by K. I. Lynn
“Japanese steakhouse?”
“Yeah. We can hit the one over here on Memorial Drive. Save ourselves from traffic.”
I nod in agreement. “Sounds good. I haven’t been there in years, and I used to love their sushi.”
“Great. I’ll call ahead, so we get a table.” He places his hands on the armrests and pushes out of the chair. “Good luck with the house hunting today. Hopefully one will work out.”
“God, I hope so. I want my things. Living out of suitcases sucks.”
“I bet. It will work out. One thing at a time, Ev. See you at dinner.” He gives me a wave as he heads out the door.
Hopefully when I see him next, I’ll have good news on the house front. I hope so, as the search has been killer. I thought California real estate was crazy, but it was nothing compared to my current search.
The novelty of staying with my parents has worn off, and I’m ready to be on my own again.
“This is a three bedroom, three-and-a-half bath, just over nineteen hundred square feet semi-attached home that just went on the market today,” Marcy, my realtor and my parents’ neighbor, says as we stand in front of the third house of the evening. It’s the twenty-fifth home she’s taken me to in recent weeks. The problem isn’t me picking one; it’s the market. Taking a night to decide has cost me three different houses already. Things are flying off the market so fast I’ve upped my budget in hopes of snatching one.
“I love the front,” I say as we head up the paved walkway. It’s a freshly painted blue-gray with white trim. “The bay window is beautiful.”
“It was just renovated, so everything is brand new down to the pipes and electrical, so nothing to worry about there.” Marcy turns the handle and opens the door.
My mouth goes slack as we walk in. Light hardwoods run through the open floor plan, marble tiles wrap the fireplace, and in the back, there is what looks like a gorgeous kitchen. There’s even a back porch leading to a private backyard.
I could get a dog.
I try not to show my excitement or how much this place feels like home. From the architectural details to the gorgeous finishes, there is still a warmth that calls to me. I let Marcy continue to show me around. The master bedroom is on the second floor with a huge bathroom and custom walk-in closet. Up there is a second bedroom and bath, then the third floor, which was once an attic space, has been finished out with another bedroom and bath.
When we return to the main floor, Marcy turns to me. “You’ve been quiet.”
I nod. “Offer ten grand above list price, closing in a week.”
Marcy’s mouth drops open. “Really?” She blows out a breath. “Way to almost send me into a panic, Everly. I thought you hated it!”
A laugh springs out. “I thought jumping up and down screaming ’This is the one’ might have been a bit childish.”
“Childish, maybe, but I wouldn’t tell.” She winks at me.
I look around and heave a sigh, a smile on my lips. “You think they’d let me stay the night?”
Marcy chuckles and shakes her head. “Maybe in a week.” She turns off all the lights, and we head out. “I’ll submit the offer as soon as I get back to the office, so maybe half an hour, but I’ll call the realtor on the way.”
“Excellent. I’ll be happy not to be living out of suitcases.”
“I’m sure,” Marcy says as she steps forward and wraps her arms around me. “Have a good dinner with Cameron, and I’ll call you the second I have any news.”
“Thanks, Marcy.”
“Dammit, Jojo, calm down!” a deep male voice says, causing us to turn.
Coming onto the front porch from the other door of the large duplex is a tall man with a wiggly butt pit bull who is wrapping him up with a leash as she circles around him in excitement. The dog sees us and heads over, tightening the knot she’s caused.
“Hi, baby,” I say with a smile as I bend over to pet the taupe coat of the grinning canine.
“Oh! I’m so sorry,” the deep, sexy voice of her owner says.
I look up, Jojo’s tongue bathing my hand while she continues to wiggle. “It’s okay . . .” I trail off, words leaving me as I stare into a set of beautiful green eyes on chiseled features.
Hot damn. His voice matches his face and body. I wouldn’t say he’s hotter than Niko, but he’s close. Oh boy, is he close.
“Jojo!” He pulls on the leash, and she bounds over. “So sorry, I didn’t see you. I’m Grant, and this hyper girl is Jojo.”
