10. Evan
10
EVAN
I stood at the hostess stand with my hands in my pockets waiting. I wanted to pick Amber up; my driver was ready for that, but she refused. Never in my life had I met a woman so stubborn, but I admired that about her. She probably needed that grit when it came to raising children and especially being a single mother of twins, which shocked me. I hadn’t expected that.
The wait was short, as she was very prompt, which was another thing I admired about her. The clock read 7 p.m., which was exactly when I asked her to meet me when I finally resigned myself to the fact that she would drive separately. She burst through the door with rosy cheeks and a red nose. But the soft smile on her face felt warm, not distant or awkward like her presence across the table from me at dinner the other night.
“Wow, it’s cold,” she said, shivering as she took her gloves off. She leaned in and kissed the air on either side of my face as I touched her chilly fingers.
“Yeah, it is…I would’ve dropped you at the door.” My comment made her smile broaden as I slid my hand onto the small of her back and we followed the host to our table.
She took her coat off and I hung it on the back of her chair for her as she sat. Then I scooted the chair and took my own coat off as I rounded the table. The little Mediterranean dive was quiet, out of the way. We offered our drink order to the host and I took my seat across from Amber who looked stunning.
She wore a turtleneck sweater dress that fell almost at her knees, though it didn’t hide her shape. Her curves were on full display as the sweater hugged her form. I admired how she could be so fully clothed yet so sexy at the same time.
“You look beautiful this evening,” I told her. Crimson flushed her cheeks, but she didn’t avoid eye contact with me.
“Thank you. You’re very dapper yourself…” She looked like she wanted to say something but bit it back, so I continued.
“It’s nice getting to spend time with you outside office hours. It was nice the other night too…I guess I didn’t realize you had twins. That’s sort of challenging, isn’t it?” My eyes skimmed over the menu, though I knew what I was going to order already. I did it to avoid making her feel put on the spot or uncomfortable.
“Uh, yeah,” she sighed and picked up her own menu but she kept talking. “Being a single mom is hard, but I manage. Jacob has really been there for me like my own father would’ve been though, so I’m so grateful for that.”
It appeared this was a bad subject. Amber kept her eyes trained on her menu and didn’t look up at me once. I felt a pinch of jealousy when she mentioned Jacob’s name. It only furthered my suspicion that there was something going on between them. After all, why would that be the first thing she mentioned when I asked about the twins if there wasn’t?
I took a few minutes of silence to steal glances at her and when the waiter returned and took our orders, I decided it’d been quiet enough. We handed him our menus and he walked off to fill the order. I focused my attention on her again. I was determined not to let this night go sideways because of my suspicions or insecurities by reminding myself she was here with me, not at Jacob’s house doting over his recovery.
“So, what has your life been like for the past several years? The last time we spoke outside of work, you were pretty adamant you didn’t want children.” I wanted to pry and unearth the truth, but I knew better than to push her. She was fiercely independent—always had been—and she’d never been one to give up personal information easily.
Amber picked up her wine and sipped it slowly before answering me. “Oh, you know…You jetted off to Europe. Life moved on.” Her eyes flicked away from my gaze nervously then back to meet mine. “The twins consumed most of my time, but I’m happy to be a mother.”
“They seem like really great kids…Parker was it? He seemed discouraged that his sister pointed out him being dyslexic.” Her shoulders tensed and she sucked in a breath. It was obvious to me that the children were a tense subject. I just didn’t know where to begin with her. Decker pointed me in this direction though, so I had to shoot my shot. “I just know how challenging it can be for a dyslexic kid, Amber. If you ever need help or pointers, you know you can reach out.”
“Yeah, thank you.” Her soft smile returned. “That’s really nice of you…But Jacob has been a real blessing. He told me how you struggled too. He gave me lots of resources and things. In fact, he’s helping with a little situation we have going on now too, but Vera…She’s so the opposite.”
Amber’s face lit up when she started talking about her daughter. Apparently, the girl was a wonder kid. It made me happy to see her so enthusiastic, and then the conversation turned back to Parker and how incredible he was at other things besides academics. Before we knew it thirty minutes had passed and the waiter brought our food.
