Closing Books

by Grace, Trisha

  What Dan did for her wasn’t just sweet. He went over and beyond to help her close the ugly chapter behind her.

  After all the insanity she’d put him through, after all that he’d learned about her, he was still around and still doing so much for her.

  “I know,” Kate said.

  Evelyn smiled. Just as she finished her story, the new administrative temp walked into Evelyn’s office with a bouquet of pink roses. “Miss Jordan, this just came for you.”

  Evelyn took the flowers from her with a grin plastered on her face.

  Taking in a deep breath, she breathed in the roses, pushed the piles of files aside, and placed the bouquet on the newly cleared space.

  “If you just clean up your office a little, there’ll be plenty of room for Dan’s flowers and presents.”

  “Actually, I wanted to ask you to help clean things up a little. Not today, though, got some work to do. I’m a little behind time, haven’t found some of the furniture you wanted.”

  Kate blinked, her brows drawing closer. “Did I hear you correctly?”

  Evelyn rolled her eyes and turned to her laptop.

  “I never thought there’d come a day you’d agree that you’re messy.”

  “I didn’t say—”

  “Yeah, yeah. I’m going down to the gym to check on things, and I’ll help you sound out what Dan says.”

  Evelyn laughed at the notion of having to sound out what some guy thought of her. She never cared much about her dates. After all, she never went out with them more than once. “Kate, please don’t do anything to embarrass me.”

  “I’m happy for you, I really am. And when have I ever embarrassed you?”

  “Who’s taking you there?”

  Kate rolled her eyes and Evelyn chuckled at her frustrations.

  Sighing out loud, she cocked her head toward the new temp staff. “Tiffany is dropping me off.”

  Evelyn nodded as Kate closed the door behind her.

  She leaned against her chair and scanned through the photos that Dan had sent her on the email. Picking a few, she sent them to Kate with a short message, asking her to print the photos.

  Tyler knew Kate loved taking photos, and he had gotten her a photo printer so that she didn’t have to travel to get her photos printed.

  And as her best friend, she was entitled to make use of her friend and her photo printer.

  Logging out of her email, she switched off the laptop and picked up her bag.

  Though she was tempted to spend the rest of the day reminiscing, there was work to be done.

  Dan stood behind his truck, his laptop opened, checking his email to make sure that the rest of his projects were on schedule. He skimmed through his email, smiling the moment he saw one from Evelyn.

  He clicked on it and laughed when he saw a list of dishes she liked; below it, a short message telling him to pick from the list for the dinner he was to prepare.

  “You look happy, too.”

  Dan turned around, surprised to see Kate. “Kate, I didn’t know you were coming down.”

  “Hoping it’d be Evelyn?”

  He smiled sheepishly. “No, I was surprised, that’s all. She looks happy?”

  “I’ll tell you more if you take me out for lunch.”

  “Deal. Let me know when you’re done.”

  Kate nodded and strode into the gym while Dan remained behind his truck and perused the emails.

  Less than fifteen minutes later, Kate was out. “You’re the only contractor I’ve worked with who hasn’t given me any problem.”

  Dan laughed, understanding what Kate was referring to.

  Though he tried as much as possible to follow the drawings provided by the interior designers, often, some things that were feasible on paper just weren’t possible in reality. Since he already knew Kate, he’d gone through the drawings and discussed with her some areas that had to be changed.

  Once Dan had given her the explanation, she and Evelyn made the corrections and gave him the new drawings. That way, there wouldn’t be a need to halt work while the contractors and designers thrashed things out.

  “Ready? Give me five minutes.”

  Kate nodded, getting into Dan’s car while he changed out of his dust-coated T-shirt.

  When Dan got back into the car, he wasn’t surprised to hear her talking to Tyler. The moment she hung up, she turned to him and asked how things went.

  “I thought you were supposed to tell me what she thought?”

  “I will. I’m just being your concerned friend.”

