Chapter 8 Evie
Evie
I felt like I was living a time-stood-still moment.
Everyone around us became a blur. Once again, all other noise became muted except for the sound of our breathing.
His eyes hooded as he looked at me, unable to hide his emotions from me.
I traced my gaze over his face, taking in the double piercings on either side of his nose, the shape of his lips, and the dark scruff along his jaw that I wanted to touch.
His hair was still slightly dripping from the drink Evy had thrown in his face.
Wondering why my sister had drenched him, I pushed a few locks of wet hair back from his forehead.
Inhaling sharply, he leaned into my touch.
Lashes lowering, he grasped my wrist and pressed a kiss to my palm.
Heat zinged through my body, settling in my center, and I had to fight the urge to squirm in my seat.
I tugged my hand free. Reluctantly, he released me, his hand falling to my thigh, his thumb brushing over my skin before stopping just beneath the hem of my dress.
Lowering my eyes to his hand, I couldn’t resist the urge to trace a finger over the scars on his knuckles.
They were older, slightly ridged up, the outline of stitches fascinating me.
Dropping to his knees, Chance looked up at me with his heart in his eyes, silently pleading with me to believe him.
And then he grumbled something I couldn’t hear and pulled my chair closer, shooting an annoyed look at the people beside me. Glancing at Abi, I realized that her chair was closer to Sammy’s now.
“What the fuck is going on?”
Flinching at the loud, angry question, I shifted my gaze in the direction of the new deep voice. Another man in a leather vest stood nearby, his angry blue eyes bouncing from Chance to me, back to Chance, and then straight to Evy. Confusion pulled his brows together.
It only took me a moment to figure out this guy was related to Chance. Their eyes, not just the color but the shape, were similar, as were the angles of their jaws and their noses.
Chance stiffened, his fingers flexing on my legs before he got slowly to his feet, putting himself between the newcomer and me like a wall.
I could feel the tension rolling off him, radiating through the entire bar.
Around us, men moved closer, all of them in those vests.
I had no idea if that was good or bad. MCs were about brotherhood…
or something like that. At least, I thought that was what they were about.
Fiction didn’t exactly prepare a girl for the real world.
For long moments, Chance just stood there, having a stare-down with the other man. I didn’t know what was going on, but a shudder climbed my spine, making me uneasy.
Were they going to fight?
The other guy looked away first, his gaze moving to me, probing, assessing. I’d never met this man before, so whatever he was looking for, he wouldn’t find it in me. But when he shifted his eyes to Evy, I couldn’t miss the way the air seemed to be sucked from his lungs.
He looked at her like she was the answer to his prayers.
His entire face changed, those blue eyes softening.
Evy kept her face blank, which was more telling than if she’d been openly glaring or smiling at him.
She’d perfected masking her emotions like I’d done my whole life, pretending to be indifferent.
Ooh.
She liked him. I wondered if this was Reid, the guy who’d stopped by our apartment and left my twin glowing long after he’d left.
Only a handful of seconds passed before he was back to looking at me, his frown deeper this time. As if he was unable to resist, he switched his gaze back to Evy again.
No one said a word while Maybe-Reid’s eyes darted back and forth between my sister and me. Even when his attention wasn’t on me, Chance didn’t relax for a single second. He became more and more agitated as time ticked away, until the other guy moved forward.
Obviously, this new guy was related to Chance.
He was pretty to look at, filling up his T-shirt with the leather vest thrown over it and jeans like they’d been made just for him.
He had dust on his boots, his skin sun-kissed, which suggested he worked outside often.
From the light scattering of gray in his dark hair, I took a guess that he was older than Chance.
Not by much, though. Both were at least a decade older than me, more experienced.
That was kind of a given. A freaking kindergartener had more life experience than I did, thanks to William’s manipulations.
“You didn’t tell me you were a twin, Ev,” Maybe-Reid chastised my sister as he bumped his shoulder roughly against Chance’s to get to her.
Evy huffed, arms crossing over her chest defensively. “Lucky guess. You had a fifty-fifty chance of getting it wrong.”
He got into her personal space and lowered his head. “Don’t use that tone with me, little girl. We’re not playing those games. Not divulging that kind of information almost got someone killed.”
Surprised, she looked up at him with wide eyes, but she couldn’t fully hide how much she liked something he’d said.
“You’re lucky I came to my senses quickly enough to realize what was going on. Otherwise, Chance would be dead, and you would be getting spanked.”
She shot Chance a grumpy look before glaring up at the new guy. Not that Chance saw it, because his eyes were on me. I shifted my gaze back to my sister. “I’m not against you killing the bloodhound wannabe, but out of curiosity, why would I be getting a spanking?”
