“Could you not call my fatherDaddy?” Henry says close to my ear.
Where did he come from?It sends a ripple through my body. The man has been practically stalking me all week long, but I haven’t been in a touchable proximity. I haven’t felt his breath on my ear in well over a week now, and the reminder of what it does to me is like a Road Runner and Wyle E. Coyote run in. Always the same. A complete crash to my senses. And totally inevitable.
“Meat’s resting. Ev, mind helping me with the rest of it?” Henry asks as he walks back toward the kitchen.
When I look up, I see Michael looking at me. He darts his eyes toward Henry. His stare, back in my direction, says one glaringly obvious thing.He knows.He tilts his head, a silent question. My face must give him what he’s looking for, because he smiles and nods.
Dammit, Michael!
Dinner conversation is solely focused on Everly and Jack’s honeymoon. The incredible time they had doing absolutely nothing. It has me thinking how similar our time away was. I shake my head, knocking that thought away. Similar, but not the same. Mine was an emergency, drug-induced kidnapping mixed with a decades’ worth of pent-up sexual tension, while hers was the ellipses to finding and falling for who is sure to be the love of her life.
I bite into my grilled cheese. This one tastes like broccoli cheddar soup packed in between two buttery, crispy slices of bread. It’s delicious. I don’t realize I let out a moan when I take another bite, until I look to my left and see Henry staring at me. I watch his Adam's apple bob with a rough swallow.
I’d like to be bobbing up and down on his dick right now, if I’m being honest. He leans over and wipes a bit of cheese or something from the corner of my lip, and I smile. The simplest of gestures, and I want to melt all over him. The chatter from the room grows silent, and that’s the only reason we both stop looking at each other.
“The fuck did I just witness?” Law gawks at us, still standing from his celebratory tirade from a minute ago.
Henry shifts and looks around the room uncomfortably. Clearly not sure how to play this. I look at Everly, and she’s just smiling wide at me.
Shit.
* * *
It takes her two days to finally say something about the lip swipe scandal at Sunday dinner. Two days! Just when I think I’m in the clear, and she’s forgotten about it, I’m blindsided. I’m sitting inside of Brews & Books when the text that makes my heart stop and brain reset, comes through.
Everly
When are you going to stop avoiding me and just tell me that you’re sleeping with my brother?
Maybe if I ignore the question, it’ll go away.
Can’t talk right now. With a client.
Two minutes later, my best friend plops a spiked Earl Gray tea in front of me.
“I watched you freak out and then lie to me from the front window.”
“I didn’t freak out.” I take a sip.
“Okay, then. When you’re ready to talk to me about it, I’ll listen. But I’m going to just say a few things, and you’re going to hear me, okay?”
“I still don’t know what you’re talking about.” I flick my eyes up to her. “But I’ll listen.”
“You’re my soulmate, doll. It’s that simple. You tell me as much or as little as you want when you’re ready.” She takes a sip of her drink. Likely, a Hungry Eye. That woman and espresso with oranges. It’s borderline at the same level of obsession as me with lemons.
I wait, because I know she has more to say. Though a huge part of me is breathing a little easier, knowing that she’s not upset about it.
“Henry has been through a lot of shit. He’s tough. He handles it, but life, for some reason, likes to smack him around. So, I’d really love it if you’d go easy on him. Whatever it is. If it’s just fun, then let it be that. If it’s more, then just be careful with each other. I love you both far too much to see you hurt one another. But if I’m being honest, you’ve been so awful to each other over the years that any improvement is better than keeping the course you were on.”
I don’t respond. I’m not sure how I want to process any of this. Technically, Henry and I are supposed to be nothing right now. But I can’t help but want to say, ‘fuck that’ and crawl right back into his arms, to that spot my head fits perfectly into below his chin and on his chest. I like the flirty text messages and the blurred lines, but talking to Everly about it makes it too real. And when I think about real, and what I can offer him, it wouldn’t be enough.
I could never give him what he wants. I’ll always be in WITSEC. I can’t just be in a relationship. Be a wife. Give him a family. That’s not something I’m able to do for anyone, especially not a man like Henry. If anyone deserves all of the things he wants, it’s that man. I care about him too much to let him get stuck with me, and then realize too late it’s not enough. ThatIwouldn’t be enough.
So instead of addressing any of it, I let the air settle a little bit longer and then change the subject. Everly won’t push. And I don’t know that there is anything more to say.
“You need to let me raid your closet for the bachelor party on Friday night. I feel like I need to switch things up a bit. I’m feeling a little rock goddess meets slutty cocktail waitress.”
Without missing a beat, she leans forward and says, “I have the perfect skirt.”