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  hand resting on the back of the booth.

  “Hey, Myra. How are you?”

  Somehow, I’ve avoided everyone in the Nelson family during my few visits to Ridge Hollow over the years, but during this trip, I’m slowly checking them all off my list.

  She turns to Evan, and her eyes sweep over him. “I’m pretty good. Who’s the hunk?”

  “Evan,” he answers before I have a chance, extending his hand to her. “And you are?”

  “Evan, this is Myra, Jack’s sister,” I inform him.

  “I can see the resemblance.”

  “Are you two a thing?” Myra asks, getting right to the point.

  “No, honey.” Evan pats the empty space next to him, and Myra slides in without a second thought. “She doesn’t have the parts that turn me on.”

  Her eyes roam over him, probably as shocked as I was the first time I heard the news. “You’re way too hot to like dudes.”

  I roll my eyes, turning to face the window and tune them out as they chat. I watch the squirrels chasing each other up the tree just outside the window and pray Myra gets bored quickly and leaves. I’m in no mood for her shenanigans.

  Hearing Jack’s name draws my attention back to their conversation.

  “Sorry, man. Jack is as straight as they come.”

  “Damn. A guy can always dream.” Evan laughs. “Where is that sexy beast anyway?”

  “He headed back to Philly for a few days.”

  I slide my gaze to Myra and Evan.

  “So, when can I expect him back?” Evan waggles his eyebrows when he catches me looking in their direction.

  “Soon,” Myra says, drumming her hands on the table like we’re boring her.

  “Isn’t that great news, Evie?”

  “Yeah, sure.” The vinyl of the booth squeaks as I squirm, and Myra turns her attention toward me.

  Her fingers slow their movement, and she cocks her head, getting ready to pull the trigger on something shitty. “You know I never really liked you much, Evie.”

  This isn’t news. Myra made it quite clear since the moment Jack and I started dating that she wasn’t my biggest fan. She was just a little thing then, but she had so much hate in her heart and hadn’t learned to filter.

  “But I know Jack never got over you.”

  Her words are like a blow to the chest. He never got over me? Fuck, I never got over him…not the other way around.

  “It’s not like I went willingly.”

  “Well, you sure didn’t come back.”

  Shutting down, I stare out the window, biting my tongue so as not to say something I’ll regret. Myra is Jack’s sister, but as much as he hurt me, I won’t take it out on her. Instead, I twist my hands in my lap, thinking about Jack and how things could’ve been so different if I’d stayed.

  Evan must sense my unease, and he takes pity on me, striking up a conversation with her about her favorite topic—herself.

  “Jack, where were you? I waited as long as I could,” I ask over the phone.

  “I’ll give you one guess.” His tone tells me it has something to do with his sister.

  I know he would never stand me up on purpose. I just hated not knowing where he was or if something bad had happened. I knew it wasn’t like Jack not to tell me he wasn’t going to make it.

  “Myra?”

  “She broke the faucet just as I was walking out the door. My mother started screaming when water started spraying everywhere.” He sucks in a deep breath. “I had to shut off the water, and I need to fix the leak before I can leave. I’m so sorry, Evie. Will you forgive me?”

  “Always, Jack.”

  “Love you, Evie girl.”

  “Love you too.”

  Myra has hated me since I became Jack’s girlfriend. Maybe she thinks I am trying to steal her big brother from her. I wish I could make her see that in me she’s gaining a friend, and someday, when I marry Jack, a sister.

  5

  Jack

  “How long are you going to be gone?” Cameron’s standing in the doorway of my office with his arms crossed.

  I rifle through a few contracts that have landed on my desk over the weekend, not bothering to look up. “A week, maybe more. I have something important to take care of.”

  “Does this have anything to do with the girl in the video?”

  I lean back in my chair, resting my elbows on the armrests and stare at him. “Maybe.”

  Cameron’s smile morphs into his typical cocky smirk. “Never thought I’d see the day when you’d chase a girl.”

  “She’s not any girl, Cam. She’s my girl.”

  He looks at me funny because in all the time we’ve known each other, I’ve never claimed anyone as mine. In no way, shape, or form have I ever been a one-woman kind of guy since I met Cameron at Penn State.

  He pushes off the doorway and walks into my office, studying me like a zoo animal. “She must be something if she has you by the short hairs.”