  “You mean nosy friend.”

  “You know, I heard you’re supposed to cook for her. And I’m betting that you’re going to ask Marianne for help.” Her lips curled and she continued. “And I can make it extremely difficult for you to do so.”

  “Sometimes, Kate, you’re scary.”

  They laughed it off. Dan told her what happened in less than five sentences. His mind was too busy thinking about the kiss he had with Evelyn to provide any further details.

  He sighed, missing her warmth within his arms.

  “You skipped lots of details, but you obviously enjoyed yourself.”

  “So she shared the details with you?”

  Kate gave him what-do-you-think stare.

  “All right. Now can you tell me what she said?” He knew they had fun, but he had to hear it from someone close to Evelyn. He wanted to be more than sure.

  “She had a great time, and she couldn’t stop smiling at whatever you texted this morning. Oh, and she made space for your flowers and the soft toy you won. The most significant thing she mentioned wasn’t about your date, but definitely about you.”

  Dan cast a glance over at her, waiting for her to continue.

  “She wants to clean up her house and her office. She asked me to help. So, I suppose she expects you to be around quite a lot.”

  Dan grinned, relieved that Evelyn hadn’t freaked out or began pulling herself away from him. “Her house is sort of messy.” He laughed, remembering the conversation they had at the mansion.

  “Sort of? Please. Afraid I’ll tell on you?”

  “I’m just the polite sort of guy.”

  “That you are. And it’s nice that you planned all this.”

  “I should’ve done so earlier. Marianne was right all along, but don’t bother telling her, I’ll never admit it in front of her.”

  At lunch, Kate told Dan in detail what Evelyn had said to her; details that didn’t seem of much importance to Dan, but appeared severely important to Evelyn and Kate.

  He wasn’t entirely interested in the details, he was just glad that it was a good report.

  Since he heard what happened to Evelyn, he wanted to make things better for her. He wanted her to have everything she didn’t have, everything she didn’t experience, and above all else, he wanted to protect her from everything before and everything to come.

  He knew Evelyn didn’t want any sympathy, but his heart ached each time he thought about what happened to her.

  “May I ask why?”

  Dan looked at Kate, uncertain of what she was referring to.

  “Why are you still doing this after all that she had put you through?”

  “You know how you see old couples on the streets, holding hands and smiling at each other? I can see us doing that. Not exactly see…but this knowing, gut feeling maybe.”

  “Aww…”

  He didn’t know if he should roll his eyes or smile.

  “And if she starts freaking out and running away tomorrow?”

  “We have a deal.”

  “I heard. But…just but.”

  “I’m not giving up, no matter what happens. I’m not going to allow it,” he said. After last night, after having her in his arms, after the kiss they shared, there was no way he was going to let her go.

  He couldn’t change her past, but from now on, he’d be there for her.

  Since Dan was sending Kate back to work, he reasoned it was a good enou
gh excuse to drop by the office and see Evelyn.

  He couldn’t stop thinking about her since he sent her home last night. They were both too tired to make it for breakfast at Tyler’s house, and since Evelyn said she needed the car, Dan didn’t send her to work.

  They’d been texting each other all morning, but he wanted so badly to see her.

  Stepping into the office with Kate, everyone looked up at him before returning to their work.

  “Coffee?” Kate asked.

  “No thanks.”

  Dan strode over and peered through the glass to Evelyn’s office, making sure that he wasn’t interrupting anything. Even through the glass, he could see the stacks of magazines, files and papers all over her desk.

  A large cabinet stood by the wall, and Dan had to bite down on his lips to stop himself from smiling when he thought about the mess within the cabinet’s doors.

  The last time he was in her office, he was tempted to open a few of those cabinets and have a look inside, but he’d managed to suppressed his curiosity

  Dan knocked softly and inched the door open. Sticking his head in, he winked as Evelyn looked away from her laptop.

  Evelyn sat by her desk with the phone pressed against her ear.

