Chapter 9 #3
“If they fit me, I’ll take them.” She followed Nora into the bedroom and then paused. “And um…underwear?” she meekly added. “I can go without a bra, but…um…”
“Don’t worry. I have a pack that I haven’t opened, so you can take it.”
Evie nearly sagged with relief. “Thanks.”
Clothes in hand, she went into their bathroom and quickly got dressed. She longed for a shower, but that would have to wait until later. When she stepped back out, Nora was sitting on the couch, looking at her phone.
“All set,” she said.
But Nora didn’t get up.
“Um…”
“Can we just sit and talk for a minute?” Nora asked.
“Sure.” Warily, she maneuvered around her and sat down. “What’s up?”
“I guess I wanted to make sure—when no one else was around—that you’re okay. Slater’s not the kind of guy I ever would have pegged…”
“I’ve had a crush on him since I met him,” Evie blurted out. “The first time he walked into Milo’s office, I nearly swallowed my tongue. He was just…I’d never seen such a sexy, virile man.”
Nora laughed softly. “Virile? I didn’t think anyone said that anymore.”
“It’s seriously the only word that came to mind.
I work around guys in suits or hipsters, you know?
Slater walked in with this…swagger and confidence, and it was the biggest turn-on.
He flirted a little, but I could tell I wasn’t the kind of woman he went after.
And then the more he came around and the more I got to know him, I knew it.
So I relegated myself to being his friend.
But when I got here, something just…shifted.
Changed. We both know this is temporary—I’m going back to Seattle and he’s moving on to… whatever.” She shrugged.
“Okay, but…”
“Am I sad that it’s temporary? Sure. But I don’t see Slater as being the guy who is going to settle down in a big city—or anywhere for that matter—and be the devoted husband with a couple of kids.
” Tears stung her eyes out of nowhere, and she wanted to curse them.
“I think it would be a little like domesticating a wild animal. You may think it’s for the best, but sometimes… it’s not.”
“Well that’s a little depressing,” Nora said with a sigh. “But I think I love how you compared Slater to a wild animal.” She grinned. “I’ve known him a long time, and I think that fits.”
“But…?”
“But…honestly? I think Slater would do well if someone domesticated him. I think he’s scared of it because his family gave him a lot of excess baggage that drags him down. If he’d let it go, I think he’d be the most loyal person—partner, husband, spouse—anyone could ask for.”
“There’s a tiny part of me that wants to shout ‘yippee!’ at that, but I don’t think he sees me as that person. I think he feels safe with me because we were friends first. Although…” She thought about what he’d said to her just minutes ago but didn’t think she needed to share it right now.
“Although…” Nora prompted.
Ugh…why not?
“Back at his cabin, when we were in his bedroom, he kind of said that the way I talked about us bothered him. He said it sounded like I was using him to soothe my ego after the whole Tucker thing.”
For a moment, all Nora did was stare at her.
“Say something,” she urged.
“First, I think it’s kind of funny that he’s being all butt-hurt. Like he hasn’t treated women that way in the past?”
“I know! That’s exactly what I thought at first, but then I realized he was being serious!”
“Okay, and that makes me feel like maybe this isn’t just casual for him.
I don’t think Slater knows how to not treat things lightly or casually because whenever his feelings get involved, he gets hurt.
And that’s just my opinion based on the stories from his childhood.
I think it really messed with him and he’s carried it with him for most of his life. ”
That just broke her heart.
“I know we need to go, but maybe…don’t be so quick to think of this as temporary. You never know what can happen.”
Sadly, Evie was already pretty damn certain of how this was going to go, but she kept it to herself.
“Come on. Let’s go see if anything of mine survived the tree.” They got to their feet. “And thanks, Nora. I appreciate having you as a friend.”
“Same.” They hugged before making their way down to Evie’s cabin, where Axel, Milo, and Slater were standing with several members of the maintenance crew.
“So? What’s the verdict?” she nervously asked.
“It looks like it’s just the porch and part of the front wall,” Axel told her grimly. “But we need to get an engineer out here before we can let you inside. And obviously, you can’t stay in there. You can use Connor’s cabin, or we can move you into a room up in the lodge…”
“She’s staying with me,” Slater stated, arms crossed, his authoritative tone brooking no arguments.
A tingle of arousal trickled down her spine, and if they were alone, she would be climbing him like a tree right now.
“Will I be able to get my stuff out?” she asked. “I’ll need clothes, my laptop, and as much as I can safely gather.”
“I’ll take you shopping for anything you need,” Slater said in that same tone. “There’s no reason for you to risk getting hurt. We need an engineer's report before anyone can go inside.”
Swallowing hard, she nodded.
All around them, everyone started talking at once, but Nora came up behind her and whispered, “See? Maybe don’t be so quick to think of this as temporary.”
And as much as she didn’t want to get her hopes up, maybe Nora was onto something.