Chapter 2

It had been a week since her prince charming had walked into her fairy tale and walked away whilst her castle was aflame. He hadn’t come back, and Evie didn’t know his name or how to contact him. She had forfeited her day off, terrified that the one day she would be enjoying time in the sun would be the day he went back to the café. So, every day, from sunrise to sunset, she sat next to the door, hoping to catch a glimpse of him. She already had a plan if that ‘chance’ encounter was to happen. She would bump into him, pretend to fall and he would catch her. And, as in every love story, their eyes would meet as he played the hero and that would be the start of happily ever after.

If that didn’t work, she had a more direct approach. She would ask him out until he said yes. Or find out his habits and insinuate herself into them. It was a demented plan, bordering on illegal stalking, but this was her love life she was taking about. She had found her one and she wasn’t about to let him go.

“I see you are still watching out for him.” Evie rolled her eyes when she heard Philippe’s voice behind her. She waited for the chastisement to follow, which only took a millisecond. “You know he is no good for you. He sleeps with every woman he meets.”

“Not me apparently.” Evie wasn’t sure if the fact that she was disappointed about that was a sign that she was completely in the deep end in a good way or a bad way.

“This girl I know, he completely broke her heart. He had sex with her, said all the right things, then just tossed her out like she was rubbish.”

“She’s not me.” Oh God, Eyvette, could you sound more desperate?

“I can’t believe you are ready to give your virginity to a stranger and not me. We had been dating since we were sixteen. Then culinary school comes up and you dump me.”

“Listen, Philippe.” Evie was about to say something completely comforting followed by the usual ‘I have a right to live my dreams’ speech when something he said popped in her brain. “You said you know a girl he slept with.”

“Yes.”

Evie forced down the excitement that was bubbling up. There was no way Philippe would introduce her to this woman if he knew her intentions were to track him down. Quickly she sobered up and took a serious tone. “Maybe if I talk to her and she told me how terrible this Américaine is, then maybe I will be able to get him out of my head.”

Philippe smiled and Evie almost felt sorry for him. “I think that is a good idea. I will call her right away. She works at the restaurant up the street.”

“Thank you.” Evie waited until Philippe had his back to her before she did a victory dance.

Seconds seemed to drag into hours as Evie waited for this mystery girl to walk down from her place of work to the café. It literally took only five minutes, but her irrational view of time was another symptom that she had it bad for the mystery guy.

They sat at a booth and Evie tried her best not to vibrate with excitement. She studied the girl. She was a petite brunette with huge breasts. Instinctively, Evie looked down at her own boobs and was happily surprised to know she had the girl beat on something. She studied the girl, trying to discern the attraction—dark raven hair that cascaded down her back, thin red lips, skinny with cream colored skin… She prayed to God that this was not his type. Evie was curvy with an unruly set of curls for hair, a dark toffee hue for skin and full lips that resented red lipstick.

“He dumped me after the first night,” she sobbed. “He said we weren’t sexually compatible. I don’t understand, because he had me screaming through the roof.”

Evie swallowed hard. Screaming through the roof wasn’t something that she wanted to know about the man she knew she was falling in love with. It wasn’t the fact that he had countless sex partners and she had none. It was the ‘sexually incompatible’ part that had her hooked in dread.

“So where does he hang out…” a searing glare from Philippe had her rephrasing her question. “I just want to know where he frequents so that I can avoid them,” she said mechanically. If Philippe believed her, he was more gullible than she was. And that was saying plenty. “So where—”

“The beach clubs. He likes it because it’s only a few minutes’ walk to where his cottage is.”

“Hmm!” That was a bummer. That club only accepted twenty-one and over patrons. Evie’s twenty-first birthday wasn’t until the next year and she wasn’t willing to wait that long. Sophie would think of something. Evie entrusted her future into the hands of her delinquent best friend. “Thank you for that…information. I am sorry for your heartbreak, and I shall endeavor not to be one of his victims.” In fact, Evie was determined to make the Américaine her victim. The Américaine. She needed to know his name. “What was he called, this heartbreaker that I shall do my best to avoid?”

“Dennis Rogers…he is so beautiful.” The girl erupted in tears once more.

Evie turned to Philippe. She refused to believe that this would turn out to be her, heartbroken and crying into her ex-boyfriend’s T-shirt. “You should take care of her. I’m just going to get some fresh air and think.”

“I hope you realize that you are better off without him.”

“I have realized plenty during this brief meeting.” Evie waved at Philippe and patted the girl’s shoulder before walking away. She had learned something, that she needed to be determined and more than just a body he could lay on top of. She was going to be his future, the love of his life.

