Chapter 32
I hate being in this house. It’s wrapped in memories that I despise.
“Do you feel that?” I whisper to Jake as we follow Mom from the foyer into the parlor, where, supposedly, the rest of the guests have been waiting on us for the past fifteen minutes. I call bullshit. We were right on time! If they were waiting, it’s because those snooty booties got here early.
“Feel what?”
“That plunge in temperature. My mom’s heart is so cold it keeps the house at a chilly sixty degrees.”
Jake laughs, which draws my mom’s attention. She looks over the shoulder of her powder-pink linen dress and scowls. “I know you’ve been out of society for a while now, but try to remember your manners, Evelyn Grace. None of your jokes at the dinner table if you want to leave here with a check in your pocket.”
“All you said was that I had to attend tonight to get the check. You can’t change the rules now, Mom.”
“As long as I am holding the pen, I can change the rules whenever I like,” my mom says with a lazy smirk as she pauses outside of the parlor threshold.
Everything looks exactly as it did the day I left home. Dark-chestnut hardwoods, cream walls, and expensive thick trim for the baseboards and windows. Plush rugs with various shades of slate blue, cream, and burgundy dot the floors, and in the center of the foyer, there is the same round antique table that would make Joanna Gaines salivate.
Mom’s house has been featured in Southern Living as one of the most beautifully designed houses in Charleston. It’s not at all my style. Everything is overdone. Overdecorated. It’s not warm or inviting like Jake’s house. And instead of smelling of vanilla and teakwood, I think the candles they burn here have wicks made from hundred-dollar bills, giving it the overall aroma of wealth.
Mom gestures with her hand for us to enter before her. She casts a disgusted look at Charlie, and I know she’s annoyed that I brought him. I feel a familiar prickle of dread roll over me, and just as I’m considering kicking off my heels and running for the door, I feel Jake’s hand slide into mine. I glance up at him, and he winks at me with a smile that makes my heart grow.
That’s when I realize this night isn’t going to be anything like all of the rest. Jake is with me. I have a sidekick. Someone to shoulder some of the weight and help me deflect the fiery scowls my mom will throw at me.
I’m lighter and more hopeful as we step into the room together. And then, as plain as day, I can spot the trap. Time to turn around and bolt again. In fact, I do. I spin out of Jake’s hand and make a beeline for the door, but Mom catches my arm before I can escape, and I realize it’s too late. We’re toast. Done for. All good feelings are gone.
Mr. and Mrs. Murray are seated on a love seat, and Tyler is standing by the beverage cart with something amber-colored already swirling in the glass in his hand. I hate when he drinks. It makes him more of an asshat. And handsier.
Apparently, my parents were hoping this would be a family dinner. Because that’s what they want all of us to be: one weird, competitively dysfunctional family. I wouldn’t be surprised if I looked in the corner and found a preacher gagged and tied until they’re ready to force him into officiating a ceremony.
“I thought you said we would be having a dinner party with important guests,” I hiss at my mother. She’s no longer Mom to me. It’s Mother from here on out. I knew she was underhanded, but this is too much. Forcing me to eat and be merry with people whom I have clearly been avoiding.
She’s got her fake pageant smile on and that disgustingly sweet voice that gives me chills. “Of course I did. Because these are the most important guests, dear. It’s been much too long since you’ve seen Tom and Amy.” She’s spinning me around, and old habits really must die hard, because I’m pasting my fake smile on too, even though I really want to stomp on my mother’s foot and yell NEVER! before running out of the room.
I just keep reminding myself, though, to not rock the boat tonight. Get in. Grab the check. Get out.
“Evie, how nice to see you again!” says Amy Murray. She’s as feline as I’ve ever seen. The only woman who could ever give my mom a run for her money. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, right? Mom and Amy act like friends; they keep everything southern sweet, but there is an unspoken code between them that says, If you double-cross me, I will destroy you. “Tyler, dear, come see Evie! How long has it been since you two have seen each other?”
My eyes meet Tyler’s, and he’s smirking like the devil as he looks at me and Jake. I feel a chill settle over me, and I’m worried that Tyler is in on this trap. I fall in line beside Jake, and suddenly I feel his hand tap mine in a silent question. My answer is to take it firmly in mine.
“Actually, Tyler and I already ran into each other a week ago. By the way, how’s that rash treating you these days, Tyler? I hope it’s all cleared up.”
