"Hey, mom." He walked over, leaning down to press a kiss to her cheek, and Adriana turned to look at him, brandishing the spatula that she was holding with wide eyes. The dark hair that Evan had inherited from her was pulled up into a messy topknot, and there was a streak of flour on her cheek from God knows what.
"Evan! You scared me!" She whacked him lightly on the chest with her free hand, looking at him reproachfully with narrowed hazel eyes. "You should have let me know when you were on your way."
Evan smiled, the remainder of the tension that he had been carrying fading away at his mother's fussing. "I texted you. You never responded."
She frowned at him, her eyes narrowing suspiciously as she snatched up her phone and checked her messages, rolling her eyes when she saw that he was telling the truth. "You know better than to text me if it's something important. You should have called."
Evan shook his head, rolling up his sleeves and grabbing a rag from the sink to start cleaning the small messes that his mother had left behind in her mission to cook a gourmet dinner for the family. Behind him, Christy sat at the bar and pulled out her phone, popping a headphone in one ear and tuning them out asEvan started to wipe down the counter. "I was just coming home for dinner, mom. Not a national crisis. I did not need to call you."
Adriana muttered something reproachful under her breath that made Evan smile, and he was sweeping up some stray eggshells when his father walked through the kitchen archway, tossing his suit jacket over his arm and pulling his tie loose.
"Evan." His father, Chris, wrapped an arm around Evan's shoulders and gave him a tight side-hug as he passed by. "Your mom didn't tell me you were coming home tonight."
Adriana giggled as Chris wrapped his arms around her waist, dragging her away from the stove to kiss her deeply as Evan threw away the trash in the now-full dustpan. He rolled his eyes a little at their overt display of affection, but it warmed him on the inside.
He had always had a wonderful example of love and the strong bond that came from a well-matched partnership. It was all he had ever wanted; he just hadn't found the right person yet.
"He barely told me that he was coming home tonight." Adriana sent another reproachful gaze towards Evan as Chris released her and she turned back to the stove, but the look had no heat. He knew that both of his parents were happy to have him home, and he just grinned as his father shook his head.
"He's an adult, sweetheart. He doesn't need to let you know when he gets on the road." Chris rolled his eyes, winking at Evan before he brushed past him again, tossing his suit jacket on the table. "James didn't want to come this time?"
Evan's stomach twisted a little at the mention of his friend, and he shook his head, forcing an easy smile that he didn't feel. "Nah. Homework. You know how he is."
The words didn't ring quite true, and Chris's eyes narrowed as he jerked his head at Evan, indicating for him to follow as he turned and made his way out of the kitchen.
Evan followed his father into the expansive master bedroom, where he started to undo his cufflinks and take his shoes off, looking at Evan with some resignation. "Is it his father again?"
Evan sighed, running a hand through his hair. James' situation was as familiar to his family as it was to him; the number of nights that James had stayed at his house in the early days of their friendship to escape their father made it impossible for themnotto know.
"A little," he finally admitted. "He's threatening to pull James out of school again."
Chris's eyes flashed with anger, and he rolled the sleeves of his dress shirt up. "What for, this time?"
Evan shrugged. "The same as usual, I guess." He chewed the inside of his cheek, then sighed. "Dad..."
Chris raised an eyebrow, pausing in taking one of his socks off. He clearly sensed the shift in conversation, and he folded his arms across his chest, waiting for Evan to continue.
But how did one broach this type of conversation? Evan leaned against a dresser, mirroring his father's posture as he bit his cheek harder, then blew out a breath. "Dad, how did you know that mom was...not the one, exactly. I don't believe in love at first sight. But how did you know that you wanted to be with her?"
Chris arched an eyebrow at him. "Did you meet someone?"
Evan frowned. Even just the vague reference to Camelia had his stomach twisting with complicated emotions. "I don't know."
Chris's eyebrow arched higher over his blue eyes, and Evan sighed. "It's complicated, Dad. There's this girl, she's new this year. I don't know anything about her but...every time I'm around her...Every time James and I are around her..."
Chris cocked his head to the side. "James likes her too?"
Evan shook his head. "It's...more complicated than that." His hands clenched into fists in his folded arms and relaxed. "It...it's like I'm...we, are drawn to her. Like, every time I see her, Ican't stay away, even though I know that it's probably best just to leave it alone. It's not just attraction. It's..." He let out a low growl of frustration. "It feels more instinctual than that, Dad. I can't explain it."
Chris was quiet for a few moments, letting Evan work through his feelings before he nodded once, then spoke. "When I met your mother, I thought that she was stunning. I saw her across the courtyard at prep school, and I knew that I wanted to get to know her."
Evan nodded; he had heard this story before. "But...did you feel like...a pull towards her? Yes, she was beautiful, yes you wanted to get to know her, but did it feelwrongif you weren't around her?"
The words landed heavily, and Evan realized that he had just put into words the feeling that had been bothering him since he had first seem Camelia. There was a sense of loss inside of him now whereshebelonged. If she wasn't around...
He didn't like it.
Chris offered a small smile, the corners of his eyes crinkling up as he shook his head. "No, nothing quite like that." He paused, and then, more gently, "But I'm not an Alpha, son. I can't relate to some of your more intense instincts. It's entirely possible..."
