by Raquel Belle
“Isn’t that nice,” Evie said. “So good to see you again, Chelsea.” She gave Garrison a blindingly bright smile, but her shoulders were as stiff as two rods of steel. “Let’s eat. I’m famished.”
Dinner couldn’t have gotten any more awkward. The atmosphere crackled with tension, that only Chelsea seemed to be blissfully unaware of. Jared couldn’t keep his gaze from straying to Evie, who was sitting across from him.
Evie sat upright. “So, dad, I see you have new staff.”
“They’re not new,” Garrison said, stuffing a piece of steak into his mouth.
Evie smiled uncomfortably, as she gazed at him, waiting for him to elaborate.
Jared, taking sympathy when she twisted uneasily in her chair jumped in. “He means they’ve been here a while.” The staff she spoke of consisted of only a cook, a housekeeper, and a gardener that Jared only glimpsed once. They seemed to appear and disappear throughout the two-story mansion when Jared visited. They rarely engaged Garrison in conversation. Everything and everyone in Garrison’s household was cold and impersonal. How did the man live like that? He had a warm, smart, and funny daughter who seemed to really want to be a part of his life, yet he chose to live like a year-round Grinch. It boggled Jared’s mind. Not even he was that bad before he met Evie, when he came to his senses.
“Of course, you would know, Mr. Hawthorne,” Evie said with a smile. “You and my father are so close.”
Jared smiled, mockingly. “Still, Ms. Davis, nothing is closer than blood, I say.”
She rolled her eyes and dug into her food. Jared watched, half-amused and half-sympathetic, as Evie scoffed down everything on her plate. She was a stress-eater, he’d learned that much over the months. When dessert rolled around, she was the only one indulging with fervor. She’d completely given up on trying to converse with Garrison, and she had seemingly chosen to ignore his and Chelsea’s presence.
“Wow, you sure like to pack on the calories,” Chelsea observed with a hint of disgust. She twirled a lock of blonde hair, which Jared found extremely annoying. Evie never twirled her hair like a child, and she never worried about calories.
Evie’s head snapped up, her eyes landing on Chelsea with pure disdain. Jared froze, fully expecting her to attack the other woman with her fork. “Well, Chels, some of us don’t need to worry about such things.” She made a point of giving Chelsea a mocking once over. A gasp echoed in the silence, and Chelsea immediately dropped her fork. Jared knew the slight would drive Chelsea crazy for days, which would result in ridiculous diets and maybe even a trip to the surgeon. Why in god’s name did he ever entertain superficial women like Chelsea? It was like his eyes had only recently been opened.
Another hushed silence fell over the small group. Jared eyed both Evie and Garrison with a raised brow, thinking of how he could safely put an end to the disastrous dinner that he was responsible for. “How about a few drinks, Garrison? It looks like everyone’s about finished eating.”
Garrison was already pushing his chair back. “Great idea, son.”
Jared flinched. Garrison referring him to his as son caused a pair of blue eyes to pierce him. They were lit with anger, confusion, and hurt.
Evie threw her napkin onto the table and shot up. “Excuse me.” She grabbed her purse and all but sprinted toward the kitchen.
It didn’t take Jared long to decide to go after her. “Chelsea, why don’t you follow Garrison to the living room. I’ll be right back.” He ignored her pout, and Garrison’s curious stare as he followed the path Evie had taken. He found her in the massive back yard, pacing the flat, cobblestone patio.
Chapter Nineteen
Evie
It was the worst night ever. Well, maybe not the worst out of her twenty seven years, but it was on the top of the list. She had no idea Jared would be at her father’s house and that he would be with his girlfriend no less. Had he ever broken things off with Chelsea? Or had he been playing her the entire time? Evie wanted to rip her hair out, and then maybe turn on Jared and his bimbo with one of the steak knives on the dining table.
