Chapter 4

Evie took her place on the small stage Philippe had set up. It was Wednesday, Karaoke night. Usually, Evie shied away from the public eye. She had never dared to take center stage. But Dennis was coming tonight so she thought this was the perfect opportunity to say everything she needed to in a song. Granted, her audience would fill the room and it wouldn’t just be Dennis, but she hoped he’d get the message.

They were already running fifteen minutes late and Philippe had been diligent in reminding her of that. Evie hadn’t told Philippe or Sophie that Dennis was coming, just in case he didn’t show up. And right now, it seemed like it was the right call.

“Hey,” Sophie called to her. “Philippe says the customers are getting impatient. You need to get your set going if you are even performing at all.”

“In a minute.” Evie looked at the doors once more and Dennis wasn’t amongst the group of men walking in.

“What if he doesn’t come?”

“What?”

“What if Dennis doesn’t come? You have been sitting here waiting and watching for him and he hasn’t turned up. Evie, you need to decide. Is this what you want to do for the rest of your life? Hoping that some man you think you are in love with will finally look at you the same way, hoping he will show up for you?”

“He promised.”

“He looks like the kind of guy who breaks promises.”

“Not to me, he would never break a promise he made to me.” It was like the universe was trying to affirm what she said. The door opened, the bell above it jingled and in walked Dennis. He smiled at her and the dread that had built a wall around her heart melted away. “I’m ready to start.”

Evie didn’t bother introducing herself to her audience. This wasn’t for them. It was just for one man, and he already knew who she was. Evie strummed her guitar and started singing, her voice causing a hush in the loud café. She had picked Say you love me by Jesse Ware. Her eyes clouded with tears as she sang, but she could still see the smile Dennis had for her. When she finished her song, the crowd erupted in applause. Evie put her guitar down and, like Moses with the Red Sea, she parted the crowds as she walked to the back where Dennis stood waiting for her.

“So?” she swallowed hard, the adoration in his eyes causing a lump of emotion in her throat. “What did you think?”

Dennis cupped her cheek and she leaned into his warmth. “I think…I’m going to love you forever.”

Dennis leaned down to her, and Evie rose to her tiptoes and met his kiss. The soft press of his lips on hers, the gentle caress, turned her to jelly. A warm tear left a trail as it rolled down her cheek. He pulled back, looked at her and said, “You are more than I ever expected, more than I could have prayed or wished for. You consume every inch of my heart. That void that was there, you filled it with your love and the dark cloud above my head is going. You and I, we are standing in the warmth and light of the sun, and nothing could make me as happy as I am in this moment with you.”

Evie had no words, none that could live up to his, none that could make him feel as special as his words just made her feel. Nothing except, “I love you, too.”

“Take a walk with me?”

Evie nodded. She didn’t even look back to ask for permission or make excuses. She knew that, even though he wouldn’t want to, Philippe would understand. Moments such as these were rare, and she wasn’t about to let it slip through her fingers.

Evie slid her hand in Dennis’ and let him lead her out of the café. They walked in silence for a while. Evie didn’t mind, she was busy trying to make a memory, from how the grains of sand felt between her toes or the perfect way the moonlight was reflected on the ocean water, like tiny diamonds on a black canvas.

Dennis stopped and stared at the water. He pulled her close and embraced her. “It’s all so beautiful.”

“It is.”

“Do you think that this will last?”

Evie looked up at him, confused. Dennis’ gaze was fixed on the water. Evie was trying to figure out what was going on with him. She might not have had all the answers, but she had one, “We will last, our love will last.”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m not the love at first sight kind of guy. I’ve never been in love before or even wanted to be in love. It always seemed like something I should stay away from.” Dennis looked down at her with a smile on his lips. The haunted expression she had noticed the day they had met was gone. “Now here you are in my arms, and I can’t imagine living without this feeling. I can’t even remember how life was before you came to my table that morning.”

“Now you know how I feel.” Evie laid her head on his chest and listened to the quick thumping of his heart. “I’ve always wondered what it would be like—listening to your heated breath, watching your chest rise and fall with each breath you took. Waking up in the morning and knowing that I’m not crazy for climbing in your window that night.”

