by S. L. Scott
When I finish in the restroom, I walk back down the corridor and notice the last door on the left is open.
“Mallory, do you have a minute?” Ms. Chart is sitting on a bed welcoming me inside. I nod and walk in, sitting down next to her. Her words are soft, comforting as she speaks. “I just want you to know that I’m really glad to finally meet you. Evan has told me so many wonderful things about you.”
“He’s talked about you also, but I had no idea he told anyone about me.”
“You’re very special. Not only because he talks about you and he never talks about girls, but because, if I may be so blunt,” she lowers her voice, “you’ve brought my Evan back. The Evan he used to be. I hope you don’t mind me sharing this with you. I already feel close to you, like I know you. Evan would call me a sentimental fool.”
“Well, there is nothing wrong with that and I feel the same about you.” I feel at ease considering I just met her. Even her calling Evan ‘My Evan’ doesn’t bother me because I know exactly what she means. “I like that you’re honest. I’ll be honest, too. It’s not been easy and meeting his family, well, other than Kate, is quite nerve-wracking.” I look down at my hands. “To say the least.”
“I’m not Mrs. Ashford. She has this idea of who Evan’s supposed to be and it’s suffocating him. Please don’t let her scare you away though. She can be very kind and generous once you get to know her.” Ms. Chart places her hand lovingly on my forearm while airing a more serious tone. “It might not be easy. I won’t lie to you, but he needs you and I can tell he cares for you very much.” She leans over and hugs me. Her embrace is sincere and caring. “Thank you, Mallory.”
“Don’t thank me. It’s all him. He’s special.”
She smiles warmly, and in that smile I see why Evan seems to bond with her in such a familial way.
Standing up, I thank her before walking back through the kitchen. I hear my friends laughing outside as I head for the door.
“He’s not as good as you think he is. He has problems he hasn’t worked through yet.”
I look over my shoulder and see Evan’s mother sitting in a pale yellow club chair in the breakfast room. Taking the doorknob in hand, I turn around. I want to ignore her poisonous words, but I also can’t hide my thoughts on the matter. “He’s also not as bad as you think he is.” Opening the door, I exit the house and join my friends.
Evan is all smiles, and my heart soars just looking at him. This is right. We are right. I won’t let his mother ruin us.
After taking a seat next to Evan, I look around and watch as everyone starts to couple off, getting lost in their own worlds. Murphy is tending the barbeque pit while Kate leans against his back supervising, as if she needs to. It’s obvious she just wants to be touching him.
Sunny sits on Zach’s lap, whispering to him, making him giggle like they’re fifteen-year-olds. He rubs her arm, enchanted by her, which makes me smile.
“Hey there,” my surfer whispers in my ear, his voice laced with possibility. “Are you hungry? I noticed a delicious looking fruit salad on the buffet.”
I giggle at the insinuation, remembering how naughty he was with fruit on the beach just days earlier.
Looking at him, at my Evan—maybe it’s the star-filled night or all that we’ve been through, maybe it’s that I feel in control after giving his mom a small piece of my mind, but I’m not hungry. I’m happy and satisfied and full of love for him. Leaning my body against his, I rest my head on his chest, right over his heart and wrap my arms around him. “I’m wonderful.”
His arms gently work their way around me, and I snuggle even closer. “You sure? I’ll give you anything you want,” he says, both of us knowing he’s not talking about food. I nod not wanting to leave the warmth of his body. “Do you want to stay or would you rather leave? We can go to my place or for a walk on the beach?”
“Let’s go for a walk.”
We stroll a short distance in silence before he takes me in his arms again and kisses me—deep and meaningful, full of hope and a future.
When I pull back from the only place I really want to be, I confide, “Evan, I don’t want to leave you. I don’t want to lose you either.” My voice is a whisper in the wind, but loud enough for him to hear my plea.
