Sins from Her Past (Scandalous)

by Jules Bennett

  “Obviously,” Alan muttered from the side.

  “Shut the hell up, Alan,” Vin yelled. “Better yet, get your ass out if you can’t keep a filter on your mouth.”

  Vin didn’t wait for Alan to say anything as he turned back to Dylan. “Yes, I’ve been with Evie in a more than professional way and I love her. She loves me and she’s been staying with me at my house for nearly a week.”

  Dylan cursed under his breath. “And why didn’t anyone tell me before now?”

  Vin shrugged. “I was waiting to see what Evie wanted and I felt it was her place to say something.”

  “You just chose not to tell me?” Dylan asked.

  Silence settled between them as Dylan turned his back to Vin and kicked the toolbox on the floor. Vin eyed Alan, mentally ripping his head off because of his big damn mouth. That altercation would have to come later.

  Dylan turned back around. “You really love her?”

  Vin nodded. “I do.”

  “I’m still not happy with the fact this was kept from me, but I’m sorry I hit you.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m not sorry I hit you,” Vin joked. “But I forgive you. Are we going to get to work or stand around and have a Dr. Phil moment?”

  Dylan picked up his tool belt and strapped it on before heading toward the front of the house. “This way, ladies. We’re working in the living room today.”

  Once Dylan was gone, Vin closed the space between him and Alan. “There’s no excuse for telling him, you douchebag. You owe Evie and me an apology.”

  “Sorry,” Alan said as the corners of his mouth kicked up.

  As Vin walked away and headed to the front where Dylan was, he had a feeling that Alan wasn’t sorry at all and there was something strangely wrong and weird about his behavior.

  Evelyn hung up from finalizing things with the caterer. The party was this weekend and she couldn’t wait to see Rick’s face when he came home and saw all of his closest friends and associates gathered in his honor.

  Now that the menu was finalized and everything was taken care of on her end, Evelyn checked her list to see what else she needed to do for the day. The flooring in the resort was due to be delivered today, so she’d call this afternoon to make sure that went off successfully. She also had a real estate agent who was supposed to be notifying her of when she could look at an office space that was within her budget.

  Giddiness swept through her. She couldn’t wait to have her own office where clients could come and see samples of her work and hopefully see samples of the designs she hoped to launch within the next year. She couldn’t wait to have furniture and home accessories with her name on them, showcasing her sense of style.

  And with Vin’s help, she had a very good feeling this new business venture would be a success.

  Evelyn came to her feet and stretched. She’d been in Vin’s office all morning while he’d gone out to help Dylan for a few hours. She loved that the two men in her life were such great friends, but she was going to have to tell Dylan soon about their relationship. She didn’t want it to be a surprise, didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. Because this thing that she had with Vin was real. She wasn’t naïve and she wasn’t going to deny the fact that they were meant to be together.

  And if Dylan knew, then maybe Alan would ease off once he saw this was no joke and no random thing.

  The front door slammed, causing Evelyn to jump. She rounded the desk and headed out into the foyer. When she caught site of Vin’s swollen, black eye, she rushed toward him. “What happened?”

  He smiled. “Just a small misunderstanding between me and your brother. He knows about us, by the way.”

  Evelyn winced. “And he hit you?”

  “I hit him back if that makes you feel better.”

  Evelyn glared back at his smug, swollen, yet handsome face. “I don’t feel better having the men I love fighting.”

  He moved closer, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his sweat-soaked T-shirt. “I’ll never get tired of hearing you say you love me.”

  Evelyn squirmed backward. “I will love you even more after you shower.”

  He laughed. “Sweat never bothered you before.”

  “I’m waiting on a phone call from a real estate agent to check out that office space I told you about.”

  “Great, I’ll go with you.”

  Evelyn shook her head. “No, you’re going to shower.”

  He scooped her up, rubbing her very clean, very nonwrinkled sundress against his hot, sweaty body. Damn, she loved him.