It was beyond unnecessary for Garrison to invite Jared and his plus-one to their dinner. Oh, wait, but he had called Jared his son. Of course, he had to be present. She’d been so excited to go home after so many years. To once again be in her childhood home—one of them—because she was pretty sure she’d spent more time at Karen’s home than she had at her own in her teenage years. That excitement had suffered a painful demise, especially when she had discovered that she and Garrison wouldn’t dine alone. There went her chance to talk to her father, and finally get to the bottom of why he’d transformed into a stranger who seemed to resent her. Dinner had been an awkward disaster, and she was ready to get out of there. But, Jared—Garrison’s golden boy—and her devastatingly, handsome ex-lover, who she missed dearly, just had to mention drinks.
How did she respectfully decline and make her exit? “Blame it on suddenly feeling ill,” she said to herself. It wouldn’t be a total lie. Her stomach had suddenly started to feel weird, but she was sure it had to do with the stress of her evening.
“You’re pacing … That’s never a good sign,” Jared said.
She paused and inhaled deeply at the sound of his voice. Making an effort to compose herself, she slowly turned to hit him with what she hoped was her most contemptuous look. “What do you want, Jared? I didn’t ask for company.”
He took slow steps toward her, and she took an involuntary, retreating step. Things happened to her body, and her good senses, when he was near.
He sighed. “I came to apologize.”
“For what? Being yourself and finding someone else to warm your bed before my scent even faded? No apology necessary. I have other things on my mind right now.” Like how to get the hell away from that house.
“You shouldn’t make assumptions, Evie, and you really don’t have any right to be angry about who I have in my bed right now. You’re the one who walked out on me, remember?”
She ran her fingers through her hair. She could feel her agitation mounting. “I tried calling to apologize many times. You chose not to answer, and you’re the who’s been avoiding me. Yes, I was wrong for the way I had handled things that night, but you could have at least given me a chance to explain after I came to my senses. And can we end this discussion right now? We’re in my father’s backyard for Christ’s sake,” she said.
Shoving his hands into his pocket Jared, scowled. “No. We’re going to damn well talk now. I don’t care where we are. You’re right—you were wrong.” He sighed. “But so was I. I shouldn’t have ignored your calls. I was hurt. I rarely am by anyone, and I didn’t know how to handle it.”
Evie felt deflated. Jared confirming out loud that she’d hurt him made her feel lower than low. She knew how it felt to have her heart broken. Her eyes met his. “I’m sorry,” she said, “but you moved on in a matter of days. The time that you claimed we were ‘together,’ I mean, did any of that mean anything to you?” She rubbed the base of her neck, wondering why her throat was suddenly tingling. She was sure she hadn’t eaten anything with peanuts.
Jared hung his head, and he breathed in and out, and then looked up to make eye contact again. “I didn’t move on, Evie. I brought Chelsea here to make you jealous. A few days ago, I contacted her because I wanted to secure a date for my brother’s upcoming wedding. My date was supposed to be you. I planned on asking you to go with me the night you stormed out. The plan was to tell you how I felt about you, and then ask you to meet my brother and future sister-in-law before their wedding. You would have met my mother later.”
Evie blinked, her heart constricting. He had planned to introduce her to his family? She felt like more of a jerk with each word that he spoke.
Jared rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged. “I was so pissed that you didn’t take me seriously about wanting more with you, that I brought up the idea of this dinner to Garrison, and he ran with it.”
Evie’s heart defl
ated like a popped balloon. “You mean, dad didn’t suddenly want to spend time with me?”
Jared reached for her hand, but she quickly pulled away. “I don’t know, Evie.”
“I don’t get it. Why would you want us all to have dinner?”
His features twisted with remorse. “I foolishly thought I could get payback for you hurting me. I knew you’d freak out once you found out we would be sitting down for dinner with your father because you’d be afraid of him finding out about us. I got the idea last minute to bring Chelsea along just to twist the knife. There is nothing going on between Chelsea and me. I regretted the entire thing before you arrived. It was stupid. Childish. I’ve never opened up to a woman only to be dumped, Evie. I lost my mind for a while.”
