Page 36 of If You Love Me

“Are you just gonna stare at her all night, bruh?” he asked with a chuckle. “Go ask the woman to dance.”

“I’m on her shit list right now, Jay.”

“I mean…” I threw him a look that caused him to laugh and raise his hands in surrender. “I’m just saying. This is quite the pickle you’ve found yourself in. What does Iona have to say about all this?”

“She thinks I blindsided her. I mean, I get it, but I don’t. I found out my wife was alive the same day she did. There really wasn’t much time to give her a full heads up without having to explain everything.”

He nodded. “I guess I can see that. That isn’t a simple text conversation. Something like that needs to happen face-to-face.”

“Right. Our face-to-face just so happened to be with Evenie.”

“Did she take it hard?”

I sighed. “She cried, man. That shit tore me up.”

I looked out at my wife, breaking it down with her mother, Nina, and Nina’s mom on the dance floor. She was radiant. Hiding my obvious attraction to her was something I wasn’t sure I could do. The last thing I wanted was to disrespect my relationship with Iona, but at the same time, I felt like I’d completely disrespected my marriage.

Still, the urge to be in her presence was overwhelming.

So much time had passed, and I was sure she was a different person due to her experience. I had to get to know her all over again. We had to see each other for Summer, that was a given. But she’d always been my best friend. I missed that.

From my position, I noticed that Evenie went in the house. I took that as my opportunity to talk to her alone and away from listening ears.

“I’ll be back,” I said to Jay.

“Go on, playa.”

I waved him off as I stood from my seat and made my way toward the house. As I passed by Nina, she gave me a look.

“Mm hmm.”

I playfully mushed her head before heading in the back door. Inside the house was quiet, a drastic contrast from the party going on outside. The back entrance led into the kitchen, which was void of Evenie’s presence. As I rounded the corner, I found her sitting in the living room with her head in her hands.

“You okay, love?” I asked.

She jumped. “Jesus! Don’t do that!”

I raised my hands in mock surrender. “I’m sorry,” I said, sitting next to her.

She scooted away from me. “To answer your question, I’m fine. I just needed a breather. It’s been so long since I’ve been around so many people. I just need a moment to myself.”

She nervously rubbed her hands up and down her exposed thighs. I couldn’t help but let my eyes drop to them. They were so thick and toned—

“Tyrion,” she said, snapping her fingers in my face.

“Huh?”

“My face is up here.”

“I’m sorry.” I looked straight ahead, swallowing hard. “Are you enjoying yourself?”

“Didn’t I look like I was enjoying myself?”

I chuckled. “I missed that smart mouth of yours.”

She smirked. “Whatever.”

My gaze dropped, and my eyes landed on the photo album beneath the coffee table. My in-laws believed in capturing moments. This album was full of pictures of Evenie at various points in her life. Once we had Summer, they added her to the album, and it got bigger every year. Reaching down, I pulled it out and placed it on the table in front of us. She instantly slid to the edge of the couch.

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