Chapter 19
EVIE
The next morning, Evie was at the country club for brunch with her mother and sister. At least her mother was off her back about who she was bringing, her focus now on other wedding matters. Ellie and their mother were discussing the details and Evie knew she should be paying more attention, but she just couldn't seem to make herself care.
"So, the bachelor and bachelorette parties are next weekend. Then the following week is the wedding," Evie nodded and pulled out her phone to check it again.
She had been waiting for another text from Cash, but nothing since last night. Their night together kept playing in her memory. She’d had sex before, but this was different. Cash woke up a whole other side of her. It almost scared her because it brought out a desperate, needy side of her. She wanted to be with him all the time, to feel his beard rough against her neck as he kissed her. She wanted to feel the beard rough against her inner thighs as he...
"Evie," her mother said curtly. "Are you paying attention?"
"I'm sorry. I spaced out for a minute there. I didn't sleep very well last night."
"Tell Cassius to be at the club at two for tee time and at the restaurant at eight for the party," her mother said.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"The bachelor party. He's going right? The golf outing and bachelor/bachelorette party?"
"Ummmm... I didn't think he would go to that," Evie said, panic starting to sink in. Why had she done this?
"And why not? I emailed him the itinerary."
"You did what?" Evie spat out at her mother.
"Emailed him the itinerary.”
Her mother’s unflappable, perfect nature was pissing her off. She was not in the mood for Elizabeth Masterson today. And what business did she have emailing Cash?
"How did you get his email?"
"I called Owen over at the rink, and he gave it to me."
"You called my boss for my date’s email. Do you hear how crazy that sounds?" Evie’s head was about to explode. This was a lot, even for her mother.
"Lower your voice, Evelyn," her mother said, her eyes darting around the room. "I needed to find out his menu choice."
"I replied with that on the RSVP,” Evie protested.
"Not for the rehearsal dinner."
"Mother!" She was there gaping at her mother. She could not believe she would do that…actually, she could, and that made it even worse.
"Guys, can we please just move on? If Cash can't make it next weekend it's fine. I'm sure he's a busy man," said Ellie, trying to smooth it all over.
"It is not fine. He has responsibilities as your sister's date. Bryan would be more than willing to step in?—"
"That is enough." Evie stood from the table. "If you need any more help this week, Ellie, call me." She turned on her heel and walked out. She pulled her phone from her purse as she made her way out of the dining room.
Evie - Please tell me my mother didn't email you
Cash - I would love to, but I'm not a liar
"Evelyn, where do you think you are going?" her mother said as she followed her out of the country club's dining room.
She just kept walking.
"Evelyn, stop this instant."
With a huff Evie stopped and turned around.
"What on earth has you acting in such a way?"
"You, mother. I’m not getting back together with Bryan. I'm sure he’ll make someone else very happy, but that person is not me."
"That's right, you have this hockey player now," she said, her voice dripping with disdain.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Do you really think he can give you the life that Bryan can?"
Her mother was unbelievable.
"No. I don't, but I will remind you of two things. One. I don't want that life. Two. Even if I did, he has money. He lives in Rolling Hills for crying out loud."
That made her mother stop for a moment, but only a small one. "Evelyn, there is a difference between his money and our money. I'm sure he is a very nice man, but?—"
"No buts, he is a very nice man." She wished it didn’t, but a flush crept up her face because she remembered what his hands had done under the tablecloth in the middle of Manelli's.
"I'm leaving."
And before another word could be said, she turned and walked quickly to her car, anger coursing through her veins. By the time she made it to her car, her phone was already buzzing.
Elli - I'm sorry mom sucks. Do you want to get drinks later?
Evie just slipped her phone back into her purse as she got in her car. Did she want to get drinks with her sister? No. She wanted to see Cash again, maybe get laid, but that didn't feel right either. Her mom had managed to ruin that too.
Her phone dinged again in her purse, but she just let it go. She needed to get out of this fucking country club parking lot. She should go home, or to the rink. She still had to choreograph a routine for one of her skaters, but she knew where she wanted to go.
In less than ten minutes she was pulling up to Glendale Mall. She needed a cinnamon pretzel and skeeball. She didn't know why, but whenever life, specifically her mother, became too much, skeeball and a pretzel seemed to fix it.
In no time, she was standing in front of a skeeball machine ready to do some damage. The lights and sounds of the arcade drowned out all the memories of brunch as she started rolling those balls down the alley.