  Instantly, the frown she was wearing faded. “Dan,” Evelyn said, putting down the phone without saying goodbye.

  “You’re done with your call?”

  She glanced over at her phone, and her face blanked for a moment. “Just an irritating supplier,” she said, shrugging it off. “I’ll call him back later. What are you doing here?”

  Dan laughed and waved the brown bag he was holding. “Kate said you had some work to catch up on, and I was afraid you’d forget to eat.”

  “I’m always happy to take a break.”

  “Good.” Dan took a glimpse at her table, then around the room. “Is there a pantry?”

  Evelyn lightly elbowed Dan in his chest before leading the way to their pantry. “How was lunch?”

  “Good,” Dan answered as they stepped into the pantry. There wasn’t anyone around, and since it was all walled up, he closed the door behind him and pulled Evelyn into his arms. “I missed you so much.”

  She giggled as she wrapped her arms around his waist. “I missed you, too.”

  Dan loved her giggles. He loved being the source of the bubbly laughter, light-hearted and untroubled; the way he wanted her to be.

  Standing on her tiptoes, she met Dan halfway as he bent down and kissed her.

  They shouldn’t be doing this in the office. It wouldn’t be appropriate if people came in and saw them kissing, but he couldn’t help himself.

  “You know, the glass walls of my office can be frosted. You don’t have to pull me in here to kiss me,” Evelyn said as she broke from the kiss and strode toward the table.

  “I’ll remember that.”

  He unpacked the food and placed it on the table for her while she made them coffee.

  “What are you busy with?” Dan asked as she returned to sit beside him.

  “I’m looking for a lounge chair, but so far, none have the size that I’m searching for. They’re either too small or too large. I can’t get the material I want as well.”

  “I thought you always make it if you can’t find what you want.”

  “Only as the last resort, or if the clients specifically want me to do something special for them.”

  “Well, I can ask around and see if anyone has what you want.”

  Evelyn took a sip of the coffee then looked up at him. “I haven’t asked for help. Thought you wanted me to learn to ask for help.”

  “I’m helping myself. By helping you, I’ll get to spend more time with you.”

  “Great answer.”

  They continued to chat even after they’d finished up the food and coffee, and would have continued if reality hadn’t intercepted. Dan’s phone began ringing non-stop; an indication that someone screwed something up, so he helped clear up the pantry and left after telling Evelyn that he’d see her at the mansion for dinner.

  Time couldn’t go fast enough for Dan. Even after solving his problem at work, and almost killing one of his men, there were still hours until dinner.

  Instead of being distracted and scrutinized by his workers for his strange behavior, he thought he’d end work earlier and get the recipes he needed for the dinner he had to cook.

  When he got to the mansion, it was empty. So he sat outside for a while, wondering where Marianne and Ryan had gone. Thirty minutes into his wait, he saw Marianne and Mr. Sawyer strolling back hand-in-hand. They were so engrossed in their own world that they hadn’t noticed Dan or his car.

  He wanted to make himself scarce, but there wasn’t anywhere he could hide, and even if he could, his car wasn’t going anywhere.

  While he was still wondering if he should pretend to be doing something on his phone, Marianne saw him staring and immediately let go of Mr. Sawyer’s hand.

  “Dan? What are you doing here so early? I haven’t started cooking yet,” Marianne said as she came hurrying back into the house. “How long have you been sitting outside?”

  “How long have you been out?”

  Marianne turned to glare at him, so he bit down on his lips to remove the smile from his face.

  He shouldn’t tease her when he still needed her help, but after all this time of Marianne nagging him about Evelyn, he couldn’t help himself. “I just wanted to get some recipes from you. I lost a bet to Evelyn. Why isn’t there anyone in the house?”

  She opened the door and stepped in. “You can’t even fry an egg, and you think somehow the recipes will help you cook?” She stepped aside for Mr. Sawyer to enter. “Joe drove Ryan to the hospital for his checkup.”

