“Okay, I’m back. How about that Italian place?”
“Sounds good.” Evan grinned. “You two haven’t changed.”
“What? Pasta, bread. What’s not to like?” Aubrey giggled. “Talk to Sadie. I’ve got to check something.”
He could hear Sadie’s laugh as the phone got closer to her. “Your sister is weird.”
“This is true. But you’re the one who has to put up with it all the time.” He laughed, feeling more relaxed than he had in a while. “I’ll meet you downstairs at seven.” Evan leaned forward in his office chair.
“Better make the reservation, then,” Sadie said. “Friday nights get busy.”
“Not for the owner.” He grinned wide, wondering what she thought of that.
She groaned. “Sounds like you haven’t changed much yourself. We’ll see you later.”
He heard a click on the line and had to look to see that she’d hung up.
Had she meant that as a good thing? Something inside him decided it wasn’t a compliment, and he wondered what she’d gotten offended about.
For some reason, he couldn’t wait to meet them for dinner. As he thought back to bumping into Sadie in the hall, she’d done everything she could to get away from him. Such a contrast to all of the women he had to fend off at events or just as customers at his hotel. It was somewhat refreshing and had to be the reason why he felt off around her, both disconcerted and excited. He hadn’t planned for this turn of events.
He was on track to winning the five-diamond award, and now was not the time to get distracted by a beautiful woman. It wasn’t just his personal life that had taken a hit when Stacey had walked away, his businesses had also suffered. Now that he was back on track and excelling, so were each of his hotels. The five-diamond award was the crown jewel of what he hoped to build for his company and his employees. Achieving that meant ultimate focus on making sure everything went according to plan, not trying to divide his attention with a new relationship.
As long as they didn’t have to spend too much time together, things would return to normal, and he could go back to avoiding all women, even red-haired ones who popped up out of his past.
* * *
After dressing for dinner, buttoning a lavender shirt and pulling on a gray sport coat, Evan made his way downstairs, not wanting the girls to wait too long for him.
He arrived first but only had to wait a few minutes before he saw the two of them laughing as they walked toward him. A bit of envy pricked at his chest, and he felt the void of Aiden’s absence. The two of them had been together for just about everything, even though they were different in so many ways. With his brother back in San Francisco, he felt the void. As much as he loved his sister, there was something about that identical bond that made it different.
He watched as Sadie tucked her hair behind one ear as she laughed at something Aubrey said, dressed in a pair of tailored black slacks and a navy top. With her hair down, he had to put a hand to his chest to keep his heart from galloping away. What had he been thinking? Dinner with her was going to make keeping his mind on his goals harder than he thought. And having to keep those feelings from his sister was going to be another feat in and of itself.
“You made it. Hey, Aubs,” he said, hugging her.
“It’s good to see you, Evan. I hope you’ve been staying out of trouble.” She took a step back and studied his face using the look their mother usually gave them to root out any secret they’d been hiding.
“Trying to. I’m a workaholic, so there isn’t too much to worry about around here.” He stepped back and turned to Sadie. “It’s good to see you again, Sadie.”
She nodded. “Hello, Goose.” She stuck out her hand rather quickly, and Evan took it, shaking it slowly as he studied her reaction. The look in her eyes went from surprise to bored in just a few seconds, causing him to finally pull away.
Aubrey started laughing. “I forgot about that one. It’s been a long time since you two have been together.”
Evan thought back to when they were about four years old and a goose had been waddling around the pond next to the ranch his parents owned. He’d gone up to it, trying to give it some bread like he’d seen other people do, but he put the bread right to the beak of the goose. His fingers had hurt for weeks after, and he’d been given the nickname of Goose by his family. Over the years, it had been replaced by other nicknames, but Sadie had never stopped using Goose.
“Leave it to Sadie to remember something that happened over two decades ago.”
Sadie smiled. “Two decades. Are you trying to make us feel old?”
Evan tilted his head down, a smile playing at the corners of his lips. “You are a whole two weeks older than Aubrey and me.”
“That makes no difference.” She slapped his arm, and he noticed her shoulders relax a bit. “Okay, which direction? My stomach is going to riot soon if I don’t get food.”
Pointing in the direction of the stairs, Evan took a few steps forward, allowing the girls to fall into step with him.
He stuck one hand into his pants pocket and weaved around some people not paying attention in the hall. Looking over at Sadie, he said, “Taryn tells me you’ve got a little fan club going for your wedding planning business.”
“A little fan club.” She laughed, but it sounded hollow. “I caught a lucky break with Maleah Strong and an article in a magazine for a wedding I did in May, but I wouldn’t say business is streaming in.”
“But you’ve already had a few calls since Maleah’s wedding. You’re even going to plan one for Charleigh French,” Aubrey said, beaming and turning her head to look at the ceiling lit to look just like the sky.
Evan was impressed. “Charleigh French, huh? I would say you’ve arrived, then.”
