by Sam Destiny
“I love you, remember?”
Her words were quiet, low, and yet they went into every fiber of his body. He believed her, too. Believed she really meant it, but that didn’t change much.
“Maybe, but you don’t love yourself. Not one bit. You don’t take your own happiness seriously. You strive to prove things to people, but you have nothing left to prove.”
She gaped at him, her tears falling more rapidly, and it hurt him.
“Where’s Leila?” she asked, looking around him as if he’d expected her daughter to just pop up now.
“Not here,” he replied.
“Obviously,” she agreed.
“I left her at Jazz’s sister’s. She has both kids. We wanted to plan Tess’ and Jazz’s time before they get married,” Hilary interjected, reminding Tank that a whole house was watching him and Evy.
“I’m out. Jazz, we’re just gonna—”
“Stay,” Evy pleaded. “I’m not mad anymore. Please, I miss you.”
He leaned in and kissed her forehead, lingering because fuck, he wanted her in his arms, on his lap, wrapped around him.
“You think I cheated. You should be furious. You should be demanding answers. You should be worth more than that to yourself, Evy. Scream at me. Right here, right now. Be angry with me. Get it all out.”
She didn’t. She shook her head and reached for him, but he evaded her touch.
“Since you’re home, I can do what I planned. Be here tomorrow morning and I’ll pick you up. Wear something nice.”
With that he turned.
“Hold on, I’m coming,” Jazz called.
“Same,” Ryan announced.
He glanced back at the two, and waited for only a few seconds, then went over to the car that sadly wasn’t his and had to wait for Jazz to unlock. He couldn’t put into words how thankful he was the guys were coming with him.
“You okay?” Jazz asked before hitting the lock.
He nodded, slowly, and then met his best friend’s eyes. “I have a plan.”
“Good. She looked miserable,” Ryan commented.
Tank smirked. “Shouldn’t you be in there? Aren’t you in on Tessa’s hen’s night? Or is Vegas suddenly not your thing?”
The doctor blushed. “Yes, but the girls can figure that out better and I… Well, you know, I felt like I should try to belong to you guys, too.”
It was then Tank realized that the doctor didn’t really have friends and it made him wonder why that was.
“Doc, what did you do before you met Tessa and Jazz?”
“Worked forty-eight-hour-shifts,” Jazz injected and then made them all get in.
“Twenty-four,” Ryan corrected.
“Beer?” Jazz suggested.
Oh yes, Tank liked that idea a whole fucking lot.
“Vegas.”
Evy only half listened, but then perked up. “Vegas?”
Tessa nodded. “We’ll do a hen’s week in Vegas. I looked up all kinds of cool things, and I’ll book the rooms and the flights. I want us to have an amazing time. And we’re taking Ryan because he’s my friend and he’s lonely.”
“Ryan’s coming?” Aimie asked, her voice high-pitched. “He’s a guy. What happens in Vegas and all that won’t happen if we drag a guy around.”
Tessa laughed and Evy couldn’t help but smirk. “You can still have wild sex.” And cue the deep red blush across Aimie’s cheeks.
“Maybe we should take Tank as well, so you, too, could have wild hot sex,” Hilary suggested, but there was only a small smile on her friend’s face. “You want it, we all know it.”
“He’s upset with me.”
“You think he cheated.”
Why did everyone keep saying it that way?
She faced them all. “You really don’t believe he did?”
The head-shaking was instant.
“Why?”
“Because he loves you. Jesus, it couldn’t have been more obvious. Not hugging you, not really kissing you nearly killed him, Evangeline. I didn’t need more than those two minutes in here to see it,” Aimie announced, being the first to answer.
Tessa just pointed at her friend. “That.”
“Amen,” Hilary agreed and then grinned. “Or rather Aimen.” She winked and Evy smirked, but then lowered her eyes.
“Maybe I don’t really believe it, either. Maybe I just think he’ll walk out at some point and—”
“Tell her, Tess,” Hilary demanded.
“Tell me what?” Evy inquired.
“He said to tell her when I think the time is right, and I…” Her best friend closed her eyes and then stood, vanishing in the hallway.
“What’s going on?”
Hilary shrugged and Aimie looked from one girl to the next. “I cannot wait to find out. Man, I’m so out of the loop,” she groaned and then let herself fall back onto the sofa while Tess came in with papers, prompting Aimie to sit up again.
“Tank met a woman. It’s true. The day he was so excited,” she started and Evy’s heart sank. She didn’t need to hear that.
“I don’t care,” she muttered, but Tessa shook her head.
“You should. Get up, we’re taking a road trip.”
“Can I come?” Aimie asked as Hilary stood, too.
She grinned. “We’re all going. I need to see that.”
Evy didn’t need to see anything. She didn’t want to see the woman Tank had met, didn’t want to get a glimpse at what could possibly be her replacement.
“I’m staying.”
“You’re coming, and you better take the crutches,” Tessa ordered and then helped her up.
Evy wanted to protest that she didn’t need them, didn’t want them, and they only hurt her hands, but the other three glanced at her, their expressions saying much, and so she went willingly after all, choosing to be with the girls over fighting with them another moment.