  “It’s just following instructions; how difficult can that be?”

  Smirking when she heard the words, Marianne nodded. “All right, what recipes do you need?”

  Dan handed her the email he’d printed out. “Pick three of the easiest.”

  Marianne took the paper from him and strolled into the house. “Oh, what I’d give to watch you try cooking any of this.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Evelyn stepped out of the car and headed into the grocery store with Dan. He grabbed one of the grocery carts and opened the list of ingredients that Marianne had written for him.

  “Shouldn’t you have done this before picking me up?” Evelyn asked.

  Dan looked over toward her. “All my meals are settled outside; thought it’s better to come with someone more experience.”

  Chuckling, Evelyn shook her head as she wondered how the day would turn out. “Before Marianne, I had Kate. Haven’t you noticed that my kitchen is the cleanest part of my house?”

  “I’m sure we can figure it out. Let’s start with the vegetables.” The vegetables weren’t difficult to find, but once they hit the mushroom section, they were stumped. “What’s the difference between white button mushrooms and this mushroom?”

  “What mushroom did Marianne say to get?”

  “Mushrooms.”

  She shook her head again. The dinner would be disastrous.

  Dan stood and examined the mushrooms in detail while she went to check out the various types of mushrooms on display. “This looks like the one Kate used to buy,” Evelyn said, picking up one of the organic mushrooms. “Let’s just take this.”

  “Will they taste different?”

  She stared at Dan; how was she supposed to know? “Maybe we should just order takeout. I don’t mind. Or we can go out for dinner.”

  “I promised I’d cook.”

  “If it turns out horribly, can I order takeout then?”

  “Come on, show some faith.”

  “I heard you can’t even fry an egg.”

  “Marianne told you that?”

  Her lips disappeared into a thin line. “Not exactly.”

  “Kate told you?”

  She grinned and said, “Oh, well, I appreciate that you’re trying.”r />
  When Kate told her about Dan’s cooking skills, she was sure he would come up with some excuse to get out of cooking. Then, when Dan told her that they were going to get groceries, she’d thought that, maybe, Marianne was comparing Dan’s skills to hers, which would of course be horrible.

  Now, Evelyn was sure the dinner was doomed.

  Still, despite thinking that nothing good could result from a dinner prepared by someone who only entered the kitchen to eat, it was sweet of Dan to try.

  “No. I’m going to get it right, you’ll see.” Picking up his phone, he called Marianne and asked about the mushrooms. “Yes, yes, but you didn’t state the exact type of mushrooms…do you know how many types of mushrooms there are?” He stepped away from her, seemingly getting a lecture from Marianne.

  “Everything all right?” she asked when he returned.

  “Yes. But I think from now on, I should just call Kate.”

  She laughed, hooking her arm around his. “Next on the list?”

  They shopped around for nearly an hour, looking at everything, joking at all the stuff they’d never seen before. Their laughter attracted several unkind glares, but they couldn’t care less. They were having fun, and that was enough for them.

  Having enjoyed herself so much from the grocery shopping, she didn’t care if the dinner was a success. She was already having a terrific time anyway.

  Dan, on the other hand, seemed terribly excited about the cooking; perhaps he was just determined to prove everyone wrong. When they got to his house, he didn’t allow her to help, so she sat in his living room, scanning through the channels on the television until she got bored and turned to online shopping.

  In the middle of deciding between two pairs of boots, she heard several loud clangs and curses.

  She rushed toward the kitchen and saw Dan on all fours, wiping up what seemed to be linguine on the floor. She knelt across from him, intending to help in the cleaning up, when she noticed some sauce smeared on the bottom half of his shirt. “Did you spill it on yourself?”

  His hand grabbed the edge of the shirt, and he flicked it a few times, allowing some air to go in. “It’s nothing; leave this to me,” Dan said, reaching over to stop Evelyn’s hand.