A few games later, she was starting to relax as the pile of tickets kept growing longer and longer. The stress fell away as she threw a couple more balls.
"Nice ass," a low voice said behind her. She turned with a glare in her eye and a fuck you on her tongue, but was pleasantly surprised to see a beautiful, bearded, tattooed beast of a man devouring her with his gaze.
"Cash, what are you doing here?"
"Dropped River off but thought I might hit the arcade for a guilty pleasure of mine. One it seems we share," he said, glancing down at the mound of tickets coming out from the machine beside her.
He moved to the lane beside her and dropped some tokens in the slot and the balls rolled down into place with a thunk. "Shall we?" he asked with a cocked eyebrow.
"Only if you want to be embarrassed," she said.
"Is that how it is?"
She just raised her eyebrows.
"Go ahead then, show me what ya got."
She picked up one of the nicked up wooden balls and aimed. It made its way to the end of the lane and hopped up into the forty.
"Nice," Cash said with an approving nod. "But let me show you how it's done."
"You do that."
He rolled the ball down the lane, and it popped up but then slid back down to the big bottom ring for a whopping ten points.
"Thank you, Cash," she mocked. "Thank you for showing me how to suck at skeeball." She looked at him trying to bite back the smile that wanted to spread across her face.
"Just warming up,” he said with a crack of his knuckles and a stretch of his arms.
"Of course, you are."
"I'm sorry, baby girl, but it sounds like you are mocking me," he said in a low rumble that she felt in places she shouldn’t.
"I would never do that." she said looking up at him with big innocent eyes. The hunger that flashed behind his eyes pulsed through her body leaving an ache between her legs. She had never known anyone who affected her the way he did. She was ready to jump him right then and have sex on the skeeball lane, but that would be gross. Not the exhibitionism of it all...but the grungy arcade of it all.
He threw another ball down the lane, and it popped up to the forty slot. With a self-congratulatory face, he turned to her with a smile.
"Let's do this," she said, rolling another ball down that popped up into the fifty slot this time.
They played and flirted and enjoyed one another. It was just silly and flirty...and she still wanted to fuck him right here. Such a weird mix of feelings.
After a couple games in which she had thoroughly beat him, she was ready for the second part of her plan. "Ya know what we're going to do now," she said as she turned to him with her most sultry gaze.
He licked his lips and pulled her in. She pressed her body into his and his body tensed slightly, and his breath stuttered. She laid a hand on his chest and reached up to his ear and whispered, "cinnamon sugar pretzels." His hands slid down until they were cupping her ass.
"Make mine nacho cheese," he rasped slowly in her ear. Fuck. That should not have turned her on. Pretzels had never done it for her in the past, but apparently anything coming out of Cash Hawthorn's mouth made her want to fuck him.
She pulled back, grinning up at him. "I'm going to go to the restroom really quick, then we’ll go."
He dropped a sweet kiss on her lips. "I'll be right here." The simple sweetness of that gesture almost made her eyes well up with tears. That was an interesting reaction, but one she didn't want to stop and figure out right now, she just wanted to spend more time with him.
When she came back from the bathroom, she found Cash right where she left him, but instead of standing by their tickets that had been pooling on the floor he was holding a giant stuffed bear wearing a Magic’s jersey.
"What did you do?" she asked, grinning at him.
"I did what had to be done," he said in a serious tone.
"This is huge!" she said, taking the bear from him.
"I've been told that before," he said, wagging his eyebrows.
She rolled her eyes at him, even though she was loving every minute of this. "Are you going to buy me a pretzel or what?"
"Let's go." He put out his hand and she took it, lacing their fingers together.
Once they were seated in the food court with their pretzels and her giant bear in the seat beside her, she thought she should finally talk about the email.
"So, my mom emailed you, huh?"
He nodded.
"You know?—"
"Evie. So, help me god if you tell me I don't need to do those things I'm going to take you somewhere a little more private and spank you until you stop telling me what to do."
She stopped and just sat there, her mouth gaping wide open. "You would not!"
"Oh, baby girl, you don't know me very well yet. I would do all that and more."
That shouldn’t have made her wet, but here she was sitting in damp underwear.
"Now, the email. What would you like to discuss?" he said.
"I know you don't want me to say you don't have to go, and I won't,” she said with her hands up. “But I don't even want to go."
"Okay, so just let me go and be with you then. I'll make it fun for you."
Now this did make her smile. The thought of having him there with her as a buffer didn't sound like a terrible idea.
