by Darcy Burke
She took a deep breath and shook her head. She looked at his desk, and her eye caught a stack of papers that looked like a manuscript. Was that the book Alex had started and Evan was finishing? He’d told her a little of the plot. The main character had Asperger’s, like Evan, and his brother, a nonverbal autistic, had died in an accident. Though the brother had been nonverbal, he and the main character had been able to communicate quite well. In fact, the main character understood him better than anyone and after losing his brother had decided to do the things his brother had wanted to but never would.
She picked up the pages and began to read. A nudge against her leg drew her to look down. “Hey, Jean-Luc.” She bent and stroked the cat’s head for a minute. She loved a purring cat.
She sat in the desk chair, and Jean-Luc leapt into her lap. He snuggled down and butted her with his head. “Okay, okay.” She continued to pet him as she read.
The pages that were out didn’t start at the beginning of the story. She wasn’t sure which brother had written these words, but as she read further, it became clear. It was Evan. It had to be Evan.
The character in the story—his name was Charlie—was contemplating the toughest goal of all that his brother would never realize: falling in love. He’d met a girl but wasn’t sure he could trust her to really understand him. They spent time together, and she made him feel comfortable, special. They had amazing chemistry—Alaina couldn’t help smiling at this. Things seemed to be going well, but Charlie couldn’t shake the sense that he’d never be able to be the man she needed or deserved. She was outgoing, effervescent, charming, and he was intensely uncomfortable in social situations. But he loved her and wanted to find a way to make it work. She was a beacon of light and hope in the wake of soul-shattering grief. Charlie believed she was a gift from his brother, that in his quest to honor his brother’s memory, he’d also found his own happiness.
The door opened, startling Alaina. She set the pages on the desk and wiped her hand over her cheek, where a tear had fallen.
Evan stood in the doorway, his shirt in his hand and his chest bare. She was momentarily speechless at his beauty and by the sheer wave of emotion that threatened to consume her.
He came inside and closed the door. “I was going to shower. I hit the gym.” He glanced down at his jeans. “Wasn’t exactly dressed for it.”
She grinned at the inanity of his comments, loving his ability to just live in the here and now. “I can see that. I came to talk to you. Do you want to shower first?” Her heart was racing, but she didn’t want to rush him. She would demand that he listen to her, if necessary, but she preferred him to want to.
“No, that’s okay. If you don’t mind me a little sweaty.” He strode into the room and tossed his shirt on the bed. Then he sat and pulled off his shoes—black calf-height boots tucked beneath the hem of his jeans.
“I’ll take you any way I can.” She spun the chair toward him. “I found your book on the desk. I read part of it. I hope you don’t mind.”
He flinched, and she worried she’d overstepped. “No,” he said slowly, stretching the word out. “What did you think?”
“It’s beautiful.” She stood and walked to the bed, gingerly perching on the edge maybe a foot away from him. “Is it . . . Is it about me?”
He looked at her—fleetingly, but intensely enough that she felt it. “Probably. Yes.”
“Can you maybe look at me for another second? I’ll make it quick, I promise.” Her heart rose in her throat, and she massaged her palms down her thighs. He raised his gaze to hers, and her anxiety melted. “I love you, Evan. I know you don’t want children, but I’m . . . ” The anxiety roared back. “I’m pregnant after all.”
His eyes widened, and he leapt to his feet. He walked in a circle and then to the swing, which he dropped onto and immediately began to turn. “I don’t understand. You said you weren’t.”
She twisted her hands together. “I had a test done at the clinic—they were monitoring me closely because of the in vitro I’d planned—and it was negative. It was wrong. I have symptoms—lots of symptoms—and I just took four tests. They were all positive. They’re at the apartment if you want to see them.”
He paused in his swinging. “Four?”
A nervous laugh bubbled into her throat. “Yes. I hope you know I didn’t plan for this to happen.”
“You were taking fertility treatments, right? That sort of indicates you did plan for it to happen.”
