“I do not!” I glanced over my shoulder as if I could prove him wrong. “Stop trying to distract me, Gray.”
“Trust me, Elle. You’re the biggest distraction inside this entire town, maybe even the whole state.” Evan cleared his throat and looked away.
I took my shot, sinking a solid in the corner pocket. I made two more shots before missing. When I turned to give Evan a triumphant look, he was staring at me with unguarded lust. It was a look I recognized all too well.
“Evan,” I said with a slight shake of my head.
“Noelle.” He ran a hand over the back of his neck and looked down at his feet. “Sorry. I just can’t believe you’re really back. I can’t believe we’re here together. It feels like my deepest wish is coming true.”
I walked over to him. “Ev.” He lifted his eyes slowly. I hadn’t planned what I was going to say to him but when he looked at me like that, all I wanted to do was kiss him. The urge was so strong that I found myself leaning into him.
“Gray!”
We both jumped and I took a big step backward. Evan grimaced a little as he turned toward the sound of his name. “Hey, Parker. Dez.”
I recognized them both instantly. Our intruders were old friends, Joshua Parker and Desmond Stiles.
“You don’t look very excited to see us,” Josh said. He slapped Evan on the arm before turning to me. “Who’s your friend?”
“I’ll try not to be offended that you’ve forgotten me, Josh,” I said. “I still remember you, especially the part where you streaked through the Winter Carnival junior year. If I remember correctly, it was a little cold that day.”
Evan and Desmond laughed while Josh gaped at me. His mouth opened and closed a few times before the recognition settled over his face. “Noelle Sutton?”
“You do remember me!” I laughed as he threw his arms around me and spun me in a circle. “Good to see you, too.”
“I don’t believe it.” He set me down and studied me carefully. “It’s really you, here in Starlight. I never thought I’d see this day.”
“You and me both,” I said quietly, looking at Evan.
Josh noticed my gaze. “Oh shit. Were you two on a date? Did we just interrupt?”
“No,” I said at the exact same time that Evan said, “Yes.”
“Yes, we are technically on a date but no, you aren’t interrupting. It’s good to see.” I smiled warmly at both of them. At one time, I’d considered them both to be good friends. “Evan was just about to get his butt kicked at pool. I’m sure he’s glad to have disruption.”
“Excuse you?” Evan said, raising an eyebrow.
I smiled sweetly at him. “What’s wrong, Gray? Don’t want your friends to know you were about to lose to a girl?”
“You think these two idiots are my friends?” Evan scoffed. “Please.”
“Ouch.” Desmond put a hand over his heart. “That hurts.”
“I have an idea.” I handed my pool cue to Josh. “Gray and I will play the two of you. Loser buys drinks.”
Josh grinned. “I look forward to drinking for free.”
Things between Evan and I were a little easier with Josh and Desmond there. They took the awkward edge off our exchanges and added a lightness that was desperately needed. Evan and I had a complicated past and we’d been foolishly trying to address it all in one evening. Having our old friends there allowed us to focus on the good times we’d had rather than the difficult ones.
They won the first game and I headed to the bar to pay our debt. Evan only let me pay after I reminded him that he had paid for dinner. When we won the second game, Evan politely refused a beverage, but he went to the bar with Josh to help carry the other drinks back. I remembered what he said about changing his drinking habits.
“So, Dez. What’s new in your life? Still working for your dad’s company?” I joined him at the high-top table our group and commandeered.
“I run things now, actually. Dad retired a couple years ago.” Desmond smiled proudly. “We’ve doubled our business in the last five years.”
“Wow. That’s impressive.” I wasn’t surprised. Desmond had always been smart and driven. He’d been working for his dad since I had met him when we were only thirteen. “I might have to pick your business brain. I’m thinking of starting up my own business.”
Desmond nodded. “I’d be happy to help. You went into finance, right?”
“Yeah. I was a Vice President for one of the banks in New Orleans, but the hours were insane. I’m hoping to build something a little more flexible. Something in financial planning maybe.” I shrugged. “I guess it depends what the market is like around here.”
“Well, I don’t know about the market but I could use your services, if you’re offering. My wife and I are trying to get our finances in order to start planning for the kids’ futures. I’d love to be your first client.” Desmond grinned. “Maybe we can help each other.”
“That sounds like a perfect plan.” I held up my glass and we tapped our drinks together. We were exchanging phone numbers when Evan and Josh returned. I held out my hand for my drink, but Evan put the glass on the table instead and grabbed my hand.
“Do you hear that?” he said with a playful smile.
“Hear what?” I was suspicious as he pulled me across the room.
“It’s our song, Sutton.” His smile grew as we stepped into the next room, the one with a large dance floor that was only semi-full.
I gasped when I recognized the familiar chords. “Did you do this?”
“Nope.” He shrugged and pulled me into the center of the dance floor. “The universe just wants you to dance with me.”
“Well, I guess I can’t piss off the universe.” I put my arms around him, clasping my hands at the back of his neck. His hands slid over my hips before resting on my lower back. “I don’t remember the last time I danced.”
“It’s been about twelve years for me,” Evan said. “I never liked the idea of dancing with anyone but you.”
