Page 86 of You've Got Male

“Does Grandma know?”

“No, and I’d like to keep it that way. But I would never ask you to lie or keep something from her. So if you need to tell her, I support you.”

Camila tugged her earlobe. “Nah. I get wanting to have something all to yourself.”

“Like Ryan,” Evie probed.

Camila’s face went slack with surprise. “How did you know?”

Evie nudged her daughter’s shoulder with her own. “Just a guess.”

“If I tell you something, do you promise not to make a big deal out of it? Because it’s not a big deal.”

Evie hooked her pinkie around Camila’s. “Promise.”

“Well, he kissed me tonight,” Camila said and Evie squealed. Camila put her hand over Evie’s mouth. “Not a big deal,remember?”

Evie zipped her lips. “Right. Can I ask how it was?”

“It was weird.” Camila’s face took on a shy blush. “But nice.”

She slung her arm over Camila’s shoulder and pulled her daughter against her side. “I’m glad it was nice, but you know this means no more closed door get-togethers when he’s over. And no more after-hours talks.”

“So much for not making this a big deal, Mom!”

Chapter Thirty-Two

Jonah

Jonah pulled into the office complex ten minutes before his meeting. Out of the blue his old buddy had called him and asked if he was still looking for a job. Jonah had played it cool and said he was weighing his options but would love to meet and see what Curt had to say.

He damn near strutted into the office in his new suit that Evie had picked out and felt invincible. He was going to nail this meeting and be the kind of provider his family deserved. Damn it felt good.

He felt good.

He hadn’t really had the bandwidth to absorb how much of himself he’d lost when Amber had been diagnosed. Parts of himself he was excited to explore again—like helping people manage their futures. He was even exploring what it was like to be a present father, how to show up for the people in his life. And it was working.

Ryan’s grades were slowly improving. Waverly was sleeping inher own bed and was a four-out-of-five potty champion. And his mom no longer called him ten times a day to check in on him. Then there was the way his friends treated him—like he was back and better than ever.

Plus, he had a magical mouth.

The thought made him grin.

Evie had been beyond adorable the other night. From the time he tucked her into his car until they arrived home, she had talked nonstop about her night. Even called herself the new Dr. Ruth of ClickByte.

He’d walked her to her door and, a testament to just how good his mama raised him, he gave her a goodnight kiss on the cheek and waited until she went inside her own house where she crawled into her own bed. Then he walked into his own house and climbed into his own bed with nothing but a hard-on and the imprint of her lips on his to keep him company.

That had been three long days ago and he hadn’t had a chance to see her since. Between football games, dad duties, and attempting to tame his garden affordably, he’d been beyond busy. And based on how rarely her car was in her drive, he imagined Evie’s schedule had been equally as hectic.

She’d been more than upfront about how crazy her life was when she’d approached with her proposition. He’d just never paid enough attention to her comings and goings to see just how stretched thin she was. Yet she seemed to manage juggling all her hats with ease.

At least that’s what he used to think. Now that she’d cracked open that door and shown him parts of herself that she kept hidden from the rest of the world—including her family—he knew that in order to keep everyone else’s lives spinning she’d had to give up her own. Another thing she’d been upfront with him about. It was the reason behind their relationship.

Jonah’s reasons had shifted. He was no longer interested in aneasy fix. He was interested in seeing where this thing with Evie could go. Now he just had to get her to admit that there was more to this thing between them than a short-lived, contrived honeymoon phase.

Jonah told the receptionist he was there to meet with Curt, who immediately came out to meet him.

“Man, it’s great to see you.” Curt greeted him with a side hug and a slap to the back. “Come on in.” He followed Curt into the office and took a seat across from his old boss.

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