She cringed—he was technically right. “Well, yes, but not with you. I’d been taking Clomid in preparation for in vitro fertilization.”
“Why?”
How did she explain the sudden need she’d felt to have a baby? “It’s hard to explain, but have you ever heard of a woman’s biological clock ticking?”
He pushed off with his feet and started swinging again. “Sure, but that’s an idiom.”
“It is, but it’s fairly accurate, at least for me. I hit twenty-eight, and I began to want a child. Not in the ‘Oh, I’d like to have kids someday’ vein, but like ‘Oh my God, I have to have a baby as soon as possible!’ I desperately want to be a mother, Evan.” She wrung her hands as anxiety coursed through her. She couldn’t read him at all as he rotated on the swing. “I’d actually decided to put the in vitro fertilization off.”
He swung in a circle. “Because of the movie you just agreed to do.”
She tried to follow his movements, but it was making her queasy, so she averted her gaze. “In part, but also because I’d met you. I wanted time to be in this relationship—to see where we were headed.”
Disappointment wedged into her chest. She knew better than to expect an answer to her “I love you” declaration, but she’d hoped . . .
He planted his feet on the floor and vaulted out of the swing. He walked to the bed and kneeled in front of her. “The book is about you. And me. You weren’t my dream. I didn’t expect to fall in love with you. The idea never occurred to me. Then you were there, and you began to fill my thoughts. Suddenly I had that dream. And now I can’t imagine my life without it. I don’t know about the kid thing. I’m . . . scared. You get that, right?”
She stared at him and nodded. He’d looked her straight in the eye throughout his entire speech. It was more than he typically ever said at one time, and the fact that he was looking directly into her soul provoked a crest of emotion. Tears rose in her eyes again. “Stupid hormones!”
He blinked at her. “What?”
“Sorry. I was going to cry. Again. I rarely cry. I’m blaming the pregnancy hormones.”
He smiled. “I get it now. You had a real Evan moment there with the non sequitur.”
She laughed. “I guess you’re rubbing off on me. I’m glad. Please don’t stop.”
He looked away from her at last, but his gaze darted back and forth to hers as he spoke. “So, we love each other.” She nodded, and a tear escaped her eye anyway, damn it. “How do we go from here? What about your movie? Your career? I’m willing to try this baby thing.” He shook his head. “That came out wrong. I want to be this baby’s father. I am this baby’s father. I’m good with that. Or I will be after I’ve had time to adjust.”
It was everything she’d ever hoped for. “I can’t have the baby and do the movie.”
His gaze snapped to hers, and she saw alarm for a brief second replaced by a tinge of uncertainty. “You’re giving up the movie?”
“Yes. I want this baby more than anything. I had such a terrible childhood. Having my own child means so much to me . . . But having your child means even more.”
He cupped her neck and drew her to him, meeting her halfway to kiss her. His lips were soft and gentle, the kiss unbearably tender. After a minute, he left her mouth but didn’t move away. “I love you so much.”
She put her hands on his neck and rested her forehead against his. “I love you, too. I’m going to retire, I think. Or at least take a lot of time off. I’d like to live here.”
�
�Thank God, because I don’t think I could handle living in LA.”
Loving each other and wanting to be together didn’t solve the problem of her fishbowl life and his extreme discomfort with it. “The paparazzi will follow me here, like they did today. It will die down, I think, as I bow out of the limelight, but it may take time.”
“I think I can manage that, especially if I’m here in my comfort zone.” His fingertips stroked the back of her neck. “I definitely want to try.”
His words warmed every corner of her soul.
He smiled against her lips. “So I guess we should get married. Or not. I guess that isn’t really required in the twenty-first century.”
She stroked her fingers along his neck. “I think I’d like to be your wife. If that’s okay with you.”
He pulled his head back from hers but kept his hands at the base of her neck. “Sure, but I guarantee I’m going to make a ton of mistakes. Like this proposal. It has to be the worst one ever. I will frustrate you, and there will be times when I just have to be alone. Are you okay with that?”
