I walk in the front entrance, and I feel eyes on me as I walk to the office in the back. I knock on the door and when Kyle barks, “Come in!” I open it.
I see the surprise on his face because I’m here so early.
“Well, if it isn’t Evie Cole, finally gracing me with her fucking presence.”
I ignore his snide comment and walking to his desk, I take the envelope from my bag. I place it down in front of him.
“That’s my resignation letter,” I say, and the words feel freeing. “Also, it’s over between us.”
I turn to walk away when he darts up.
“You don’t get to say when it’s over between us,” he hisses. He grabs my resignation letter and tears it in half. “I own you.”
Anger starts to bubble in my chest. “You don’t own me, Kyle. I’m not a piece of property.”
He moves fast, stalking around his desk. I turn and rush to the door, scared of what he might do, but before I reach it, he grabs hold of my shoulders and slams me against the wall.
He presses his body hard against mine, pinning me.
Hissing in my ear, he says, “The day you opened your fucking legs, you became my property. You will do as I say until I decide otherwise. Do you fucking understand?”
I nod just so he’ll let go of me. It works, and the second he steps back, I bring my elbow back with all my strength and slam it into his throat. Kyle makes a gagging sound as I rush out the door.
When I’m a safe distance away from him, I yell, “I’m not your property. Don’t ever come near me again.”
I run from the restaurant and quickly climb into a cab. Only once it’s driving away from Marilyn’s do I take a deep breath.
Chapter 32
RHETT
It’s Miss Sebastian’s birthday, and I think she invited half the world.
I’m excited to see Mia and Danny, and the others of course. Mostly, I’m looking forward to spending time with Evie. This will be the first time we’ll all be together, and that’s pretty special in my books.
I knock on Evie’s door, and anticipation rushes through me just at the thought of seeing her. We’ve only had a few coffee dates, getting to know each other.
I still can’t believe my girl is into extreme sports. I’ve agreed to go bungee jumping with her soon. I’ll probably shit myself, but for Evie, I’d jump off a bridge.
The door opens, and I’m once again struck by how happy she looks. My heart starts to beat faster when her smile doesn’t falter.
“You’re here,” she says. In a flurry of movement she crashes into my chest, and as her arms circle my waist, it feels as if my soul is taking a deep breath for the first time ever.
I wrap my arms around her before she has a chance to let go, and pressing my face into her hair, I fill my lungs with Evie’s sweet scent.
“To what do I owe the hug?” I ask.
She grins up at me, and all I want to do is claim her mouth, carry her back into the apartment and sink balls deep into her. I’ve never needed to be inside of a woman so much.
“I’m just happy to see you,” she says, and before I can act on my desire, she rips free from me and barrels back into the apartment to grab her bag and a tray.
I glance down at the tray, and ask, “You made Miss Sebastian unicorn cookies?”
“Yeah, Willow told me Miss Sebastian loves anything bedazzled.”
Each one is decorated with a different color of glitter.
“She’s going to love it,” I say as I pull her front door closed behind her. I lock it and shove the keys in my pocket. When she doesn’t say anything about me keeping her keys, a slow smile spreads across my face.
“I’m so excited to see everyone,” Evie says, almost bouncing next to me as we walk to my car.
“They can’t wait either,” I whisper as I open the passenger door for her.
On the drive over to Miss Sebastian’s place, I try to prepare Evie for what to expect.
“Miss Sebastian hugs a lot, and she will probably say something to embarrass me. No, she’ll definitely say something inappropriate. Just remember it’s all coming from a good place.”
A mischievous smile curves around Evie’s lips. “Now I really can’t wait to meet her.”
As we pull up to the house, I notice that almost everyone is here already. It looks like only Marcus and Willow still need to arrive.
I get out and jog around the car. Opening Evie’s door, I take the tray from her so she can climb out. She straightens her black shirt which has the words ‘You are bedazzlelicious’ printed over the front in purple glitter.