He holds out a hand, and I slip mine in. “Everly.”
Strong, firm handshake. I like that. Grant is confident, and it’s showing. I’m sure he’s broken a heart or ten in his lifetime.
His smile is brilliant, matched only by Jojo, who is tugging on his arm while she sniffs the grass.
“Are you here to look at the house?” he asks.
I nod. “Yes. I’m putting in an offer.”
“Excellent. Well, I just moved in a few weeks ago. I love it here. I’m pretty sure I’ll love it even more as the month goes on.” He smiles at me, and I’m not sure if he’s hitting on me or not. I’ve never been good at being able to tell when a guy is flirting or just being friendly.
Another tug on his arm, and he looks over to the dog before locking eyes with mine. “I better get going before she rips my arm off. Good luck—I hope you get it. I think it would be great to have you as my new neighbor.”
I smile as I watch him as he heads down the steps, Jojo pulling him along. “Nice meeting you, Jojo!” I yell, and Grant turns to look back. A smile is stretching from ear to ear.
Damn. I’m sure he’s got a lot of women falling at his feet. I would probably be one of them if I hadn’t been ruined by Niko Callahan already, and as much as I’d like to date other people, right now I can’t. I also can’t date Niko, no matter how hard he tries to get me to give in. We started out with a lie, and that lie is still a big red flag when it comes to him and me. I need to move on.
“Do you think he even saw me standing next to you?” Marcy asks with a chuckle.
“Great neighborhood,” I say with a wink. “I’m sure he was just being friendly.”
“With the way he was looking at you? That was flirting,” Marcie says with a chuckle.
Unfortunately for me, I can’t seem to stop thinking about the flirting that another man does with me. Niko is the only man that I’m interested in flirting with at the moment, and that’s bad. I might just have to force myself to look into other options. Force being the key word. God, I am so screwed.
“WHERE’S EVERLY?” I ASK, sitting down at the table next to Cameron. It’s been two weeks since his little sister moved back. While I’d much rather be seeing Alyson, it’ll be good to see Everly again after nearly a decade away.
“She was looking at some houses. Just texted me she’s on her way.”
“Did she finally find the one?”
He shrugs. “Who knows? Every time she submits an offer, it’s already pending. Apparently, you no longer have the luxury of sleeping on it.”
“This market is brutal. I’m glad I got in when I did.”
I glance down at my phone. Alyson and I have been going back and forth all day, but she stopped replying a few hours ago after I sent my last. I’d be lying if I said that I don’t look forward to her text messages. They’re usually flirty and fun, like the one she just sent, but I did send her a picture of my cock, so I’d expect nothing less than the reply that comes through while I sit with Cam.
Alyson/Everly: I think you might be a bad boy. ;) Tempting me with such a beast. Keep it up, buddy and I might have to call animal control on you. :D
My lip twitches up. Finally, Alyson responds. I’ve always thought dick pics were stupid, but I’m at the point of desperation to see her again, so in the middle of jerking off, I texted her a pic.
That was two hours ago. I’m not above guilting her to help put me out of my misery after every conversation or text with her. I’m usually ruined
for the rest of the day after our chats.
Niko: Animal Control, eh? Maybe I just need YOU to come control my animal . . . Dinner before dessert? You come work your magic on my one-eyed snake, and I’ll eat you for dessert. Sounds good to me.
Alyson/Everly: Smh You and your dessert. LOL, Sorry, but I’ve got dinner plans. Text you later?
What the fuck? She can’t see me, but she can have dinner out with someone else? I’m pissed the fuck off. I know I have no right, but this woman is killing me here. Is it another guy? I have this feeling of jealousy hitting me, and I hate this shit. I don’t get fucking jealous, but apparently, someone forgot to tell the rest of me this shit. I try not to ask, but I have to know. I’ve been asking her to meet me every time we talk or text, and she’s always got a reason to say no. She’s saying yes to someone, though, and that just pisses me off. Fuck it! I’m asking.
Niko: With who?
Alyson/Everly: Niko . . .
