Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Slater knew the moment Evie clutched the front of his shirt and he felt her nails gently scoring his chest that he was in trouble.
He’d never had a problem kissing a beautiful woman, but this was the first time he was kissing someone he had some very real feelings for. Not that he was that much of an ass that he didn’t have feelings for the women he kissed or slept with, but this was different.
This was Evie.
His friend.
His coffee-obsessed buddy.
The girl he could just be himself with.
And I just had to go and kiss her…
All those thoughts got quickly shoved aside when he felt her tongue against his—a little tentative, with just a hint of sexiness—and then he was a goner. He dove in for more.
This wasn’t just a kiss; this was like something had been unleashed between the two of them.
It wasn’t slow or sweet or even remotely casual.
His hands skimmed down from her face and down her body so he could wrap her in his arms. She was so much smaller than him that he had to bend down more than he realized, but then Evie went up on her tiptoes to meet him halfway.
This girl…
Her hands smoothed up over his chest to rest on his shoulders as she pressed herself closer, and he was there for it.
The kiss went deeper—neither willing to come up for air—and he was too turned on to wonder what this meant for their relationship.
His plan had been to kiss her so he could get it out of his system and move on, but the experiment was a complete failure.
This wasn’t getting her out of his system.
If anything, she was burrowing deeper and deeper into it, breaking down all the walls and barriers he’d spent years putting up to keep people away.
Not people. Women. He wanted to keep emotional relationships with women at a distance.
But this was Evie and…
He was in trouble.
She let out a throaty little sound that was part hum, part moan, and it was sexy enough to make him want to pick her up and carry her to bed where he’d…
And that was the bucket of ice water he needed to break the kiss.
Slowly, he lifted his head, and the sight of her almost had him diving in for another taste. Her lips were glossy, her eyes were closed, and her breathing was heavy, making her breasts rise and fall in the most enticing way.
Maybe one more kiss…
No! Slater quickly told himself. Things had already gotten more intense than he’d intended. No need to keep it going and torture himself even more.
“Hey,” he whispered, and then watched in wonder as her eyes slowly opened and blinked him into focus. She licked her lips and let her arms unhurriedly slide down his body before dropping to her sides.
“Hey,” she replied with a shy smile.
“Still friends?” he asked quietly.
“Still friends.”
He knew that was the right answer, but there was a part of him that secretly hoped she’d ask him for more.
Evie let out a long breath before stepping away and walking over to the kitchen. She pulled a couple of bottles of water out of the refrigerator, handing him one. “So, um…what happens now? Do we like…high five or fist bump or something?”
Slater couldn’t help but laugh. “No. I think we both say that that was enjoyable and then we discuss how we’re spending the rest of the weekend.”
“Oh. Okay.” She sat down on the sofa, her perfectly manicured brows furrowed. “I don’t think I want to hike again today if that’s okay with you.”
“No arguments there,” he agreed, sitting beside her, but with enough friendly space that seemed appropriate. “What about parasailing?”
“I don’t know. It’s still a little chilly out. I’m not sure I’m ready for water sports.”
“That’s fair. We can go on a flight? I can show you the entire resort and the surrounding mountains. Consider me like Aladdin taking you on a magic carpet ride.” Then he chuckled. “Only my magic carpet is an eight-passenger seaplane.”
“Hmm…Princess Jasmine was one of my favorites when I was growing up, so…sure! That could be fun. Do we want to grab an early lunch or do the flight and then come back for lunch?”
“Did you get squeamish on the jet we flew here in?”
She shook her head. “Nope. I thought it was a very smooth ride and even when I sat with you up in the cockpit, I felt fine.”
“Then let’s fly first and eat later. What do you say?”
“I say take me on a magic carpet ride!”
Later that night, Slater couldn’t sleep. He was staring at the ceiling, his hands folded behind his head, thinking about everything that transpired today.
The hike. Evie shoving him. Falling on his ass. Chasing her down the trail. And then kissing her.
He lingered a long time replaying the kiss.
They had a lot of fun on the flight afterwards.
She had been a fantastic co-pilot and asked a ton of questions about the plane, flying, the resort, and the local geography.
They’d never run out of things to talk about.
And when they got back, they decided to go into town and grab a couple of burgers at the pub instead of eating at the lodge.
