Page 7 of Hot and Bothered
Did I even have a home anymore?
My eyes stung, tears trying to make their way out once again. But I refused to let myself turn into another sobbing mess. I blinked them back and took long, calming breaths. I rubbed my cheeks to get some color into them and headed back to the kitchen where Evan was cleaning up from breakfast.
I wanted to offer to help, but I honestly wouldn’t have known where to start.
“I’m done with the shower,” I told him. “Thank you for letting me use it.”
“I couldn't let you take care of customers looking like a mess, could I?” he said. “You’d have scared them off with your raccoon eyes and ghost-white face.”
“And here I thought my face was tinted green all morning,” I replied. “It sure felt like it.”
“Still sick?” he asked.
“I’m feeling better.” I rubbed at the back of my head. “It’s still throbbing a little, but it’s nothing more pain killers can’t take care of.”
“That’s good,” Evan said. “We’ve got a big day ahead of us.”
My first day at a real job. Nerves fluttered in my belly, but I pushed them down. I was going to work hard and make sure Evan didn’t regret helping me out.
I watched him as he cleaned up the last bit of mess from breakfast, drying the dishes and putting them away in the cupboards.
Now that he wasn’t eyeing me like a hawk, as if he were expecting me to collapse into another sobbing heap at any second, I took the opportunity to examine him closely.
He’d already gotten showered and dressed, ready for the day. Last night he’d been wearing a grey t-shirt and dark denim. Today’s outfit was much the same, with a dark shirt that complimented his eyes quite well.
I wasn’t exactly short, but he still towered over me by a handful of inches. Although his hair fell over his forehead in front, the back and side were neatly trimmed. He didn’t have that carelessly unkempt look.
I let my eyes trail down his body, taking in the muscled upper arms, lean torso, and muscled thighs. I remembered the weights and gym mat in the spare room. He must have worked out at home a lot to have such a great physique. I did yoga sometimes and went for the occasional jog, but I had no doubt this guy could run circles around me.
Evan finished wiping down the counter, put the cleaning cloth in the sink, and turned to me.
“Is it time to go to work now?” I asked. I didn’t know what time bars usually opened, but I had to assume there was work to be done before the customers arrived.
“Before we go…” he looked hesitant. “I think you should probably tell your family you’re okay.”
My heartbeat spiked. I didn’t know what my expression looked like, but from the way it felt as if all blood had drained from my cheeks, I had to assume panicked was the least of it.
“You don’t have to talk to them,” Evan reassured me. “Maybe just send them a message? I’m sure as upset as they are, they’re also worried.”
I looked at my feet as guilt washed over me. Evan was probably right. For all they knew, I could be dead in a ditch somewhere.
I caved. I went to my small clutch purse and reached in for my phone.
It wasn’t in there.
I groaned and buried my face in my palm.
“What is it?” Evan asked, alarmed.
“I didn’t take my phone with me when I ran out,” I told him. “It’s sitting on some table somewhere in the bridal suite at the wedding venue.”
“Look on the bright side,” Evan said. “At least they can’t track you with GPS.”
“That never even occurred to me,” I said, eyes growing wide.
Would my family have tried to do that? Knowing them, probably. I was half-expecting to turn on the news and find my own face front and center in a missing person’s alert.
The other half of me knew that if I refused to go through with their plans, I was at risk of being disowned. They’d already cut off my credit cards, after all.
