“That was awesome! I love this car!”
“Is that right?”
“Definitely. I hope to own one eventually.”
“And what does Evie Monroe want to do with her life?”
She turned to the side, laying her arm against the console to look at me.
“I want to be the boss.”
“The boss of what?”
“Well… I want to help people, so I was thinking maybe I’d open a recruiting agency.”
“That’s a lot of connections you’re going to need. Good thing I know a lot of people.”
She smiled, reading between the lines of my statement. “How did you become so successful so young?”
“My family is very wealthy. Old money. I knew if I wanted to get out from under their thumb, I’d need to do it on my own.”
“That’s very admirable. Most people in your position would just live off their parents or follow in the family business.”
“They have my brother for that.”
“I see. Do you get along with your family?”
“I do. I see them often. How about you?”
“I don’t really have any family other than my half-brother.”
“And it’s a secret that you have a half-brother?”
“For now. His mother doesn’t know that our father is a piece of shit and had a whole ass other family he was taking care of. I don’t talk to either of my parents. I refuse to be a pawn in their games.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, Evie.”
She shrugged. “You can’t choose the family you’re born into. It’s not a big deal.”
I reached for her hand and placed it in my lap. “Don’t do that, darlin’. We don’t lie to each other, remember?”
She took in my words, declaring, “I can’t believe I just told you all that. Nobody knows the truth about my family.”
“I’m glad you confided in me.”
She leaned her head against the seat. “Me too.”
Bringing her hand up to my mouth, I kissed it before resting it on my lap as I drove us to my favorite breakfast spot. It was a small café I frequented often. I found it my first semester at college.
We sat at my usual corner table.
“Hey there, handsome,” the waitress greeted.
Immediately, I noticed Evie didn’t appreciate her flirty personality as she took our orders. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t loving the fact that she was getting jealous.
It was amusing.
“She pretty much put her boobs in your face, Caleb.”
I chuckled.
“Do you know her?”
“Does it matter?”
“Ugh. Please tell me you haven’t had sex with her?”
“If I had, we wouldn’t be here.”
She hid her smile. “Good answer. You pass.”
“I didn’t know I was being tested.”
“I’m just full of surprises.”
“Do any of them include your pussy on my face?”
Her cheeks turned bright red.
“Stop being so delicious,” I remarked, referring to her shyness.
“Then stop saying dirty things when we’re out in public, but that’s probably like asking you not to breathe.”
I grinned, enjoying how she called me out. “So tell me, Evie. How long have you lived in Texas?”
“Not very long. Maybe over a year. My mom moved us here from Georgia because she wanted to be closer to my father. How about you? How long have you lived here?”
“Since freshman year of college.”
“Does that mean you know all the cool spots like this one?”
“I do. It’s what’s on the itinerary for today.”
“Oh, so you’re my tour guide for the day?”
I nodded.
“Today is going to be great.”
For the rest of the afternoon, I drove Evie around to all my favorite places, showing her what the city had to offer. We walked around, holding hands, talking about nothing in particular, just laughing and enjoying each other’s company. Seeing her face light up with the simplest things was a memory I’d take to my grave. She was the sweetest thing.
Her smile.
Her laugh.
Her ridiculous fucking giggle.
I loved it all. For the first time in my life, I was looking forward to learning everything about her. I never had any intention of settling down, but with Evie, I saw a future play out with her in my life. It was such a foreign feeling, the thrill she was bringing into my mundane world.
I was used to working all hours of the day. Today was actually the first time I’d taken a day off in I don’t remember how long. She didn’t have to ask me. I wanted to. There was no way I was letting her leave my bed without getting to know her as much as I could.
The longer we hung out, the more I realized that maybe I truly was lonely in some aspect of my life. Busying myself with work was easy. It was instinctual. I treated my agency like it was my only priority. Living and breathing my business was what I did best.
After dinner, I drove us to our last destination. Wanting to show her the best view in Dallas was how I was ending our day.
Evie
We drove in silence, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. If anything, it felt natural. It seemed like everything with Caleb was effortless. The day flew by, and the longer we were together, the further I realized how much I really did like him. It wasn’t hard to fall for him.