I stare at Evie for a minute, waiting for the floodgates to open or her fury to burn hot. Instead, her dimples pop, and she smiles. “Can I bring anything to the pool party on Saturday?”
My mouth falls open. “How are you so calm?!” I feel like the Hulk, ready to rip my shirt off and burst through the ceiling, and she is just standing there, looking like a springtime fairy. “How are you not spitting angry right now?”
She shrugs and steps away from the door. “I stopped letting that woman steal my joy about fifteen counseling sessions ago.”
I don’t know what else to do, so I walk to Evie and wrap my arms around her. I want to hold her close because, somehow, I get the feeling she and Sam share more than just the same disability. I think Evie is tough as nails, but she’ll still cry into her pillow the second I leave.
For a moment, she seems shocked. She doesn’t move. Her arms are limp noodles beside her body. But then they finally lift up and wrap around my waist, and she squeezes me back as tightly as I’m squeezing her. It’s all I can offer her.
“They suck,” I mumble into her hair, and she laughs.
“Yeah. They’re not the best parents.”
“Why didn’t you tell me what family you were from? I had no idea.”
She pulls away from me and starts busying herself by tidying things around her apartment. “Because number one, how weird would it have been if the second I met you, I said, ‘Hi! I’m Evie Jones. You know? Of the famous Joneses who practically own this city?’ And number two, I’m trying to make my own way in life without riding their coattails.”
I watch her fold up a fluffy blue blanket. “I understand that.” We are both quiet for a moment, and then, when I can’t take it any longer, I finally ask what’s been eating at me. “So who’s this Tyler guy your mom was talking about?”
Evie grins like she can tell I’m jealous and likes it. “Have you heard of my daddy’s law firm? Jones and Murray? Well, Tyler is Tyler Murray. He just inherited his daddy’s half of the firm. Our parents have been planning on our marriage since we were kids so that they could always keep the company in trustworthy hands. Only problem is, I’m the only one who doesn’t want the marriage.”
Only one?
“So that means Tyler does want the marriage?”
Evie shrugs like it’s not a big deal. Like this relationship I was beginning to picture between us didn’t just grow fuzzier and more unclear. Is there even a chance for us now? If Tyler is one of the Murrays, I’ve no doubt he’s a millionaire. By society’s standards, he would be a catch. Do I even stand a chance?
Then again…Evie is standing here with me in her little apartment that she chose to live in because she didn’t want the same life as her parents. So that’s something. Isn’t it?
“Tyler wants a pretty wife on his arm that will help him climb the social and economic ladder. Marrying a Jones is exactly what he needs to ensure that happens. He doesn’t want me. He wants what we would represent together. If a Jones and Murray finally tied the knot and joined our companies together, investors would pour their money into their companies. It would be a boost unlike any other.”
“And you don’t want that?”
Evie laughs, and the sound makes my heart lighter. “I sent that idea down the stinker a long time ago. Honestly, Tyler and I dated for a while in high school, and that was enough to make me never want to be attached to that man again. And he’s only gotten worse since we broke up.”
I don’t say anything for a minute. I’m not sure what to say. Evie accurately interprets my silence and goes on. “Jake. I don’t…I don’t know if it’s necessary for me to say this to you or not, but there really is no chance of me ever wanting to marry Tyler Murray—or any man like him, for that matter.”
I really want to let those words soothe my fears, but it just isn’t helping me feel better about wanting to date her. If anything, it adds to my terror about a million percent. What if we get serious and then she decides to finally take Tyler up on his offer? I don’t know. I can’t think about that right now. I need to change the subject before I self-sabotage. “Did they say you’re still on their phone plan?”
She gives me a look that says, don’t you dare make fun of me. “It’s cheaper that way. I hate being beholden to them, but I can’t afford it without the family-plan discount.” Right. This reminds me of something.
I walk into her “kitchen”—meaning I take two big steps to the right. I’m not sure you can actually call this a kitchen. It’s really just a fridge and sink and a 12x12 slab of butcher block that, if you squint, might be able to pass as a counter. I open the top cupboard, and it’s just as I suspected.
“What are you doing?” she asks, sounding a little panicked.
I reach inside and push aside the box of colorful cereal and an open pack of sour candy. When I spot a tumbleweed blow across the back, I move on to the fridge. I pull it open and find a carton of milk with a questionable date and a Tupperware container that’s half-filled with what looks like egg salad, but I don’t dare open it and find out.
She runs up and shuts the fridge door like I was peeking in her lingerie drawer instead of her fridge. Her cheeks are burning red, and suddenly, she looks like she might bite my head off. “If you’re hungry, we can go down the street to a diner that stays open late.”
“Evie, do you have money to get groceries?”
Her cheeks burn deeper. I could fry up a pancake on them. “Yes! Of course I do.”
“Do you have money to buy more than a box of cereal?”
“I’ll have you know that a serving of that cereal has HALF of the recommended dose of fiber for the day.”
She’s trying to play, but I’m not having it. I'm bad cop now. Stop fooling around, things just got serious. “Come on. Get your shoes.”
I grab her hand and start dragging her toward the door. Charlie darts off his perch on the bed and grabs his vest. For once, he gives me a look that says he is on my side. Evie deserves to have someone on her side, and I’ve just decided that that someone is going to be me.
She hits the brakes and digs her heels in the ground. “STOP. Where are we going?”
I swear, I will pick her up and carry her over my shoulder if I have to. “The grocery store.” She’s fighting, but I’m a big bully, and she doesn’t stand a chance against my size. “I’m buying you some food to go in that fridge.”
“No! Jake. I’m fine, I swear. UGH. Let me go. Charlie, attack!!”
Charlie trots beside me. I pause at the front door long enough to scoop up her tennis shoes. At this point, I’m afraid I’m going to leave a bruise on her arm, so I let go and turn to face her. “Evie. You can’t live on cereal. And I will never be able to sleep at night, knowing that the woman who helped change my daughter’s and my life for the better is at home with no food. Now, either you can hop in my truck on your own, or I will pick you up and put you in myself, but either way, you’re going to the grocery store with me.”
I can’t tell if she wants to smack me or smile. I think there’s a hint of both in her face. “Can I at least put on a bra first?”