‘Evie, I’ll see you tomorrow evening for our trip to the movies.’
Jack tried to let the exchange allay his fears that Evie had anything but good intentions with Nicole, and from what he’d seen he had to concede they were even closer than he’d thought. And Nicole was an excellent judge of character, unafraid to stand up for herself.
‘Could I walk you home, Evie?’ Once Nicole went on her way, it seemed logical and it’d be a good opportunity to really put his fears to rest. He rubbed gloved hands together as the icy bite of the cold continued its quest to penetrate any material tonight.
‘I don’tneedyou to walk me home.’ She grinned. ‘But if you’d like me to walkyouhome, I’m going that way.’ She pointed in the opposite direction from where Nicole had turned. ‘I’m a few blocks shy of the New York Public Library.’
He whistled and returned her smile, glad they could be civil. ‘That’s quite a way. Will you take the subway?’
‘I like to walk.’
‘Even at night?’
The look she gave him suggested he should stop implying she was anything but capable. ‘Walking it is, then.’ He held out his arm for her to take the lead on a walk that’d be at least forty minutes.
Evie pulled her bobble hat over her head covering her honey-blonde hair, and they walked the Manhattan streets that hadn’t calmed much at all in the last couple of hours. A row of taxis lined the street, honking their horns, all trying to get to their destination first.
‘Can I ask you a question?’ She looked up at him from beneath her scarf. Her lips and chin were buried beneath the soft wool.
‘Go on.’
‘What made you come to the shelter tonight?’
She was as suspicious as he was, questioning motives, wanting to know what was what. ‘I saw Nicole go in and I wanted to speak with her.’
‘What about?’
‘You’re very nosey, aren’t you?’
‘I’m just looking out for my friend, that’s all. Surely you understand that.’
She had a point. ‘I wanted to talk to her about my father.’ He didn’t mention the real reason was to get some idea about Evie’s relationship with their mutual friend. He knew she’d only argue with him. ‘My father tried to apologise the other day, but they ended up having another fight.’
Evie looked up at him now, soft blue eyes suddenly curious. ‘Let me guess, it was about me?’
‘Not everything revolves around you,’ he said, but smiled. ‘But in this case, yes, it was about you. My father thinks a lot of Nicole—’ He held up a hand before she could say the obvious. ‘I know his past behaviour doesn’t exactly support the claim, but he does.’ He gulped, on the precipice of divulging his mother’s death and how Nicole had filled a void, stepping in almost like a second mother even though it wasn’t her official role. But he hadn’t stopped himself because Evie wouldn’t understand—she of all people would most likely get it—but because he didn’t want to reveal too much of himself. It made him sound weak, and if it’s one thing the Churchill men weren’t allowed to be, it was that.
What Evie said next surprised him. ‘Nicole can be pretty stubborn when she wants to be.’
His laughter caused white puffs of air to come from his mouth as they rounded another corner and ran across the road between parked cars. ‘She’s a strong woman.’
‘She likes to get her own way.’ Evie giggled.
He liked the sound of her laugh, the easy chatter they’d found with one another tonight. ‘Is that what she did with you?’
‘The night she first found me and tried to take me under her wing, it took all my willpower to turn her away.’ Evie’s face finally emerged from beneath the scarf. Whether it was because she’d warmed up or because she felt more comfortable, he had no idea. ‘She helped me a few times, and it was only after the night she lost her job that I gave in. I guess I felt bad I’d caused it to happen. I think part of me had always wanted to let her help since I met her at the shelter the month before Thanksgiving, but at the same time I wanted to fight my own fight.’
He could relate to that. His father had given him a business on a platter, encouraged him all the way. He was financially secure for life but felt trapped inside a maze that had no exit for him, following paths that didn’t lead to his own happiness.
They came to a stop outside a classic New York brownstone. ‘This is me,’ said Evie with a smile he’d not seen much since they’d first met. Her lips were pink from being buried beneath the scarf, heart-shaped at the top with a fuller lip on the bottom.
‘Well, it was nice to see you again.’ He cleared his throat and dragged his gaze away from her mouth.
‘Thanks for walking me home.’
‘It was my pleasure.’ He waited for her to take the steps up to the main door and let herself in to the brownstone that had gold doorbells lined up to indicate it had been converted, like plenty of others, into apartments. But instead she took the flight down to a basement.
He gave her a nod and a wave and went on his way. When Nicole had told him Evie had found her own apartment, he’d immediately jumped to the perhaps unfair conclusion that Nicole was helping her financially. How else would she be able to afford to live in such a salubrious area? But now he’d seen the basement, the window below street level, already anticipating the lack of space inside, and after talking to Evie tonight and recognising the independent streak he wished he could conjure up for himself, he had no doubt she was paying her own way.
