I narrowed my eyes at him as I drank the rest of my coffee. The slam of the front door startled me. I forgot for a moment that this wasn’t only Jack’s office anymore.
“Mornin’ Jack. Hey, Paige! I didn’t know you were coming in today,” Evan gave me a big, heart-stopping smile as he strode to his desk. I had no idea how they both worked together in this tiny back office without being claustrophobic.
“I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d drop by and show you guys the printouts of the new sign.” I reached over to hand Evan the papers I already showed Jack.
“Hmm, this is really good. I like it in blue.” Evan only glanced at the designs for a moment. His eyes had been on me since he came into the room. I glanced over at Jack and he rolled his eyes at me as he tilted his head in Evan’s direction. My cousin was right as usual, I was absolutely fucking clueless.
“I’ll let you guys get back to your day.” I stood to grab my bag before heading out the door.
“Paige, wait. I’ll walk you out.” Evan shot up from his chair and jogged to where I was standing. Jack shook his hand at Evan’s back like he was cracking a whip. I sighed and shook my head.
“I can see you, asshole,” Evan growled at Jack without turning around, but he was trying to hold back a smile. I couldn’t help but laugh at both of them.
“Far be it from me to stand in the way of romance,” Jack placed his hands over his chest and mimed his thumping heart. “You kids have fun; just remember one of you needs to come back to go through the new tile samples.” After our talk, I enjoyed seeing the sarcastic jerk I grew up with was still very much there.
I shook my head and followed Evan out the office door to the storefront beyond.
“Looking forward to tomorrow night?” Evan asked as he turned and leaned against the door.
“Yes, absolutely.” He surprised me by taking my hand and pulling me close. I was speechless as he cradled my face in his hands. Every single hair on the back of my neck stood straight up. His fingers were rough, typical of a man who worked with his hands, but his gentle touch sent shivers up my spine.
“You know, if we kiss now, it will probably be easier when we go out. I can focus on conversation better if I’m not wondering if your lips feel as soft as they look.” Evan’s thumb traced along my bottom lip as I struggled to stay upright. The hungry expression in his eyes as he gazed at me turned me into a puddle. Who was this guy? Since we admitted our attraction to each other, it was as if Evan had flipped a switch. He had been so shy that he kept his feelings to himself for years, but now he was melted sex on a stick.
“Maybe.” The word came out of my mouth in a throaty whisper. Evan laughed as he kissed my forehead. I closed my eyes as his lips lingered. He smelled so delicious; I wanted to bury my face in his neck and breathe him in. I let my hands run up his arms and meet at the back of his neck.
In a short time, the pull between us was becoming palpable. I glanced up at Evan as he darted out his tongue and licked his bottom lip. The more I stared at that beautiful mouth, the more I wanted to taste it.
I was just about to devour his lips when the door opened behind us and Jack loudly cleared his throat.
“I’d hate to interrupt this episode of The Bachelor, but the guys at the Murphy job have a problem. The customer is saying that what we’re installing isn’t what she asked for, so one of us needs to go over there with her signed estimate and straighten it out. Sorry, lover boy.”
“Say no more.” I held my hand up and turned to leave. “I’m done distracting your partner.” I leaned over and pressed a kiss on Evan’s cheek. “At least for now.” I whispered in his ear. He shut his eyes tight as his breath hitched.
“Tomorrow?” I cocked an eyebrow at him, and a slow smile spread across his face.
“Tomorrow.” Evan winked before turning back inside.
I laughed to myself as I strolled back to my car.
Life may have not turned out the way I wanted it to, but Evan may have been the best strange twist so far.
My bed looked like Old Navy threw up all over it. Why was I so damn jumpy? This was Evan, after all. Jack’s sweet friend, a harmless nice guy—who now made me weak in the knees with only a glance in my direction.
I decided on skinny jeans and a sleeveless green blouse that always got me a lot of compliments. I wasn’t sure if it was the color that brought out my eyes or the extra cleavage I showed. I liked the way Evan looked at me, but I wanted to turn it up a notch tonight. I pulled on flat strappy sandals since limping in heels if we had to walk anywhere definitely wouldn’t be sexy. I peered out the window of my first floor apartment. I lived in a two family house on a relatively quiet block. My neighbors were mostly families so there were always kids playing outside.
Evan pulled up in his silver pick-up truck. I didn’t call out to him as he parked. Instead, I watched like a creeper as he got out and then reached back over to the passenger’s seat to grab something—a bouquet of flowers. In my thirty-something years, I could count on one hand the number of times a guy brought me flowers, and that included my junior and senior proms, when flowers were a mandate, not a sweet gesture. Towards the end, Chris came home with flowers a couple of times, probably to cover up the guilt over screwing someone else.
I ran back inside. I didn’t want to look like the peeping Tom I really was. I closed the door to my bedroom so he wouldn’t see the mess, and gave the rest of the place a once over. I jumped when I heard the bell. I hadn’t been on a first date in three years, and if I didn’t calm my ass down I would completely ruin it. I took a deep, hopefully cleansing, breath, and made my way to the door.
“Hey, sorry it took so long to answer—” I stopped mid-sentence as my breath caught. Holy hell, he looked good. Evan wore a gray button down shirt that exposed his forearms, and black jeans. His arms were quickly becoming my favorite thing in the whole world. The shirt hugged his built frame perfectly. His eyes twinkled as he smiled at me.
“It probably took you a little bit to get from the window to the door.” He raised an eyebrow at me. Damn. I got caught. I gave him a sheepish smile and shrugged. What could I say? Evan’s eyes scanned my body before he looked away. Yes, this was the perfect blouse for tonight.
“You look . . . beautiful. As usual.” Evan smiled as he handed me the bouquet.
“Wow, flowers? You’re spoiling me.”
“I know it’s a little cheesy, but like I said, I’ve waited a long time for tonight so I wanted to do things right.” They were daisies; I was never going to shake that nickname.
“Daisies? The flower that makes everything beautiful just by being in the room?” A slow smile spread across Evan’s face.
“Just like another Daisy I know.” I opened the door to invite Evan in, and my cheeks got a little hot. I hoped I wasn’t blushing. It was as if I was sixteen and this was the first guy who ever took me out. Everything felt new and exciting, but still a little scary given my less than stellar relationship history.
“Let me just put these in water and we’ll get going. Thank you so much.” I pressed a light kiss on his cheek, and the air got thin for a moment. My heart skipped a beat as I waited for Evan to kiss me. He wrapped his arm around my waist, but only kissed my forehead.
“You’re very welcome.” I smiled into his neck and pulled him into a hug. Being in his arms felt amazing—thrilling but somehow familiar at the same time. We hadn’t even left my apartment and this was already the best date I ever had.
“So this place must be awesome if we’re driving over two bridges to get there.” I teased Evan as he drove.
“It’s really good, and Williamsburg is a cool place. I thought it would be nice to get out of the neighborhood and go somewhere new. Not worry about running into anyone we know.”