She knew part of the drive. Knew the way they were going until Tessa suddenly took a turn she hadn’t anticipated.
The woman Tank had been unfaithful with lived not ten minutes’ walk from Tessa’s.
They came to stop in the woods, a house that didn’t fit there at all because it looked like a Victorian house straight from a middle class town. God, Evy would’ve loved it if she’d not hated its mere presence.
“So… This is it, Evangeline Jackson.”
“What would that be?” she asked, her tone angry, hateful.
“Your new home.”
Silence hit Tessa’s statement, but it seemed no one was really surprised.
“I have no idea what you’re saying,” she admitted and Tessa got out, walking around the car to help her out of the passenger seat, then she pressed a set of keys into her hand.
“This is your home now. Tank met with a realtor. He was so excited because he planned on buying a home for you, Leila, and him; the family he always wished for. He wanted it for all of you and knew you’d love it. He came by this morning and dropped everything off at my place because he wanted you to have it. He finalized the sale after you accused him of everything.”
Evy glanced up at the house, the white exterior, the wrap-around porch, the balcony on the second floor.
“It comes fully furnished, too, and will be in your name although he’s paying for it,” Hilary added and Evy made her way over to the porch, her mind not able to process it all.
“I cannot follow. I mean, why would he do it in my name, running the risk of me kicking him out? Or not having him move in at all?”
Tessa shrugged, unlocking the door as Evangeline made no move to. Hilary and Aimie flanked her, helping her inside, and Tessa stopped next to a fireplace in a living room to her right. The whole downstairs floor was open, a kitchen to her left, beautiful and modern, with the living room comfortable and homey on the other side. There was a door leading to something under the stairs and Evy assumed it was either a bathroom or a pantry. Either way, the downstairs was beautiful.
“Tank wanted me to tell
you something,” Tessa started, but Evy shook her head.
“He should be doing that. He should be telling me what he wanted me to know. I should’ve trusted him,” she whispered, sinking down onto the bottom step of the stairs she’d moved over to. She wanted to go upstairs, see the bedroom he’d probably originally considered being theirs and now thought would only belong to her. She wanted to see what else was hidden inside this house he’d wanted to be their family home.
She started sobbing as she realized how his excitement must’ve come crashing down, how she’d ruined it all by not trusting him.
By not trusting herself to be worthy of his unconditional love and faithfulness.
They’d all been right.
She’d never doubted him. She’d doubted herself and had ruined what would’ve been the most incredible surprise of her life. In fact, the way she had reacted she might have ruined the most incredible thing she’d ever had going for herself.
Her friends were all silent, no one stepping forward to hug or comfort her and she thought it served her right.
Or maybe it simply was the way she crossed her arms in front of her chest, unable to make it any more obvious they weren’t the ones she wanted to be hugged from.
“Nothing is lost,” Tessa assured her, sitting down on the step next to her eventually, nudging her with her shoulder.
“No, Evy. He loves you. He still wants you to have the house. And you can make it right with him,” Hilary added.
“He just wants you happy, I’m sure,” Aimie pointed out.
Evy cleared her throat. “I should’ve been like you. I should’ve known, after all he did for me, for Leila…” She shook her head.
Tessa cleared her throat. “About that… You should’ve seen him that morning after your fight. Leila went over and called him Daddy, but he corrected her, reminded her his name was Tank. His face… God, Evy. There’s no one who could be a better father for your daughter than him, and I know you need someone by your side who shows you how great a mother you are.”
“A mother who hands off her child all the time. Over and over. A mother who earlier only thought of her daughter when—”
Hilary shook her head. “We don’t say you can’t be better. We’re saying you need a new way of thinking about yourself, your life. You need to reconsider your priorities.”
Which she couldn’t do, because then she’d be going back home.
“Someone tell me the gala will be a success,” she pleaded, but neither Tessa nor Hilary met her eyes.
“We cannot promise you that. There’s so much that could go wrong, so much that could ruin this, but we’re trying and it’s on a good way. We tried out best. You did your best. All of them. Everyone. We’ll try to wing this gala.”
Evy swallowed. “Then I don’t need the house. I need Tank to be willing to move to the UK with me because I don’t have a job or anything here after the gala if it fails.”
And suddenly she didn’t care as long as Tank would be there to be with her and her daughter.
Tessa laughed softly. “How about we panic about that after the gala? Although, I do believe he’d follow you everywhere the moment you make it clear to him that you’re it for life. Because that’s what you are, right?”
Evy couldn’t help the hope and happiness blooming in her chest. She knew exactly what she’d do, and now couldn’t wait to see Tank the next morning.
“Marry me. Today. Right now. I don’t care what’s coming, and I don’t care if the gala will be a success or not, but I care if you’ll be in my life and I need you there. I know you didn’t cheat, and I know what you did, and I love it, but only with you. Everything Leila and I do can only be good if you’re with us. Marry me right now, Thomas Michaels. I have my passport. Please,” Evy said as a way of greeting and Tank stared at her.