  “No one has me by anything, asshat. And for your information, Evie is the only girl I’ve ever loved.”

  He makes a gagging sound before pretending to throw up in the trash across the room. Cameron collapses on the couch opposite my desk and throws his arm over his face. “It’s been boring here without you, bro.”

  “Come with me,” I urge him, but I know he won’t go. Someone has to run the day-to-day operations of Dirty Deeds Designs, the company I started in college as a project in my business classes.

  By the start of senior year, I’d secured loans and officially launched Dirty Deed Designs—an online apparel company. I didn’t have a graphics background, but Cameron did, and he jumped in as soon as I told him about the idea. I handled the advertising, merchandising, along with modeling our gear. Cameron handled everything else. Within the first year, we tripled our projected profits and have only grown from there.

  “Nah. I’ll hold down the fort while you chase the skirt.” He grins.

  “I’m going to catch her, Cam. Mark my words.”

  “When you want something, you get it. I’ve yet to see you fail.”

  “It’s not going to be easy,” I admit. The way things ended between us wasn’t good, and if her reaction to seeing me yesterday is any indication of how she feels about me now, I’m going to have to work hard to get her back.

  Cameron sighs loudly before climbing to his feet. “Nothing that’s worth a shit ever is. Right?”

  “That’s the truth,” I agree with him, following him with my eyes as he heads toward the door.

  “I know you’re in a rush, so just text me and keep me in the loop.”

  “Will do.”

  He slaps my door and yells “Pussy whipped” over his shoulder before disappearing into his office. I can still hear him snickering as he shuts his door.

  “Still an asshat!” I yell back before burying my nose in the final stack of papers that calls for my attention.

  Once all the paperwork is signed and I’ve finished everything that’s important, I gather up my laptop, keys, and phone and head to my condo loft next door to grab a bag of clothes.

  I’m going back to where my past is my future.

  “What do you think it’ll be like?” Evie asks as we stare up at the stars. We’ve been lying next to each other in the tall, thick summer grass for hours.

  I stare at her profile in the moonlight. She’s beautiful, just like the day I first laid eyes on her in eighth-grade homeroom. “What?”

  She turns to me and smiles. “Being an adult.”

  My hand drifts across the blades of grass and covers hers, intertwining our fingers. “It’s going to be amazing.”

  She turns back to the sky and gives my hand a light squeeze. “I can’t wait to be together always.”

  “Me too, Evie, me too.” I smile to myself, envisioning our future.

  “Do you see that?” She points upward, hoping I’ll look, but I can’t take my eyes off her.

  “Yes.” I inch closer, needing to feel her body next to mine.

  “That’s Polaris,” she whispers. “It’s always the brightest star in the sky and barely ever moves. If we’re ever apart, just look up and know I’m looking at it too.”

  Our shoulders are touching, and my heart’s thumping uncontrollably. “Are you going somewhere, Evie?” I hold my breath, waiting for her to reply.

  “No, Jack.” She glances in my direction.

  I blow out a shaky breath. “You scared me.”

  “We’re officially freshmen,” she whispers and bites her bottom lip, the same one I want to kiss.

  I need to kiss Evie. I’ve waited nine months for this moment. Evie and I have been an item for two months, but I’ve never given her more than a peck because she’d never open-mouth kissed someone before. In truth, neither have I, but I’ve wanted to experience it with her since the day she became mine. Evie had told me that she was scared. I’ve been patiently waiting for her to be ready.

  Rolling to my side, pressing my body against hers, I push her hands over her head. “Evie,” I whisper, hovering above her and staring into her eyes. “I need to kiss you.”

  “Okay,” she says softly.

  I lower my face to hers and hold my breath before pressing my lips to her sweet mouth. Tiny sparks shoot through my body, igniting a fire I’ve never felt before. The ridges of her bottom lip feel like mountains as I sweep my tongue across them. Her lips part just enough that the tip of her tongue meets mine, and I’m unable to stop the moan that escapes from my throat.

  My free hand glides across her cheek, coming to a rest on her neck, just above her feverish pulse. Scooting closer, leaving no space between us—my front to her side—I curl my fingers around the back of her neck and nudge her lips farther apart with my tongue. The ecstasy of her mouth as my tongue presses forward, skating across hers, is something I’ve never experienced before.