“Are you still wondering?”

“Yes.” Evie caressed his cheek with the back of her hand. “Right now, I wonder how people live without this feeling."

Evie squealed when he rolled with her, and she ended up on her back. Her giggle died in her throat when she saw the way he was looking at her. She couldn’t quite describe it. Evie knew what lust looked like. It was something she had to deal with every day of her life, from Philippe and the men that came to the café, or those that whistled at her as she walked home. From the look in his eyes, it was more than a fairy tale. Since the world began, his eyes were meant to only look at her. She wanted to capture this moment, carry it with her every day of forever. She didn’t think there would be anything that could make her heart beat this fast, or her breaths get so shallow.

She didn’t want to call it panic, but every single nerve in her body was going crazy from anticipation as his head lowered over hers. When his mouth touched hers and his tongue danced with her, Evie’s body shut down. Then, slowly, he breathed life into her, and she lost all control. Louder than the surf, the thudding of Evie’s heart echoed in her ears.

“I want to love you with everything I’ve got.”

A tidal flow of superheated blood pooled to the areas where his body touched hers as he lowered himself over her. Warm tears spilled over her lashes and rolled down her temples. This feeling, the love she felt, was better than anything she could ever describe. It was more like a dream than reality. She wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders, caressed his leg with her own, covered his neck in kisses and, with her eyes wide open, she made sure she wasn’t dreaming.

****

DJ pulled out of her arms and sat back on his heels. He stared at her in disbelief. He never knew that he would ever arrive at this point, that there could ever be a woman who made him feel so content. Her hair fanned around her head, on the white sand. She too watched him under hooded eyes, as he took inventory of all of her. Her folded knee exposed her inner thigh as her dress was pushed up to her waist. DJ couldn’t wait to know how her flesh would feel under his touch, or how she would taste and the sounds she would make when he drove them both to the edge of insanity.

But all that had to wait. He wanted to make their first time special. He peeled his t shirt off and lifted her. He put his shirt down before laying her on top of it. Darkness surrounded them and only the moon and stars bore witness to the most magical moment of their lives. The moment DJ gave into the love he felt for Eyvette.

“Dennis?” There was an edge to her voice that made his heart race in his chest. “Give me my fantasy. Make love to me under the stars.”

How could he refuse?

DJ calmed his body’s driving need and leaned over her. “You’re my miracle,” he said before kissing her. He was trying to express the depths of his emotion with his kisses and hoped she felt them.

DJ caressed her everywhere, his hands cruising over her torso, down her arms, along her thighs and around her arched back. He was committing every single feel of her to memory. And when he stroked her over her lace panties, they both groaned.

DJ bit down on his jaw when her hands started a journey of their own, tracing the ridges of his back and sliding her hands in his trousers, grabbing his backside. “Take it off. I want all of you bare to me.”

DJ sat back once more and made quick work of stripping them. He settled between her thighs, his thumb stroked her clit, needing to get her ready to accept him into her body.

Evie’s tormented gaze held his as her body writhed as her orgasm build. She reached up to his face, grazing her thumb over his lips. When her body begun to tremble with her release he entered her with one stroke, sitting himself fully. DJ kissed her, swallowing a gasp of pain and surprise. He stroked her clit faster, willing her to recover from the loss of her virginity. His thighs trembled with the urge to move, and when Evie locked her legs behind his back, he took that as a sign to move.

DJ wanted to go slow, to savor each moment with her. But he couldn’t. There was no barrier between them, a conscious decision on his part. He wanted to feel her flesh around his, just this one time, he wanted to be completely naked when she embraced him. As her orgasm built up once more, DJ surged faster within her, wanting to do something he had never done before, something so intimate that only true lovers should experience. He wanted to fly with her, to leap over the edge into the warm embrace of the abyss together.

Evie cried out just as his own finish overtook him, his body shaking violently in release.

DJ lay his forehead against hers as they both tried to catch their breaths, “I love you,” he said.

“I love you more. More than you’ll ever know.”

