“I uh, stopped by that meadow your mom mentioned you like to go to,” he tells me, his voice strained—choked, almost. He hands me the flowers with a sheen of sweat forming on his visage.
Evan Waters—big brusque man that he is—just came waltzing onto my doorstep, wildflower bouquet in hand, looking like he just got maimed in a bar brawl.
“Thank you for these, but are you alright?” I ask him.
He shakes his head, wiping at some of the sweat with the back of his hand. “It would have been a bigger bunch, but I, uh—I’m allergic to bees.”
I gasp, reaching out and touching my fingertips to his swollen face. “Evan, oh my gosh!”
I scurry into Morgan’s bathroom and find some allergy meds and wet a washcloth for him. Hauling him into the living room, I press him onto the couch—startling the daylight out of Snarf, who tears off upstairs—and fetch Evan a glass of water. “Why the heck were you even out getting those if you’re allergic to bees?!”
“Same reason I hang out in your house with your cat,” he mumbles, swallowing the pill and pressing the cold cloth to his face. “You’re worth it.”
“You’re allergic tocatstoo? Jiminy Crickets, Evan,” I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Do I need to see if Sherri has an Epi-Pen?”
He shakes his head. “No, the pill should help, I think. I’ll be fine.”
I’m leery of believing him, as I stroke my hand down his cheek, threading my fingers into his beard. “So, wait—you’re not mad at me?” I ask him, after that ‘you’re worth it’ statement sinks in.
Evan looks gutted by that question. Ok, now I’mseriouslyconfused. He definitely disappeared for three days after taking off annoyed, right? I didn’t imagine all that?
“I’m not mad at you. I don’t think I ever was. I was mad at myself and took it out on you. Sure, I was a little taken aback that you knew about Colton and didn’t tell me, but ultimately, that’s my own fault for not knowing my son better…”
“So you didn’t disappear because you were mad at me for withholding that information?” I double-check.
“No, I took off because I got a text from my brother that Dad didn’t come back to the harbor when expected. I was driving around because the cell coverage here isn’t that great, and I was waiting for updates from Gannett. I got a flat tire on my bike. Didn’t Kai tell you? He gave me a ride into town, so I could get a new tire…”
I glance up the stairs and glare at the shut door to Morg’s room. “That must have slipped his mind,” I mutter dryly.
So, he knew all along that Evan didn’t ghost me, but he let me believe that anyway? Furthermore, Colton’s worried about his dad hating him, and all this time, Kai knew? Finding out that Kai is the one who dumped Evan’s mattress into the lake—because Kai is a stupidbraggart who let that little tidbit slip—was one thing, but this is too much.
This goes beyond stupid pranks. Something’s definitely off with Kai, but suddenly I don’t have a single flying frick about going up there to address it. I don’t need him getting his hopes up that I actually am reconsidering my firm ‘no’ about us getting back together.
Evan’s voice steals my attention away from the closed door. “Yeah, then when I still didn’t hear back, I drove out to Ternbay myself. I need to get a new phone now, because I dropped my phone in the ocean while hauling Dad’s broken-down boat in.”
“Is he alright?” I gasp.
Evan nods, pulling me in close and wrapping his arms around me—like I’m his safety net. “Fine now, but he ended up having a heart attack right on the pier after we got his boat in the slip.Again. This was his second one. The fucking guy is like a rubber ball; he keeps bouncing back.
“But, for the record, I felt bad about how abruptly I left without saying anything. I fought tooth and nail for these apology flowers. If you thinkI’mbad, you should see the bee.” He chuckles. “In all seriousness, though, I was worried about Dad, but I didn’t tell you that, and I should have.”
I smirk. “So communication is a good thing, yeah?”
“Yeah,” he agrees with a small smile.
“I can consider forgiving you,” I tease. “The flowers help. I really appreciate them, Evan.”
My lips stay parted, wanting to say more—about how relieved I truly am that he’s not gone, about how I thinkI love him—but I know it’s too soon. It’s insane, really, to think about how lost I was without him and how grateful I am that he's come back, seemingly with renewed purpose. I’m far too swept up in emotion, and that’sall this is. All I’ll do is freak him out, if I say those words right now, though.
He pulls back, studying my eyes, running his fingers through my hair and planting a tender kiss on my lips. He smiles when he sees the look of relief that washes over me. He cups both my cheeks, tilts my head up, and leans in.
“You have no idea how fucking happy that makes me,” he murmurs, brushing his lips on mine.
For many minutes we lose ourselves in the give and take of tongues and tiny moans and whimpers. This kiss doesn’t feel like someone who’s been gone for just a few days, it feels like two people meeting again after a lifetime apart. When I finally peel away again, my lips feel just as puffy and swollen as his look, and I find that I’m now fully straddling his lap.
This man definitely does not lack depth, no matter what notion had previously been drilled into him.
“I told Wagner and Gan that I’m gay,” Evan admits. “Mom probably knows already by now too, if not seventy-five percent of the population of Ternbay.”