Hurt, rage, disbelief, all sorts of emotions rose up at once, nearly drowning her. “So you’re using Chelsea?” There was no love lost for Chelsea, but she didn’t take pleasure in anyone being used. “Nice, Jared. I don’t like the woman, but she doesn’t deserve to be a pawn in your sick game, and neither do I. I had no idea you could be this petty.” Evie paused to cough and scratch at her arms. “You wanted to hurt me because I hurt you. Congratulations, you win.” She pulled in a breath and coughed again. She wanted to beat Jared to a pulp with her purse, but something was very wrong with her. Itchy mouth and throat, she glanced down to see red welts forming on her arms. ”Shit”
Mind racing, trying to figure out when the hell she had consumed anything—maybe something with peanuts, without realizing it. Evie flung her purse open. Surely, she had an EpiPen stashed somewhere. Soon her throat would start to close up, and she would be a dead woman. What a way to go. Disappointed that her father didn’t give a shit about her after all, and with her heart broken by yet another man that she’d fallen for ... Even in her distress, it hit her that she’d fallen in love Jared. Shit again.
Jared stepped closer, his brows drawn together. “Evie? What’s wrong?”
Realizing that she didn’t have what she needed in her purse to potentially save her life, she looked up at him with mounting terror. “Peanuts …”
Understanding lit his expression, immediately followed by panic. “What? When?”
“I … I don’t know. I didn’t bring my EpiPen. I forgot to check my purse before I left home.”
He muttered a curse and sprang into action. Grabbing her hand, he pulled her back inside, past the shocked women in the kitchen—the one doing dishes, and the other placing glasses on a tray. “I’m taking you to the emergency room, Evie.”
All she could do was nod in agreement. Garrison rose from a chair when he saw them rush into the living room. Both he and Chelsea gazed at their connected hands—Garrison with confusion and Chelsea with outrage. Before Chelsea could fly into a rage, Garrison gasped. “My god, Evelyn, your face.”
Evie knew her face was quickly filling with red patches, and her lips were probably the size of a small state. “You gave me peanuts, dad …”
“How the hell could you not know what your own daughter is allergic to, Garrison?” Jared yelled.
Evie had never heard Jared so angry. Even Garrison seemed taken aback. Her father opened his mouth to respond, but she didn’t catch his explanation. She was already being hauled outside and thrown into Jared’s car. With swift movements he buckled her in and sprinted to the driver’s side.
Chelsea teetered on her heels down the stone steps. “Jared, where are you going with her? You can’t leave me here.”
“I’ll call you an Uber,” he shouted.
As they sped off, Evie saw Chelsea stomp her feet and throw her arms out. She didn’t have time to feel bad for the woman. She was too busy thinking about how her chest was beginning to tighten, and it was getting harder to breathe. She held onto her seat to keep her body centered each time Jared overtook another vehicle and made sharp turns. There wasn’t a traffic rule or law that he didn’t violate. “You’re going to kill us both with your driving, you maniac,” Evie wheezed.
“Do you hear yourself, right now? You can barely breathe, and yet you find time to criticize my driving.” He gave her a quick glance and his eyes widened.
“What?” Pulling down the sun visor to look at herself in the mirror, she let out a surprised yelp. The rash was worse than she had thought. The skin around her eyes was quickly swelling, and her huge lips had a blue tinge. She could just imagine how the rest of her body looked. Frantically, Evie searched for her phone. She had Karen on speed dial, and her friend happened to be on duty.
“Hey, girl! So was dinner with old man Davis a disaster or what?”
The wheezing was so bad, Evie wondered if Karen would understand. “Disaster. Three blocks away.”
“Oh, my God.” Karen seemed to grasp what was happening. There were expletives followed by shouted orders to have a stretcher ready and waiting.
The massive, white building of Seattle General came into view, and Evie sagged with relief. It had been years since she’d had such a major allergic reaction, and she’d almost forgotten how terrifying it was. “Jared,” she gasped. “Sorry.” The world was starting to darken, but she tried her best not to tumble into unconsciousness. She couldn’t die before getting his forgiveness for breaking his heart.
“Don’t apologize. This is all my fault.”
“No, I mean for ...” It was impossible to say another word. She was aware of the car coming to a stop, but she didn’t open her eyes.
