Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 92547 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92547 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
“I wish you had told me you were coming.” I blew a breath of frustration up into my hair.
“Then it wouldn’t have been a surprise.”
“I would’ve told you not to come.”
“That’s real nice,” he huffed, running a hand through his short brown hair.
As we fell silent, crickets chirped.
“Scott…” I finally said. “I’m sorry. I can’t invite you to stay here. It wouldn’t be fair to his daughter.”
“Where else am I gonna stay if you couldn’t find a place in town?”
This was a conundrum. He’d come all this way, and I couldn’t kick him out on the street this late in the evening.
I shook my head. “I’m sorry for not being more welcoming.” Waving him in, I added, “Come inside. I’ll explain the situation to Evan.”
As we entered, though, there was no sign of Evan in the kitchen or the living room.
I pointed to my bedroom. “That’s mine. Go hang out in there for a bit. Relax. You came a long way. I’m gonna talk to him.”
Scott groaned under his breath as he begrudgingly entered my room. He and I had only been dating about five months. While he treated me well, and I enjoyed this company, I’d often doubted whether he was the one. I had wanted my time alone here in Dry River to clear my head in that regard. Before I’d come, I’d told him I wouldn’t blame him if he wanted to see other people. We’d left things fairly up in the air but hadn’t technically broken up. I’d tried to discourage him from coming to visit because my focus needed to be on Mom and on clearing the storage unit. He’d apparently thought I didn’t mean it.
My heart raced as I went to find Evan. By process of elimination, I realized he was in his bedroom.
I knocked lightly.
“Come in,” I heard him say.
Evan was already in bed, the TV lighting his face. He sat up and reached for the remote, pausing whatever he’d been watching as he moved to sit at the edge of the bed. He was shirtless, the ripples of his tight abs on full display. It had been years since I’d seen his bare chest, but I hadn’t remembered it being this defined. Seriously… When did he have time to work out? I tried not to stare at his gorgeously tan pecs. It was likely a crime to drool over one man when your supposed boyfriend was in the next room.
“Is he still here?” Evan asked.
“Yes. I don’t know what to do with him because it’s late, and there’s likely still no vacancy in town.” I lowered my voice, realizing I could wake Effie up. “I’m so sorry he just showed up like this. I had no idea he was planning to come.”
“You never mentioned having a boyfriend.”
“I know.” I couldn’t really explain why I’d kept that information from Evan. I wasn’t trying to be deceitful. There just hadn’t been a lead-in to that conversation. If he’d asked me, I would’ve told him about Scott. “Much like your situation with Naomi, things are complicated. I sort of left things up in the air before I came here, unsure whether I wanted to continue seeing him after I returned to Chicago. He’s a good guy. But I have a lot going on right now and didn’t want the extra pressure. We didn’t exactly break up, but I told him I’d understand if he wanted a break. I didn’t think it was a good idea for us to stay together since I wasn’t sure when I’d be returning. This was apparently his way of showing me he cares, but I wish he’d told me he was coming.”
Evan held his palm out. “You don’t owe me an explanation. But I would prefer he not stay here beyond tonight.”
Beyond tonight. It brought me relief to know I didn’t have to send Scott packing, but now there didn’t seem to be any way around it. “Maybe it’s better if I do take the new place the property management company offered.”
“Yeah. Whatever you need to do.” His tone was cold.
“I’m sorry, Evan.”
His eyes were piercing. “What are you apologizing for?”
I honestly didn’t know. “I’m sorry to disturb your sleep.”
“I wasn’t sleeping.”
“Right.” I looked down. “Anyway…goodnight.”
Evan nodded as I left the room.
I walked down the short hallway, and the air felt heavy. I didn’t want to leave. And I wasn’t entirely sure what that meant. But I was totally bummed that Evan had just encouraged me to take the other rental house after all. Yet how could I blame him? I wouldn’t want some strange guy in my house, either, if I had a young daughter.
Back in my room, Scott’s eyes were closed, and he lay on my bed with his feet up.
He stirred when he heard me enter. “Sorry. Long day.” He grinned, sitting up straight. “So, are we on the streets tomorrow, or…”