  The sweetness. The softness. I don’t just feel the kiss against my mouth, but all over my body. I’m drunk on Evie, and I don’t think life will ever be the same again.

  I pull away and gasp for air, feeling light-headed. “That was…”

  “Amazing,” she finishes my sentence.

  “I don’t want to leave here,” I whisper.

  “We don’t have to go.”

  I close my eyes, wishing I could stay in this moment forever. “Your dad will never let me see you again if I bring you home late, Evie.”

  “Just one more kiss,” she says with a smile.

  “Anything you want.” I give her hand a tight squeeze and kiss her with more force this time, knowing she wants it as badly as I do.

  Time seems to stop, the crickets in the field quieting to a whisper as if they know this moment is magical.

  Evie Bailey officially owns me, and she always will.

  I can’t imagine ever kissing anyone else.

  6

  Evie

  The sun’s hanging low in the sky, dancing over the two-story skyline of Ridge Hollow’s downtown as Evan and I window-shop. It’s picture-perfect with its quaintness and old country charm.

  Evan leads me across the street even though I told him I am ready to call it a day. We’ve spent so much time in the tiny square that we practically have the stores memorized. However, my heart isn’t into shopping. I haven’t been able to get Jack out of my head since the moment our eyes locked.

  I was stupid.

  I shouldn’t have run from him, but it was the only thing that felt right. It was fight or flight, and I didn’t want to make a scene. I have a lump the size of a golf ball to prove exactly how stupid it was, but there’s no do-overs.

  Evan wraps his arm around my shoulder and pulls me to his side. “I could stay here forever.”

  “You’d miss the city too much if we left.” I drop my head to his shoulder. Evan loves the city and the nightlife it provides.

  I never imagined leaving this little town when I was young, but I didn’t have a choice. I thought Ridge Hollow would always be my home. Every time Evan and I come back here, it gets harder to leave, but this time, it may be impossible after seeing Jack.

  “Oh. My. God! It’s finally open.” He stares at a window full of cupcakes and pies with nothing but lust in his eyes. He’s been waiting for them to open since we got to town a few days ago.

  Evan’s always had an insatiable sweet tooth. He’d probably trade our friendship for a lifetime supply of his favorite treat—red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.

  “We have to go in there. I’m starving.” He pulls me toward the entrance with him when I don’t move.

  “You’re always starving.” I roll my eyes, but I let him drag me inside because, well, it’s cupcakes, and I know better than to get between Evan and his sweets. He is a walking poster child for that candy bar commercial where the people are grumpy until they get their chocolate fix.

  As soon as we enter the tiny shop, I’m immediately high on the sugary sweetness of the air. One by one, the different scents hit me—chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and my favorite…caramel.

  There isn’t a thing in the display case that I don’t want to devour, and every ounce of it will hang over the top of my jeans if I’m not careful.

  I’m petite, and even the slightest weight gain makes every inch of my body go out of whack. Evan will never understand this since he has a metabolism that allows him to eat anything he wants without the risk of gaining a pound.

  He’s never had to worry about fitting into his clothes. The bastard. Sometimes I hate him for it, but most of all, I’m jealous as hell. He eats without abandon and doesn’t seem to pay a price for it. He’s still as trim as the day I met him, while I’m a little fluffier than I was in my teens. I blame Evan and his obsession with tasty treats.

  “Evan, I’m going to gain ten pounds just smelling the sweets in this place.”

  “I’m sure Jack won’t care,” he says quickly, but he doesn’t dare look at me because he knows that his comment hits a nerve.

  “I don’t care about Jack,” I respond flippantly.

  I’m lying and defensive.

  Jack Nelson is all I can think about. The fact that my head is still throbbing from where it hit the float doesn’t help. It’s a constant reminder of our encounter.

  Evan glances over his shoulder before humming an annoying response that I pretend not to hear before his gaze locks on the third row of cupcakes that look more like tiny masterpieces than dessert. “Ooh, I’m going to max out my credit card in here. How many turtle cupcakes do you need to drown your sorrows tonight, Evie?”

  Tapping my fingernail against my chin, I stare at the gooey goodness of the turtle cupcakes. One isn’t enough, but three may be -->