Niko: You do realize that you seem to have time to go to dinner with everyone, but me. I’m starting to think that there is something wrong with me.
Alyson/Everly: Niko . . .
Niko: Alyson . . .
Alyson/Everly: I have to go. TTYL
As always, the brush off. I’m to the point I don’t get this chick. She’s interested, very interested based on our conversations, but unavailable. I’m beginning to wonder if she’s married. I don’t do married women. Then again, I don’t think she’d be texting me back if that were the case.
“As a friendly reminder, don’t hit on my sister,” Cam says.
I put my phone back down on the table, and I roll my eyes. “How many times are you going to have to tell me?”
“Until it’s through that thick Greek/Irish skull of yours.”
I can’t stop the roll of my eyes. How much could she have changed for him to be so damn adamant about me behaving? He acts like I fuck anything with a pussy.
“She’s not my type, Cam.”
Cam purses his lips. “Maybe she wasn’t when she was fifteen, but now, yeah. Just behave.”
I scrunch my brow and let out a chuckle. “What, are you saying that she . . .” I trail off, my gaze locked on a familiar figure walking through the door. My jaw drops as I stare at the woman I haven’t been able to stop thinking about for weeks. The one I was just texting with. What are the odds? “Holy fuck.”
Is it possible that she’s gotten even more gorgeous in the weeks since I last saw her?
Cam slams his elbow into my ribs, pulling my attention from my Post-it note girl and to the pain in my side.
“What the hell, man?”
“Keep your fucking dick in your pants, and close your fucking mouth.”
“How . . .” I trail off in confusion to look back toward Alyson who is headed straight for me, but the confident look from that night we met is gone, replaced by a wary, apprehensive one. Something feels off, and I have a bad feeling all of a sudden.
She looks to Cam and walks straight up to him, wrapping her arms around him, her lips against his cheek.
What the fuck?
“You’re late,” Cam says.
I’m dumbstruck staring at her trying to compute what the fuck is going on, though I think I know. And God do I hope it’s not true.
“Sorry, traffic was bad,” she says as she sits down, “and there was an accident on I-95 south. I had to get off and make my way through the back roads. I haven’t lived here for so long that I got a little lost.”
“No worries. I was just giving you a hard time. We haven’t been waiting long, have we, Niko? You remember Niko, right, Ev?”
She nods and gives me a small smile like we haven’t seen each other in years.
“How could I forget? How are you, Nikolas? You look the same as you did the last time I saw you,” she says with that smile still plastered on her face.
Is she serious right now? The last time she saw me was a few weeks ago! I fucking talked to her on the phone yesterday. Shit, she sent me a text less than five minutes ago.
I look over at Cam and then back to her, and her face loses that pretty smile of hers. Yeah . . . she’s worried now that I’m about to let Cam in on her inside joke. It wasn’t funny, and I’m pissed.
Fuck. Me.
She already did that, though. More than once that night, in my mind every night since, and over the phone sitting in front of me.
She knew it was me. This fucking girl played me. No, not a girl. She’s no longer a girl. Everly-fucking-Hayes is a full-grown woman and a liar. One that I have fucked without knowing that she was Cameron’s fucking sister.
I can see it in her eyes. She knew who I was. From the moment she sat next to me, she knew, and I was fucking clueless.
She lied to me, fed me a line, and I didn’t even notice. Even now I can’t reconcile the memory of teenage Everly to the woman in front of me. Talk about ugly duckling syndrome. She passed average swan and went straight to a queen of the swans. There is nothing that reminds me of her when she was a kid. No, that’s not true. Her eyes. Her eyes are the same hazel color that has always been unique to her, but I still had no damn idea it was her.
“It’s that Greek and Irish DNA in his blood. Pure luck on his part. He might look like he hasn’t aged, but trust me, he still can’t hang with me at the gym.” They both laugh. Everly’s laughter is a lot lighter than her brother’s, though.
“Oh, I’m betting he can keep up with you, big brother. You’re all about bragging. You forget that I know how you are. I bet I can guarantee that Niko here doesn’t brag at all, do you, Niko?” She stares at me. No. She’s daring me.