* * * *

DJ had no idea what he should say or do. He knew that making love to each other hadn’t been a mistake. But now there was all this responsibility that weighed down on him. Maybe it was because he had been her first. It had been wonderful for him, but he couldn’t speak for Evie, and he wasn’t about to ask her. It seemed, with Evie, he would be experiencing all his firsts. This was the first time he had been insecure about his sexual talents. The shower was still running, and Evie had been in the bathroom for a while. It must be difficult getting all the sand out of her curly hair. DJ sat outside the bathroom door and waited patiently.

“Dennis?”

DJ jumped to his feet. His instinct was to open the door and get in there with her, but he stopped himself. His hand froze on the handle. “Yes, do you need anything?”

“Please come inside.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” she chuckled. “I’m sure.”

DJ walked in and the shower doors weren’t even closed. Evie was standing under the water, her usually unruly hair lying flat on her neck and back. She held out her hand to him and DJ walked over to her and took it. He dropped his flannel pants and stepped into the shower with her.

“Now, isn’t this better?”

“It’s perfect.” DJ had a firm grip on his desires. He had let them get away with him once before, causing Evie’s first time to be on the beach, out in the open. There was something about losing control that appealed to DJ. He remembered kissing her, deeper and deeper. He couldn’t seem to get enough of her. The thirst that he’d felt wasn’t getting quenched. Instead, he got thirstier, greedier, and he wanted more and more. She drove him wild with need and crazy with passion. “You don’t know what you do to me. I want you; I need you.”

“I’m here.”

"I’m afraid,” DJ said out loud. He didn’t plan on running away, escaping from this emotion that was slowly taking over him, but he had to admit how he felt. Never had he thought that the fear he was experiencing now even existed. It was so potent and definitely real. It was actually as real as the love he felt, and that’s what scared him.

“Of what?”

The tips of her breasts grazed is chest. “You make me lose control.” He gently pushed her against the wall and held her hands over her head.

“That’s not the reason why.” Evie pulled one of her hands free and cupped his cheek. DJ leaned into it. The gentle comfort it offered calmed his panicked heart. “You are afraid to love. You don’t have to be. I’ll take care of your heart if you take care of mine.”

“It sounds so simple when you say it.”

“That’s because it is.”

“There is nothing easy about love.”

DJ stood under the shower and made love to Evie. This part he could do without pause or hesitation. No talk, no exchange of words, empty promises or ones made with good intention, just the movement of two bodies whose sole need and want was to feel passion.

Exhausted, DJ carried Evie out of the shower, placed her on the bed and toweled her dry. Evie wrapped the towel around herself. She watched him, her eyes trailing his every move as he lit a few candles around the room. DJ lay down beside Evie and they both stared at the ceiling.

“I want to tell you something,” she said.

Evie straddled his hips and combed her fingers through his thick mane. It was so soothing, but the way her towel rode low on her breasts was distracting. “You are beautiful.”

“Don’t get distracted.” Evie placed her finger under his chin and raised his head so that he had to look into her eyes. “Ever since I met you, I have noticed a sadness in you, why?”

“I ran away from home, from a life I thought I had.”

“Why?”

“Have you ever had everything you believed, everything you’ve known, just ripped from you? Ever since I was old enough, I knew my role in life, what was expected of me, my duty. And now I’m lost. I left my home because it represented something that was never mine in the first place.”

“Where is home?”

“Now, here with you.” He kissed her. “Before, in New York amongst the affluent, my duty in a building with twenty-five floors, in an office behind a desk, making every man that had sat there before me proud.”

“What made you so lost?”

“My entire life, my father had been my hero. He was the man I wanted to be when I grew up. He could do no wrong in my eyes.”

“That’s a dangerous way to regard a human being. It is in our human nature to disappoint and betray.”

“He betrayed us—my mother, my brother and sisters, me. I discovered that he had a different family before I was born. A woman he claimed to be completely in love with, a son and a daughter. But he left them behind…he loved them so much and yet he left them behind.”

“Is that why you are asking if we will last?”

