I was indeed late, arriving at Jax’s house an hour after I was supposed to be there. I had to stop at my apartment and grab a couple of things I wanted to show him. Caleb let me leave with his hoodie, and I didn’t take it off. I wanted the scent of him on me for the rest of the day.
Using the key Jax gave me, I walked into his new place. This was his second home, and he spent most of his time living in Miami, where he played for the Miami Sharks. He wanted to make sure I still had access to his condo in case I needed to stay there for whatever reason. He actually wanted me to move in there, but it was too far away from campus, and I wanted my own space.
Closing the door behind me, I shouted, “Jax! I’m so sorry I’m late! I lost track of time!”
He hollered, “I’m in the kitchen!”
I made my way over there, quickly realizing he wasn’t alone.
“Oh, crap. Am I interrupting you?”
“Not at all. This is actually why I wanted you to come over.”
What happened next could only be described as an out of body experience. His guest turned around, stopping me dead in my tracks.
“Evie, I’d like you to meet my agent.”
My stomach dropped to the ground when he announced…
“Caleb, meet my half-sister, Evie.”
Chapter 9
Evie
I swear I blinked and they were standing in front of me. For the first time since I’d met Caleb, I couldn’t read the expression on his face.
He was calm.
Cool.
Collected.
Why am I the only one freaking out?
“Evie, are you alright?” Jax questioned.
“Yeah, it’s just that we alre—”
Caleb extended his hand to me. “Nice to meet you, Evie.”
I jerked back, not expecting him to act like he didn’t know me.
What. The. Fuck.
Caleb’s stare turned guarded, showing me an expression I didn’t want to see. Following his lead, I extended my hand to shake his. I couldn’t find the words to speak.
Electricity jolted through me when our hands shook, and I knew he felt it too. It didn’t matter who we were around, our connection was still very much present.
“What were you saying?” Jax persisted.
“Nothing.” I shook my head, trying to play it off as if my heart wasn’t being stomped on by the man I was falling for. “I thought…” I hated that I was going to lie.
His words, “No lies between us,” ran rampant in my mind.
Thinking quick on my feet, I reacted. “I thought I recognized your agent, but I guess he just has one of those basic faces.”
I smiled, feeling great about my dig.
Caleb’s jaw clenched, fully aware I was baiting him.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost, Evie. Are you sure you’re alright?” Jax looked me up and down. His tone quickly changed to protective. “Whose hoodie are you wearing?”
My eyes connected to Caleb’s. “It’s the style now. Girls wearing men’s hoodies.”
“You still look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“Yeah, I guess I’m just shocked you told him about me is all.”
I was surprised he was sharing this information with anyone. Jax and I didn’t really talk about his career. The few times I’d heard him talking about his agent, he never referred to him by name.
I had no idea Caleb and Jax even knew each other.
“I trust Caleb, Evie. He’s not going to run his mouth to anyone. Before he was my agent, he was my fraternity big brother when I was a freshman. We’ve been best friends ever since. He’s the reason I have this place to begin with. He worked it in my contract. Caleb has my back, and I know he’ll have yours too.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. It was like an episode of The Twilight Zone.
“The season’s about to start. Most of my time is going to be spent in Miami. You don’t have anyone other than me, and Caleb lives twenty minutes from here. He can look out for you. It’s why I told him. With me not around, you’ll still have family with you.”
Caleb winced. It was quick, but I saw it.
His loyalty was to my brother.
But where did that leave us?
I opened my mouth to respond, but again I couldn’t form words.
Is that why he’s pretending he doesn’t know me?
Finally, my heart caught up to my mind, and I questioned, “Jax, don’t you think this is something we should have discussed first?”
“I didn’t expect Caleb to show up before you. You’re late.”
“Is this what you wanted to tell me?”
“It’s what I wanted to tell both of you. He’s already promised me he’ll be around for you, Evie. And I can’t tell you how much peace of mind that’s giving me. I don’t want to worry about you. You’re a kid in a new city.”
“I’m almost nineteen.”
“With no life experience.”
“I’m the bastard child, but I have no life experience?” I folded my arms over my chest. “Make that make sense, Jax.”