"Oh, so you didn't mean to say it?" he asked with laughter in his voice.
"It's not that I don't mean it," I said, giggling, "but, no, I didn't mean to say it."
"But there you go saying it again," he said.
"No I didn't."
"You said not that you didn't mean it," he said.
"Yeah?"
"That's saying you do mean it. That's basically saying you love me again."
"Oh, you think so?" I said, giggling.
"I guess since you've said it twice now and put yourself out there, I should go ahead and step up and tell you I love you, too."
A stab of pure joy went shooting through my gut when I heard him say those words. "You do?"
"Sure I do," he said. "So, go get my dog, and get yourselves over here before I have to drive over there and pick you up."
"I'm going," I said. "I'm almost back to my mom's house. She's got a bed and some bowls over here, but I'll need to go by my place to grab some food if my mom doesn't have enough."
"Just get on the road," Evan said. "I'll go to the store and get her some food if your mom doesn't have enough."
"Okay," I said with a smile as I pulled into my mom's driveway. "We'll be there in a little while."
"I love you, Annabel. Be careful."
"I will," I promised. I hesitated, feeling nervous and vulnerable about saying the words on purpose. "I love you, too," I said in spite of my nerves.
"All right," I'll see you in a little while," he said.
"Okay, bye."
"Bye."
We disconnected, and I went into my mom's house to get Cupcake. She was obviously surprised to see me, but she rolled with it, and helped me get back on the road.
It took us just over three hours to get to Myrtle Beach. My mom lived on the south side of Charlotte, and I didn't make any stops on my trip. It was such an easy drive that I wondered why I hadn't done it before. Cupcake was riding in the passenger's seat of my car, and I rolled down the windows as we pulled into town so she could sniff the salt air.
I called Evan when my GPS told me there was 10 minutes left on the trip.
"We're ten minutes out," I said when he picked up the phone.
"It's Logan," the voice said on the other end of the phone. "She said she'll be here in ten minutes!" I heard the guy yell. Their voices must have been similar, because I thought it was Evan who answered the phone. "Evan's been buried in the sand for thirty minutes because he can't guess Izzy's password."
I smiled at the familiarity in Logan's tone. He seemed perfectly comfortable talking to me even though he'd never met me and he was also a famous actor. It was a little surreal talking to him like that.
"Paige and Ryan both seem to know it, but they're making Evan guess."
"Don't let them know I told you, but you can tell him to try whatever y'all had for lunch or dessert. She's usually thinking about food."
"I'll tell him," Logan said. "Never mind, he must have got it because he's climbing out of his hole as we speak. Hang on, I'll let you talk to him."
I started to say he didn't have to worry about it, but Logan already had the phone away from his ear.
"Hey," I heard Evan say. I could then appreciate the distinction between his and Logan's voice that I hadn't picked up on earlier. Evan's was slightly raspier.
"We're almost there, I think," I said.
"Ten minutes?" he asked.
"Seven now."
"I'll be out there," he said.
I smiled even though he couldn’t see me. "Okay."
We hung up without all the mushy stuff from earlier since he was freshly immerged from the sand and obviously standing right in front of some or all of his family.
I didn't quite know what to expect when everyone talked about the beach house. I'd read enough books and seen enough movies to have a good idea what it might look like, but Dee-dee's house was still different than I expected. I pulled up to a beautiful, powder green, three-story home with white trim. On first impressions, it was far grander than I thought it would be. There were about five other cars in the driveway, and I parked behind them, figuring I'd move mine later if it was in the way.
I made a kissing sound for Cupcake to jump out of my side, and I watched as she climbed over the console toward me. I didn't see Evan approaching, so it shocked me when he grabbed me from behind, taking me into his arms, and squeezing me around the waist. Before I knew what was happening, I was being hoisted into the air. "I have to pee!" I said, laughing as he wiggled and jiggled me around.