Hilary had left with Aimie to get some clothes and look for something Aimie could do to keep her mind occupied while Leila was playing in the living room, all dressed up. Evy had collected all info she thought they’d need to get married and just hoped US laws and British ones were similar.
It was ridiculous and romantic at the same time, but it also was the only thing she could think of to make him understand how serious she was about all of this.
“And if you want a pre-nup making sure your money stays your own, that’s perfectly fine. We’ll find a lawyer first and I’ll pay a fucking fortune, but… I mean it,” she added.
“What?”
It was the only thing he said and she felt her resolve waver. She’d been somewhat sure he’d say yes. Hell, she’d imagined the scene a million times throughout the night and in none had he said no.
Maybe it was the desperate woman in her, but she couldn’t accept any other answer, wasn’t ready to entertain the notion of not marrying him.
Still, panic surged through her. Maybe he needed more time. Maybe—
“Lucky me I have a ring for the proposal you just ruined,” he announced into her wayward thoughts, pulling out a dark red velvet box, presenting her with a small diamond that fit her finger perfectly.
Now it was her turn to gape. “What?”
“I came here to propose almost the same. I want you to finally have a chance to breathe and not worry. I figured having you marry me would give you the possibility of arranging that gala and still taking care of yourself and your daughter because nothing else depended on it. If you fuck this up for whatever reason, everyone will be fine and you can start over without belonging to that fucking company and your douche one night stand. Tessa won’t be mad because she knows you did your best. But being married to me means you can stay. It’ll make your chances higher and—”
She shook her head, grabbing his dress shirt and admiring it only for a brief second. “I don’t care if I stay here any longer as long as I know you’ll be by my side. We have Army bases in England. You could come over. We always need mechanics, too. I don’t care where I am as long as I am with you. I want to marry you because you’re the only guy I can see myself with, the only one who loves me exactly the way I am… always has.” She paused for a moment. “Remember how you asked me why anyone would want something more with you? That night we were at the bar?”
He nodded, gritting his jaw.
“I can tell you. Because you have a heart the size of Texas. Be vulgar and crass if you need to, but you are loyal to a fault, Thom. Planning to put a house in my name when you had no idea if I’d take you back? You didn’t seem to hesitate about it at all. You want to do right by the people you care about, and this is why everyone should want something serious with you. Every woman would be lucky to have you, and that’s why you need a ring on that damn finger. Because you’re mine, and I want the whole world to see that I was smart enough to snatch you up. I want your name so I can say I’m yours, too. You are my new start. You are my soldier. Be my husband because you love me and want to spend your life with me, and not for any other reason.”
It was then he finally stepped in and drew her close, mindful to not make her stumble. Emotions were swimming in his eyes and she saw utter happiness among many others.
“I’m marrying you for no other reason, but I figured it would give you time to realize you wanted me as much as I wanted you, because you’d be staying. I’d have years to make sure you know I could love you properly.”
She swallowed and then met his eyes. “I knew that during the call. The call you don’t remember. There was something else you said that night.” She licked her lips.
“More?”
She nodded. “I didn’t want to tell you because I wasn’t sure you would still stand by it, but… now I know. You said if we were caught in a desert and there were five drops of rain, you’d give them all to me. If we were in a war zone you’d give me all the protective gear you had. If we were freezing you’d give me all the clothes on your body.” She sniffled because although she’d gone over the words a million times, they still touched her heart. He’d spoken them with her after her firs
t sentence and it caused her to cry more now. The words were even more beautiful when he was sober. “You remember,” she whispered.
“I don’t. I had a paper next to my pillow when I woke up and it was messy, but those were the words on it.” He chuckled, clearly embarrassed.
“You planned what you were going to say.”
“I figured ‘I love you’ wouldn’t cut it, I guess.”
She shook her head and laughed, calling for her daughter before framing Tank’s face to kiss him deeply.
“Let’s make this right then,” she ordered and he bowed with a grin.
“As you wish, soon-to-be Mrs. Thomas Michaels.”
She liked how that sounded.
She liked it a whole lot.
Tank wouldn’t believe it was true until she’d said yes, but before they went to the courthouse with the license he’d applied for just yesterday, he wanted to show her something different.
Leila was babbling in the backseat and he couldn’t help but think everything was exactly right.
“What are we doing here?” Evangeline asked as they approached the office building. He smirked.
“You’ll see.”
Parking the car, he got Leila out and kept her in his arm before opening the door for Evy and offering her his free hand. She leaned onto it and onto one of the crutches he insisted she carry around. He’d have preferred her back in the hospital for as long as the doctors wanted it, but she refused, and Ryan had promised him he’d drop by and check on her, although Tank had a feeling there was more to the story of the doctor being so ready to drop by Hilary’s.
Not that he’d asked.
They made their way slowly because Evy couldn’t go any faster, but he didn’t care. They had all the time in the world.
The office was empty as they made their way upstairs because almost all of the preparations went on at the Aquarium now. Tessa had relocated everyone and everything to the venue so they’d have it right there.
“It looks like a bomb went off,” Evy commented, staring at the left-over papers, the cutouts, the scissors, everything, and Tank had to grin.