“Evie Grace, always such a jokester,” says Tyler, rounding the love seat to come stand in front of Jake and me. He’s wearing a suit that I’m sure costs upward of five thousand dollars. He sticks his hand out toward Jake, giving him his most winning (vicious) courtroom smile. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Tyler Murray. Longtime friend of Evie.”
Looking on, you might think this is polite. No way. This is a strategic power move, because now Jake is forced to let go of my hand to shake Tyler’s.
“Jacob Broaden. Guy who’s lucky enough to be dating Evie,” says Jake, and I cringe because he’s already broken my second rule. Keep your mouth shut.
Everyone in the room chuckles like they’ve already somehow rehearsed this little skit before we arrived and know their cues.
Dad swoops in out of nowhere. “You’ll have to be more specific than that, Jake. Any number of men could boast that same title.” Umm, that is so not true. Not even a little.
My smile tightens, and I look at Jake, afraid that he’s going to be mad about what he’s heard, given his past relationship with his wife. I know he’s skittish. But when I look up, he gives me a reassuring smile and wraps his hand around my hip. “I’m just grateful to have made the cut.”
We all continue on with small talk for a few minutes about the law firm and how much Tom misses being in the thick of the action. After that, they spend a solid ten minutes gloating over Tyler and all of his achievements and the cases he’s won since taking over at the firm. I want to gag. Tom and my dad then volley back and forth about whose golf swing is better while my mother and Amy gossip about Cathey’s new nose. All in all, everything is mind-numbingly boring—just the way I like it. No boat rocking tonight, and Jake and I get to sit quietly and observe.
It’s when we sit down to dinner that I realize we have exactly enough place settings for everyone. That’s odd. I never told Mom that Jake was coming with me. I look up and notice that Tyler is staring at me from across the table. Staring like a serial killer finalizing his plans. He raises his glass to his mouth, smirking and never breaking eye contact. My heart rate picks up speed, and I can feel that he has something up his sleeve. Something that I’m not prepared for but he is. Something everyone at this table is prepared for, because there is an extra place setting here. Oh crap. This is the trap. They knew I’d bring Jake. Planned on it.
Suddenly, Tyler’s gaze cuts to Jake, and he sets down his glass. “You own your own architectural firm, do you not?” Now, how did he know that? I sure didn’t tell anyone in my family, so how in the world would Tyler know that? Shoot. My parents must have had Jake investigated. (Because Melony and Harold do not rely on Google.)
I glance around the table and notice how it looks like everyone is running their lines in their head, waiting for their cues again.
“You’re right, I do.” Jake’s smile is so kind and open and I hate these people for baiting him. He’s completely oblivious to the knife they are about to plunge into his chest. I put my hand on his thigh under the table to warn him, but he doesn’t get the hint.
“Ah, yes,” my dad says from the far end of the table. “Evelyn told us all about it. She went on and on about how proud she is of you for owning such a successful company.” I did not! I look at Jake and hope he will feel my thoughts meld with his. This is a trap! Something is afoot! “I’ve got to say, I’m impressed by you, Jake. To own Goddard Smith is something to be proud of.”
WHAT?!
Jake’s brows twitch together, and his smile dims. “Oh . . . uh—
I don’t own Goddard Smith, sir. My company is Broaden Homes.”
My father looks at me with a put-on frown that could win him an Oscar. “Why did you tell me he owned Goddard Smith, then?” Oh, he’s good. They’re all good. Sitting here, acting like this wasn’t a battle strategy to drive a wedge between Jake and me while also making him feel belittled.
“I didn’t say anything of the sort!” I flash my eyes to Jake next. “I really didn’t. I never told him you owned that company. In fact, I haven’t told them about you at all!” Oh. But that just made things worse, didn’t it?
Jake’s smile is oh-so-tight now, and I can see that he’s trying his best to not let this situation eat at him. I touch his arm, and he whispers, “It’s fine.”
It’s not fine. I can tell it’s not.
“Evelyn Grace, tell Amy all about your wonderful little service dog company.” Now it’s a wonderful company, is it?
“Oh yes!” says Amy, eyes twinkling in rehearsed anticipation. “You know, a few girls from the club and I were just saying that we need a new little project to keep us busy. And from what your mom says, it sounds like your company could use a few patrons.” She pauses. “Or . . .” Blink. Blink. Blink. She turns her doe eyes to Tyler. “Actually, Tyler might be just the person for the job.”