He runs his hands on either side of my face then pushes the blowing strands behind my ears. As he holds me, his eyes search mine. With a most confident grin, he says, “Just because you have to go back to school doesn’t mean you’ll lose me. I’m yours. You marked my heart as yours the day I met you. So relax in the knowledge that I’ll be here, soulless, heartless, less of a man altogether until I see you again.” He pulls me against him, burying me in his possessive embrace and kisses my head. “I’ll visit you as much as you’ll let me.”
“How can I relax knowing you’re living life halfheartedly?” I laugh softly. “And I feel the same about you.”
“Does that mean if you have my heart and soul and I have your heart and soul then we are whole?”
“Yes, I feel complete knowing I’ll have a part of you with me.”
He lightly chuckles. “You’ll have the only parts that matter.”
With closed eyes, I press my ear against him and listen to the rhythm of my heart beating in his chest.
Taking his hand in mine, I guide him back down the beach to the stone steps that lead up to the house. I stop on the first step so that I’m eye level with him and wrap my arms around his neck, kissing the smooth skin behind his earlobe that always elicits a smile and laugh from my ticklish man. I whisper, “I love you. You don’t have to say it back. You’ve shown me time and time again how much you love me.”
Cupping my face in his large hands, he presses his forehead against mine. I hear him gulp as he closes his eyes, the words stuck in an undercurrent of emotion.
I close my eyes, shivering from the breeze that surrounds us and listening to the waves crashing nearby. “I meant what I said, Evan. This is enough.”
“Mallory,” he says, and I look up into his dark, deep blues. “I … one day, I’ll be what you deserve. I’ll be everything you ever wanted.”
“You’re everything I never knew I needed.”
Our lips meet, and under a full Hawaiian moon, that kiss tells me we were always meant to be more than a fling in paradise.
That summer, we became forever.
Preview
To be continued in book 2 of the Playboy in Paradise Series, Redeeming the Playboy. CLICK HERE
For a preview, keep reading.
Redeeming the Playboy
Noah cups my face, forcing me to look at him. His words are urgent as he stares straight into my eyes. “I will never treat you like that. You mean more to me than that, Mallory.” He pulls me by the arm and as if I don’t have a say in the matter, I go stumbling behind him.
“Mallory!” Evan calls, and though I know better, my heart aches for him.
Looking over my shoulder, Murphy and Zach have him restrained. My eyes catch movement nearby, and I see his mom and Kelly smiling in their victory. I move forward, needing to be free from the hate of their contemptuous eyes, needing a minute away from everything to do with a future snuffed out. They planted the seed and let us destroy each other. A conversation that should have happened during more sober times, forced itself into our lives … and now we’ll pay the price for this devastation. Both of us walk away wounded in a battle over egos and lies, a battle that should have never been waged.
Just as I round the corner, a strangled cry halts my escape and every breath in my body.
“Don’t leave me, Baby! I love you!”
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Also by S.L. SCOTT
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Playboy in Paradise Series
Falling for the Playboy
Redeeming the Playboy
Loving the Playboy
Playboy in Paradise Box Set
The Crow Brothers (Stand-Alones)
Spark
Tulsa
Rivers
Ridge
The Crow Brothers Box Set
Hard to Resist Series (Stand-Alones)
The Resistance
The Reckoning
The Redemption
The Revolution
The Rebellion
The Revelation
The Everest Brothers (Stand-Alones)
Everest - Ethan Everest
Bad Reputation - Hutton Everest
Force of Nature - Bennett Everest
The Everest Brothers Box Set
The Kingwood Series
SAVAGE
SAVIOR
SACRED
SOLACE - Stand-Alone
The Kingwood Series Box Set
Talk to Me Duet (Stand-Alones)
Sweet Talk
Dirty Talk
From the Inside Out Series
Scorned
Jealousy
Dylan
Austin
From the Inside Out Compilation
Stand-Alone Books
Missing Grace
Until I Met You
Drunk on Love
Naturally, Charlie
A Prior Engagement
Lost in Translation
Sleeping with Mr. Sexy
Morning Glory
About the Author
To keep up to date with her writing and more, her website is www.slscottauthor.com to receive her newsletter with all of her publishing adventures and giveaways, sign up for her newsletter: http://bit.ly/2TheScoop
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