I winced. “You’re not the only one who’s been fucking up. I’ve done a pretty great job of it too.”
“Well how about we start afresh?” Evan extended his hand solemnly. “Hi, I’m Evan. I’m stubborn. I like to think I’m funny but my friends would probably disagree, and I have an unhealthy addiction tocustard cream biscuits.”
I shook his hand, trying to ignore how good it felt to have my hand enclosed in his larger one. “Custard creams? Why not bourbons?”
Evan’s nose wrinkled. “Ew. No. They’re so dry.”
“That’s why you dip them in tea.” I tilted my head. “I wonder which biscuit was invented first. I should Google that. Or add it to my list.”
“I’m dying to see this list,” Evan confessed. “Your brain kind of fascinates me.”
“Well that’s good, because it drives me crazy sometimes.”
“Nah, I love trying to figure out how it works. It’s made guarding you a pleasure, not a chore.”
Evan really needed to stop giving me these morsels. If he didn’t, I’d become addicted, and that wasn’t good news for anyone. “I didn’t realise you were even part of the shift rotation. After what I said to you, I thought you wanted nothing more to do with me.”
“That could never happen.” Evan shook his head. “I’m always going to be there if you need me, Reid.”
“Wait,” I said suddenly. “The takeaway deliveries…the puzzles…”
Evan’s expression turned cagey. “What about them?”
“It was you, wasn’t it?”It was. It was. It was.
His thumb stroked my hand idly. “Do ye want it to have been me?”
Yes. No.Fuck, I didn’t know.
No, I did.
I wanted it to have been him. But I didn’t want to want that. Or rather, I knew Ishouldn’twant that.
Jesus, my brain was a mess.
“Maybe.”
“Then maybe it was me,” he said lightly. “Maybe it wasme trying to make your life a little bit brighter from afar. Really, what I’d like to do is attempt it up close.”
I wanted to believe that, but I was a lot to be around. Evan might change his mind once he actually spent time with me. It was all very well observing my life, but being part of it? It would exhaust him the same way as it did me.
My family couldn’t put up with me, so why would Evan?
“Come on.” He slapped his knees. “Let’s go and grab you some clothes. You can’t be comfy just wearing that.”
I gathered his hoody around me like he might snatch it off me right now. “I’m fine. Better than fine. This is great.”
Possibly the best thing I’d ever worn. I tried not to think about whether that was because of the material or because it was Evan’s.
I was too scared of what the answer would be.
Evan smiled gently. “That’s good, because my wolf likes seeing you in my clothes.”
My tongue suddenly felt too big for my mouth. “Just your wolf?”
He held my gaze firmly. “Are ye sure yer ready for the answer to that?”
It was too much. I ducked my head, cutting off the moment.