"If you're sure. I'll be there for all of it except the golf game. I’ll be at the spa and we’re meeting up after that."
"Golf at the country club without you? Can I choose the spa instead?"
"You don't –"
"You really do want me to spank that perfect ass don't you," he said with a wicked grin.
She huffed and looked at him. "N-no I mean maybe…” She shook her head. He sure had her flustered. “I just mean golf with my family is not expected by me. My mother can just deal with it."
His face softened and he took her hand. "Evie, I’ll find a way to survive golf with your family. I know you’re still fooling yourself into thinking I'm not one hundred percent in this trying to make you mine, but you need to stop. I'm going to be there schmoozing it up with the best of them and then taking home the prettiest girl there."
"You're serious?" she asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.
"Yes."
"You are really interested in seeing where this goes?" Just saying those words out loud made her feel vulnerable. The idea of someone like Cash Hawthorn would consider settling down with her was unbelievable.
"Yes, I've been serious about all of it since that first night together. I thought it would just be a normal one-night thing, but nothing I feel about you has felt normal. And while I really fucking wish I wasn't professing my intentions in a food court, it’s all true. I am in this, Evie. I want to see where this goes and just so you don't fool yourself into not believing me, I'm saying right here right now, I hope it goes all the way."
"We've gone all the way a time or two," she said, trying to make him laugh.
"That we have, and we are about to do it again," he said, tracing his finger on the back of her hand. "But we both know that's not what I'm talking about. I'm going to make you my girl."
He held her gaze and the air between them was electric.
"Cash," a voice called from behind them pulling them both out of the moment. She turned to see his nephew walking towards them with another kid who looked about his age. "This is Mateo, we met in the music store. I was wondering if I could take him back to your place and show him the music room."
“Hi Mr. Hawthorn, I think you know my uncle. He owns the music store.”
Cash stuck his hand out and shook his hand. “Please, call me Cash. Yeah, I know Diego, he sold me a guitar a few months back. How is he?”
“He’s good. I work for him at the store.”
“Can we go?” River asked again.
"Fine by me," he said coolly.
"Alright. We’re gonna head out then,” River said as he turned to leave.
“Tell your uncle I said hello,” Cash said to Mateo.
A big smile spread across his face, “I will.”
“And you’re driving?” Cash asked Mateo.
“Yeah, if that’s okay,” he answered quickly.
"Okay, see you at home later." River gave him a slight head nod.
“See ya.” And just like that the two teenagers left the food court.
He turned back to Evie who was trying to figure out what happened. "So that was your nephew?"
"Yeah, that was River."
"And he's taking that guy back to your music room?"
"Apparently."
"Don't you need more information than that?"
"Nah, he's a good kid. He'll be eighteen in August. Plus, I’ve known Diego since I moved here. So, I know Mateo a bit."
"Can I ask why he is staying with you?"
"Him and his mom aren't getting along. She doesn't want him to be in a band...so of course he wants to be in a band."
"Like your dad?"
"And his dad. My only hope is he is less of a deadbeat than either of them, but that is also part of the reason he is staying here."
"And you have a music room?"
"Yeah, I got a couple guitars and a drum set. Nothing too fancy."
"You play?"
"I'm not good or anything, but I can play."
The more she got to know Cash, the more she liked. He seemed like he liked her too. She really wanted to believe that he was all in like he said he was, but there was something that made her question that. Maybe it was his reputation as a playboy, maybe it was the fact that they were two vastly different people. Whatever it was, she wished she could turn it off, but she just couldn't seem to shake it.
"Do you want to get out of here?" he asked.
"Sure."
He gathered their trash and put it in the garbage as she picked up her ridiculously large stuffed bear, only then did she see his name and number was on the back, and damn it if that didn't make her feel all fluttery.
"Where are we going?" she asked as he took her hand.
"You'll see."
They went out to his truck hand in hand. He opened the door for her and chuckled as she struggled to get the large bear into the back seat of the truck.
"I'm glad this amuses you," she said, shooting a glare over her shoulder.
"Your ass jiggling will always amuse me," he said, giving it a little spank.
She turned at him and tried to look irritated, but Cash was learning her, and he saw the smile behind her eyes. And damn, all she wanted to do was kiss him, and that was just the beginning.
He shut the door behind her and walked around to the driver’s side and got in. As he started the car up he turned down the music River had been blaring on their way over.
"Sorry about that," he said as he turned it down.