  “Looks like you may need to shower with me and change,” he smirked as he started up the stairs toward the bedroom. “Then we can meet that real estate agent together and I’ll take you out to eat after.”

  Evelyn sighed and gave up. Snuggling deeper into his warmth, his musky scent and his strength, she kissed the side of his neck.

  “You do tend to have the best ideas,” she muttered.

  “I’m always looking out for you, baby.”

  “I’m so excited,” Evelyn all but gushed as soon as he pulled away from the curb.

  “Well, at least you held on to your poker face while we were looking at the building.”

  Vin knew the moment she’d stepped inside the office space that she wouldn’t leave without getting what she wanted. He’d seen her eyes widen, her breath hitch—two very telling signs she was caught off-guard in a very good way.

  “I can’t wait to close on that and get the office space I need.” She crossed those shapely legs he’d had the pleasure of being trapped between during their shower. “Between working out of my home for months and working in your office, I’m ready for a set place to meet with potential clients.”

  Vin reached over and grabbed her hand. “I’m happy for you, Evie.”

  After they ate at her favorite restaurant, he drove her on home. His home, their home. When he pulled in the drive Dylan’s truck was there and Dylan was sitting on the porch.

  “This isn’t going to be awkward, is it?” she asked.

  “Not for me, it’s not.” Vin reached over and squeezed her hand. “He knows where I stand, but I’m sure he wants to hear from you what’s going on.”

  Evelyn sighed. “He’s going to be pissed I kept this from him.”

  “I think he took out his pissy mood on my face. Right now he may be hurt you didn’t tell him.”

  Evelyn tugged on her doorhandle and hopped out, ready to face her brother because she should’ve told him up front what was going on, but well…

  No, there really was no excuse. A phone call or something would’ve sufficed.

  “Hey,” she said as she made her way up the stone walk, “you been waiting long?”

  He shrugged. “Just a couple minutes. Did you get the office you wanted?”

  “I did.” She stood on the top step, surprised when Vin came to stand right behind her with his hands on her waist. “Did you want to talk about the office or do you want to yell at me?”

  Dylan smiled. “I’m not going to yell at all. But I do want to talk to you.”

  His eyes darted over Evelyn’s shoulder to Vin. Evelyn patted his hand on her waist. “We’re good here. Go on inside.”

  After a moment’s hesitation, he patted her side and headed on in without a word to Dylan.

  Evelyn smiled once the front door closed. “Looks like Vin got a nice shot in on you too.”

  Dylan reached up, tapped the side of his eye and winced. “Yeah, he’s got a mean punch, but I’d never tell him that. That’s the second time the bastard’s clocked me. This time I actually deserved it.”

  “When was the first time?” she asked, crossing her arms.

  “When I had sex with a girl he was seeing.”

  “Dylan. Tell me you didn’t.”

  He shrugged. “We were freshmen at college and I didn’t know they’d been talking. I’d just met him and she told me she was single.”

  Evelyn rolled her eyes. “You guys always think with
your dicks and your fists.”

  When Dylan came to sit on the first step, Evelyn turned and sat beside him. The sunset in the distance over the pond never failed to take her breath away. The summer evening was perfect and she didn’t want to spend it in limbo with her brother.

  “I love him,” she said, not wanting to dance around the topic or have any doubts as to where her feelings stood. “I never thought I’d fall in love, much less with Vin.”

  Dylan laughed. “I never imagined you with any of my friends.”

  Evelyn resisted the urge to cringe, but she was finally getting on with her life and moving beyond that dark cloud that always seemed to follow her around.

  “I wish you two hadn’t fought,” she told him.

  “We didn’t fight. I hit him, he hit me, we’re over it.”

  Evelyn rolled her eyes. “I don’t understand that about men. How can you say and do cruel things and five minutes later you’re fine and it’s forgotten?”

  Dylan shrugged. “That’s why there’s no drama with men. We don’t let it ruin our lives.”