With a shake of the head, Sadie rolled her eyes. “I don’t have the contract with her yet. She wants to come to Taryn’s wedding and see if she likes it. She and her fiancé were at Maleah’s wedding. I just wish I didn’t have that extra pressure on top of a short time frame.” She bit her bottom lip, her eyes straight forward as if trying to look into the future.
“I’m sure you’ll do just fine,” Evan said. “Taryn says she trusts you completely.”
Sadie looked at him for several seconds, her eyes moving around his face as if inspecting every part of it for a lie. When she finally spoke, her voice was near a whisper. “Thank you for that.”
Evan wasn’t sure what she meant by that, but something about her manner told him not to press it. At least he’d gotten a thank you.
Chapter 5
Sadie tried to keep her thoughts on the food, savoring the rich sauces and soft bread of the restaurant. While she did enjoy the food, she kept glancing up to study Evan, trying to reconcile the guy she remembered from all those years ago with the guy who sat before her. There seemed to be a peace about him, but she wasn’t sure what had caused it.
She’d known about his broken engagement, and when Aubrey commented several months later that he still hadn’t gotten over it, that had stuck in Sadie’s brain. She saw no sign of it now, but it was as if he was seeing her for the first time.
His jaw was more defined, and a scar along his forearm piqued her curiosity. He must have gotten it after college since she’d never seen it before. Other than that, the brown eyes with large flecks of green and long eyelashes made her insides buzz. But it was the smile that really got her. He’d never needed braces, and yet his teeth were perfect, unlike her own.
Glancing back at her plate of pasta, she twirled her fork through a few pieces of alfredo. Frustration webbed through her chest. Evan was a slippery slope she couldn’t fall down again. She had to be grateful he’d been such a jerk those last few years in college, since it had broken the trance she’d been in over him. Whatever it was he’d been going through at that time, she knew it was for the best that he was rude and a player, for more than one reason.
She’d thought things must have changed drastically for him to marry Stacey
Crenshaw, a girl from their high school who’d dated him on and off throughout the years, but when the wedding was called off hours before it was set to happen, she’d felt a sense of both triumph and sadness about the whole situation. Stacey had always been a piece of work, the head cheerleader and leader of the mean girls' clique, but as much as Sadie liked the thought that it didn’t work out for her, she felt even worse for Evan. Maybe that was what caused her heart to lean toward him, that life hadn’t turned out exactly how he’d planned it, and she could relate to that.
Aubrey had filled her in on a lot of what had happened in the succeeding weeks, including Evan’s struggle to get back to work. He must have gotten over Stacey, or at least funneled his frustrations into his business, because Sadie couldn’t imagine what it would have taken to get to the billion-dollar mark soon after. It wasn’t something she cared about, and when he’d made the remark about things being easy as the owner, she knew he hadn’t changed all that much. His arrogant, cocky attitude was still in full force.
“Evan, are you coming home for the fall festival?” Aubrey asked before taking a bite of her pasta.
“I’ll be there. Mom would hang me if I didn’t make it this time. She said they’re expecting to be sold out of rooms at the lodge for the weekend.” Evan’s eyes danced at that. He had grown up on a large ranch in Southern Utah, the land having been passed down from generation to generation from the time his great-grandfather had settled there. Over the years, the Pearson family had built a lodge where they hosted family reunions or corporate retreats, allowing their guests to experience the ranch life for a few days or weeks.
Sadie wished she could feel the same excitement for the big event as the Pearsons did. All the Fall Festival meant for her was disappointment and heartache.
Aubrey pointed her fork in Sadie’s direction. “Maybe you can convince this one to come along for once. It’s been a long time.” She raised her eyebrows as if to emphasize the point.
Evan lifted his hands. “If you can’t convince her to go, what makes you think I can?” He chuckled, and the sound was warm and comfortable.
“I can hear you,” Sadie said, glaring at him across the table. After a moment, she sat back against the seat of the booth. “There’s nothing left for me in Aspen Hollow. It’s just easier to not go back and see all the pitying stares.” Sadie could feel the emotion surging in her throat, causing her to look down so she wouldn’t start crying. She hadn’t been this emotional in ages, and she wished it would go away. She’d been able to steel herself against the memories of the past for a while and didn’t need Aubrey constantly bringing them back up.
“What if you could finally get over your anxiety about Aspen Hollow? You’ll be with us the entire time, and then you can have some of Mom’s Dutch apple pie. I know you have to be missing that.” One side of Aubrey’s mouth lifted.
Sadie nodded. “Okay, I might be missing that. But I don’t know if I’m quite ready to go back just yet. Maybe next year.” She noted the finality in her tone, and the rightness of it surged through her. “Besides, I have a wedding to throw together in about five weeks. If I’m going to impress Charleigh, I’ve got to stay focused.”
She was surprised to see Evan staring at her with his lips pressed into a tight line. A light tingle flowed down her back, and she averted her eyes. Twirling the last of her pasta around her fork, Sadie wondered what he was thinking. She hoped it was something about this large hotel and not about her past. He hadn’t learned about most of it, of her parents fighting the last few years of their marriage and then filing restraining orders against one another.