I laughed. “If I remember correctly, you never really like the idea of dancing with me either. I always had to beg.”
“I didn’t want you to get too spoiled,” Evan said, smiling his adorable smile. “There was literally nothing I wouldn’t have done for you if you asked, I just didn’t want you to know that.”
“Is that why you quit drinking?” I asked.
“I didn’t quit.”
“Cut back then,” I clarified. “Did you change your drinking habits because of me?”
He nodded. “I did, just not in time to save us.”
“I’m proud of you,” I said. “I don’t know if it matters, but it means a lot to me that you listened to my concerns and did something about it.”
“I wanted to be the man you thought I could be, even if that man wasn’t with you.” Evan’s arms tightened around me. “Noelle, I have to be completely honest with you. From the second I saw you on Norma’s farm, I’ve been overwhelmed by this feeling that we’re being given a second change to get things right. I know you’ve got a lot of stuff in your life that you need to deal with and I don’t want to get in the way of what you’re trying to build with the kids. But I’m ready to fight for us. I want to try to do things right with you.”
I closed my eyes because the urge to cry was so strong. The last year had been so hard and I had been so sure I would never be truly happy again. The thought that I might be able to find a way back to the only man I’d ever loved seemed to impossibly wonderful to be real. I was sure that I was going to screw it up. “I want to try, too.” I opened my eyes and said, “I just don’t want you to be disappointed when you finally get to know the person I’ve become.”
“From what I’ve seen so far, that person is even more amazing than the girl I used to know.” Evan put a hand to my cheek. “Does this mean you’ll say yes to a second date?”
“I think you’ve still got to finish off this first date in style, Gray.” I closed my eyes again, this time eagerly
anticipating his kiss. The lips that closed over mine were soft and familiar. My heart jumped erratically and I was taken back to our first dance, and our first kiss. Just like back then, I found myself falling in love with Evan Gray. I just hoped that this part of our story would have a happy ending.
CHAPTER NINE
Seventeen Years Ago
“A re you excited to see Evan?” Stephanie asked as we drove into town.
“Of course,” I replied quietly.
David was at the wheel, looking tense. It was our first time back in Starlight since our parents’ deaths. At first, we hadn’t been sure if we would go. They had died in June, a week before we were supposed to leave for our annual summer visit. Our plans had been changed in an instant and we had spent the summer grieving and adjusting to our new lives. David still had a year of college left before graduation and he’d been forced to move back into our parents’ house as my legal guardian.
“It’s weird to be back here without them,” I said.
“Yeah, it is.” David’s voice was thick with emotion. “They’d want us to be here, though. This is where we always spend Christmas.”
“Yeah.” I would’ve preferred to skip Christmas. It didn’t seem right to celebrate holidays without them. We’d already ignored Thanksgiving.
David drove me straight to Evan’s house. I was more nervous than usual to see him. When our parents died, Evan had come to stay with me for a month. He’d helped us pack up some of their things and helped David move back home. Evan had been my emotional rock over the summer. On our last night together, we’d become even closer. I’d invited him into my bed for the first time and while I didn’t regret it for even one second, I wasn’t sure how things would be with him now.
Evan was sitting on the porch steps when we pulled up. He stood slowly, sporting a new haircut and an impossibly gorgeous smile. My heart did a familiar flutter as I opened my door.
“Hey,” David called after me. “Don’t do anything stupid, okay?”
I pretended not to understand his innuendo. After my night with Evan, I’d confessed happily to Stephanie a few days later. She had promised not to tell David and I was certain she’d kept her word. David was just being an overbearing older brother.
“I’ll be home before dinner,” I said, tossing them a wave before slamming the door.
Evan was still walking toward me, but I couldn’t wait any longer. I sprinted the remaining distance and launched myself into his arms. He caught me with a laugh, spinning me in a circle.
“I’ve missed you so much,” I said, burying my face in his chest.
He hadn’t bothered to put on a coat, but his body was still warm somehow. “I’ve missed you too, Elle.”
“You smell good,” I said, lifting my head. “Are your parents home?”
“They went to my aunt’s house for the day.” He grinned. “We have the house all to ourselves.”
“Oh.” A wave of anxiety rolled through me. “Should we go inside? You must be freezing without a coat.”
He kept his arm around me as he led me to the house. “How are you doing? It must be really hard to be back here without your parents.”
“It is,” I said. “But David was right. This is where we should be.”
“I’m glad you came back,” Evan admitted, holding open the door for me. “I don’t think I could’ve lasted another day without seeing you.”
“That’s only because of what we did the last time we were together,” I teased, but I wasn’t completely kidding. A big part of me had been worried that after crossing that line, Evan would expect that kind of intimacy every time we were together. I’d heard the horror stories about sixteen-year-old boys and even though Evan had never pressured me to do anything I didn’t want to do, I was worried that might have changed while we’d been apart.
Evan gave me a confused look. “Are you…do you regret what we did?”
“No.” I shook my head, but I couldn’t look him in the eye. “I just…”
“What?” He grabbed my hand. “Tell me.”
“I don’t want things to change between us,” I said.