“Evie! Stay awake, damn it!”
If she could, she would have rolled her eyes at him and told him to stop yelling. There was only enough strength left to pry her eyes open to show him that she wasn’t dead. There was sheer terror and anguish twisting his handsome features. He really did care her. She cracked a smile, but doubted it even showed on her swollen face, just before she gave up trying to stay conscious.
“I love you, Evie,” Jared said.
The words sounded so far away, that she couldn’t be sure if they were real, but his voice resonated in her mind. Karen’s voice also filtered in. She rambled medical terms that may as well be a different language, but there was one phrase that Evie understood all too well. Anaphylactic shock. If Jared hadn’t rushed her to the hospital, then she would have been pushing up daisies within minutes. She’d thought the night wasn’t the worst ever, but it was quickly turning out to be.
***
Evie felt drained, and all together, miserable. Her right arm felt like it had been poked and prodded to hell, and her mouth felt like she’d swallowed a field of cotton. Her eyes flickered open to the flooding of fluorescent lighting. She squinted and groaned her annoyance.
“She’s awake.” Jared’s was the first voice she heard, and it warmed her heart more than she thought was possible.
“I told you she’d come around,” Karen said. “Thank god ... Now you can stop terrorizing the nurses.”
“Why was he terrorizing the nurses?” Evie asked groggily.
Both faces appeared in her line of vision. “He was in a state of panic,” Karen said as she beamed down at her, while Jared inspected her with a somber expression.
“Are you sure she’s okay? She looks a little pale. Maybe you should give her more meds. What if she goes into shock again?”
Karen rolled her eyes. “Pipe down Hawthorne, before I inject you with a sedative.”
Jared’s eyes drifted to the needle buried in Evie’s flesh, and he paled. Immediately, his mouth clamped shut. A smug Karen turned back to Evie. “He’s afraid of needles. It’s kind of cute. He’s been going crazy since he brought you in. I think he made a nurse or two cry with all the shouting and demanding he carried on with. How are you feeling, kiddo?”
“Like neither of you should be looking at me right now. How bad is my face? Do I look like an alien? Somebody get me a bag to put over my head.”
“You look beautiful,” Jared said.
“Yeah, like a cute little chipmunk,” Karen said, gently pinching a swollen cheek.
Jared grinned. �
��I might be into chipmunks now.”
Evie’s giggle bubbled in her chest. She winced when the smile reached her swollen, cracked lips. “I hate you guys for making me laugh at a time like this.”
“How is she?” Garrison’s head appeared around the door, and Evie gasped.
“She’s just fine.” It was Karen who answered because Evie was much too surprised by his presence, and Jared was too busy glaring daggers at his old friend. “We’re keeping her for a few hours for monitoring …”
“To make sure none of my symptoms return. I know the drill.”
Karen glanced at Garrison and then back at Evie.
Evie squeezed her friend’s hand. “Go ahead, I’ll be fine.”
Karen nodded and turned to Jared. “Come on, Hawthorne, let me get you some coffee. You were more in shock that Evie was. I don’t think you’ve fully recovered.”
Reluctantly, Jared backed away from Evie’s bedside, his eyes glued to her. She gave him a reassuring nod, and he murmured, “I’ll be back soon.”
Left alone with Garrison, Evie slowly sat up. Her father rushed to help her. “Shouldn’t you stay lying down?”
“I’m fine. I’ve been here before with this allergic reaction, I mean. I don’t think I’ve ever come quite this close to death, though.” She meant it as a joke, but it didn’t appear to go over too well.
Garrison scrubbed a hand over his wrinkled face. “You had your first reaction when you were five. Elizabeth and I were terrified.” His blue eyes were clouded with guilt, but Evie barely registered his expression. She couldn’t believe he’d uttered her mother’s name after twenty years.
“Evie,” he said, “I’m so sorry. I forgot how bad your allergy to peanuts was. I went over everything that was prepared with the cook. Apparently, peanut butter was a part of the recipe for dessert. I should have been thinking about you. I should have ensured there was nothing prepared that would have affected you.”