Her parents had never been the model of an amazing marriage, but those last several months, Sadie had avoided the courtroom like the plague, knowing that each appearance would only cause her to lose respect for her parents even more. There was one particular time that she could never forget, like it was seared into her brain.
Shaking her head, she tried to figure out what Evan and Aubrey were saying. She needed a distraction from those old memories more than ever.
Chapter 6
With working to line up several subcontractors for the remodel over the weekend, Evan had only seen Sadie once, on his way out of the gym downstairs. She’d been across the room, pacing as she talked on her phone about something to do with Taryn’s big day. The minute he’d heard the word wedding, he’d turned and focused on the elevator, hoping it would keep him out of an awkward conversation about his former life. He had an urge to tell her about everything that had happened to him over the past seven or even eleven years, but that was something a boyfriend did, not an old acquaintance.
Sunday afternoon, Sadie walked into his office, a large three-ring binder in her hands. “Good afternoon. Can you give me the number for your events coordinator? I want to set some things up for the few days before the wedding. To give the guests that come early a fun experience.”
With a grin, Evan said, “That sounds like a great idea. Let me have her call you later today. She’s been sick recently, but I hope she’ll be able to help out in planning.”
“Awesome. Okay, I’ll leave you to your work and get back to planning this wedding.” She turned and then paused, looking back at him. “You weren’t kidding when you said you’re a workaholic.”
Throwing back his head, Evan laughed. After several seconds, he stopped, again realizing he didn’t know if that was a compliment or a jab. “Getting a hotel started is a big job, and it means hiring the right people and training them on how our hotels are supposed to treat customers.”
“Where are you on this hotel, then?” Evan could see the curiosity playing in her eyes.
“I bought it two years ago and have been remodeling since. One of my friends from college has a girlfriend who is a designer, and she flew out a month ago to help me pick out new furnishings and a few other details for the hotel. This has been a lot more of a process than the other hotels I own around the country. And with all of the extra shops and features of the place, I would say I’m about halfway done training people.” He paused a moment before saying, “What about you? You’re busy working on a Sunday. Doesn’t that make you a workaholic too?”
A smile played on her lips, and Evan found it adorable. “No, I just have a very tight deadline. But it is sometimes easier to get lost in the little details rather than figure out people. Aubrey and I already went to lunch, and she’s taking care of a few things before she heads to Aspen Hollow tomorrow.”
“Point taken. What is it about Aspen Hollow that keeps you from returning? I know your parents had a rough patch, but what makes you stay away?” He watched as several emotions flickered across her face.
It took her several seconds to respond, but she finally said, “There’s just a lot of memories I wish to forget. The whole house-burning thing is one of them.”
Evan searched his mind, trying to remember what she was talking about. It seemed like one of those memories that hadn’t been dusted off in a while. “I almost forgot about that. I just remember you staying over for several nights because you couldn’t sleep there anymore. That was when we were, what? Sixteen.”
Sadie nodded. “My parents were fighting so much about who got the house that one of them decided to burn it down.”
“Are you serious? When was that?”
Sadie sighed, looking to the shelves behind him as she thought. “The year before we graduated from high school. The minute college started, I was ready to leave that town, and I haven’t been back since.”
“Were you able to salvage anything from the fire?” He thought about his own possessions. What would he be able to save if a fire happened here in the hotel?
Her lips turned down, and she shook her head. “No, it was too late when the firefighters made it to the house. I’m just grateful none of us were hurt. It made for a long couple of years, though.”
“Where are your parents now?” Evan didn’t want her to stop talking, as a lot of little pieces started to fall into place. H
is mother had probably explained the situation to him on several occasions, but he hadn’t had time to worry about things at home in a few years. Now he wished he’d paid better attention to what he’d always termed as mindless gossip.
“My father is in North Carolina, and my mother lives in Boise. Shannon stayed in Colorado after grad school.”
“Do you ever see any of them?”
Sadie shook her head. “Not often. My parents both got remarried and have their own lives now. I’ve been busy with all the weddings lately. If I’m in the area, I try to stop by or arrange a lunch, but that doesn’t happen often.”
Evan ran a hand along the back of his neck. “That seems so foreign to me. My mother calls every time she hasn’t heard from me in a while. Do you miss them?”
With a shrug, Sadie said, “Sometimes, but there was just so much stuff going on at the time that it’s nice to be on the other side. And Shannon, well, I feel like Aubrey is more of a sister at this point.”
The sadness on her face made his chest hurt. As much as his family seemed overwhelming at times, life wouldn’t be the same without them. It made him want to visit them more often, to make sure he never took them for granted.
She waved a hand at him. “I have to get back to this. I have several phone calls to make and plans to go over with your sister.”
Evan nodded, watching her walk out the door. It was a wonder that a girl with such a rough past when it came to her parents’ marriage was now a sought-after wedding planner.
Reminding himself to call Patty, his events coordinator, he picked up the phone and dialed her number. After a few rings, she picked up, her voice hoarse and shaky.
The Vegas Billionaire: An International Billionaire Club Series Page 3