“That was six months ago, Elle. We’ve still been us in those six months.” He looked worried.
“But we haven’t been together, like we are now.” I bit the inside of my cheek. “You can’t tell me that things aren’t different now.”
He gave me his famous stubborn look. “Nothing is different.”
“So you don’t have a box of condoms upstairs?” I challenged him. His cheeks flushed a brilliant shade of red and he didn’t answer. “Things are different, Ev.”
“Different doesn’t have to be bad,” he said defensively.
“No, it doesn’t,” I agreed.
“And you are the one that insisted you wanted to take that step,” he reminded me. “I told you I didn’t mind waiting.”
“I know.” I took a deep breath. “I’m not saying I regret anything, Evan. I’m just feeling a little insecure because I’m a sixteen-year-old girl who gave everything to her boyfriend and then didn’t see him for six months and I guess I’m just worried that you might regret it or you might have expectations that I–”
Evan cut my off by putting his finger over my lips. “I love you, Noelle. Sleeping with you didn’t change that, except maybe it made me love you even more because we shared such a special moment. I promise I have no expectations. We don’t even have to go upstairs. I’m just a sixteen-year-old guy who wants to spend the day with his girlfriend who has completely stolen his heart.”
“Evan.” My anxiety faded instantly when he smiled at me. “I love you, too.”
“Good.” He tugged at my hand. “Now, what should we do? We could watch a movie or take a walk. I think the gang was talking about going ice skating later. Or we could–”
I put my finger over his lips. “Let’s go upstairs.”
“Yeah?” He raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”
“With you? Always.” I replaced my finger with my lips.
Evan eventually led me upstairs and this time, he was the one that was nervous. He fidgeted with the radio while I took a seat on his bed. “What are you doing?” I asked.
“Setting the mood,” he said with a shy smile. He punched a button and gave me a triumphant look as music filled the room.
I recognized the song instantly. “It’s our song,” I said, feeling a rush of affection for him as he held out his hand. I let him pull me to my feet and his arms went around me. We swayed to the music, our bodies moving in perfect synchronization. It was then that I finally realized that Evan was still the same boy I had loved for three years. He was still the guy that made my heart skip a beat and calmed me completely, all at the exact same time. Evan Gray was the only guy I would ever truly love with all my heart.
CHAPTER TEN
“Y
ou’re really not going to tell me?” Madison demanded.
“Eat your breakfast,” I said, yawning.
After our kiss on the dance floor, we’d decided to call it a night. I didn’t want to take advantage of Norma’s hospitality and I also didn’t want the kids to think I’d abandoned them. When we’d stopped by the house, Tommy was asleep on the couch and Norma and Madison were putting the finishing touches on a batch of cookies.
Evan had graciously offered to carry Tommy back to the guesthouse. After getting him in bed, I walked Evan to the front door. Madison was watching us from the hallway and Evan had wisely opted for a kiss on my cheek. She’d spent the next twenty minutes trying to pry out details about the date, but I’d stubbornly kept my mouth shut. I had thought that a good night’s sleep would deter her, but I had been wrong.
“He only kissed you on the cheek,” Madison continued. “That’s not very romantic.”
“Depends who’s doing the kissing,” I countered, taking my coffee over to the window. It was just after sunrise, but the farm was already bustling with activity.
“Aunt Noelle! You love him!” Madison sa
ng out happily.
Tommy had been quietly eating his pancakes, but now he was intrigued, too. “Loves who?”
“No one.” I shot Madison a glare. “Once you finish eating, you need to get dressed. We’re going skating, remember?”
I had forgotten Evan’s promise to take the kids skating until he had reminded me just before we returned home after the date. I couldn’t deny that I was excited to see him again so soon and I couldn’t keep the smile from my face.
“With Evan?” Madison pressed.
“Yes, with Evan.” I forced the smile away. “And I don’t want you bugging him the way you’ve been bugging me all morning.”
Madison shrugged. “Whatever. Evan doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy that gets annoyed very easily. That’s probably why he was able to put up with you.”
“Ha, ha.” I stuck my tongue out at her. “I’m going to remember this when you go on your first date.”
“That will never happen,” Madison said, rolling her eyes. “Boys my age are so annoying.”
“I used to think that, too,” I said, taking away her empty plate. “But then I met Evan.”
Madison sighed dramatically. “You’re so lucky. None of the boys my age are cool like him. They just talk about sports and make fart noises with their armpits.”
“You’re only twelve, Mad. Give it some time.” I ruffled her hair. “You’re an awesome girl and pretty soon the boys will catch up to you.”
“I’m done!” Tommy announced happily. “Can we go now?”
“You’re still wearing your pajamas, kiddo.” I laughed and took their plates to the sink. A loud knock on the door made me jump. Before I could even turn around, Madison was racing to the door.
“Evan!” Her entire face lit up as she opened the door. “We were just talking about you.”
“Only good things, I hope.” Evan stuck his head over the threshold. “Good morning, Elle.”
“Come in, Ev. We’re just finishing up breakfast.” I waved him inside while loading the dishwasher. “I was just telling the kids about that time my team beat yours in the ice hockey tournament.”
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