“So,” she said as she twirled her pasta around her fork, “I heard you were dating someone when you returned from Europe. I guess that didn’t pan out?” Her eyes were curious now, searching me. I wondered why she hadn’t reached out right away. It made sense if she was in a messy relationship that ended with the twins’ father not being present, and she saw that I was dating someone, maybe she didn’t want to rock the boat.
“Well, that’s a mess and a half, but I’ll spare you the details. Let’s just say Bianca was very persistent at pursuing me. I was lonely after we parted ways.” My chest squeezed as I thought of how that relationship ended. Even the most careful of breakups has the potential of hurting people. “She wasn’t my type. We dated for about a month; I didn’t see the relationship going anywhere. I ended it and I think she was heartbroken, but I know it was the right choice.”
The food was delicious. We ate slowly and talked. Amber had a million questions about Europe. I tried to answer all of them. It made me feel good that she was interested in me. I wanted to show her that I was just as interested in her, but every time I brought up her personal life, she shied away from the topic, so I dropped it.
When we were almost finished eating, Amber looked up at me with a bit of a smirk and asked me, “So what’s your type?”
I wasn’t sure what she was getting at. The conversation had hit a lull while we ate, so I wasn’t tracking her train of thought. I asked, “What do you mean?”
One of her shoulders bobbed up and down and she asked again, “What’s your type? You said that the woman you were dating wasn’t your type, so I wondered if she wasn’t your type, what is your type?”
Her eyes bounced back and forth between mine as I absorbed what she was saying. She was smiling now, that perfect ruby grin I loved so much. The playful look in her eye was attractive too and sucked me in.
“Well, obviously you’re my type.” I held my breath for a second while she processed what I was saying, but instead of her eyes acknowledging the comment for what it was—a declaration of my attraction to her—she seemed to be discouraged by it.
“Evan, I’m not sure this is a good idea…” Her hands brought her napkin up off of her lap to her lips where she dabbed her face clean then draped it over her plate.
“What?” Confusion settled in my chest and frustrated me. We were having such a great time. How could she think this wasn’t a good idea?
“Me and you”—her finger pointed at herself then me—“this. I mean, dating and working together. It could get messy. I’m just…I need this job really badly. I can’t screw things up.”
I was miffed. I didn’t think it was a problem for us to see each other since this was just a temporary job and all, but the last thing I wanted was to push her away. She was skittish and withdrawn; I figured it had to do with being protective over her children. I could live with that. I just couldn’t live with the idea that she was pushing me away before we even got a chance to be fully reacquainted. I needed to at least try.
“Sure, no problem. I can hire someone to be a third party between us so we are never alone. It will be a good buffer so we can honor Jacob.” The bitter taste every time I said my brother’s name never got sweeter. Was she pushing me away because of him?
“Yes, okay.” She nodded but her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes this time. Something was bothering her and I had to get it out of her. The sooner we got past this communication barrier, the sooner we could connect for real, pick up where we left off.
“You know, I’m having such a good time tonight. I wondered if you’d want to join me for a few drinks. I could have my driver take us, then bring you back to your car later. What do you say?”
I dropped two one-hundred-dollar bills on the table for the check and the tip, and Amber gawked at it. Her eyes traced up to meet mine in one velvet swoop. She batted her eyelashes at me, but she was already shaking her head no.
“Evan, the kids. I really should get home.”
“But you have a sitter?” I asked, now doing the prying I wanted to do earlier. Her head shifted. She looked like she was actually considering it so I pressed. “When was the last time you went out for drinks? When was the last time you went dancing? Moms need to have fun too.” I stood and dropped my napkin on the table. Holding my hand out for her, I said, “Join me. I promise, nothing wild. We’ll get you home before your carriage turns back to a pumpkin.”
Amber glanced down at the bills on the table and sighed. “One drink, no more. And I don’t really dance anymore.”
I couldn’t help the grin that stretched over my face. “Amazing. You won’t regret this.”
Now, If I could just convince her that having fun was something even mothers did, we’d be halfway to winning this battle over her conscience. Maybe it was eating her up that she was with me and not the twins’ father—whoever that was. Or maybe she wished I was Jacob. All I could do was show her the best side of myself and hope she wasn’t repulsed, because I desperately wanted another shot to prove myself to her. I was willing to do anything to make that happen.