’t recognize her at first. And honestly, I need to apologize because it wouldn’t have mattered if I had. Those eyes stun me, and once I knew she was into me, there was no stopping this.”
Nico doesn’t say anything; he just shakes his head.
Evan glances at me and then back to Nico. “I don’t want to come between this family. I respect the hell out of Aviva, and I want to respect you, Nico. But I will not walk away from this relationship until Callie asks me to. I love her, and no one and nothing can change that,” he says, and then he kisses my hand as his eyes meet mine. “I’m sorry.”
I shake my head, squeezing his hands. “Don’t apologize. You’re right.”
“Still, I didn’t want it to play out like this. I want you to have it all.”
“I do have it,” I say softly, going into his arms and hugging him. Against his chest, I say, “I have you.”
Evan kisses the top of my head, and I lean back to look up at him. “Always,” he says, and then he kisses my nose. He hugs me close as he says, “I’m sorry for ruining breakfast, Aviva.”
She holds his gaze, tears flooding her eyes. “Please don’t apologize. I am so thankful my sister has found someone who loves her the way you do.”
Evan nods. “Still, this breakfast was great, and I hate that it has to end like this.”
“True, but it wasn’t you. It was my husband,” she jeers.
“Thanks, Aviva,” Nico says, sitting down forcefully. “You’re supposed to be on my side. She’s your sister.”