Page 23 of Hot and Bothered
“I’m not going,” I said.
My sister raised both eyebrows. I’d never talked back to her before. I’d always given into anything she told me to do.
Not this time.
“I’m not going back home,” I said. “I’m not going through with the wedding. Tell our parents that there’s nothing they can say to make me change my mind.”
Grace narrowed her eyes at me.
“We’ll see about that.” She turned on her heel and stalked out, slamming the door behind her.
The bar was left silent in her wake.
I slumped backward against the counter, my knees weak and nearly falling out from under me. My breath came in rapid fits and starts. Evan put a hand on my elbow to help keep me upright.
“Oh my god,” I wheezed, pressing a hand to my chest and feeling my rapid heartbeat. “I can’t believe I did that. I can’t believe I said that. They’re going to kill me.”
“They’ll have to get through me first,” Evan said.
I gave him a grateful look.
“Thank you,” I told him.
“Any time,” he replied. “Now, let’s get you home.”
Home. The word had such a different meaning now than it had only a few days ago. Before, home had meant the place where I played the part of the dutiful daughter. Where I did as I was told and hoped for a single scrap of affection in return.
But now, home meant something different.
It meant a place of warmth. Of caring.
“Yeah,” I said with a smile. “Let’s go home.”
10
After that encounter with my sister, I thought I might end up tossing and turning the entire night. Instead, I had one of the best nights of sleep in my life.
I’d told her off. I’d stuck up for myself. I hadn’t given in.
My eyes blinked open. I smiled. Today felt like the start of a brand new me. An Alice who was confident and strong. An Alice who could take on the world.
I hummed a happy tune as I climbed out of bed and straightened the sheets. I’d never made my bed before. It had always been done for me. But I was a new Alice now. I could take care of myself.
Besides, I was a guest in Evan’s home and it would be rude to leave it looking like a mess.
Evan had stuck up for me last night. It was sweet of him. He had told me on that first morning when I’d woken up hungover in his apartment that my pathetic situation made his protective instincts flare up.
I didn’t much like the idea that I was so helpless someone would take pity on me, but I couldn’t lie and say it didn’t make my heart sing, just a little bit, that Evan wanted to protect me.
Besides, it was true, wasn’t it? No money of my own, no home to go back to, no friends to call on, no life skills to speak of. Itwaspathetic.
But I’d slowly started to change that. I’d gotten a job at a bar and was making some money. I wasn’t good at customer service, but at least I could take care of the cleanup, not to mention I’d fixed Lizzy’s cash register problem. And if we weren’t exactly friends yet, the people at Sin and Tonic had been friendly and patient with me.
As for a home…
I looked around at the spare room I’d been staying in for the last week. Evan had opened his own home to me and made me feel welcome. He’d made me breakfast, let me use his phone, and bought me some clothes.
It wasn’t anything I hadn’t had other people do for me in the past. I had personal shoppers and my family had a private chef.
