was gone too soon, that’s for sure.”
“So what brings you to Halverford?” George asked, arms crossed and brows furrowed. He was going to be a hard man to please, I could tell that already. “Weren’t you just here last month?”
Maureen nudged George as if he’d spilled some top secret of hers, and Evie threw them both a knowing glare as if she’d mentioned me to them once before.
“I was just checking on Miss Evie here,” I said casually. “We’ve become quite good friends these past few weeks.”
George’s eyes widened as he drank me in, and Maureen smiled as if she admired me. That, or she couldn’t get past how much I looked like Julian.
“Oh, yeah? Where you been staying?” George asked.
I cleared my throat, searching for the right words.
“At my house,” Evie interjected before I had a chance to respond. “On my couch. I couldn’t have him stay at some flea-infested motel.”
“I’m very grateful for that,” I said with a chuckle.
“Anyway, I just came here to tell you I’m leaving in two days,” Evie said, cutting to the chase.
“Leaving for …?” Her mother’s eyes searched our faces. “Vacation?”
“I’m moving to Los Angeles,” Evie announced. “Just to try something new. I need a change of pace. A change of scenery.”
“What?!” Judging by her mother’s reaction and the hand that clutched the cross around her neck, she wasn’t too excited for Evie to leave. “That’s crazy talk.”
“My mind’s made up,” Evie said with a shrug and a gentle assertion in her voice. “I know you don’t understand any of this, Mom. But it’s just something I have to do, and I just need you to trust me. I’m renting out my house. I leave on Tuesday.”
I watched from the sidelines as Maureen and George scoffed at Evie’s plans, countering with several valid arguments which Evie carefully rebuffed. They shot down her plans left, right and center, but Evie had a response for everything. She’d apparently thought about it more than I realized.
“We should go,” Evie said, turning to me. “I’ll be staying with Jude until I find a place of my own. I’ll call you when I get there.”
She tugged on my arm, and I flashed her parents a friendly smile before turning to leave. I could practically feel George burning holes in the back of my head as he stood there, breathing fire. God, they probably fucking hated me.
“I was worried you were going to change your mind there for a bit,” I said as we climbed back into my car.
“Never,” she said with a smile, her eyes sparkling in the afternoon sun that trickled in the passenger window.
I pulled her hand up to my mouth, gently kissing her soft skin.
The next forty-eight hours were a whirlwind of complete and utter chaos. Evie packed her bags, found a nice young man to rent her place for a year, met up with Carys to explain everything, and kept her best game face on the entire time. If she was having reservations, she sure as hell fooled me.
***
I gave Evie the window seat and sprung for first class tickets, anything to make her more at ease and replace any lingering nerves with excitement. The distinctive, stale scent of airplane oxygen filled my nostrils as we watched throngs of travelers shuffle on board, bags in tow, and find their seats behind us in coach class.
Evie nervously sipped the champagne that’d been given to us the second we boarded ahead of all the other passengers. The first class cabin was sparsely filled, with all the action happening behind us.
The plane taxied to the runway, coming to a stop before furiously taking off like a bat out of hell moments later. My stomach tickled the second we became airborne and Evie reached over to clutch my arm. We were headed to L.A., and there was no going back. At least, not yet.
Evie rested her pretty little head on my shoulder and closed her eyes. I flagged down a flight attended for a warm blanket and covered her up as she rested. I’d given Evie my
“So what brings you to Halverford?” George asked, arms crossed and brows furrowed. He was going to be a hard man to please, I could tell that already. “Weren’t you just here last month?”
Maureen nudged George as if he’d spilled some top secret of hers, and Evie threw them both a knowing glare as if she’d mentioned me to them once before.
“I was just checking on Miss Evie here,” I said casually. “We’ve become quite good friends these past few weeks.”
George’s eyes widened as he drank me in, and Maureen smiled as if she admired me. That, or she couldn’t get past how much I looked like Julian.
“Oh, yeah? Where you been staying?” George asked.
I cleared my throat, searching for the right words.
“At my house,” Evie interjected before I had a chance to respond. “On my couch. I couldn’t have him stay at some flea-infested motel.”
“I’m very grateful for that,” I said with a chuckle.
“Anyway, I just came here to tell you I’m leaving in two days,” Evie said, cutting to the chase.
“Leaving for …?” Her mother’s eyes searched our faces. “Vacation?”
“I’m moving to Los Angeles,” Evie announced. “Just to try something new. I need a change of pace. A change of scenery.”
“What?!” Judging by her mother’s reaction and the hand that clutched the cross around her neck, she wasn’t too excited for Evie to leave. “That’s crazy talk.”
“My mind’s made up,” Evie said with a shrug and a gentle assertion in her voice. “I know you don’t understand any of this, Mom. But it’s just something I have to do, and I just need you to trust me. I’m renting out my house. I leave on Tuesday.”
I watched from the sidelines as Maureen and George scoffed at Evie’s plans, countering with several valid arguments which Evie carefully rebuffed. They shot down her plans left, right and center, but Evie had a response for everything. She’d apparently thought about it more than I realized.
“We should go,” Evie said, turning to me. “I’ll be staying with Jude until I find a place of my own. I’ll call you when I get there.”
She tugged on my arm, and I flashed her parents a friendly smile before turning to leave. I could practically feel George burning holes in the back of my head as he stood there, breathing fire. God, they probably fucking hated me.
“I was worried you were going to change your mind there for a bit,” I said as we climbed back into my car.
“Never,” she said with a smile, her eyes sparkling in the afternoon sun that trickled in the passenger window.
I pulled her hand up to my mouth, gently kissing her soft skin.
The next forty-eight hours were a whirlwind of complete and utter chaos. Evie packed her bags, found a nice young man to rent her place for a year, met up with Carys to explain everything, and kept her best game face on the entire time. If she was having reservations, she sure as hell fooled me.
***
I gave Evie the window seat and sprung for first class tickets, anything to make her more at ease and replace any lingering nerves with excitement. The distinctive, stale scent of airplane oxygen filled my nostrils as we watched throngs of travelers shuffle on board, bags in tow, and find their seats behind us in coach class.
Evie nervously sipped the champagne that’d been given to us the second we boarded ahead of all the other passengers. The first class cabin was sparsely filled, with all the action happening behind us.
The plane taxied to the runway, coming to a stop before furiously taking off like a bat out of hell moments later. My stomach tickled the second we became airborne and Evie reached over to clutch my arm. We were headed to L.A., and there was no going back. At least, not yet.
Evie rested her pretty little head on my shoulder and closed her eyes. I flagged down a flight attended for a warm blanket and covered her up as she rested. I’d given Evie my
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