Evie bumped into Sophie and dragged her back into the kitchen. She didn’t realize how firm her grip was or how hard she was pulling until Sophie yelped and struggled against her grasp.

“Whatever you think I did I didn’t do it,” she cried, and her bottom lip stuck out as she massaged her arm.

“It’s not—why would you say that? What did you do, Sophie?” Evie had known her friend long enough to know that she usually confessed before being interrogated. She was the worst liar and couldn’t cover up a burger patty with a bun.

“Okay, I took your tip from that table when you decided to have a discussion with Philippe and the weeping one. What’s up with that anyway?”

For a second Evie thought about reading Sophie the riot act, but there were more important things on her mind. Sophie was going to make up for it anyway. “The weeping one is my Américaine’s one night stand.”

“Oh!” The shape that Sophie’s mouth and eyes took mirrored each other. “So, he is a bad egg, and we hate the Américaine?” she asked, uncertain.

“No, he is not a bad egg and we definitely do not hate him,” Evie said, convincing herself more than she did Sophie. “He is just misguided. He just needs the right woman to show him the error of his ways.”

“I am guessing that you are the right woman?” Sophie nodded, but didn’t seem entirely convinced by Evie’s shallow yet precise plan of action. Well, it wasn’t a very good one. Being the right woman wouldn’t mean that Dennis Rogers was the right man, or that he would, all of a sudden, forsake all others for her.

“What are you thinking, Sophie?”

“I am thinking that I have slept with, dated and even moved in with this Américaine, but they were French and not as attractive.”

“Sophie!”

“Listen, he is a heartbreak waiting to happen. At first, I supported you because I like seeing Philippe pissed off. But now, as your friend, I have to advise you against going after the Américaine.”

“Dennis Rogers, that’s his name. If I—we—are going to see him as an end game, we need to call him by his name. Turn him from my dream—”

“Delusional fantasy. Sorry.”

“Turn him from my dream man into my reality.” Sophie still didn’t look convinced. However, that didn’t matter. Evie knew the truth. Her heart had not misled her yet. She could see her happily ever after in Dennis Roger’s eyes. It might have been the reason why he was intent on looking away from her. He could see it too and it frightened him. He chose to run away. That was his instinct and Evie respected it. People were often afraid of what they couldn’t understand or control. Evie had a different reaction, however. She was going to chase after her love.

“I don’t need you to agree with me. I just need you to lend me one of your dresses and help straighten my hair.”

“Done and done. Evie, I’m not like you, the eternal optimist. I tend to look for the bad while you only see the good. I hope this works out for you.”

“So do I.”

“Do we go to your place or is the wicked witch there?”

“My mother didn’t say she had any plans for tonight. I’d rather go to your place instead. I don’t need her negativity tonight.”

“You give her a hold that she shouldn’t have. She might be your mother, but that doesn’t mean you should take her insults.”

* * * *

“So, what are we doing tonight?”

“We?” DJ chuckled as he got off the bed and pulled on his boxers. “We aren’t doing anything tonight.” He trudged to the bathroom and took off the condom. DJ ran it under the sink faucet. Ever since he’d discovered his father’s other family, he vowed never to put himself in a situation that he couldn’t handle. Babies were at the top of his list. Once he saw that the condom retained the water, he flushed it down the toilet. Each time, after sex, he did the same thing. It had become a habit, a ritual even. He wouldn’t feel right if he didn’t know.

DJ looked at himself in the mirror. His hair had grown longer, and his usual shadow had turned into a heavy goatee. He didn’t mind the look. It actually made him feel better, looking into the mirror and not recognizing the man looking back. It allowed him to escape it all without the weight of family responsibility dogging along. Reno had gifted him this vacation and had also agreed to keep his whereabouts secret. DJ didn’t put it past his father to send a search and recovery team after him. But the guilt of abandoning his children made it that they were able to get away with anything.

Besides, it was okay for him to go M.I.A. for a while. Catalella was in remission, his niece and nephew were doing great. How could they not with Reno as a father? Reno was handling the family business and Danny.

Danny…she was DJ’s biggest regret and greatest failure. She was clean now, no drugs or alcohol, they made sure of that.

“Dennis!” Ava called out and for a second DJ expected his father to turn up behind him. That was until he remembered that Dennis was his name too. But, here in Nice, he was Dennis Rogers, the American playboy that left a string of broken hearts everywhere he set foot. The broken hearts…that was why DJ made sure the women knew what was going to happen the morning after before he took them home. He couldn’t take any more weeping women who promised to love him forever and ever.

