street.
“What would you be doing if I wasn’t here?” I asked.
She shrugged, lowering her eyes and pursing her lips. “Probably nothing.”
I flipped the pages of the newspaper in front of me, asking no questions. She didn’t need to explain anything.
“We come from such different worlds, you and I,” Evie said, reaching for a jelly donut. “Are you sure this is going to work?”
“No,” I said, setting the paper down and staring squarely into her eyes. “I’m not sure of anything. But I do know that if I don’t try, I’ll always wonder.”
She cocked her head to the side, nodding as she nibbled her breakfast. Reaching for her phone, she said, “I guess I should put an ad on Craigslist or something to rent this place out.”
Her voice cracked as she tried to hide how difficult it was for her. I knew her home was her sanctuary. I wanted her to feel like she still had a safe place to go, not like some strangers were living there while she was halfway across the country.
She deserved to know about the trust fund. She didn’t have to rent out her house. She didn’t need to give up her sacred space, the place Julian had purchased so that she always had a home.
“Evie,” I said, placing my hand across the table onto hers.
“Yes?” Her big blue eyes looked into mine, searching. For what, I wasn’t sure.
My mother’s threats echoed in my mind. If I told Evie about the trust fund and my mother caught wind of that, she’d sell her share of the company and I’d go under. If Evie found out why I’d kept that information from her, she’d kick me to the curb and I’d never see her again. Telling her at that moment, and so casually over breakfast, didn’t feel right.
“Nothing,” I said, mentally kicking myself for not having the fucking balls to do the right thing. I released her hand, dragging mine back across the table and picking up the paper to bury my nose as she compiled a Craigslist ad on her phone.
“All right. This is happening,” Evie said ten minutes later, placing her phone back on the table and stepping away to throw away her coffee cup. Nothing about the way she spoke told me she was excited.
“You sure you want to do this?” I asked.
“I’m sure,” she replied, though I didn’t believe her.
“I know this is scary for you, Evie, but I’m going to be with you every step,” I said. “I’m your parachute.”
Her sweet lips curled into a smile as tension escaped her face. “That’s cute, Jude. I like that.”
I shrugged. I wasn’t trying to be cute, but whatever.
“I’ll fly you home anytime you want,” I offered. “Your friends and family will always be a plane ride away.”
“I wonder if Carys will move with me?” Evie mused aloud. “She and I could get an apartment together.” She moved around the kitchen, cleaning and wiping things down, a ball of nervous energy. “You know, if you’re going to whisk me away like this, you’re going to have to meet my parents. They need to know who you are and that I’m not being kidnapped or coerced by some psychopath.”
“Fair enough.”
“And you should probably meet Carys, too. I’ve sort of told her a lot about you.”
“Not a problem.”
***
I followed Evie into her parents’ house that afternoon, my stomach twisting with an unexpected tingle of nerves.
“Mom? Dad?” Evie called out from the front door. “You home?”
A middle-aged man missing poked his balding head out from around the corner, and a pleasantly plump woman with gray-streaked brown hair followed him.
“This is Julian’s brother, Jude,” Evie said. “Jude, these are my parents, George and Maureen.”
I extended my hand to her father first, followed by her mother. “Very nice meeting you. I’ve heard so much about you.”
They stared at me as if I were some sort of ghost, and I remembered how much I looked like my brother.
“I’m so sorry about Julian,” Maureen said with sympathetic eyes. “We really loved him. He
“What would you be doing if I wasn’t here?” I asked.
She shrugged, lowering her eyes and pursing her lips. “Probably nothing.”
I flipped the pages of the newspaper in front of me, asking no questions. She didn’t need to explain anything.
“We come from such different worlds, you and I,” Evie said, reaching for a jelly donut. “Are you sure this is going to work?”
“No,” I said, setting the paper down and staring squarely into her eyes. “I’m not sure of anything. But I do know that if I don’t try, I’ll always wonder.”
She cocked her head to the side, nodding as she nibbled her breakfast. Reaching for her phone, she said, “I guess I should put an ad on Craigslist or something to rent this place out.”
Her voice cracked as she tried to hide how difficult it was for her. I knew her home was her sanctuary. I wanted her to feel like she still had a safe place to go, not like some strangers were living there while she was halfway across the country.
She deserved to know about the trust fund. She didn’t have to rent out her house. She didn’t need to give up her sacred space, the place Julian had purchased so that she always had a home.
“Evie,” I said, placing my hand across the table onto hers.
“Yes?” Her big blue eyes looked into mine, searching. For what, I wasn’t sure.
My mother’s threats echoed in my mind. If I told Evie about the trust fund and my mother caught wind of that, she’d sell her share of the company and I’d go under. If Evie found out why I’d kept that information from her, she’d kick me to the curb and I’d never see her again. Telling her at that moment, and so casually over breakfast, didn’t feel right.
“Nothing,” I said, mentally kicking myself for not having the fucking balls to do the right thing. I released her hand, dragging mine back across the table and picking up the paper to bury my nose as she compiled a Craigslist ad on her phone.
“All right. This is happening,” Evie said ten minutes later, placing her phone back on the table and stepping away to throw away her coffee cup. Nothing about the way she spoke told me she was excited.
“You sure you want to do this?” I asked.
“I’m sure,” she replied, though I didn’t believe her.
“I know this is scary for you, Evie, but I’m going to be with you every step,” I said. “I’m your parachute.”
Her sweet lips curled into a smile as tension escaped her face. “That’s cute, Jude. I like that.”
I shrugged. I wasn’t trying to be cute, but whatever.
“I’ll fly you home anytime you want,” I offered. “Your friends and family will always be a plane ride away.”
“I wonder if Carys will move with me?” Evie mused aloud. “She and I could get an apartment together.” She moved around the kitchen, cleaning and wiping things down, a ball of nervous energy. “You know, if you’re going to whisk me away like this, you’re going to have to meet my parents. They need to know who you are and that I’m not being kidnapped or coerced by some psychopath.”
“Fair enough.”
“And you should probably meet Carys, too. I’ve sort of told her a lot about you.”
“Not a problem.”
***
I followed Evie into her parents’ house that afternoon, my stomach twisting with an unexpected tingle of nerves.
“Mom? Dad?” Evie called out from the front door. “You home?”
A middle-aged man missing poked his balding head out from around the corner, and a pleasantly plump woman with gray-streaked brown hair followed him.
“This is Julian’s brother, Jude,” Evie said. “Jude, these are my parents, George and Maureen.”
I extended my hand to her father first, followed by her mother. “Very nice meeting you. I’ve heard so much about you.”
They stared at me as if I were some sort of ghost, and I remembered how much I looked like my brother.
“I’m so sorry about Julian,” Maureen said with sympathetic eyes. “We really loved him. He
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