“Miss Sebastian is going to love your shirt,” I say. I don’t add that I really love the way they show the curves of her tits.
“Willow made it,” Evie says as she takes the tray back from me.
Before we even get close to the front door, it swings open, and Miss Sebastian comes rushing out.
“OhmyGod!”
“You’re here.”
I grab the tray from Evie seconds before Miss Sebastian slams into her.
“Mychunkofhunkfinallygrewapairofglitterrocks.”
“I’m so happy you could come.”
“I couldn’t sleep last night. I just wanted to meet you already.”
“You’resopretty!”
Then Miss Sebastian pulls back, and she notices the shirt Evie is wearing.
“OhmyGod!”
“Ahhhhhhhh!”
“Iloveyourshirt.”
Evie’s smile keeps growing, and when Miss Sebastian finally glances in my direction, the tray catches her eyes.
Her hands fly to her cheeks. “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.”
“Bedazzled unicorns!”
She grabs the tray from me and holds the damn thing like a newborn baby, cooing at each fucking cookie.
“Yeah, no one will be getting near those,” I grumble under my breath.
Miss Sebastian hears me and shoots me a glare that promises pain and destruction.
“Touch my bedazzled babies, and I’ll show you my cray-cray side.”
She twirls around on her heels, probably to go hide the tray so none of us can find it. As she disappears back into the house in a burst of color, I chuckle.
“And that’s my Miss Sebastian in all her glory.”
When I glance down at Evie, the look of wonder on her face catches me by surprise.
“What’s that look for?”
She places a hand on my chest, and standing on her toes, she presses a kiss to my cheek. My hands instantly grab hold of her hips, and I have to fight the urge to yank her closer so I can feel her perfect body pressed against mine.
I’ve given her a few hugs since we met up again, but this is the first time I get to touch her. My fingers dig into her, and I realize all over again, how small Evie is compared to me. She’s always been tiny, but staring down at her and feeling her petite body under my hands just brings it home again.
As if it never entirely died, my protective side roars to life, knocking the breath from my lungs.
Before she pulls back, she whispers, “There’s the Rhett I remember.”
The words are my undoing, and I tug her closer. A surprised gasp parts her lips, and her eyes dart to mine.
As I start to lean down, my hands slide to the swells of her ass and gripping a handful of each cheek, I press her tightly to me until I feel her nipples straining against my chest.
The sound of a car pulling up the drive breaks the moment between us, and Evie almost stumbles in her hurry to pull back.
A deep blush colors her cheeks, and as she turns around to see who just got here, I use her body as a shield to shove my hard dick into a less visible position. I will it to calm down before I embarrass myself.
Willow rushes toward Evie, and they fall into an embrace.
Over the tops of their heads, I look at Marcus. Looking at him now, I can’t believe we almost lost him.
Marcus reaches a hand out to me, and I take hold of it and then yank h
im into a bear hug.
“You’ve gotta stop doing that, dude,” he grumbles, but there’s no sting to his words, and that’s why I’ll never stop.
“I’m just so damn happy to see you,” I say as we pull apart the next second. Bro-code and all, we keep physical touching to a split-second max.
“You saw me yesterday,” he says dryly.
“What can I say, I can’t go a day without seeing your pretty face,” I joke.
He shoots a glare at me. “I’m not pretty.”
“Yes, you are, Pretty-Boy,” Willow says as she hooks her arm into his.
Marcus just shakes his head, then he looks at Evie. I notice the slight movement as Evie scoots closer to me. There’s a nervous look on her face as she starts to worry her bottom lip.
My eyes dart between Evie and Marcus, giving them a moment.
When Marcus moves forward, Willow lets go of his arm.
Evie takes a step back right before Marcus wraps her up in a hug.
“Oh,” the word pops from her, and her green eyes grow huge as saucers. It takes her a minute to respond, and her movements are careful as she wraps her arms around Marcus’ waist.
“I’m sorry I was such a bastard to you,” he whispers.