“Dennis!”

“Ava! Now that we are reacquainted, why are you still here?”

Ava smiled and tossed her hair back. “It’s easy for you, casting women away like they were nothing. Don’t get me wrong I don’t fault you in that. I was once married to an Irish American or something. He was rich. Well, that was until his father disowned him the morning after our Vegas wedding.”

“Let me guess, you instantly fell out of love with him.” DJ crossed his arms over his chest. He could not believe that the one steady relationship he had was sexual, and with the devil’s mistress. Ava was a snake who had vast talents when it came to sex. She was also cold, and that was DJ’s safety net.

“Well, I didn’t go from being a waitress to the wife of a millionaire to become a waitress again.”

“How dare he lose all his money?” he said in mocked offence.

“How dare he indeed? Well, you like me, and I like you.” Ava climbed out of the bed. She let the linen fall down at her feet as she swayed toward him. “I give you incredible sex and you give me fantastic gifts. So why not make this a permanent situation?”

“No.” DJ walked past her. “And if you bring this up again, there will be no more gifts or exotic trips. There are so many women who would be with me for less. Now get out, I’m going to have a snack, then take a shower. I have plans tonight.”

DJ sat on a bar stool in his kitchenette, eating a sandwich he had made for lunch. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Ava got dressed, taking her frustration out on her straw hat when it wouldn’t sit right. She turned her evil glare to him and walked up.

“I have been meaning to tell you, sex with you isn’t as good as it used to be. You don’t seem committed to it.”

DJ didn’t have any reaction to her statement. He didn’t want to show her that she was right. Of course, he was distracted. Every time he had sex with Ava or anyone else, emerald eyes would haunt him. And, instead of hearing Ava’s voice moaning for him, all he heard was ‘if you need anything, ask for Evie,’ in a sultry, accented tone. So, instead of admitting that his heart and mind were being plagued by a woman he thought he would have forgotten by now, he said, “I’ll be sure to take a survey and get back to you.”

“You are an asshole.”

“That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

DJ frowned when Ava banged his door shut on her way out. But his frown grew even deeper when the guilt weighed down on his heart once more. For the past week, every time a woman would leave his bed and home, leaving him alone, a cloud of guilt would loom over him. The only way he knew how to get rid of it was getting a new girl. But it was a never-ending cycle of ridiculous, irrational, and what should be impossible, reaction. Evie was not his girlfriend; she wasn’t his anything. So why did he keep feeling like he was cheating on her…and himself?

A night of debauchery, that’s what he needed.

DJ made his way to the beach club three hours after Ava left. He got to the entrance and gained immediate entry. He headed straight for the VIP spot where his choice of girls waited for him. But just before he got to the velvet belt, a well-rounded ass stared at him. Actually, he was staring at it. The owner had a sexy, curvy body and an arch in her back that made DJ’s hands itch. Her hair was black with some red hints, straight down to the middle of her back. She looked incredible from behind, and DJ couldn’t wait to see how the front of her looked.

Boobs, that was what DJ wanted to see. Instead, he stared into the eyes that had been haunting him for a week. Emerald stood before him in a knock-out white dress and a dazzling smile. Words jammed in DJ’s throat and all he could say was, “Evie.”

* * * *

“He isn’t coming, and stop fidgeting with your dress,” Sophie yelled over the music.

Evie’s heart crumpled in disappointment. First, she never thought she would be able to get her hair straight enough. The weeping girl’s appearance haunted her own. Evie found herself trying to mimic her and still maintain her uniqueness. Then Sophie’s dress was too tight, but according to Sophie that was a good thing. It had gotten her plenty of attention and was the reason they were let into the club in the first place. Two hours in and Evie almost gave up. That was until someone touched her shoulder, making her turn around.

“Evie.” The embers simmering low in Evie’s body flared to life at the softness of his voice. He was here. For a moment Sophie almost had her giving up hope. But here he was, her prince charming, dressed in white. It was as if they had coordinated. Evie just took this as another sign.

“Yes, you remembered.” Evie swallowed hard, trying to get the ball of nervous tension out of her throat. “I didn’t get your name.”

Evie and Dennis looked at each other for a while. Evie noticed that he looked petrified and yet didn’t seem to be able to take his eyes off of her. He wasn’t looking at her body…the dress proved to be a waste. However, her face had his full attention. Too good to be true, was the slogan of her life. She had Dennis’ full attention until a woman called out from behind her.