DJ nodded. His eyes prickled with unshed tears. How could he believe something so new could last a lifetime? This volcanic…whatever it was in his heart, why would it last forever be considering he hadn’t even known Evie that long? His father and Kono had been together for so long, they had a family, a life, but that didn’t hold. At the first sign of trouble his father had bolted and left the woman he claimed to be in love with behind and abandoned his children. People always told him that he was just like his father. What if that similarity wasn’t just in the physical appearance? What if it extended to everything else? Would he leave Evie behind if he was faced with an ultimatum, would their love stand the test of time? Looking into her eyes, DJ was sure of one thing, that he would love her forever and that he wouldn’t abandon her. however, he was sure that, at some point, his father had made the same oath and later broken it.

“Do you trust me with your heart, your life, our love? Are you sure you can trust me, because I’m not sure I can trust myself?”

“What happened to the woman and the children?”

“Kono is dead. Her love for my father killed her. She died of a broken heart. My brother, Reno…he found us a few years ago. He has his own family now and is happy. As for Rhyne, we don’t know where she is. She disappeared when she was two years old. Now we think she is in New York. Ironic, considering that’s the home I am running from.”

“You live in New York?”

“Yes,” he said. “Now that Reno is there, he is the rightful heir to the throne. I had to walk away from a life that I knew I would have. Now, I just don’t know where I fit anymore.”

“Does your brother love you?”

“Of course, he does, just as I love him and my sister. And just as much as I love Rhyne, even though I don’t know her yet.”

“You feel lost because you think your life was taken from you. But the thing is, that was never your life to begin with. Not just because you are not the first born, but because you didn’t choose it. You were raised thinking you were going to rule the whole kingdom, but you didn’t choose it. Your father is still your father. You cannot hold the mistakes he made in the past against him forever. You need to try and put yourself in his shoes, as difficult as it may seem to you. Try and understand what he went through and how much he is suffering now. He lost one child, don’t let him lose another.” Evie pushed his hair out of his face. “It’s usually the one we love the most that hurts us the most. Forgiving him will be hard but think of the kind of family you want your sister to be part of once she’s found.”

“When I go back to New York, will you come with me?”

“Definitely.”

DJ had never fallen asleep with a woman in his arms. He never let himself spend the night in the same bed with a woman before. That was his way of keeping his distance. However, nothing felt as right as having Evie cradled in his arms, their legs tangled in with each other, their bodies so close that not even the slightest breeze could pass between them. DJ could see himself getting used to this, and welcoming love, being in love and all the consequences that came with the emotion. What he definitely could get used to is the sound of her gentle breathing as his lullaby.

DJ woke up to what he knew as the first day of the rest of his life. He tangled his fingers into Evie’s and waited for her beautiful emerald eyes to open to the new day. And when they did, they were just as breathtaking as the first time he’d seen them.

“Good morning, my love.”

“Good morning.”

* * * *

Two months later…

“So, what are you two lovebirds up to today?” Sophie hopped onto the counter, picking on a muffin she had taken out of the pantry basket.

“Get your ass off the counter.” Evie pushed Sophie. “Philippe is going to make you pay for that.”

“Do I look like I care?” she asked as she drew air circles around her face. “So, tell me, what is it tonight? A walk on the beach under the moonlight, or will it be sex on the beach?”

“No,” Evie blushed. “I think we will be breaking in his new apartment tonight.”

“Oh, that is just scandalous,” she teased. “So, what’s going on with Mother Mary?”

“I have no idea.” Evie took her phone out when it beeped, announcing a new message. It was from Dennis, asking her not to come over. That was strange, and totally suspect.

“Do you want a coffee?”

Evie pushed the steaming cup Sophie held in front of her away. The smell of it made her stomach lurch. “I can’t stand that smell.” Evie texted Dennis back with one word—why? He didn’t respond and, when she tried to call him, he didn’t pick up. Evie didn’t want to entertain the dread gnawing at her chest. But when she had met Dennis, he was a certain kind of man. She didn’t expect him to turn into a saint overnight, or even in sixty nights.

“Do you want some scrambled eggs?” Sophie asked.

