Chapter 23 #3
He laughed at the description. “You knew him before the surgery?”
“I’d known him most of my life, which is why it was so hurtful when I realized he was only going out with me because he had a bet with his stupid friend that he could ‘nail the Whale.’”
“What?”
“That’s what they called me in school—the Whale.”
“Oh God, Grace. That’s awful.”
“Yeah, well, kids are awful.” She caught a glimpse of something on his face that looked a lot like guilt. “What? Are you going to tell me now that you were one of those kids?”
He seemed to be trying to decide what he should say.
“Evan? What is it?”
“I was involved in something once that was kind of similar,” he said in a regretful tone. “You know my sister-in-law, Maddie?”
She’d loved meeting Mac, Maddie and their children at Abby’s party. “What about her?”
“She developed really early, and all the boys were fascinated with her . . . attributes. This one guy I was friends with, Darren Tuttle, he’d been trying to cop a feel for months, but she wouldn’t let him anywhere near her.
He finally got pissed and made up a story that Maddie had fooled around with the lot of us at the beach one night.
He started calling her Maddie Mattress, and the name took off like wildfire. ”
Grace stared at him, astounded. “Tell me you didn’t go along with that.”
“I’m deeply ashamed to say that I allowed peer pressure to get the best of me.”
“Oh, Evan . . . That’s awful! What you guys did to her . . .”
“We did a terrible thing. I had no idea just how terrible until Mac started dating her and cued me in that until she got together with him, she’d had sex twice in her life and managed to get pregnant with Thomas one of those times.
People in town had branded her a slut, and it was all because of a teenage prank gone wrong.
He made everyone involved write letters to the Gansett Gazette, confessing that we made it all up. ”
“Good for him.”
“I want you to know I was ashamed over the whole thing long before Mac ever called me out on it.”
“I should hope so. You guys nearly succeeded in ruining her life.”
“Believe me, I know that, and I hate that I was a part of it.” He reached for her hand and linked their fingers. “Have I totally ruined any good feelings you might’ve had for me by telling you this?”
Grace studied his earnest face. “You didn’t have to tell me. That counts for something.”
“In light of all you’ve been through, I wouldn’t want you to hear about it from someone else. That would’ve been worse.”
“Yes, it would’ve.”
“I’m not that guy anymore, Grace. I swear to you. I learned from that incident, and I deeply regret having been a part of it in the first place. Having to face my father after he heard about it was one of the low points of my life.”
“What did he say?”
Evan blew out a deep breath. “I expected him to rant and yell. Rather, his voice was icily calm when he said, ‘I was disappointed to hear you were part of such a thing. I raised my sons to be better men than that.’”
Grace winced. “Brutal.”
“Totally.”
“Thanks for telling me. It means a lot that you shared that with me, knowing it could’ve changed the way I feel about you.”
“And how do you feel about me?”
Laughing, Grace said, “I walked right into that one, didn’t I?”
He smiled, but his eyes were serious.
She ran her fingers over the whiskers on his jaw. “I feel so many things where you’re concerned that I don’t know how I’d ever put them into words.”
“Try.”
Grace drank in the sight of him, still so handsome in spite of his injury. “I like you a lot, and I want to spend more time with you, but I worry that we may be setting ourselves up for a difficult path. I’m putting down roots here on the island just as your career is taking off.”
“That remains to be seen,” he said bitterly.
“It’ll happen. Maybe not right when you thought it would, but eventually.”
“I wish I was so certain.”
“Don’t forget that I’ve seen you perform. I know you’ve got what it takes to succeed.”
“I appreciate your faith in me, and I get what you mean about the difficult path. All I know is I want you in my life, Grace. I want to see what might happen if I take a chance on . . .”
“On what?”
“Love,” he said, seeming stunned that he’d actually said the word. “I’ve never used that word in relation to any woman before. Ever.”
“Evan . . .”
“Do you think you could maybe someday possibly . . .”
Grace dissolved into laughter.
“Oh my God! I cannot believe you’re laughing right now! This is the most inappropriate laughter ever!”
His indignation only made her laugh harder. When she was finally able to control the outburst, she had to look away from his injured pout or risk starting all over again. “Evan, you’re just so cute. Can’t you see that I’m already more than halfway there?”
His mouth fell open. “You are?”
She nodded.
“Since when?”
“Since the night you rescued me and risked your reputation as a bad-ass confirmed bachelor by taking me home to Linda.”
“Aw, Grace.” He hugged her and pressed his lips to her forehead. “I think it’s going to turn out that you’re the one who rescued me.”