  “Maybe that’s why I don’t have many female friends,” Evie retorted. “I hate drama and I’m always around you and your friends.”

  Dylan swung an arm around her shoulders and tugged her close, dropping a kiss on her head. “You really love him?”

  “I do.”

  “Then I’m happy for you.” He eased back and looked her straight in the eye. “All I’ve ever wanted is to see you happy.”

  Tears pricked her eyes. “For the first time in a really long time, I’m in a good place.”

  “Are you living here now?”

  Evelyn’s mind flashed to Alan’s threat. “I’m staying here, but we haven’t talked about moving in together.”

  Dylan grinned. “Oh, your stuff will be in his place before long. Vin has a way of getting what he wants and I have a feeling that this isn’t a relationship he’s taking lightly.”

  No, she knew Vin wasn’t taking their relationship lightly. The man wore his heart on his sleeve. Either she’d never noticed how transparent he was before or he truly had never been in love in the past.

  Dylan came to his feet, offering a hand to help her up.

  “You want to come inside?” she asked. “Maybe you two could kiss and make up so I know there’re no hard feelings.”

  “You’re such a smart ass.” He laughed. “Vin and I are fine. But Alan and Vin, I’m not so sure.”

  Every cell, every fiber and every hair on her head stood up.

  “What?”

  “Vin was upset that Alan told me about the relationship,” Dylan said, oblivious to her inner turmoil.

  Evelyn reached out to the wooden banister for support. “Alan told you?”

  “He assumed I knew. But don’t worry, I’m sure Vin won’t stay mad for too long.”

  If Vin was angry over this…

  “Listen, I need to go,” Dylan said, leaning in to give her a kiss on the cheek. “I have a date tonight, but I wanted to see you first.”

  “A date?” she asked. “Do I know her?”

  “I don’t even know her,” he replied. “It’s a blind date. No, don’t start making jokes or comments. Save them.”

  Evelyn smiled. “I want to hear all about it in the morning. And if you could sneak a picture of her and text it to me, that would be great.”

  Dylan turned and bounded down the steps. “Goodbye, Evie.”

  She laughed at his retreating back. “Have fun.”

  The moment his truck was out of sight, Evelyn rubbed her arms against the chill bumps, despite the summer-evening heat. Alan had been the one to tell Dylan. Of course he had. He was jealous and had made that perfectly clear.

  When she went back into the house, she locked the door behind her and went to look for Vin. He was in the bedroom and her timing was perfect because he’d just taken his shirt off to expose his very impressive set of muscles. With every movement, they rippled, flexed, tensed…taunted her.

  “Are you going to stare all night?”

  Her eyes lifted to his and she realized he’d been staring at her. “Sorry, sometimes I just enjoy the scenery.”

  He shucked his shorts. “Enjoy all you want.”

  “Before you get overly anxious, I want to know about you and Alan. Why did he tell Dylan?”

  “Yeah, that’s a mood killer,” he told her heading toward the bathroom.

  She followed him and rested against the long counter while he turned on the shower. “Did you ask him why?”

  “He said he thought Dylan knew. But I didn’t believe him. He seemed very off today. I don’t know if he’s stressed over his dad’s party or if he’s worried about the election coming up in a few months. Who knows.”

  Oh, she knew. Dirty bastard was not going to ruin her future. She’d ruin him way before she ever let that happen.

  Vin stepped into the open shower and lifted his face to one of the ten jets spraying him from the three enclosed walls.

  The man was a work of art. Dark, tanned skin stretched over taut, defined muscles and the tats moved with his body over his shoulder, across his pec. Yeah, this was not the man she thought she’d fall in love with. And she sure as hell never thought someone like him would fall for someone as…round as she was.

  Not that she was embarrassed by her body—she just never imagined Vin, or a man as perfect as he, would be attracted to a voluptuous woman.

  “Seriously? What do I have to do to get a back-washing from you?”