This fucking chick!
Cameron is going to kill me. Rip out my intestines with his bare hand while he pummels my face with the other fist and stomps my nuts kind of torture death.
And I’m going to kill her.
I would never have fucked her had I known it was her. Fuck!
Cam kicks me under the table when I sit there staring at his sister, drawing my attention to him. I look at him, fuming until I see his face. I can’t stay here with them. I need to get up and away from this whole fucked up situation, but I can’t. Cam will have questions, and right now I’m not prepared to answer them. He gives me a look to remind me that this is his sister, and I know what he’s thinking. I look away, not saying anything because I don’t know if I can lie to Cam. He doesn’t know that his warnings have all come too late.
Maybe he should have fucking warned his little sister not to fuck his friends instead of worrying about me. That might have been helpful. He said she changed, but I didn’t expect sweet, shy, needy little Everly Hayes to have changed into a two-faced liar.
This is so messed up.
I shake my head and pick up the menu to pretend like I’m interested in eating. I’m not. I’ve lost any damn appetite the moment Alyson . . . No, not Alyson—Everly—walked through the door only to reveal herself as someone I had no business ever touching. And Jesus Christ, the ways I touched her. Shit! Cameron is going to flip his fucking shit. The things we did. My left leg starts to bounce, and I don’t hear the waiter when he comes to take our drink order.
“Niko?” Cam calls.
“I’m sorry, what?” I ask.
“You want another beer or are you good?”
“Actually, I’ll take one of those and a cognac. Thanks,” I say, and Cam eyes me suspiciously. I’ve got nothing for him right now. Nothing I know he’d want to hear.
“You good, man?” he asks, and I still can’t look him in the eye.
“Yeah, just hungry. You know what you’re getting?”
“Nah, I need another minute. We can grab an appetizer if you want, while we wait?”
“Yeah, sure. Whatever you want is good.”
Cam tells the waiter to bring us some Chinese wings and a California roll, then turns to Everly to see if she wants to add anything. She’s also looking down at her menu, avoiding eye contact with me. Good. I hope her ass is just as uncomfor
table as I am right now because this situation is pretty fucked up.
“Ev? Sushi?”
“Yeah, that works. I’ll have the Arizona Maki, and can I have a glass of water?” she asks, finally looking up at the waiter. He nods and then is off to put in our order. I should just leave. Tell Cam I got a call or something. I’m not sure how long I can sit in front of her and her brother and not ask her what the fuck.
“How were the houses you looked at?” Cam asks Everly, pulling me out of my thoughts of strangling his sister.
“Great. I submitted an offer. It’s vacant. Recently renovated, so hoping to close in a week.”
“A week? That’s fast. No issue with financing?”
“Diving,” she says, which confuses me until Cam responds.
“Seriously?” Cam asks, his forehead scrunched up. “Your trust fund?”
“Cam, I love Mom and Dad, but they’ve been home for four days and are already driving me insane.”
“Over six thousand square feet and you can’t get away from them?” Cam asks with a laugh.
“You forget I haven’t lived with them for eight years. Plus, I’ve already got it set up to repay it once my house in California sells. Besides, no judging from you. I know you took money from yours to buy your place.”
I scrunch my brow. It’s not new information about Everly having a trust fund because Cam has one, too. What surprises me, but shouldn’t, is that she’s going to repay it.
Cameron is one of the most level-headed trust fund babies I’ve ever met. Apparently, so is his sister. They make small talk while we wait for the food, and I’m counting down the minutes to when I can get the fuck out of here or get Everly alone.
Thank fuck Cam heads to the bathroom, because I can’t take this shit anymore. I wait a minute until I know Cam is out of earshot, noticing all the fidgeting Everly is doing across the table from me. She’s looking everywhere but at me. Good. She should be uncomfortable. I’m pissed!
“What the fuck, Alyson?” I ask with a sneer.
Her eyes widen at me before she looks around the room. “Keep your voice down,” she finally says.