“Why is that?” Alex frowned, looking mildly insulted, and Evie winced at her own wording. Before she could correct herself, the waitress arrived to take their orders, giving her a moment to gather her thoughts. When the waitress left, she gave him an apologetic smile.
“Sorry. I just figured someone would have told you who my dad was, and you would have blown me off.”
“Ooh.” Alex’s expression cleared as her reasoning clicked into place. “I knew who your dad was when I asked you out.” He reached across the table and took her hand, brushing his thumb across her knuckles in a soothing gesture. “But I also know Mr. Sloane has said more than once that you weren’t to blame, and he hired you to work for the super-secret Consulting Division. He obviously trusts you and doesn’t care, so why would I?”
“If I knew the answer to that, I wouldn’t have spent the last few years being avoided and talked about behind my back.” Evie shrugged, feeling a little guilty for assuming he would believe the rumours. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have made assumptions.”
"It's okay. Some of the guys said nasty things when I said I asked you out. Unfortunately for them, Thorn heard them, and they're now on department store duty." He grinned, lookingvery pleased with that outcome. "Then he gave me a very stern warning about hurting you, which was terrifying."
Evie chuckled, feeling her cheeks heat up, a little embarrassed that Thorn had pulled such a cliched move and made a mental note to talk to him about threatening potential dates. The waitress brought over their drinks and food, and they both thanked her.
"Yeah, Thorn can be a little overprotective. Just ignore him.” Using the food arriving as an excuse to take her hand back, Evie picked up her croissant, tore off the end, and popped it into her mouth. She thought Alex seemed a little disappointed that she had let his hand go, but it was gone so quickly that she decided she must have imagined it.
"Hey, the way I see it is if you've managed to have Thorn and Sloane so adamant about protecting you and showing how much they care, you must be pretty special.” He smiled at her as he picked up his BLT and took a bite of it.
“And I wanted to get to know you better." He continued after he swallowed.
“Well, since they both see me as their baby sister, I hope you don’t follow in their footsteps after you do. I have enough brothers, thanks.” Evie leaned back and sipped her iced mocha, a faint hint of amusement tugging at the corner of her mouth.
“I really don’t think you have anything to worry about there.” His eyes drifted over her again, appreciative in a way that made her stomach flip. She cleared her throat.
“Good.” She answered lightly, not wanting to ignore his comment but still hesitant to give him too much hope. She wasn’t sure yet if she wanted a second date. “So, now for the most basic and boring first-date question. What do you do for fun?”
“Mmm.” Alex hummed and took a sip of his Pepsi, his eyes brightening. “I like to get out of the city and go hiking and camping. The summer after high school, a few friends and I hiked the Appalachian Trail through Maine. We started at the Canadian border and headed south. It took four weeks and was brutal, but I was hooked.”
He leaned forward slightly, warming to the topic.
“The next summer, I did the New Hampshire and Vermont sections. Then Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey, the year after. Last summer, I made it through Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and halfway through Virginia. I moved here in July and started working with Sloane Security Services, so I couldn’t do the hike this year, but I’m planning and saving to finish the rest of the Virginia and, Tennessee and North Carolina sections next summer.”
“Wow.” Evie was impressed. She wasn’t a hiker herself, but she knew the Appalachian Trail was long and extremely difficult in some sections. She had also read stories and watched videos about the dangers of solo hiking, not to mention that several areas in the southern sections were supposedly haunted and known for hikers disappearing without a trace.
“You’re fortunate you got out of the Appalachian Trail alive,” she teased. “People go missing there all the time.”
“Yeah, a few people have gone missing while I was hiking it.” He nodded, then, when Evie raised her eyebrow and suppressed a smile, he realized how that sounded and held up his hands. “I swear I had nothing to do with them!”
Evie finished the last of her croissant and chuckled. “Sure. Guess I’ll just have to take your word for it.”
“Aren’t you a sassy little thing?” He grinned at her teasing, tilting his head as he leaned back in his seat. “Who would have guessed? Alright, smartass, what do you do for fun?”
Evie played with the straw in her drink, chewing her lower lip as she debated telling him about her latest hobby, something she hadn’t shared with Thorn or Tommy.
“Promise not to tell anyone?” She found Alex charming and wondered how he would react to her secret. “Especially not Thorn?”
“Cross my heart.” Alex traced a cross over his chest and leaned toward her, curiosity sparking in his eyes. “I won’t breathe a word.”
She leaned in close as well, hesitating a half second as she met his brown eyes, hoping she could trust him. “I write smutty romance stories,” she whispered, glancing around. She wasn’t exactly embarrassed, but it was so opposite her personality that she knew people would be shocked and curious, and she didn’t want anyone close to her reading them.
“You’re joking!” Alex’s voice came out too loud, but when she winced and shook her head, he lowered it again. “Are they published?”
“No, but I have them posted on a website for people to read.” Evie smiled, relieved he didn’t make fun of her or ask her what kind of smut she wrote.
“Can I read them?” He pulled out his phone, clearly ready to look up the website immediately, making her giggle.
“Maybe if we make it to, like, five dates.” She smiled and picked up her drink again.
“Why five?” He furrowed his brow, and she let out another low laugh.
“Because at that point, we should have had sex, and I’ll feel less self-conscious about you reading them.”