And afterward, they went to the local bookstore, The Lit Loft, and browsed for a bit before grabbing ice cream cones from The Daily Scoop.
Back at the resort, they played a couple of games of pickleball, walked along some of the paths as he gave her a short tour of the non-hiking trails, then had dinner together up at the lodge, and finished the day with s’mores around the firepit.
They were back on track. Two friends hanging out and having a good time.
And he knew he should be happy about it, but he wasn’t.
“What the hell is wrong with me?”
Picking up his phone, he saw it was past midnight.
It was too late to do anything or text anyone but he was too restless to sleep.
He missed the days when it was just him and the rest of the guys sleeping in the cabins—no wives, no girlfriends.
Now he was the lone single guy, and as much as he knew Lexi, Harlow, Maisie, and Nora liked him, he doubted they’d like him as much if he called at this hour just to chat.
“But I can text.”
He pulled up the group chat and realized that maybe he shouldn’t do it. Milo was Evie’s boss, and if the topic came up, he didn’t want things to get weird. But everyone tended to find out what everyone else was doing, so maybe texting wasn’t the thing to do. That’s when he pulled up his emails.
And found one from his father with the subject: CAL SLATER DAY. PLEASE RSVP.
Pfft…like that was gonna happen.
But considering he had nothing else to do, he opted to see if there was anything even remotely personal in the body of the email or if this was just one of those mass ones sent to everyone he knew.
Hey, Slater, hope you’re doing well. I know you heard about the celebration for the league retiring my number and I was really hoping you’d want to be there.
This is a very big deal for me, and it would mean a lot to me if my only son was there to celebrate with me.
I know we haven’t spoken in a while, but maybe you could come.
The ceremony’s here at my home stadium, which I know is a couple of hours away from your resort.
And before you ask, yes, I know about you and your friends buying the Lakeview Harbor Resort.
Your grandmother has been telling me all about it.
I’m very proud of you. You always did love that place, and it’s important to embrace the places and career you love.
Anyway, I’d really like to talk to you. Maybe you could fly down a few days early and we can hang out.
Or maybe I can come and stay at the resort for a few days and see what you and the boys have done with the place.
Either way, let me know that you got this and we can work out the rest from there. Take care.
He read and re-read the damn thing half a dozen times before tossing his phone aside.
On the surface, it was a perfectly fine email, except it was delusional.
Like…his father didn’t seem to understand how much Slater wanted nothing to do with him, or how much he hated and resented his baseball career.
But as usual, Cal Slater only thought about himself.
His son and his feelings never entered the equation.
The bastard.
And now he was more awake than he had been a few minutes ago.
“At this rate, I’ll never fall asleep.”
He and Evie were supposed to meet for breakfast, but he had a feeling he was going to be dragging ass. Reaching for his phone, he decided to shoot her a quick text to let her know that they should meet up after lunch. This way, should he ever fall asleep, he knew he wouldn’t have to set an alarm.
Slater: Hey. I know it’s late, but would it be okay if we met up after lunch?
Slater: You’re probably sleeping and won’t see this until the morning, and I’m sorry about that. Let’s plan on meeting in my office up at the lodge around one. Thanks.
He was about to put the phone down when he noticed three little dancing dots. Was it possible she was having trouble sleeping too?
Evie: Everything okay?
Evie: I don’t mind meeting after lunch. It might be nice to sleep in
Smiling to himself, he got a little more comfortable before responding.
Slater: Everything’s fine. Just having a hard time falling asleep, and then I got an email from my dad so now I’m even more awake.
Evie: Ugh. Sorry. That’s the worst.
Slater: I never should have read it but I was bored.
Evie: Why can’t you sleep?
The mirthless laugh was out before he could stop it.
Slater: No idea. I just feel restless.
Liar. Liar. Liar.
Evie: I get that. Although I’m exhausted from everything we did today and this bed is ridiculously comfortable, I think it’s the quiet that’s keeping me awake. I’ve had trouble with it ever since we got here. How weird is that?
Slater: It’s not. It makes sense, and it’s definitely a thing.
Slater: What about one of those white noise apps? Would that help?
Evie: Maybe. I’m just being lazy and don’t want to try to find one. Lol.
Slater: You could turn the TV on.
Evie: Nope. I prefer to have my bedroom be pitch-black when I sleep.