Evan set me down instantly. "I'm so sorry," he said, loosening his grip on my waist. "I just couldn’t wait to—"
"I like that you couldn’t wait," I said, turning toward him. He was standing so close that I nuzzled into his chest for a second. He had just wrapped an arm around my shoulder when Cupcake jumped up, gently trying to place her gigantic front paws onto Evan's shoulder. She wasn't quite tall enough to reach on her first jump, and she landed on his arm. Evan stooped to help her down, and he continued leaning over to rub and talk to her while he was down there. I watched as he touched his forehead to hers and they just stood there and stared lovingly into each other's eyes for a few seconds. She was totally flirting with him, and I smiled at the sight of them.
"I was missing you, girl," he said.
She just stood there and ate it up like the big chunk of love she was.
"But mostly I was missing your mama," he said, straightening to stand up and stare at me. He had on swim trunks and a loose fitting tank top that did nothing to hide his muscular arms and chest. He was, no doubt, my dream man. I wouldn't change a single thing about him.
"Mostly I was missing you, too," I said, smiling at him. "But I am seriously about to pop."
He smiled and placed a kiss right on my lips like he just couldn't help himself. I was so glad he did, because I couldn’t wait to kiss him either.
"Look to your left when you first walk in the front door," he said. "There's a little half bath on that wall under the stairs. I'll get Cupcake and your stuff and bring it in."
Chapter 17
There were about a million people in the house when I opened the front door. Evan had told me about his family, and I had heard stories from Paige and Mia over the years, but for some reason I pictured an empty room would be waiting for me when I opened the door—maybe I thought they were all at the beach, or maybe I just wasn't thinking about it. Either way, the amount of people who turned to look when I opened the door had me feeling stunned.
I smiled and tried to look like I wasn't shocked at all as I let my eyes fall onto all the faces staring back at me. My brain began to register the ones I knew. Paige, Izzy, Christy and Dan, Cody, A-list movie star, Dee-dee, and then a few who I'd seen in the salon but had never met.
My heart was already beating rapidly on account of Evan, but this unexpected greeting had it going in hyper mode. "That's Annabel, y'all," Dee-dee announced.
I glanced at her, and she smiled and waved at me. I smiled and waved back, even though I was speechless at the sight of so many people. One of the kids was sitting on the counter next to Dee-dee, and she was the next to speak. "Who's Annabel?" she said.
"Uncle Evan's girlfriend," I heard another kid say in a matter of fact tone.
"Ryan!" Paige said, urging her daughter not to embarrass me.
"What?" Ryan asked shrugging and looking at her mom with a slightly injured expression. "Uncle Evan told me that's who she was just a minute ago when we were coming up from the beach."
"But you don't have to repeat stuff…" Paige trailed off and turned to look at the rest of the family who couldn’t help but hear the conversation. "Annabel's also a good friend of ours," Paige said. "She's one of the best stylist at our salon, and her family owns our favorite breakfast place."
"Amen to that," Dee-dee said, making everyone laugh.
I glanced in her direction again when she said it, and noticed for the first time that Nathan Voth was standing in the kitc
hen near her. I stared at him for a second before peeling my eyes away to look at everyone else.
"It's very nice to meet you all," I said, smiling and doing a tiny, impromptu curtsey. Just as I was doing it, Evan opened the door behind me and let Cupcake come inside.
"Horse-ey!" Izzy yelled with her arms in the air. She and Ryan had met Cupcake before, and Izzy called her a horse every time.
"It's a dog," Ryan said to her little sister like it was the hundredth time she'd corrected her.
"Doggy!" one of the kids in the kitchen cried, hopping off the counter to go to Cupcake. Another child began to cry and cling to her mom when Cupcake went toward her.
"Cupcake, heel," I said in my most serious, dog-trainer tone. Cupcake abandoned her intention to sniff the kid and ran straight to me to sit by my side. "I'm sorry," I said to the mom (a person I'd seen at the salon, but otherwise didn't know).
"She's fine," the lady said. "Is your dog friendly?"
"Oh, my goodness, yes," I said as Cupcake sat obediently by my side. "Cupcake wouldn't hurt a fly."