“For tempting unworthy motherfuckers, sweetness.”
“I wasn’t trying to tempt anyone,” she complained.
“Ah, baby, that’s the problem. You don’t have to try. Your existence alone is a temptation.”
Okay, that was kind of swoonworthy. No one could miss the absolute adoration shining out of Maybe-Reid’s eyes.
Or how Evy basically melted into a puddle for him, all glowy from being so pink-cheeked.
Obviously, I wasn’t the only one who had fallen in the short time since arriving in Creswell Springs.
A loud noise caused me to flinch, unused to the sound of billiard balls clapping together. Seeing my reaction, Evy gave me a smile, always taking care of me. “It’s been a long day. Maybe we should call it a night.”
Gnawing on my bottom lip, I considered that for a moment.
I was tired, but I wanted to stay. Before Chance had arrived, I was having fun with the other women.
It was easy to relax around them. I’d felt like a normal person, with normal friends, living a normal life.
Not constantly trapped in my head, haunted by the ghost of my father’s voice that lived rent-free in my mind.
But I also didn’t want to go, because if I left, that meant saying goodnight to Chance. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye yet.
Plus, from the way Maybe-Reid kept his full attention on Evy, he didn’t want to be anywhere she wasn’t. That was something I understood all too easily.
“But we haven’t been here that long,” I deflected.
Chance released a heavy breath, drawing my gaze straight to him. Relief filled his eyes, and I realized what I’d just done.
I’d picked him over Evy.
Before I could let myself get stuck or fall into another void of self-doubt, letting William berate and belittle me, I returned my attention to my twin. “I’m having a good time, Evy. I promise I’m not tired, and tomorrow is Saturday, so I don’t have any classes.”
“You don’t have classes, but I have work,” she reasoned. She gave me a smile, one that didn’t reach her eyes. “And I don’t want to let my new bosses down.”
“Girl, you are giving us such a good show tonight, I’m thinking of giving you a bonus.
Haven’t had this much fun on a girls’ night out in years.
I’m not even buzzed yet, and I’m already having a blast,” Mila said as she sat with her chin propped up on one hand, watching us like we were starring in her favorite TV show.
“Agreed. I kinda have whiplash from snapping my head back and forth to keep up, but it’s totally worth it to watch Chance get on his knees. That was surreal. Still not one hundred percent sure he’s really our Chance Reid,” River teased.
Chance Reid.
Did that mean Maybe-Reid wasn’t Evy’s Reid?
This was exhausting to keep up with.
Evy was just as confused as I was. “Chance…Reid? But isn’t he Reid?” She pointed at the big man beside her.
“It’s a long story,” Lexa said with an amused snort. “There are plenty of Reids around this town, babe. But there is only one Reid.”
At least I’d gotten that much right, that Maybe-Reid was my sister’s Reid.
He wrapped his hand around Evy’s waist, his fingers settling on her hip.
She liked his touch. I could tell she had to fight not to start purring like a cat enjoying his rubs.
Dipping his head, he spoke quietly to her, explaining who he was.
I should have been more curious about him, straining to hear whatever I could about the guy who was interested in my sister.
Instead, I found myself looking into Chance’s blue-on-blue eyes once again as he bent down. “I’m taking you home tonight. Not your sister, and definitely not Reid.”
I smiled, telling him with my eyes that I was okay with that arrangement. He had no idea that I’d just picked him over my sister. That was huge—and scary as hell. No one was more important to me than Evy, yet there I sat, giving her space so she could fall a little deeper for her Reid.
Chance dipped his head closer, his nose barely brushing over my hair. When he inhaled, a pleased rumble vibrated his chest. I could have melted into a puddle right there at his feet. That sound was hot.
With a groan, he crouched down in front of me once again.
There were a few spare chairs he could have pulled up to sit on, but that would have put too much distance between us.
One of his giant hands skimmed up the back of my calf, over my knee, along my outer thigh, before coming to a rest at the hem of my dress.
“Hi,” he said quietly in that deep voice that rolled over me like a physical touch.
“Hi,” I whispered back, lost in the little lines of lighter blue in his irises.
“Do you want a drink?”
“I’m drinking margaritas with the girls.” I had a glass on the table that I’d been sipping.
“Is that what you want?” I shrugged and he smirked. “What are you in the mood for, peaches?”
“You.” As soon as the word left my lips, I wanted to run and hide, but his eyes darkened, another sexy rumbled growl rolling around in his chest.
“You have me, baby. Sit tight. I’ll get us drinks.”