“Me, too,” Evan said before following her toward the elevator.
They were silent on the way up.
“I’m going to call Kaye,” Evan said. “Check in with Sophia. You want to talk to Carly?”
“Absolutely.”
While Evan talked to his daughter, Becs slipped into the bathroom and changed into her pajamas. She washed her face and pulled her hair up in a ponytail to keep it out of her face while she slept.
By the time she was finished, Evan was saying good night. He passed her the phone.
Becs put the phone to her ear at the same time Carly said, “Hey, Mommy.”
“Hey, honey.” She slid into the desk chair, smiling simply because she could hear her daughter’s voice. “Did you have fun today?”
She listened as Carly rattled off everything they’d done during the day. Every single thing, including what they’d eaten—the pancakes they had for breakfast, the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches they had for lunch, and the macaroni and cheese they had for dinner.
“Sounds like you had a good day,” Becs surmised.
“I did. When are you coming home?”
“Tomorrow, I think,” she said.
“Really?” Carly squealed. “Yay.”
Becs grinned. “I want you to be good for Kaye until then, all right?”
“Yes, Mommy. Sleep tight. Don’t let the bed bugs bite.”
Becs laughed. “Good night, honey.”
The call disconnected, and she sat there for a moment, clutching Evan’s phone.
“You okay?”
Realizing he’d come out of the bathroom, her gaze shot to him. He was wearing shorts, but unlike the other morning when she’d woken him to tell him she was leaving, Evan had on a T-shirt. A shame, really. The guy looked really good without a shirt.
Pushing to her feet, she passed him his phone. “Yeah. Good night.”
Before she reached the doorway to the bedroom, Evan called her name.
She turned slowly, holding her head up, hoping he wouldn’t bring up the conversation they’d had last night. She didn’t need him to tell her that now wasn’t the right time for him to be in a relationship.
“Areweokay?” Evan asked, stepping toward her.
With her jaw set, she nodded.
His gaze shifted to her mouth, and Becs’s heart slammed hard in her chest. She swallowed, then took a deep breath, trying to get air into her constricted lungs. When he looked at her like that, she could easily forget that she wanted to be friends. Or rather, that she didn’t want to lose their friendship by starting something that would only end badly. And it would. Pessimism or not, Evan didn’t want anything more from her, and Becs wasn’t willing to risk their friendship for anything less than everything.
“I’m sorry if I did something to upset you,” he said softly.
“You didn’t,” she whispered, staring into his eyes as he seemed to move even closer.
“I don’t want to complicate things, Becs.”
Evidently, he didn’t realize he was sending some serious mixed signals. If he moved any closer, she was going to fall into him, and that complication was going to be inevitable.
His fingers swept along her jaw, and she gasped, hating that tears were forming.