"She'll get used to her," the lady assured me. She smiled. "I'm Willow. My husband's Andy," she said.
"Annabel," I said. "I think I've seen you guys at the salon."
"You have," she said, smiling. "We live in Charlotte, and we all go to Paige to have our hair done."
"Did you use the bathroom?" Evan asked, pinching my side from his spot next to me.
I looked at him and smiled. "Not yet," I said.
"What are you guys doing holding the girl up," Evan said, looking out at his family like they should be ashamed of themselves. "She's been holding it since Charlotte."
"Get in that bathroom, girl," Dee-dee said, pointing toward the wall on the left just like Evan explained.
"You got Cupcake?" I whispered to Evan.
"She's fine," he said with a reassuring smile. "Go."
I walked quickly to the door I knew was the half-bath. I had needed to use the restroom for so long that it took me a second to make it happen. I knew I should have stopped on my way into town so that I wouldn't be the girl who had to run to the restroom right when she met everyone, but I wanted to see Evan so badly that the thought never even crossed my mind.
I stared at myself in the mirror as I washed my hands. I took a deep, calming breath, preparing myself to go out there and continue meeting his massive family. I couldn’t help but smile when it crossed my mind that one of the people out there was Mr. Voth.
I was still smiling about it when I switched off the light and opened the door. Evan was sitting on the floor, holding the same young child who had just been crying over Cupcake. He had Cupcake sitting by his side so that he and the baby (and several other children) could check her out at the same time. Evan held that tiny little hand in his as they rubbed Cupcake, who just sat there wide-eyed and breathing open-mouthed on account of her own nerves. I let out a little giggle at the sight of them.
"See?" Willow said. "I told you she'd be fine."
"Cupcake's intimidating to most adults," I said. "She probably seems like a giant to small children."
"Horse-ey," Izzy said.
"Horse-ey!" Mia's boy, Tristan, repeated imitating his cousin.
"Yes, she's a horse-ey," Ryan said, rolling her eyes like the little kids would just never get it.
"Cup-cake," another baby said in the most precious baby voice.
"Is she your dog?" one of the other girls (who I knew from the salon as Willow's) said, looking at Evan.
"I think so, pretty much," he said to her with no hesitation or concern with how I felt about his answer.
"I'm Charlotte," I heard someone say, as I was contemplating that last exchange between Evan and the girl. I glanced in the direction of the one who spoke to find a beautiful blonde holding a baby. She introduced herself as "Evan's cousin from California," and I told her I'd already heard a lot about her, which was entirely true. She introduced me to her husband, baby boy, parents, and her brother and his wife, which were essentially the rest of the California crew. It didn't even really register that I was sitting in the same room with one of the most famous movie stars in Hollywood. I thought I would be star-struck to meet the Logan Ritchie, but I was ten times more anxious about impressing his cousin.
This room was full of some handsome-looking men, but Evan Hunt was far and away the most gorgeous one of them all. His hair was pulled back as usual, and I felt the strong urge to reach behind him and pull out his hair-tie so I could run my fingers through it. His long hair was perfectly suited for his otherwise masculine appearance, and I caught myself staring at him as he interacted with Cupcake and the kids who were gathered around.
"This is Nathan Voth," Dee-dee said, after I spoke with Charlotte and the others from California for a few minutes.
"I know Mr. Voth," I said. "He comes into the restaurant."
Dee-dee slapped her hand to her forehead. "I should have had a V-8," she said. "He's joining us for a couple of days so he can take some pictures and do a few sketches," she continued. "I've commissioned him to do a painting of the house and some sketches of us in action here at the beach."
"Aw, that sounds amazing," I said. "I'll bet they're gonna turn out great." I smiled at Nathan. "I've seen some of your work, and it's beautiful."
Several other family members chimed in, agreeing that they'd seen some of his stuff and were looking forward to the results of this trip. I knew the artwork was legit, but I smiled inwardly at the fact that Dee-dee acted like Nathan was strictly there on business.
