Page 110 of An Inconvenient Marriage
“I should have been here with you. I’m sorry.”
Her inky strands brushed over her shoulders as she furiously shook her head. “Don’t do that. You were right where you were supposed to be. And I know this is going to sound messed up, but I’m happy they’re out of the city. There was nothing good for them here.”
Grabbing her by the shoulders, I yanked her to me for a hug. “I’m happy if you’re happy.”
We drew apart just as another thought hit me.
“Are you going to move down there with them?”
“I thought about it.” Everlee tucked a few hairs behind her ear and settled into her seat. “My mom and aunt could use the extra set of hands, I know that much. But everything I care about is here. You, Anthony, my job. I don’t want to start over somewhere else.”
This was one of the things I loved about her and also envied a little. Everlee knew how to put her own needs first. She understood you couldn’t pour from an empty cup.
It was time I did the same.
“I’m taking my sketches to House of DuBois tomorrow,” I announced suddenly.
Everlee straightened. “Wow, talk about a subject change. What’s brought this on?”
“You,” I answered honestly.
Her eyes widened, and her voice climbed a few octaves. “Me?”
I nodded once. “You’re fearless in everything you do, even if you might fail. It’s about time I take a lesson or two from your book and start livingmylife.”
“Heck, yes!”
Her arms were around me again. I didn’t even know how long we hugged for when my phone suddenly rang. We broke apart, and I quickly fished the device out of my pocket.
The moment I saw the name flashing on the screen, my heart went into overdrive. I flipped it to show Everlee, and her eyes almost bugged out of her skull.
“Oh my goodness! Answer it.”
Nerves had my pulse skittering to new heights, and my palms were all warm and sweaty.
Taking a much-needed breath, I pressed the green button and held my phone against my ear.
“Hi.”
“Hi yourself.” Zach’s rich voice filtered through the line. “What are you up to?”
“Nothing really. Everlee’s here, and we’ve been catching up.” My gaze shot to her just in time to see her lean in closer to try to eavesdrop. Shooing her away, I pushed off the couch and walked to the window wall overlooking the pool. “And you?”
I heard him shift around, and my mind provided an image of him leaning back in that big leather chair.
“I’ve been stuck in boring meetings with boring lawyers all day.” A soft chuckle reached my ears and drew hundreds of tiny bumps to the surface of my skin. “But that’s not why I called.”
“Why did you call?” I chewed on my lip, my heart stupidly hoping he’d say it was to hear my voice because he’d missed me too much.
“I’ve never taken you out for a meal.”
Uhm, not what I was expecting, and I honestly had no clue what to say to that. Good thing no response was necessary, because Zach kept talking.
“I’ve cooked for you, and we’ve been out with Javier. But never just us.”
“Are you…?” I licked my suddenly dry lips. “Do you want to take me out… on a date?” Great. Scrunching my nose, I squeezed my eyes shut and smacked my palm into my forehead. Where was the damn rewind button when you really needed it?
Maybe, if I was really lucky, he hadn’t heard it.