“We’ll build you your own special man cave, and I will never bother you there unless you ask me to.”
“Sounds like a good plan.”
She smiled, knowing he loved plans. Plans meant expectation. Expectation fostered routine. “So we have a plan?”
“We have a plan.” He kissed her again, this time pushing her back onto his mattress and climbing in bed next to her. He raised his head up and gave her a sheepish look. “I forgot I was supposed to shower.”
She tugged him back down. “Kiss me again, and I’ll shower with you.”
He kissed her, but they didn’t make it to the shower for quite some time.
Epilogue
“I CAN’T BELIEVE you agreed to a honeymoon.” Liam handed Evan a beer. The small wedding reception was in full swing. Evan’s gaze kept finding his bride. She was absolutely stunning in a designer gown and her favorite diamond earrings. Her belly was still flat, but everything he’d read about pregnancy indicated it would start to curve soon. She suffered intermittent bouts of nausea, but overall she felt pretty good, if tired.
He, on the other hand, had never felt better in his life.
Evan held up two fingers. “Two words: private jet. Followed by two more: private island.”
“I thought it was a resort.”
“Okay, mostly private. We have our own peninsula or something. Anyway, we’ll be alone.” Just the way he liked it. Well, alone with Alaina. That was the way he liked it now.
“I would’ve flown you myself, but I’ve never gone that far.”
“What about your arm?” Evan asked.
Liam flexed the shoulder he’d dislocated two months before. “It’s much better. I’ve even been cleared for my regular activities.” He flashed a grin. “Hey, I see someone I need to talk to. Catch up with you in a bit.”
Evan looked around the great room, amazed at the variety of people who’d come to see him and Alaina get married in the little historic church in Ribbon Ridge. His gaze caught Alaina’s mother over near the windows, a glass of champagne in her hand. Lisa was loud and brash and unapologetically proud of her daughter. She also liked to drink a lot, as evidenced by her passing out in the car ride back from last night’s rehearsal dinner at The Arch and Vine, which they’d closed down for the event. It was frustrating to not be able to hold anything at The Alex, but they were still waiting on the damned zoning issue.
He scanned the crowd looking for their attorney, Aubrey Tallinger, but didn’t see her. He did, however, see a handful of Hollywood’s elite and had to wonder for the millionth time how he’d ended up married to one of the world’s most famous actresses. Hell, he kept wondering how he’d ended up married.
But when his gaze landed on Alaina in her sparkly white gown, he realized it wasn’t hard to believe at all. They were, quite simply, meant for each other. At least, that’s how they saw it.
Mom came up beside him and brushed something off his sleeve. “Alaina is just glowing.”
They’d kept her pregnancy under wraps from the press, but the fact that she would be toasting with sparkling cider instead of champagne might tip a few of their guests off. Not that Evan cared. His discomfort with her high-profile life had nothing to do with what people thought or said and everything to do with idiots who tried to invade his space.
There were paparazzi all over Ribbon Ridge right now, but the security detail Alaina had hired was doing a good job of keeping them out of everyone’s hair. Like Alaina had said, he doubted they would stay for the long haul. The residents of Ribbon Ridge wouldn’t put up with their nonsense, and Evan expected any stragglers would be run out of town. By the time he and Alaina returned from their two-week honeymoon in the South Pacific, he expected things would have mostly settled back to normal.
Sara approached him and Mom, smiling. She’d put together the rehearsal dinner, wedding, and reception in record time. “We’re about ready for the best man’s toast, and I’ve already got Hayden on Skype, so he can join in from France.”
“I’m so sorry he couldn’t be here,” Mom said.
Hayden hadn’t been able to get away from his internship on such short notice. And when pressed about whether he’d be coming home at the end of next month as originally planned, he’d avoided answering.