“Dennis, I’m over here.”

Dennis looked past her, and they both stared at the woman. Evie knew she was about to lose his attention and couldn’t let that happen. “Dennis, that’s your name. Do you have a second?”

“Yes? Uhm mm, Ke—I mean Rogers. Dennis Rogers.” His voice trailed off as he continued staring at her.

“Eyvette Ross, that’s my full name.”

“Ross? I know a family named Ross. They are Americans though.”

“Definitely not related,” she chuckled. “So, you come here a lot? This is my first time. I didn’t dare come before because of the age limit—”

“What?”

Idiot, of all the things to say. Now he’s going to think you are a child.

“Evie! Oh, I see you found your own fun,” Sophie cut in just in time.

Evie hoped that Sophie would distract him and hopefully make him forget her last statement. Dennis didn’t look any older than twenty-five. But Evie was sure that he didn’t mess about with twenty-year old. That he preferred older women, like the one still hollering at her back.

“She didn’t find anything,” he said a hard note replacing his earlier softness. “I have to go; my friend is calling for me.”

“We could join you if you don’t mind,” Evie put in hopefully.

“I mind.” DJ walked away from her and straight to a man with a suit next to the VIP section. He whispered something in the man’s ear and the next thing Evie knew was that she and Sophie were being kicked out.

Evie removed her pinching shoes and walked to the shore of the beach. The tiny grains of sand massaged her aching toes, while the cool water soothed them. The night hadn’t turned out as she had planned. She didn’t expect that, after hours of getting ready, it would take her literally ten seconds to mess things up and get kicked out. Dennis didn’t even want anything to do with her now. He probably thought that she was a child.

“What did I tell you about the honesty thing, Evie?”

“I was nervous. I didn’t plan on telling him that I am yet to be old enough to get through the door. Besides, in this dress, I thought my age would be the last thing on his mind.”

“That dress always gets me laid. I can’t believe you struck out in it. It probably has bad mojo on it now.”

“I have bad mojo.” Evie kicked the water and watched as it fell back in tiny droplets, the moon behind them making them look like diamonds. “This night is ruined. I didn’t get to know where he lived or his phone number.”

“I can’t help you with the number, but we could probably follow him now.”

“What?”

“Look.” Evie turned around quickly and saw DJ walk out of the club, hand in hand with the woman who had been calling out to him. “I think he’s taking her home for the horizontal mambo. We could see where he lives then leave before anything happens.”

“We could.” Evie closed her eyes, trying to order the tears prickling her eyes to go back where they came from. It ripped her heart into shreds watching him walk away with another woman. But the connection between them was obvious. This woman was just as unimportant as the weeping one. She had time…the look in Dennis’ eyes when he saw her told her that she had already won the battle. He wanted her, probably not sexually, not anymore, but on a deeper, more profound level. She wouldn’t wait too long and let him ruin their future. Right now, all she had to do was make a plan. And the first step was following him home.

* * * *

Evie’s actions were crazy, even by Sophie’s standards. And for a moment to have the most emotionally and mentally unbalanced person she knew tell her that what she was doing was crazy, made Evie pause. But then, in her heart, even though her mind appealed and lost the decision, it was the most rational and right thing to do. So, after two nights of tracing DJ’s movements and confirming the cottage by the ocean was indeed his, Evie made her plan of action. It wasn’t the best plan, but it was the only thing she could think of. Her heart and the fact that she had silenced her mind had led her to standing outside DJ’s window with Sophie acting as a boost.

“Are you sure about this?” Evie heard Sophie groan as she hoisted her up to the window. “Breaking and entering is illegal. You could get arrested.”

“Then it’s a good thing I’m not breaking anything. All I am doing is entering and planning a romantic night.” Evie rationalized her latest act of insanity. It had taken her a day to realize what she had to do. She had to show him who she was, and what better way to do it than making him dinner?

Sophie and Evie had staked out his house and waited, for what seemed like forever, until he left. It was a good thing his cottage was isolated with only rocks, water and bushes around it. It was in the perfect location, and the beach added a romantic note to it. Evie landed with a thud on the plush carpet. It was his bedroom, and it was neater than she thought it would be. Evie reached out the window and grabbed the basket loaded with her weapon of love.

“I’m going to ask you one more time, are you sure about this? He might come back with a girl.”

“He is definitely going to come back with a girl. I think we both know that. I may have feelings for the guy, but they haven’t clouded my mind.”