Willow walks to me and taking my hand she pulls me away from them so they’ll have some privacy.
“He needs to do this,” she whispers.
I strain my ears to hear what he’s saying to Evie, and luckily Willow doesn’t drag me away too far.
“Thank you for everything you’ve done for Willow. Thank you for being there for her when I wasn’t. Especially during the surgery.”
As she presses her cheek to his chest, I have a clear view of Evie’s face. She shuts her eyes tightly as a smile curves around her full lips.
“You’re welcome,” she whispers.
When Marcus finally lets go of Evie, I step forward, and the second she’s within my reach, I wrap my arm around her shoulders and pull her to my side.
I feel her fingers grab hold of my shirt.
I don’t let go of her as we walk through the house.
“Where’s my birthday girl?” Marcus yells.
“Who’s your girl? I’m a woman, darling. You should know seeing as you paid for it,” Miss Sebastian shrieks from the direction of the bedroom.
We hear her heels clicking rapidly on the tiles and then she comes hurrying into the living room.
Marcus opens his arms wide, just in time to catch her. Wrapping his arms around her, he lifts her feet off the floor which makes Miss Sebastian shriek with laughter.
When he sets her back down, he frames her face, and says, “Happy birthday, babe.” He presses a firm kiss to her mouth.
“Who’s the stranger fondling my wife?” Ryan shouts as a smile warms his face.
Marcus tucks Miss Sebastian in under his arm as he shakes Ryan’s hand. “You better hold on tight to her. One of these days I’m going to steal her.”
“Aww, you guys,” Miss Sebastian gushes, in her element with being the center of attention.
“You’ll have to get in line, dude,” I say, which has the desired effect on Miss Sebastian.
“You haven’t even wished me happy birthday yet!” She pulls free from Marcus’ hold and stalks towards me.
“You didn’t give me a chance,” I argue. “Plus, you can’t be upset with me. Look,” I push Evie in front of me, handing her over as some kind of peace offering, “I brought you a new angel-girl. I get bonus points for the unicorn cookies she baked and the shirt she’s wearing.”
Instantly the scowl vanishes from Miss Sebastian's face, and she becomes a mother hen.
Grabbing Evie’s hand, she yanks her forward. “Meet my chunk of a hunk. Ryan, this is Rhett’s happiness.”
Evie’s laughing by the time she gets to shake Ryan’s hand.
Miss Sebastian is right though. The woman with the flaming hair, wide green eyes, and heart of gold, is my happiness. It feels like it took forever to find her.
As everyone starts to move outdoors to where the rest of the gang is, I reach for Evie’s hand and intertwine our fingers.
“It’s taken me a second to fall in love Miss Sebastian, and a lifetime won’t be enough to forget her,” Evie murmurs.
Miss Sebastian stops dead in her tracks. When she turns around her eyes are sparkling with tears.
“Mother of all that’s bedazzled, look what my angel-girl has gone and done.” Her hand flitters in front of her eyes as she rapidly blinks. “I’m gonna cry, and even though I’m sexy as hell, my face becomes a nuclear disaster when I cry.”
Miss Sebastian opens her arms wide as she comes at us, and letting go of Evie’s hand, I place an arm around her waist to help her brace for the impact.
Miss Sebastian crashes into us. When she’s done hugging us, she stands on her toes and wrapping an arm around my neck, yanks me closer so she can reach my ear.
“This is the best birthday present. It’s all I wanted, for you to be happy. Thank you for taking your handsome head out of that sexy ass of yours and for going after my angel-girl.”
Chapter 33
EVIE
Can a heart burst from too much happiness? Is there even such a thing as being too happy?
A year ago I had nothing, and now… now I have everything I’ve ever dreamt about.
As Miss Sebastian dashes away from us, Rhett tightens his arm around my waist. He’s never touched me so much before, and it keeps sending tingles racing through my body.
It feels surreal being his sole focus. We had some moments back when we were in school, but the way he looks at me, and he touches me… it’s different.
