Chapter 78
And when Alec bumped into her body and made them both fall, that’s exactly what happened. Half the party stopped happening and kept staring at the two ex-lovers on the floor.
"Jesus, Alec!" Evie grumbles, feeling a twinge in the back of her head. “Don’t you look where you’re going?”
"Not when it comes to you.”
They were so close that only the wind would be able to pass through that miserable space. Alec gasped, controlled the absurd urge he felt to attack Evangeline’s lips and stood up, reaching out to her. Evie struck Alec’s outstretched hand and stood up alone, running her hand through the dress then.
"What triumphal entrance. " Audrey mocks, approaching Evangeline. "Are you okay?”
"Aside from the excruciating pain in the back of my head and all these strange people staring at me, I’m fine.”
"Sweet as a lemon." the blonde laughs, hugging Evangeline. "I’m very happy for you to be here.”
"You and Allegra know how to be too persuasive." Evie narrows her gaze to Alec, who couldn’t stop looking at her. "It’s family apparently.”
"Yes it is! I will introduce Antony to you. ANTONY?" the boy, who was on the hot dog cart, looked in the direction of his mother and hurried to approach. "I want to introduce you to two very special people. That’s Evangeline. Your uncle’s love.”
"Audrey!”
The blonde rolled her eyes at the rebuke of Evangeline, who looked at the boy and smiled ashamed.
"Hi, Antony. You’re beautiful! Happy birthday.”
"Thank you.”
"That’s Allegra." Audrey continues, pointing to the redhead girl who was behind her mother. "She’s your cousin.”
Antony looked at every face there and stopped at Alec’s.
"So she’s your daughter?" Alec nods. "And why do I only know now?”
"I’m sure Allegra will tell you everything! Go, go play." Audrey pushes both of them in the back, which go very unwillingly. "Time for the adults to talk." Evie opens her mouth to try to escape, but Audrey is faster. "Wow, that’s rude of me. I’ll get you a drink, Evangeline. Talk in the meantime.”
Evangeline knew that Audrey would do something like this at some point, just did not imagine it was so early. She turned her gaze away from Alec and looked for Allegra. The girl had already mingled among all those children and it was impossible to see her.
"Can we talk? Like two adults we are.”
"Yes." She replies, feeling a huge cake in her throat. "There’s also something I need to tell you.”
Audrey was talking to one of her friends when she saw her brother enter the house and Evangeline follow him. From that moment, she began to beg all the Gods that existed, the return of that couple.
"Everything here remains the same." Evangeline says, as she enters Blake’s old office. It was impossible not to remember the mess that the two of them made on that table, on the day if his birthday of twenty-two years. "Anyway...”
When Evie turns, Alec stands before her. There is less than a step. He had also been bombarded with memories, seeing Evangeline in that room. A wave of courage and longing filled him, and he walked to her, longing for a kiss. But as soon as she turned, he froze.
"I so want to kiss you." he murmurs, staring at Evangeline’s halfopen lips. "All these years, I’ve always wondered how you were doing. If you were okay without me. Although I knew where you were living, I couldn’t contradict myself. I couldn’t reappear in your life and bring out all the suffering I caused you.”
“Alec...”
“You were gone and I struggled to keep the family business going. I had no reason to live. I went down day after day. I thought I was going to die several times. And I wanted to..., but since you came here, behind the girl who is our daughter, everything in me has changed.” Alec holds Evangeline’s injured hand and it gives him minimal shock. “I always had a reason to live and you gave me one more. Our daughter.”
“I don’t think you have any idea how much it hurt when you came out of that hospital room. I slept and woke up every day crying, but still with a little hope inside me that you would come back. Day after day, I closed my eyes and felt you. I felt your kiss, I felt your touch, I felt you in every part of my body. Even you miles away, I felt you all over. I never stopped loving you, and I think I’ll never be able to, but...”
“But? There isn’t! We can pick up exactly where we left off.” Alec runs his arm around Evangeline’s waist and it makes her dizzy. “I’ll do whatever it is, Evangeline. I’ll do whatever you want, as long as the only condition is to be with you forever.”
Those few, but intense words left Evangeline drunk with love. Alec took the cue and did what he wanted for ten years. When their lips touch, everything around them seems to disappear, and they are transported to a world of their own. The hands intertwine, the bodies approach, and the kiss begins soft and delicate, like a promise of love. The mouths move together in a gentle, slow rhythm, exploring every nook and cranny, seeking to connect more deeply. As the kiss intensifies, the breaths accelerate, and the heart beats stronger. The lips press harder, and the tongues meet in a passionate dance. The hands begin to move more intensely, running through the bodies of lovers, transmitting the tenderness and desire that is feeling for each other. The kiss becomes deeper and more urgent, and they completely surrender to each other. When the kiss finally ends, the two look each other in the eye, still lost in the moment, and know that this is the beginning of something that should never have ended.