“Just your judgment,” Sophie scoffed. “I’m going to go back to the café and pick up some tip money. Something tells me you might need it for bail. Call me when you get arrested.”

“I won’t,” she hissed at the dark, then to herself. Evie wasn’t exactly sure what Dennis’ reaction would be. However, she assumed that he was used to finding women in his home, probably lying on the bed naked. Evie was determined to make sure everyone kept their clothes on tonight. She made her way to the kitchen and, just as she expected, there wasn’t much to work with. It was a good thing she had brought her own equipment.

She laid everything out on the counter and looked at the clock. It had just gone eight. She wondered if she should wait until he came back before starting on the meal. She didn’t want it to be ruined by the time he came back. Evie didn’t know how long she was going to wait for Dennis. The only thing she was sure of was that she was going to wait as long as it took. She kept herself busy by prepping the steak and laying out the vegetables. She was going to make a Steak au Poivre and maybe, just maybe, the old saying would ring true for her—the best way to a man’s heart...

Evie was just about to start peeling the potatoes when she heard the front door unlock. She stood in the kitchenette, her hands grasping the edges of the countertop for dear life. Her breath stuck in her chest and her heart beating erratically, she thought she would faint. She heard the giggle of a woman, a grunt and the dreaded words, “Take off your clothes.”

“No!” Eyvette yelled. “Don’t take off your clothes.”

* * * *

DJ wasn’t in the mood to put his seduction skills to work that night. So, he called Ava and, sure enough, she was willing to run to his cottage at a moment’s notice. He met up with her at the club and they walked back to his home. To DJ, the routine was normal—get in the house, take off their clothes and have sex wherever. However, this time when he stumbled into his home and gave Ava the usual order, a different voice piped up and filled the dimly lit room.

“No! Don’t take off your clothes.”

“Dear God.” DJ’s hand landed on his chest, he wanted to make sure his heart was still beating.

“Who are you?” Ava barked.

“Evie?” DJ’s body tightened as his eyes fixed on her emerald ones and he forced his gaze away. The effect she had on him was dangerous and compelling. How could she turn up in his life twice within a few days? How did she even know where he lived? This woman, who had tormented his dreams with desire, who had his heart doing things he wouldn’t admit to each time he saw her, was now stalking him, plaguing his existence. She was determined and it seemed that, no matter how much DJ tried to get over her, it wouldn’t happen when he was still in Nice.

“Who are you?” Ava asked.

“Evie, and you are?”

“None of your business. You must be his new plaything.”

“And you must be his older plaything,” Evie returned with the same vehemence.

DJ held back a laugh. Evie had just managed to go from crazy stalker to amusing in the same moment. There was so much about her that intrigued him, that bound him to her in an attraction he had never felt before. However, all those were good reasons to pack up and run as fast and as far as he could.

“Dennis.” DJ turned his attention to Ava, whose eyes widened then narrowed, and whose small, pert nose crinkled as her gaze raked over Evie dismissively. She was pissed and it was obvious, and a tiny part of DJ was happy to see it. Ava pulled a disgusted face and angled a long red fingernail toward Evie. “What is that?”

“Don’t be rude.”

“Dennis, side bar,” Evie said.

“What?”

“That is how you say it in America, side bar?” she asked, a confused look on her face.

“Yes, that is…whatever.” DJ’s instinct was to take her arm and lead her to the other side of the room, but his screaming body and the red alert blaring in his head and heart made him think otherwise. So, instead, he followed her at a good distance to the corner of the room. “What are you doing here, Evie?”

“Making dinner.” She pointed to the counter and DJ saw the groceries for the first time since he walked in.

“Are you serious?” Maybe she was crazy. Who broke into people’s homes to make them dinner? “I have company.” He angled his head at Ava, who was fuming. All of a sudden, his sex-filled night dissipated before him. Ava had her hands on her waist, her foot tapping the floor and a look that said ‘you will pay for this’. The end of the night had come quickly and without a happy ending.

“I brought enough for her.”

“Evie!”

“Don’t call the police. I would understand if you did. Actually, Sophie is already getting my bail money together. My mother would kill me, but then again, I don’t think she would notice or care. I was going to make a Steak au Poivre, I’m sure you’ve had it before. It’s going to be really good…”

Evie was talking a mile a minute. He may not have heard everything she said, but he was worried that if she didn’t take a breath, she would pass out. It was instinct. He had done the same thing to Danny so many times that he didn’t take the time to think of the effect it would have on both of them. DJ covered Evie’s mouth with his hand. Evie’s eyes grew saucer-like, and they both stood deathly still. The air between them grew hot as a current shot from her body into his. DJ drew his hand back quickly. Slowly, Evie’s startled face pulled into a smile as her emerald eyes gleamed with amusement at his expense.

