"Giraffe! Giraffe!" The boys jumped up and down with wild exuberance.
"What on earth is Giraffe?" I asked.
"Only the best waffles ever."
"Waffles. For lunch?"
"They have other things, but trust me. You want to leave room for waffles."
Chapter 5
Evander had been right about the waffles. They were the best I'd ever tasted, drizzled in caramel sauce and topped with whipped cream. It was a wonder the twins weren't bouncing off the rafters from the sugar high. Instead they were industriously coloring the pictures the waitress had brought them.
"Thank you so much for coming with us today," I said quietly. "It was a little overwhelming my first time out. I'm not used to so many people. Portland is a lot smaller."
He chuckled. "I imagine. And no worries. I had fun. I love spending time with Reece and Riley, and I wish I could do it more often." There was a grim set to his mouth that told me there was a lot more to this story.
"Can I ask why they live with Bella instead of you? She seems, um, not used to children."
He snorted. "That's one way of putting it. Truth is, I'd have taken them in a heartbeat, but for whatever reason, my brother and Meg wanted Bella to have them. Maybe they knew something I don't." He shrugged. "But for now it's working, and I'm not about to rock the boat. I intend to play a very big role in their lives, though."
"I think that's great. So many men would run in the other direction."
"Then they're not men, are they?"
He had a point. "Still, it's amazing what you're doing."
He shrugged it off as if it was nothing. But I knew to those boys it wasn't "nothing."
"I wanted to say again how sorry I am about your brother. I know it's hard losing someone you love."
He glanced over at the boys, but they were engrossed in their art project. "It's been tough. Especially for them. But we're getting there. Who did you lose?"
"My grandmother. When I was fifteen."
"I'm sorry." He reached over and squeezed my hand, sending sparks dancing along my skin. "Were you close?"
"Very. I cried for a week." I gave him a half-hearted smile. "Eventually it got better. I still think about her a lot. Miss her. But it doesn't hurt anymore. I kind of think of her like my guardian angel." Although she could have done a better job recently. Then again, I suppose letting me know Neil was a cheating scumbag was probably her way of protecting me.
"I like that," Evander said. "John though, he'd make a terrible guardian angel."
"Really? Why?"
He laughed. "Oh, gosh, we used to fight something terrible. Brothers, you know. This one time I was playing with a train set, and he got mad because he wanted to play with it."
"What did he do?"
"He smacked me across the face with the engine. Broke my nose and I had to get three stitches. Our mother was furious, but he thought it was funny."
My eyes widened. "Well, now I know where they get it." I told him about the boys' earlier fight.
He laughed. "They're a lot like John and me at that age." He sighed. "God, I miss him sometimes." His green eyes turned bleak. This time it was my turn to reach out and squeeze his hand.
He cleared his throat. "You say this gets better?"
"Eventually."
He nodded, his eyes still on the boys. Then he cleared his throat. "Listen, Anna, I wanted to ask you—"
"Evan? What are you doing here?" A woman stopped next to our booth. She was tall, probably five seven, and rail thin. She had to be to pull off the designer duds she was wearing. Her dark hair fell in thick waves past her shoulders. She must spend a fortune at the salon. Her nails were pale pink and expertly manicured. Every inch of her was polished to perfection and screamed "expensive." I suddenly felt dowdy and underdressed. Her dark eyes lit on me and I, could tell she was thinking the same thing. She gave me a haughty smirk. "Who is this?"
"Tamzin. I didn't expect to see you here."
She sniffed. "Clearly not."
"Ah, this is my nephews' nanny, Ann Talbot. Anna, this is Tamzin Berkshire."
"His girlfriend," Tamzin said, giving me a pointed look. She all but snarled "get off my territory, bitch."
"Hi, Tamzin. Nice to meet you. Boys, say hi to Uncle Evan's friend."
"Hi, Tamthin," they chimed before going back to more important things, like coloring.
Tamzin ignored the boys, her eyes laser-sharp on me. "An American, I see. How… unfortunate for you. Which part?"
I didn't see what was unfortunate about it, but I nodded. "The West Coast."
She brightened. "Hollywood?"
"Er, no. Portland." At her blank expression, I expanded. "Oregon. It's north of California."
"Oh. Never heard of it." She pointedly turned back to Evander. "Evan, darling, why haven't you called? I've left you several voice messages," she chided. "You promised you would take me to the new play with Adam Wentworth. I even have tickets. For tonight."
He sighed. "You're right. I did promise."
"Well, you can take me shopping to make up for it. There's this darling bag at Selfridges, and I absolutely must have it." She quite literally dragged him from the booth.
"Sorry, Anna. This should cover it." He laid several bills on the table. "Reece, Riley, I'll see you later."
"'Bye, Uncle Evan," they mumbled, barely looking up from their artwork. Evander ruffled their hair, and with a last, crooked smile at me, disappeared out the door with Tamzin.
Figured. The first guy I'd found even vaguely interesting —okay, let's be honest, totally interesting— and he was dating the Wicked Witch of the East.
# # #
"I want to put the flour in."
"No! I wanna."
"Wait. Guys…." Too late. The bag of flour hit the floor and exploded. A white mushroom cloud shot into the air, coating the boys, me, and half the kitchen. Viola was going to have