“Tyler?” I don’t bother to keep the disgust from my voice.
“Well, yes! Who better than him? I’m sure that he could drum up all kinds of high-profile sponsors for you with all his connections from New York. You two could get together and brainstorm through a game plan. You would be happy to work with Evie to further her company, wouldn’t you, son?”
Gag me. Do they really think I don’t see through this charade?
“I’d love to help you with your company, Eves,” he says in a way that sounds like he’s undressing me with his words.
I give him a tight-lipped smile. “Thanks, but I’ve got it all handled. Our benefit is tomorrow night, and I already have lots of big companies signed up to donate services and items for everyone to bid on. So, yep. Don’t need your help.”
“A benefit?” Tom steps into his part now. “We didn’t hear anything about a benefit. Is it open to the general public?”
Oh, shoot.
“Well . . . no. It’s by invitation only.”
“Surely we are invited, though, and our invitation just got lost in the mail.”
“That’s exactly what happened, isn’t it, Evelyn?” says my mother. “Because you specifically called me and asked for their address a few weeks ago. And are you and Tyler still going together like you two talked about?”
Okay, so first, Mom is manipulating me into inviting Tom and Amy to the benefit, and now she is flat-out lying about me and Tyler. Where to start?
One quick look at Jake, though, answers that question for me. “I—no. I’m going to the fundraiser with Jake. He’s my date. He and I are going together.” How many more ways can I say this? Jake + Evie = Together.
My mother pouts and turns a brokenhearted smile to Tyler. “Oh. I’m terribly sorry, Tyler. I hope you’ll be able to find a date on such short notice.” Unbelievable.
“I’m sure he’ll be just fine calling one of the many girls from his little black book and asking them to leave their Barbie dream houses for the night.” Hang on. He isn’t even invited to the fundraiser! Did I just get tricked into inviting him too?
“Don’t be jealous, Evie. You know you’re my number one choice. Just say the word and I’ll go with you.”
I’m gritting my teeth so hard they’re close to shattering. I glance at Jake and he’s already looking at me with an expression so hard to read it could be an instruction manual from Ikea. “Like I said, I don’t need you to go with me, Tyler, because I’m going with Jake. The man sitting right here beside me.”
“Right. Sorry, man. I didn’t mean to make you feel weird.”
“You didn’t,” Jake says, but his voice is so hard that it’s clear he’s annoyed.
“Oh, Jacob, you’ll have to excuse all of us.” My mom’s voice grates on me. “We tend to go on and on about Tyler and Evie because . . . well, there’s no other way to say it, but we’ve all been waiting for the day they finally get back together and tie the knot.”
Honestly, I’m shocked. I shouldn’t be, but I am. I knew my family was capable of some manipulative shit, but this is so out of bounds. “Mother.” I use that title as a warning. I’m about to lay into her at this table in front of everyone when my dad pipes up, blotting his mouth and setting his napkin down.
“Come on, Evelyn. Enough is enough. It’s time you stop this hippie lifestyle of yours and get back to real life. Tyler is your future. No offense to Jacob, because I’m sure he’s working very hard in his business, but he can’t give you the life you’re accustomed to by owning a small-scale residential architectural firm. But Tyler can give you the life you deserve right now, and he’s willing to do it. I’m sure he would even bankroll your little dog business too, if it means that much to you.”
“Don’t you remember how good together you two were in high school?” asks Amy, jumping in with a smile that I want to smack off her face.
“It’s true, Eves. We were great together, and I’d like for us to be a we again. What do you say?”
Is this really happening? Please tell me this is just a nightmare, and any minute now I’m going to look down and realize that I’m not wearing pants. I’ll wake up in a cold sweat and then immediately call Jake, and he will make me feel better by laughing and saying it was just a dream, because in real life we would never be so ignorant as to willingly set foot in my parents’ house. I feel so silly for trusting that this was ever about her giving me a check for the company.
I don’t want to look at Jake. I’m so humiliated by the way my parents are treating him, especially when his parents were so kind and welcoming to me. But I do, and his expression breaks my heart further. His jaw ticks. His eyes cast down. I can feel him slipping away from me.
I want to cry right here at the table. This night had started out so well for us, promised so many things, and now here we are, sitting at this table, and a wall is being constructed between us for all to witness, just like they planned.