  Evelyn laughed. “You are so whiny.”

  She slid out of her sundress, followed by her panties and her bra. After kicking her sandals away, she joined him.

  “That’s better,” he told her as the spray from the jets pelted them both and he took her in his arms. “Looking at the scenery isn’t near as fun as touching the scenery.”

  Evelyn let her worries go. She had nearly everything she wanted and she wasn’t going to let Alan or her past interfere with a very promising future.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Evelyn couldn’t believe she was doing this. But it needed to be done sooner, rather than later.

  “You okay?” Vin asked.

  She nodded. “I’ll be fine.”

  As he drove her down her old street, Evelyn tried not to recall the night the police came to her door with life-altering news. She tried to think of the happy little girl who ran through the yard screaming as her brother chased her and the way her daddy would push her on the old tire swing in the backyard.

  Evelyn bit her quivering lip. No matter how many years had passed, she still grieved for her parents. Still wanted them by her side. Wanted them to be with her through her adult milestones—graduating high school, college, starting her new business.

  And there was always that small part of her that knew if her parents had lived, she probably wouldn’t have endured the nightmare at the hands of a trusted family friend.

  When the old house came into view, Evelyn could no longer choke back the sobs. Vin reached over, taking her hand in his and squeezing.

  “You want me to turn around?” he asked.

  “No, no. It’s just…it looks so neglected.”

  Her mother kept such beautiful flowerbeds and flower boxes hanging off the porch rail. Every color imaginable had accented their old home. And now there were no flowers, unless you counted the weeds that grew up around the sagging porch and chipped rail.

  “Dylan will make this place amazing again,” Vin tried to assure her. “You know he won’t let it stay like this.”

  Evelyn nodded. “I’m so glad he could buy the house back. It makes me sick to think it sat empty for years. There used to be so much love here.”

  Vin pulled into the drive and killed the engine. For a moment Evelyn just sat there, unable to get out and actually get any closer to the one place that held all of her happy memories. The girl who used to live here didn’t exist anymore…much like the beautiful home she remembered. It all seemed so lo
ng ago, almost like it had all been a wonderfully amazing dream.

  “I’m ready,” she told Vin.

  When she got out and moved up to the porch, she steeled herself against what she’d encounter on the inside if this is what the outside looked like.

  “Dylan has most of the flooring torn up, so just watch where you step.” Vin opened the front door and helped her over the threshold. “There’s subfloor in here, but the kitchen is down to just the floor joists so don’t step too far in there.”

  Evelyn had barely taken a step inside when Dylan came in from the back of the house.

  “Oh shit, Evie.” Dylan came over to her and put his arms around her. “Don’t cry. I’m going to fix it, I swear.”

  Evelyn sniffed and nodded into his chest. “I know you will. It’s not just the house, it’s everything.”

  The memories that flooded her as soon as they turned down the street, the familiarity of walking through that front door, the image of her brother coming from the kitchen.

  “It was hard for me too at first,” he admitted, pulling back to look down at her. “But I won’t let this house suffer again. I’m restoring it, not just for us, but for Mom and Dad.”

  Evelyn smiled. “I know. I just wanted to see it.”

  “Do you want to look around alone or do you want me or Vin to come with you?”

  She eyed the peeling wallpaper over the fireplace, the small chandelier suspending from the ceiling over the old, narrow curved staircase and wondered what she’d encounter upstairs.

  “I’ll go alone,” she told the two pair of worried eyes. “I’ll be fine.”

  She headed for the stairs and made her way up. Of all the rooms in the house, she wanted to see her old bedroom first. Her heart beat just a bit faster as she moved down the hall. The old, musty smell, the heat of the second story were out of place. This was her home, the home she’d loved, the home she’d taken for granted at the time.

  If only she could go back. She just wanted one more day in this house with her family. Just one more family dinner or one more family movie night. Something, anything. She’d even take one more family shouting match.