I’m laying it on thick because it’s my truth. I wait because I’m a patient bastard. Ever chews on her bottom lip. Her forehead crinkles. I smooth out the lines. “Believe me, I’m as mindfucked as you are, but how about we go with the pull and see what happens?”
She doesn’t answer the question. Instead, Ever calls me out. “One day and one night, that was the bargain, but it seems like you want more time.”
She’s right. I want all her time. Except that my time with her is shared with the ghost of her memories of Carlos. Ever is still hung up on him. I’m not a jealous fuck. Not of a ghost.
But for this to work, for us to work, Ever has to choose the present and the future.
In the end, Ever has to choose me.
29
EVER
Bobby doesn’t stick around Dumas for the weekend. After he dropped a kiss on the top of my head with the promise that we’d video chat at our same agreed-upon time of 10 p.m., Bobby left with Slate in Slate’s pickup truck.
Was he upset that I turned down his request to stay at my place and instead asked him to check into a hotel, or take up Midnight’s offer to stay at his place? He didn’t seem upset, insisting he return to Crimson. There was business that needed to be taken care of, and it had to be done in person.
Does he conduct business on the weekends too? Does Bobby ever take time off? Will his business always take him away from me? I thought I was his priority. I roll my eyes at where my thoughts are wandering. They’re taking me down the path of a needy, desperate girlfriend.
I wasn’t jealous when other women approached Carlos, or when he spoke to them, but with Bobby? I want to yank out the hair of any woman who dares to look or talk to him.
Done with my last class and needing to make a stop before I get ready for my short shift at Sweet Creations, I walk-run to the building that houses all the nursing classes. My backpack thumps against my back. I hitch it up higher on my shoulder and push open the door of the building.
My professor said the lecture hall is to my right. That’s where Miss Hopper teaches. Her last lecture ends at noon. I have to haul ass. My shift starts at one. I hurry to the lecture hall’s double doors and push them open.
Voices drift from the front of the class. The rows of seats are empty. I see Miss Hopper talking to a tall, muscular man. Gwen’s there too. Of course Gwen would be there. Miss Hopper is one of her professors. But the man? The doors creak closed behind me. Miss Hopper stops talking to the man and looks in my direction. “Hello.”
I lift my hand and wave.
“What can I help you with?”
With my gaze locked on the tall guy’s head, I hurry down the side aisle of the lecture hall.
Tall and muscular looks familiar, and he’s standing close to Gwen. Is it one of the twins? I met Bram and Benedict once, but they left a lasting impression. Tall, muscular, and good-looking, with an air of arrogance about them. They crashed Gwen’s Sasquatch-hunting party wearing expensive-looking suits. This guy is also wearing an expensive suit.
The tailored royal-blue suit jacket clings to his broad shoulders and the impressive muscles of his back. The hem hits below his thick waist, drawing my gaze to how well his slacks mold to his tight ass.
I shouldn’t stare so hard. Bobby would be pissed if he found out I was checking out one of his twin half-brothers. The man turns, and desire grips and twists my insides into knots. Speak of the devil.
“Ever.” Bobby’s eyes widen with surprise. He acknowledges me with a nod.
My phone chimes. It’s my timer. Crap. I have to make this quick. I fumble inside my backpack and turn off the alarm on my phone.
Ignoring Bobby and Gwen, who is looking from me to Bobby with her brows furrowed and her eyes narrowed, I walk up to Miss Hopper with a piece of paper in my hand.
“I would’ve sent this to you by email, but I need to turn it in today.” I hand the paper to her. “I’m sorry for the short notice. Flu season is around the corner, and the place where I volunteered thought it would be a good idea to partner with your nursing students. Nurses and pharmacists will be there to give the shots, but we thought it’d be great for the nursing students to help with the intake forms. I reached out to the dean of nursing, and she said I’d need your okay. That you’re in charge of the curriculum.”
Miss Hopper reads over the paperwork. Her brow lifts in surprise. “It’s at the bingo hall.”
“That’s correct. The residents find the hall to be a safe and stress-free environment.”
“I see.”
Bobby’s gaze is boring into the side of my face. I continue to ignore him.
“You need this by today?”
“Yes. It doesn’t have to be now. I can pick it up after six, if that works for you.”
