Page 70 of The Challenge

The moonlight coming in through the window reflected in his brown eyes. “I wanted to say yes, Chloe, but I couldn’t admit that to you back then. It meant so much to me that you wanted me to be your first. But I considered myself far too experienced for you. And more than that, I didn’t want to ruin our relationship. But look what happened. I ruined it anyway.”

“Yeah, you big dummy.” I smacked him playfully. “I’m kidding. I believe everything happens for a reason. It was a blow to my ego, but I do understand now why you turned me down. And perhaps you were meant to meet Katerina and have Effie. She’s part of your life’s purpose. That couldn’t have happened with me in the picture. I don’t know what it all means, Evan, but it feels like me ending up here with you now was meant to be, too. At the very least, for us to make amends.”

“I know my daughter hopes you and I will become something,” he said. “And she doesn’t know the half of it—that we were something. That we will always be something, no matter where our lives take us. The connection we had never left. It’s just been smoldering for years.” He reached out to brush my hair aside. “But the fact remains, your life isn’t here. You don’t live in Dry River anymore. Yet this is where I am. This is where I have to be, and add to that the fact that any partner in my life will basically become a mother to Effie by default. It’s why I’ve always made sure the women I’ve dated never got too close because no one has ever been worthy of Effie’s heart. The last thing I ever want is to hurt her—or you—ever again.”

I let that sink in for a moment. “I love that you protect Effie so fiercely. She can’t afford another heartbreak. I get it.” Looking down at the pink note still in my hand, I cringed. Have sex with me, it read.

“I hate that note for ending our friendship,” he said. “But in a weird way, without it, we might not have gotten where we are today. You wouldn’t have left and become successful, and I wouldn’t have Effie. Me giving it back to you is a full-circle moment. You can burn it. Do whatever you want with it.”

I decided to make light of it. “Oh, you thought I said sex?” I joked. “Well, no wonder you acted weird all these years.”

He chuckled. “What does it actually say?”

I pointed to the note. “That clearly says Chex. The cereal?”

He laughed. “Oh yeah?”

“I was only asking you to have cereal with me. So you freaked out for nothing.” I winked.

“What a dumbass I am.” He smacked his head in jest.

“What are you guys laughing about?” a little voice said.

We turned to find Effie in the doorway.

“Sorry we woke you,” I said.

This house was way too small and the walls too thin.

She rubbed her eyes. “What’s so funny?”

“We were just talking about cereal,” Evan told her.

“That’s silly.” She yawned.

He pointed toward her room. “Go back to bed, baby. I promise we won’t wake you again.”

She nodded and turned away. After she disappeared down the hall, I stood and stepped away from the edge of the bed where we’d been sitting.

“I’d better go to sleep, too.”

As I walked away, Evan stopped me. “Hey.”

I turned. “Yeah?”

“Despite every seemingly logical thing I’ve said tonight, if you ever ask me to have Chex again, I’m gonna eat the shit out of it and lick the bowl clean.”

Chapter 27

EVAN

From Effie’s perspective, this was the biggest day of the year: my uncle Drew’s annual Halloween party. Drew always turned his place into a haunted house and invited half of Dry River. The only requirement for admittance was that you came in costume.

The day had started off right because somehow my daughter let me sleep in. I couldn’t remember the last time Effie had allowed me to stay in bed for any amount of time on a Saturday. Normally, she was my alarm clock, always wanting something special for breakfast on her day off from school.

But this particular morning, I got up at ten AM, and it felt like half of the day was over. The coffee was already made, but it was still hot on the machine. And there were some waffles sitting on a plate, waiting for me.

Yet the house was quiet. It didn’t seem like Chloe and Effie were here. What the hell?