Evie laid her hand on his chest. DJ should have pulled it away immediately, but he was weak against her touch. That was when he realized it. Evie knew. She was perfectly aware of the effect she had on him. Her eyes slowly closed, and she inhaled deeply, then smiled. She was making a memory. He had seen this before, when a girl would make a memory of a moment they never wanted to forget. This was worse, DJ realized. This attraction wasn’t one-sided. Evie felt it too. How exactly was this thing supposed to disappear if they were both stuck in it? Especially since one of them wouldn’t let it go.

“This can’t—” he started to say but couldn’t finish. DJ was terrified and he wasn’t afraid to admit it. “It’s crazy.”

“It’s love.”

“You are not going to let this go.”

“No, now come help me in the kitchen.”

“I don’t cook.”

“You don’t want to love either but see the progress we are making with that.”

“I don’t even know you.”

“Here is a perfect opportunity to get to know me.”

* * * *

Evie had treated this whole situation like a project, a goal that she had to achieve. What she hadn’t expected was how strong her feelings were for him. Dennis walked around with a confident air, dark good looks, and eyes so potent they made a woman forget that she was breathing. The moment they had done just that, it didn’t just reassure her about what they had between them, but it also gave her a healthy dose of fear.

She stood at the kitchen counter, chopping up vegetables and peeking up to see Dennis and Ava argue. She was pissed off. Evie had never seen a woman’s face match the red in her hair before. Dennis didn’t seem like he had a type. There was the weeping brunette, the blonde from the club, and now this redhead with a bad attitude. Well, granted, Evie would also be miffed if she ever found a woman in the house of the man, she was about to have sex with. But Evie had offered to cook for her. She didn’t have to make a big to do about nothing.

“She has to go!”

Evie looked up and waited for Dennis to give the order. He didn’t even look at her. Evie’s heart pounded in mortification as she waited for him to cast her adrift. But, instead, he said, “No.”

Dennis pitched his voice low, but it carried such a weight of authority that it sliced through the awkward atmosphere like a scalpel. Even though it should have been impossible, Ava grew redder as she stomped her foot and made a dramatic exit.

“So, it’s dinner for two then,” Evie muttered.

Dennis turned to face her, and she thought he would be angry. Instead, he smiled and said, “You have a way of getting under people’s skin.”

Evie inhaled deeply, reminding herself that collapsing over an open flame wasn’t sexy. “It’s a gift.”

“You want help?”

“Sure, of course I do.” She bit into her cheeks to keep herself from smiling like a schoolgirl with a crush. “You can chop those.” She pushed the carrots toward him.

“Evie, how old are you?” Evie remained silent. “Are you going to answer me?”

“That depends on whether or not you are going to have me kicked out like last night.”

“I’m serious.”

“And I am seriously twenty but mature for my age. I am not a child, and definitely a woman. I’ve been around…I don’t mean sexually,” she quickly added. “I just feel like an old soul. It might be because my mother has decided to be the eternal teenager. I’ve had to take care of myself since Mother couldn’t afford the nanny anymore.”

“Nanny…I had one of those. When did you have to start being responsible?”

“Six. I took care of myself and sometimes her. I decided to take hold of my life and direct it to the path I wanted, with a little bit of help from fate.”

“Fate…you’re the fairytale kind of girl,” he scoffed.

“What? You have something against Cinderella?” she teased.

“It’s the Prince Charming part that I’m not convinced about.”

There was a distant look in his eyes that warned Evie that the path of Price Charming was a minefield best left alone. “So, this is our first date?”

Dennis chuckled. “No, this is the ‘you are making me dinner’ so that I don’t call the cops on you.” The laughter faded as he turned his solemn expression to her. “I’m not dating now. I don’t know when I’ll be ready to start dating. I’m just trying to navigate my new reality. I spent my whole life knowing one thing only to have it completely destroyed. It’s not a good time.”

“Okay.” Evie suppressed her disappointment. She had time. She stretched out her hand and said, “Friends?”

Dennis stared at her hand, then her face, with a grin. “No way. I think we already know what happened the last time I touched you. If we are going to keep this night PG rated, you are going to have to stay in your corner. But we can be friends.”

“Friends who don’t touch.”

“Definitely.”

Evie shrugged her shoulders and turned back to the food. She stole a peek at him and smiled. He was totally worth waiting for.