And now I’m pissed. I shoot up out of my seat and make the legs scrape painfully loud against the floor. Good! I hope they leave a big ugly scratch! “That’s it. We’re leaving.”
Jake stands beside me, but his movements aren’t as full of fire as mine are. I grab his hand and Charlie’s leash, and we start walking from the room, hearing everyone’s protests behind us. I then whirl around and level each of them with a searing glare. “For the last time, I’m not going to marry Tyler. And all of you should be ashamed of yourselves and the way you treated me and Jake tonight. Consider yourselves uninvited from the benefit, and uninvited from my life. Lose my number.”
“Evelyn Grace,” my mother says, fire blazing in her eyes. “Are you forgetting about something?” She’s referring to the check she’s trying to dangle in front of my face.
“Keep it. I don’t want your manipulative money supporting my company anyway.”
I grip Jake’s hand tighter and race us through the house and out the front door like we just robbed a bank. The second we’ve put enough feet between us and the enemy, I drop Jake’s hand and turn around to face him. “I am so sorry! I had no idea they were going to gang up on us like that. It was a trap, and I should have seen it coming!” He’s not meeting my eye. He’s looking over my head into the distance, and I can feel that wall between us grow taller. “Jake, please look at me.” He does, but the look in his eyes says things have changed. My heart squeezes painfully.
I’m desperate to get him to understand that I do not share my family’s opinions, so I put both of my hands on his face to hold his attention on me. “Everything they said was a lie. They are master manipulators, and you can’t trust anything that comes out of their mouths. Please believe me. And I swear I didn’t tell them you own Goddard Smith . . . because I don’t even care what company you own. I just want you.”
Jake doesn’t say he wants me too. He doesn’t say everything is okay and that he trusts me. His eyes are meeting mine, but I don’t think he’s really even seeing me.
“I don’t know anymore . . .” is what he says before pulling away and walking toward the truck.
My arms fall back to my sides. “Where are you going?”
“To get in the truck and take you home.”
“So, that’s it, then? We’re just done talking because you decide we are?”
He pauses and turns to look at me—but he looks so hollow it scoops my heart out too. “Believe me, Evie. You don’t want me to keep talking right now because I will say lots of things that I’ll regret. I just endured an hour of so much belittling of both of us that my blood is boiling. I have a lot to think about.”
“Jake!” I say, taking a desperate step toward him. “None of what they said was true. Are you worried because of Tyler?”
He grimaces at hearing Tyler’s name and shakes his head. “No. That guy’s a tool, and I know you’d never go for him.”
“Then what is it? And why are you looking at me like that?”
“Like what, Evie?”
“Like you’ve already said goodbye to me!”
Jake holds my gaze for a minute, and every breath I take sounds excruciatingly loud in my ears. His jaw flexes, and he breaks eye contact to look down. “Maybe I have. I heard them in there; they don’t think I’m good enough for you. And . . . I’m not entirely sure that I don’t agree with them.”
“No,” I say as an expelled breath. “That’s not true! You’re so much better than those people, and I don’t want the life they have!”
“Maybe not now.” His eyes meet mine with a new look of fire and determination. “But what about in two years? What about when you start missing your old life? When I don’t make as much money as you need? Or have the connections you need? What then, Evie?” I hate the way Jake just said my name. It was like a jab to my stomach.
“And just when have I ever given you the impression that I’d be that way?”
“This is the opposite of what I need right now.” He gestures toward the house and then between us. “Sam and I need support and stability. We need someone we can trust. And . . .”
I shut my eyes. “Don’t say it.”
He holds my gaze for the span of three breaths and then quietly says, “And I don’t know that that person is going to be you.”
He turns and gets in his truck and starts it. I stand there motionless, feeling like I’ve just been hit with a stun gun. I feel angry and hurt and betrayed. But it’s odd because I know that’s exactly how Jake feels too. The selfish people in that house accomplished exactly what they set out to do, and my heart is shattered.
I look back up at my parents’ house and spot Tyler watching us from the window. He sees me looking at him and raises his glass in a mock toast. I wish I had a brick I could throw through that window.
I’m not quite sure that I’m welcome in Jake’s truck right now, but I also know that there’s no way in hell I’m going back into my parents’ house and asking for a ride.
I look down at Charlie, and his big chocolate eyes promise me that I get to order in a dozen cookies and eat them all when I get home. At least Charlie is always there for me.