Someone brought up getting ready for dinner, and the family turned to discussing that. I glanced at Evan, and he smiled and patted the space next to him. There were about four inches of space between him and my dog, and I crossed over to them and squeezed into it. Evan scooted over to give me some room.
"Ryan told us she was your girlfriend," Willow's older daughter said when I sat down.
"Ava, remember what Aunt Paige said to Ryan?" Willow said, overhearing her daughter even though most of the other adults in the room were talking about dinner plans.
"She is my girlfriend," Evan said, pulling me to him by the shoulder.
The girl put her hands over her face and giggled as if seeing Evan with a girl was the silliest thing she could imagine.
"You want me to kiss her on the lips and prove it?" Evan said, teasing the girl, who giggled harder.
"I do!" Ryan yelled.
"Yeah, yeah, I do, too!" Izzy repeated even though she didn't quite understand and was mostly just saying it to be like her sister. Tristan wiggled and grunted as if he wanted it too, whatever it was.
Evan looked at me with a smile and shrug like he was just doing his uncle-ey duty by kissing me. He leaned down and placed a sweet kiss on the top of my cheek.
"You didn't kiss her on the lips," Willow's daughter said, taking her hands from her face to point at Evan.
"Oh, y'all want me to?" Evan asked.
He looked at me and shrugged as if to say we better go ahead and give the crowd what they wanted.
I smiled and leaned up to kiss him as sweetly as he kissed me. Our lips touched, and we both smiled. I was smiling at how good it felt, and I assumed he was doing the same.
"Oh my goodness, that is the most adorable thing I have ever seen!" Charlotte said from across the room, getting everyone's attention and causing us to break eye contact and look at her. She was staring straight at Evan and me. She looked directly at Evan with a smile. "She is just too cute," she said.
"I know," Paige said. "And she's sweet, too. Evan did good."
"I can't believe Evan did good!" Charlotte said. Her expression was genuinely perplexed like she thought Evan would bring home somebody totally different and she respected the unexpected choice. "I just love her already," she said, shaking her head at me like she couldn’t quite believe it.
"Annabel's a keeper," Dee-dee added.
"You better not mess it up, Evan," Logan said, giving his cousin a hard time.
In a quick motion, I pulled back far enough to stare up at him, and he shifted so he could see me as well. "You didn't already know that?" he asked.
"I don't guess I did," I said quietly.
"So we have Annabel to thank for getting our baby boy back home to us?" Christy asked.
"Pretty much," Evan agreed, smiling at me.
I just smiled dazedly at him, feeling unable to fully appreciate everything that was being said.
"Thank God Dee-dee didn't get it right the first time," Paige said. "Or I wouldn't exist in this family."
Dee-dee let out a hardy laugh when Paige's statement hit her. "She's right," Dee-dee said, still laughing. "I brought Paige here to fix her up with Evan."
"You did what?" Cody asked, causing us all to laugh.
"I remember that!" Dan said. "She took Christy and me out onto the balcony one morning and said we needed to help her make Evan fall in love with the young lady she brought with her from Charlotte."
Everyone laughed again, including Dee-dee, who shook her head and held her hands up in surrender. "Hey," she said. "God used me to get Paige here for Cody," she said. "I'm pretty proud of that, so I'm not gonna be ashamed by my slight miscalculation." She winked at Evan and pointed straight at me. "And this one was working at Amy's that morning when I met Paige."
"I was telling her that," Paige said, shaking her head and smiling. "Thank goodness you brought the wrong girl that day."
"God knows," Dee-dee said. "As much as I wanted him to be, Evan wasn't ready back then."
"That's exactly what I said," Paige said. "I'm glad you think it too, though. It makes me feel a little better about taking Annabel's spot that year."
"Annabel found her spot just fine," Evan said, leaning into me.
Chapter 18
Takeout options were discussed, but we decided to go out to eat. There were twenty-six of us (counting babies), so we called ahead to make sure the restaurant made accommodations. It was an Italian place, and Dee-dee set it up where they just served us several big dishes so we could eat family-style.
It's About Time (Hunt Family #5) Page 12