“I do. It’s a matter of turning left or right.” I indicated the street behind us. “Left to home or right to midnight snacks.”
“Is it midnight?” She looked at her wrist, only to discover she did not wear a watch.
If there had ever been a more adorable sight, I hadn’t seen it.
“Figure of speech,” I said as I let my gaze do a little caressing of its own. “Tell you what. I’ll pick us up something to eat, then take you home. Best of both worlds.”
“That’s how I always imagined you’d be. Take charge of the situation.” She grinned as I pulled out and took a right.
“You always imagined I’d take charge of situations, huh? Sounds like we’ve known each other longer than a few days.”
“We’ve met before. But we’re not supposed to talk about that.”
I frowned at the woman in my front seat. I didn’t recognize her, and someone who looked like that would stick in my brain. Was she a fan? Maybe she’d been at a signing? Or one of the colleges I’d spoken at? A foggy memory stood up and waved its hands. “Brown. You’re the girl who escorted me to my car after my seminar!”
Evie sank lower into her seat. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do.”
“I plead the fifth.”
“I can’t believe I didn’t see it sooner.” She’d been as adorable then as she was now. For months afterwards, I’d thought of her and smiled.
“Oh, God.” Evie sagged. “I hoped you didn’t mention it because you didn’t remember.”
“Oh, I remember. You were on a mission. I could tell you were terrified, but you were going to talk to me, no matter what. I thought to myself, ‘There’s a girl who’s gonna go places.’”
“Now you’re just being nice. Which is also how I imagined you. But we’re not supposed to talk about that, either.” She patted my thigh as if I was the one who needed comforting.
“I am not just being nice. That’s exactly what I thought.”
Evie grew quiet as I pulled into the drive thru at Mike’s—the best burger joint in town—and placed our order. By the sound of it, she hadn’t gone as many places as I thought she would. She’d been so cute that day, with her square shoulders, lifted chin, and trembling voice. She had things to say and no amount of fear would keep them from being heard. I’d pegged her for success.
Fast forward a few years and she’d been fired from an uninspiring job and found herself huddled in my front seat, too afraid to speak her mind. Something had derailed her. Hard.
My curiosity went into overdrive. What could that something have been?
The woman working the drive-thru was so enthusiastic and polite, I considered giving her a tip. Evie accepted the bag and plunged her hand in search of a fry. Typically, food was a no-go in my car, but I let it slide just like I let the topic of our meeting at Brown drop.
“Oh my goodness,” she said around a mouthful of food. “This is so good. Like homerun, man. I don’t know how I’ll ever thank you.”
“You act like getting a cheap burger and a ride home is something special.”
“It is. I mean, you’re Alexander Prescott and I’m…me. This is a huge deal.” She waved her hand around the interior of the Range Rover, then grinned around a mouthful of food.
“You work for Alexander Prescott. That makes you a huge deal by association. Besides. Maybe it would be easier on you if you just thought of me as sexy neighbor man.”
Evie groaned, her gray eyes rolling wide and mortified. “Nope. Not easier at all. We promised never to bring that up again.” She fished around in the bag and grinned.
“I made no such promise.”
“You have pretty eyes. They’re warm like sunshine, but cool too. They make me think of fall. Whiskey on the rocks. Pumpkin spice. Thick sweaters and falling leaves and the light is just gold, gold, gold.” She crammed a handful of fries into her mouth while I hid a smile.
I made the turn into her drive, the red maples waving us home.
“Why’d you stop?” she asked, then stretched her neck to peer through the windshield. “Oh. We’re here.”
I killed the engine and watched as she hugged the fast food bag to her chest and fumbled with her seatbelt. She fumbled so long, I climbed out of the car and crossed in front. I hadn’t intended to help her into her house, but with the seatbelt being an unsolvable puzzle, I’d hate to see how she approached her deadbolt. When I opened the passenger door, she was still struggling, so I leaned over her and freed her with one click.
“Now you’re the one sniffing me,” she said with a chuckle. She turned to look at me, our faces inches apart. Her gaze fell to my mouth and she licked her lips.
As much as I wanted to kiss her, I pulled back a fraction. Evie was wasted and I would not take advantage of that. “All I smell is burgers and fries.”
“Sure, buddy. That’s what they all say.” Evie cackled like she’d made an epic joke and before long, I was laughing right along. I walked her up the front steps and leaned on the wall as she fished in her purse for her keys.
Moonlight caught in her hair and danced through her eyes. Her hands, delicate as new snow…
I blinked away the narration as Evie staggered. “Whoa, now,” I said, gripping her shoulders to keep her from falling, as the inspiration flowed and flowed. Words piled up in my head. For the first time in a long time, I’d be up all night with a story that wouldn’t leave me alone—as long as I could get home before I lost the plot.
Evie’s gaze singed mine. “I had
