“Relax, Evie,” I scolded. I was getting way ahead of myself.
Chapter 43
Xander
I 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 fucking serious. My balls were blue, and she was the only one that could cure the situation.
I had kept telling myself things would slow down after the presentation on Monday, and I would be able to see her more often. Just a few more days.
“I will be there. I’ll stop by my place and change.”
“No. Just get your lovely ass out here. You won’t need clothes for what I have in mind.”
“I’ll be there in thirty,” she said, sounding suddenly out of breath.
I smiled and put the phone back down. It was a little brazen, but that was the way we did things. I had never been quite so forward with any of the other women I dated. Evie was different. She made me feel like I could be that guy that was always locked down tight. I could tell her exactly how I felt, and she wasn’t going to slap me or walk out. She was going to have a comeback that left me weak in the knees.
I got back to work on the motor, losing track of time until I heard her soft voice behind me. “I always get very worried when I see you working on this thing. Don’t try to tell me you are working on the radio. I don’t know much about boats, but I know the radio is over there.”
I grinned and put down the wrench before sliding my hands down my pants again. They were still dirty. I didn’t care. I had to touch her. I helped her onto the deck before grabbing her and giving her the kiss I had been dying to give for weeks.
“It’s not a big deal, just a minor little issue,” I told her when she looked over at the tools.
“Why don’t you hire someone to fix it, or better yet, why not buy a new boat?”
I flinched as if I had been slapped. “Now why would I get rid of a perfectly good boat?”
“You keep calling it that, but you are always working on it.”
“That’s just for fun,” I answered.
“I thought you would be working on your presentation for Monday.”
I walked to the package of wet wipes and pulled a few out to clean my hands. “No. I’m done with it. If I keep fucking with it, I’m going to end up starting all over from scratch. I can get obsessive about it. I just need to go with my gut.”
“Good plan. Did you tell Kade about it?”
“I called him yesterday and left a message. I haven’t heard back from him.”
“It’s too bad he couldn’t be here to see it,” she said wistfully.
“He wouldn’t know what I was talking about anyway. If I can pitch it right and I get someone willing to let me try it out on one of their ships, then I’ll tell him.”
“Good plan.”
“Do you want a beer?” I asked her. “I wasn’t planning on seeing you and didn’t pick up any wine.”
“A beer sounds good.”
I headed downstairs and grabbed two cold ones before taking them back up. She had settled on the couch and kicked off her heels. She looked so damn perfect. She looked like she belonged on my boat.
I looked around the marina, disappointed to see it was a little too busy for me to have my way with her on the couch. I’d let her unwind for a few and then I would drag her below to satisfy the need I knew we both had.
“Here you go,” I said and handed her the open bottle.
“Are you ready for your presentation?”
“I am.”
“Do you ever get nervous before you do one?”
I shrugged. “Not really. I just say what I know. I don’t try to be flashy. I don’t give them a bunch of bullshit numbers. I give them the facts. They ask questions and I answer. I don’t feel like I have to really sell them anything. I know what I have, and they can take it or leave it. In the long run, they are only hurting themselves if they decide to walk away.”
She grinned. “There’s that cocky side.”
“Sorry. I don’t mean to sound like a prick.”
“You don’t. You are confident. I’m attracted to your confidence.”
“Are you now?” I asked, sitting down next to her and pulling her against me.
“I am,” she whispered, her eyes dropping to my mouth.
I lowered my mouth to hers and gave her a leisurely kiss that left us both panting and wanting more. “Why don’t we go downstairs?” I whispered next to her ear.
“Good plan,” she answered, nipping at my bottom lip. We stood and were halfway down the stairs when my phone rang.
I growled, cursing the interruption. I assumed it was Charlie. I would call him later. I ignored the call until it started ringing right back without leaving a voicemail. “Fuck,” I cursed. “Let me see who it is.”
“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, adopting his formal tone. He could have been talking to a complete stranger. It was the same tone he used when my mother passed away and he was making the funeral arrangements.
“And? How bad?”
There was a long silence. With every passing nanosecond, I felt my blood growing colder. I shivered, my cold coming from the inside. “He didn’t make it, son.”