Every touch feels like a promise of passion, and every look weakens my knees.
I’m the one who’s been slowing down the pace between us, but now I’m no longer sure that’s what I really want.
As we walk out onto the patio, I glance around.
“Carter!” Della shrieks as he tosses her over his shoulder. He starts to stalk towards the swimming pool and a little girl jumps up and down with excitement near them.
“Don’t you dare,” Della hisses seconds before he throws her into the water, clothes and all.
“Yeah,” the little girl shrieks before she runs towards the water. Carter catches her in time, swinging her into the air.
“Not yet, Princess. You can’t ruin your dress.”
She pouts at him and crosses her tiny arms over her chest. “But I wanna swim with Mommy.”
“After we’ve eaten, you can change into your Little Mermaid bathing suit,” he tries to negotiate with her.
Della swims to the edge and drags herself out.
“But Mommy’s already getting out,” the little girl argues.
“Don’t worry, I’ll throw her back in for you,” Carter says with a mischievous grin.
At that moment the little girl’s eyes land on Rhett and she lets out a squeal.
“Put me down. Hurry!” She wiggles until Carter sets her back on her feet.
Like a little bolt of lightning, she races over to us.
“Uncle Ledge,” she cries, and she flings herself at him.
Rhett scoops her up and tosses her into the air before catching her again.
“That’s a pretty dress you’re wearing, Princess,” he says as he plants a big kiss on her chubby cheek.
Her eyes zoom in on me, and again she starts to wiggle like a little worm until Rhett sets her down.
Her eyes are huge as she watches me, and curiosity makes her little face shine with wonder.
She crooks her tiny finger at me, showing for me to crouch down.
I sink down to my knees and smile at her. She places her hand against my cheek and whispers, “I’ve been waiting for for-eeeeeever to meet you.”
My smile becomes wobbly, and I swallow hard on the lump in my throat.
“Hi, Princess Danny,” I whisper once I can trust my voice to not fail me.
“Are you finished with your
adventure?” she asks.
“Yeah,” I breathe the word.
She glances up at Rhett and swallows hard. It looks like she’s just been told Santa isn’t real.
“What’s wrong?” I ask as worry curls in my stomach. If Danny doesn’t like me, I don’t know what I’ll do. She’s Rhett’s world.
Her bottom lip starts to tremble, and she whispers, “Daddy says it’s good to share my things with others.”
Not understanding, my eyes dart up to Rhett hoping he can help. But his eyes are glued to Danny’s face with such intensity it makes my heart stop.
This moment isn’t about me, I realize.
I look back to Danny, and patiently wait for her to continue.
Her shoulders slump, and placing her hands behind her back, she digs the toe of her glittering flats into the ground.
“Uncle Ledge is my fairy-godfather,” she whispers, “but it’s okay if I have to share him with you.”
“Oh, Danny,” I whisper when I realize Danny is sad because she thinks I’ll take Rhett from her.
I reach for her arm and pull it from behind her back. Her eyes keep jumping between my face and our hands as I uncurl her little fingers.
I reach up with my other hand, grab hold of Rhett’s hand and yank him down. He crashes into me but catches himself in time before he squashes me.
I place Rhett’s hand palm to palm against Danny’s, and the sadness in her eyes makes space for curiosity.
“See how big Rhe… ah… Uncle Ledge’s hand is?”
She nods eagerly.
I place my hand on the back of Danny’s, and whisper, “See how much space is still left of Uncle Ledge’s hand?”
“Yes,” she breathes.
“It’s the same with Uncle Ledge’s heart. You’re right in the center of it, and no matter who comes into his heart, there will always be extra space for them so you won’t have to ever share the space you have.”
A bright smile lights up her entire face.
“Phew.” Using her other hand, she wipes at the imaginary beads of sweat on her forehead. “It’s a lot of hard work to worry.”
I chuckle as I let go of her hand and sit back.
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