“No, the thought of it makes me want to hurl,” she said, distracted.

“How about a pregnancy test?”

That made Evie looks up. Her eyes glued to her friend’s face; her mind counted down the days. She had spent every night with Dennis. They were in a love bubble, one so filled with bliss that neither one of them wanted to sleep apart. Of course, they weren’t just sleeping, and they did use protection…except for that one time, their first time on the beach. Evie’s knees turned to jelly, and they couldn’t hold her weight any longer. She sank down to the floor behind the counter.

“Evie?” Sophie sat down next to her. “What can I do?”

“Dennis.” Evie tried to call him once more, but he wasn’t picking up. “I need Dennis.”

“It’s almost closing time. You can take my car if you want to.”

“Thanks.” Evie went back to the break room and grabbed her stuff. She took Sophie’s car keys from her locker and ran out the back.

“Where are you going?” Philippe followed her to the car. “It’s not yet closing time.”

“Not now, Philippe.” Evie put the car in reverse and, just as she was about to drive out of the parking lot a thought came to mind. “He’s going to leave me behind.” The driver’s door opened, and it was Sophie.

“Move, I’ll drive you. You don’t look like you should be alone right now.”

“Thanks.” Evie slid over to the passenger seat.

It was a fifteen-minute drive to Dennis’ apartment building. Evie got out of the car, turning down Sophie’s offer to accompany her. She didn’t waste time running up the stairs. She needed to reassure herself that the voices in her head were wrong, that she and Dennis would live happily ever after. She banged on his door and, when Dennis opened it, instead of relief flooding her it was more doubt. Especially since, instead of a smile and her kiss to invite her in, he wore an odd expression of guilt and flung out a question, “What are you doing here, Evie? I thought I told you that I’d come to see you.”

She saw the beads of nervous sweat roll from his hairline, down his temple and cheek. The way he held the door half closed, and how his eyes ducked back and forth, told her that he was hiding something from her. “Dennis, I have something to tell you.”

“Can’t it wait?” The nervous look in his eyes turned into one of hostility.

“No, it can’t.” Evie pushed him with all her might. DJ stumbled back and she was able to gain entry. But, as soon as she was in, she wished she had just turned around and walked away. A siren with red hair and red lingerie draped her body seductively on the sofa—the same one she had found in Dennis’ cottage when she’d snuck in that night. She raised the glass of wine to her lips and took a sip. Then she turned to face Evie and graced her with a smile.

“Dennis?” Evie breathed the silent question out. She could hear her blood rush in her ears and felt her knees turn to jelly as her heartbeat furiously in denial.

“Evie, I can explain.”

“Explain what?” The siren stood up with the grace of a peacock and walked toward Evie. “DJ, I told you to cut this little innocent girl out a long time ago. She doesn’t understand that sex is just for pleasure and relationships for the week. Love is actually lust, my dear, but I don’t blame you for getting confused. DJ can be very convincing with his words and smile, and very pleasing with his hands…and mouth.”

Evie felt the bile rise up to her mouth. She needed to throw up. She ran for the nearest bathroom and emptied her stomach. In her hunched position, Evie saw Dennis' bare feet walk up behind her. With all the rage she could muster, she launched for him, her fists drumming into his chest. She wanted to cause him pain. But when she realized her hands weren’t doing the job right, she decided to use her words.

“I’m pregnant. And guess what, you will never see us again.” Evie pushed past him and stomped into the living room. The siren sat drinking her wine, acting like she hadn’t aided and abetted the love of her life in ripping her heart out of her chest.

Evie walked up to the woman and, before she knew it, her hand lifted from her side with speed and force. The crack that sounded from the contact of her backhand and the woman’s cheek surprised her. The shocked looks on both Dennis and the siren’s faces told her that she had surprised them too.

“Thank you for teaching me a very valuable lesson. I’m all grown up now. I promise you no one is ever going to use me again, the way you did,” Evie said.