Evan scanned the room again, but his height advantage wasn’t doing him any favors. “I’m not sure where Liam went. He was just here.” Choosing which brother would be his best man had been tough. In the end, since he hadn’t been able to pick Alex, Evan had gone with Alex’s identical twin.
“I’ll see if I can find him,” Sara said. “Can you let Alaina know it’s time? And it looks like Crystal is with her. She can do her speech first.”
“I’ll help you look for Liam,” Mom said, heading toward the dining room, where the buffet was being laid out.
As Sara took off in search of Liam, Evan made his way to Alaina. She turned as he came toward her, smiling. His mom was right, she was glowing.
He kissed her cheek. “It’s time for the speeches. Are you ready, Crystal?” He glanced at Alaina’s maid of honor.
“Yep. Got my speech right here.” She flashed a scrap of paper between her fingers.
Sara came back with Liam in tow. He looked a little flushed. Maybe he’d run up the stairs or something. He was also smoothing his hair down.
Sara motioned for a waiter to bring the drinks. There was champagne for Crystal, Liam, and Evan and cider for Alaina. Liam whistled loudly to gain everyone’s attention, then gestured toward Crystal with a smile.
Evan slipped his arm around Alaina’s waist and pulled her against him.
Crystal cleared her throat. She clutched her speech in one hand and her champagne flute in the other. “After years of listening to Alaina accept awards—and always thank me—it’s about time I get to give a speech.” Everyone laughed. “I’ve known Alaina since we were ten. I’ve watched her bloom and grow into a confident and talented woman, someone who truly conquered the world. I’ve never known anyone with more tenacity or more compassion. That she found someone who values who she is as a person and not the image of who people think they see makes me so happy.” She looked at Alaina and sniffed. “No one deserves a happily-ever-after more than my best friend, and I couldn’t have picked a better person for her to spend it with. Evan, you’ve made Alaina shine even brighter, which I would’ve sworn wasn’t possible. I wish you both every happiness. And thank God Alaina’s leaving Hollywood for a while. Maybe now I can find a guy! To Evan and Alaina!” Crystal and Alaina hugged each other tightly as everyone applauded.
Then it was Liam’s turn.
He stepped next to Evan. “I’m going to keep this short. Evan is a man of few words, so why should I need more than that?” He flashed Evan a smile. “Courageous. Unique. Kind. Generous. Those are only a few words, but they describe Evan to perfection.” He turned to look directly at Evan. “I know it hasn’t always
been an easy road, but you’ve made it. Some might say I’m successful, lucky . . . But standing here next to you, I’ve got nothing that compares to this. You deserve the happiness of this day multiplied to infinity, and looking at you and Alaina together, I know you’ll get it.
He raised his glass. “To my little brother and his beautiful bride.”
Everyone joined in saying, “To Evan and Alaina!”
“Now I’m supposed to tell you that the buffet is open!” Liam said before downing half of his champagne. He clapped Evan on the back. “Congrats, bro.”
Evan watched him go as Alaina snuggled up to him. “Liam seemed a little choked up.”
“Did he? You know how badly I suck at gauging emotions.”
“I don’t know.” She narrowed her eyes at him playfully. “You’ve done pretty well with gauging mine.”
“I blame the baby. It’s much easier to tell what you’re feeling when your hormones are dialed up to eleven.”
She laughed. “You can blame the baby all you like, but it’s because you know me. I know it’s crazy, but you know me.”
He knew what she meant. They often talked about how strange and wonderful it was that they’d clicked so quickly and that their love felt so right. But sometimes life handed you a gift, and Evan still couldn’t believe he’d been given Alaina.
“You ready to eat?” he asked. “I think we’re supposed to start the buffet.”
She nodded. “Thankfully I’m having a starvation moment as opposed to a nausea moment. But wait, we have a quiet second here while everyone’s focused on their champagne and finding the dining room. I wanted to thank you.”
He looked at her in confusion, wondering what he’d done. “Why?”