* * * *

DJ knew that Ava showing up at his new apartment after a month of silence was bad. It was an even worse idea to let her in, but he couldn’t have a conversation with her at the door with just a towel around his waist. He had just stepped out of the shower—the plan had been to surprise Evie with dinner and a key to the apartment. He wanted her to move in with him, so that they could start their life together. He hadn’t expected Ava to turn up and throw a wrench in his plans.

“What do you want?”

“Your help.” Ava made herself at home, pouring herself a glass of wine before sitting down on his couch.

“Help with what? The last time we spoke you were getting married.”

“Yes, well, my first husband just put a kink in those plans.”

“First husband? You mean ex-husband?”

“No,” she shouted. “I said first husband and that is what I meant. I met a guy at a restaurant, he asked me to marry him, and we went to Vegas. I left the marriage when it became inconvenient, by that I mean when his father disowned him. He took me to a rundown hotel. I wasn’t going to spend the rest of my life with a loser.”

“So, you came here, in search of a winner.” DJ couldn’t help but laugh. “Let me ask, at any time during our…encounters, did you think of making me husband number two?”

“Four, and yes. But when I realized you were from New York I knew it couldn’t happen.”

“Four husbands?”

“Yes.” Ava said it in a matter-of-fact tone that showed that she didn’t care at all, not about the men she had hurt or the legal implications.

“So, what do you want from me?”

“I need money to disappear. If any of my husband’s find out that I was married before and wasn’t divorced, they are going to ask for the divorce settlements and alimonies back.”

“You are still collecting alimony?” DJ couldn’t believe her. Ava had this perfect con in place and, if she didn’t have such expensive taste, she could have been a millionaire by now. She definitely wouldn’t be here looking for money to run away with. “So, I give you the money and you leave, never to come back?”

Ava pouted. “I was kind of hoping you wouldn’t want me to go. I thought we had a good thing going.”

“Don’t even get up from that couch.” DJ didn’t want her anywhere near him. He might be in a monogamous relationship with Evie, but that didn’t mean that he was completely immune to a woman’s charm. “I am in a relationship, I am in love, and I won’t let you jeopardize that for me. I give you the money and you get out and never come back again. Otherwise, I will go to the authorities and call each and every one of your other husbands.”

“Agreed.”

“I don’t believe you. But you better believe this—if I see you anywhere near me, I will have you arrested. I don’t bluff, I never learned how to, and this won’t be my first attempt at it. Got it?”

“You are going to regret this.”

“I already am.” DJ froze when he heard pounding on the door. He didn’t know who it was, but he prayed it wasn’t yet another one of his lovers here to see him. He also hoped it wasn’t Evie—she would definitely not understand. DJ opened the door and felt his flesh turn to stone. “What are you doing here?”

It all went downhill from that moment. He thought it would be best to let Evie get all her anger out. She would laugh when she realized she had this all wrong. DJ knew that, with his past, he would have to reassure her, if not convince her, that he was a changed man, that he would never cheat on her. He believed that it was all going to be fine. Well, that was until she said the words, “I’m pregnant” and stormed out of the apartment.

“Wow! Dennis, for a man who has a lifetime supply of condoms, you surely did drop the ball there.” Ava laughed.

DJ went to his room and pulled on a pair of trousers. He couldn’t let Evie leave with the wrong idea of what was going on between him and Ava. He was going to be a dad…he looked at his reflection in the mirror and smiled. He was so proud and elated. He had gone from lost to a man who belonged, he was going to be a husband and a father and that was all thanks to Evie.

“Where are you going?” Ava asked as he walked past her in the living room.

“Where do you think? I have to go after Evie, she’s carrying my baby.”

“Let me guess, you are going to propose and live happily ever after, without me?”

“That’s the idea.”

“If you walk out that door, I will hate you for the rest of your life.”

“I’d rather have your hatred than lose her love. Get out of my apartment, Ava.” DJ raced out but only got to the street in time to see the taillights of Sophie’s car drive off. DJ ran after the car, hoping to catch Evie at the red light. Except that Evie didn’t stop at the intersection. Every inch of his body seemed to be weighed down by cement, his lungs froze, and his heart went silent. DJ stood still and watched as his life came to an end.