Chapter 10 #2
“Yeah, well…I’m not,” he admitted. Unfortunately, he didn’t get to say more because Reece and Evie were practically right there. Everything in him eased, however, when he saw her face light up when she spotted him, and she walked right over and kissed him soundly.
“Hey,” she whispered against his lips before kissing him again. When she pulled back and smiled at him, Slater felt something squeezing inside his chest. “Ready to grab the last of my stuff with me?”
“Absolutely.” Wrapping his arm around her possessively, they turned toward Reece. “Okay, what’s the verdict on the cabin?”
“Girls’ night!”
Evie nearly jumped out of her skin when she walked into Axel and Maisie’s suite two nights later, and everyone cheerfully greeted her that way.
“Oh, my goodness…” Hand over her heart and a little breathless, she smiled. “That’s a bold way to welcome someone.”
“We’re so glad you’re here!” Lexi said as she hugged her. “Come on in. We’ve got a ton of yummy stuff to eat tonight.”
“What can I get you to drink?” Harlow asked after she hugged her. “Wine? Cosmopolitan? Watermelon margarita? Strawberry daiquiri? Or…water, iced tea, or soda?”
“Wow, that is quite the selection. What are we eating?”
“Everything,” Lexi said. “Connor prepared a ton of every kind of food imaginable. God, I love that man.”
“Um…”
Harlow grinned. “Yeah, it’s a lot of food—we’ve got spaghetti carbonara, meatballs, a giant barbecue platter with brisket, ribs, and chicken, sliders, street tacos, and some seafood risotto.”
“Oh, wow…that’s…”
“Then there are dumplings, chicken satay, chips and guac, and a charcuterie board,” Harlow said.
“So, um…yeah. A lot of food.”
As if on cue, Connor came strolling out of the kitchen. He kissed Lexi before saying goodbye to everyone. “Enjoy your dinner, ladies! The guys and I are going into town to the pub for burgers, beer, and maybe a couple of games of darts. Let me know if you want to do dessert by the fire pit!”
“I’ll text you,” Lexi said, waving and blushing as she and Connor shared a very heated look.
It took a moment before Evie could focus on Harlow again. “And how many of us are eating?”
“Me, you, Lexi, Maisie, Nora, and Kelsey.”
For a moment, she had to think. “And Kelsey is…”
“Oh, she’s one of the original friends who used to vacation here at the resort when she was growing up. She and her husband, Jayce, are the real reason the resort got brought back to life.”
“That’s amazing! I remember Milo mentioning her, but he didn’t say she was here visiting.”
Just then, Lexi walked back over and introduced her to Kelsey. “Evie, this is Kelsey. Kelsey, this is Evie. She’s Milo’s assistant from Seattle, and she’s currently dating Slater.”
Kelsey gasped even as she smiled broadly. “Wow! Hi! It is so nice to meet you! Did you move here with Milo and Nora, or are you just here temporarily?”
“Just temporarily,” she replied, and then noticed that Maisie and Nora were now standing there, and she felt like she was in the middle of an interrogation.
“And Slater, huh?” Kelsey added. “That’s interesting. I don’t think any of us have ever seen him serious with anyone.”
“They’re adorable,” Maisie said before looking at Evie. “Did you decide on a drink? I’ve got a pitcher of daiquiris all ready.”
“I’ll take one,” she said nervously. “So, um…where’s the food? I kind of ate a light lunch because I heard Connor was cooking for us tonight.”
Fortunately, that broke everyone up, and for the next few minutes, they were all walking around the massive dining table where the buffet was set up.
It seemed crazy for there to be this much food for six people, but it all smelled so good that she didn’t care; she simply helped herself to a little of everything before finding a seat at the second dining table that had been set up for them to eat at.
There were multiple conversations going on at the same time: How was Lexi feeling and how was her pregnancy going?
How long were Jayce and Kelsey staying for?
How was work going on Walker and Harlow’s new resort?
Was Maisie really going to decorate a supermodel’s townhouse in Manhattan?
Were Nora and Milo going to buy a house here in Harbortown or continue to live in their cabin?
And then…
“So what’s going to happen with you and Slater when you head back to Seattle, Evie?”
It was a perfectly fine question.
She just wished she had a perfectly fine answer.
“Um…I’m not exactly sure,” she said carefully. “We haven’t really talked about it.” Pausing, she took a sip of her drink. “Right now, we’re kind of living in the moment.”
“And there’s nothing wrong with that,” Maisie said. “But…what would you want to have happen?”
That was the real question, wasn’t it?
I want more…
“Don’t put her on the spot,” Nora chimed in. “They’ve only been together for three weeks. Not every relationship has to be defined, right?”
They all sort of nodded, but Evie still felt as if they were all waiting for confirmation from her.
And maybe she needed some confirmation from them too.
After letting out a steadying breath, she simply blurted out, “I don’t want it to end!
I’ve been crushing on Slater for years. I had accepted the fact that he wasn’t…
you know…the relationship kind of guy, and after the first time we slept together, I told myself I was okay with it.
Like…one night was going to be enough. But then we just kept gravitating back toward each other, and now I’m staying in his cabin, and… ”
“Have you talked about it at all?” Lexi asked.
“I’m afraid to,” she admitted quietly. “I’d rather have these last few weeks with him before I leave than say something that could ruin it.” The heavy sigh escaped before she could stop it. “That sounds pathetic, doesn’t it?”
It wasn’t really a question.
“It’s really not,” Nora said.
“You’re not being pathetic,” Harlow echoed before everyone else agreed.
“Look, I had a very similar experience with Axel,” Maisie said after a moment.
“We went into our relationship knowing it was temporary. We were stranded here in a storm, and it was like we were the only two people in the world.” She smiled at the memory.
“But I had a lot going on in my life, and a relationship with him just wasn’t going to work.
Ultimately, though, we couldn’t stay away. ”
“It was kind of the same for Walker and me,” Harlow added.
“We started as kind of an anonymous one-night stand. But we couldn’t stay away.
” She grinned too. “I know it’s not exactly the same for you and Slater; I lived here and knew I’d be running into Walker around town.
When you leave, things are definitely going to change.
And even if you come back here to work with Milo occasionally, Slater’s going to be long gone by then. ”
“Jeez, Harlow, way to make things sound hopeless,” Lexi chided before looking at Evie. “Geography clearly isn’t ideal, but the good news is that Slater isn’t exactly tied to any one place. He might actually want to go to Seattle with you.”
Kelsey gently cleared her throat and slowly raised her hand.
“If I may interject. This is the longest Slater’s stayed anywhere.
Jayce talks about it all the time, and I believe he and Milo have exchanged more than a few theories on the subject.
Maybe he’s finally hit a point where he’s ready to stop moving around and is ready to find a place to call home. ”
“He only stayed because I forced him to,” Nora explained. “I wanted the time with Milo back in Seattle and told Slater he had to stay through the winter. Plus, it meant he would definitely be here for Walker and Harlow’s wedding.”
“We were honestly surprised that he was there, but I know it meant a lot to Walker,” Harlow said.
“Nora, you know Slater almost as well as the guys do,” Lexi commented. “What do you think? Could he be ready to give up his semi-vagabond lifestyle? Do you think he and Evie have a chance at forever?”
Evie held her breath, even as she told herself she didn’t want to know the answer. Not like this. It would only be speculation, and she knew she’d rather hear it from him, no matter what the outcome.
She and Nora exchanged glances, and it was like they telepathically agreed that it was time to change the subject.
“Lex, did I hear that your house is finally going to be ready next week, and you’ll be able to move in?” Nora asked.
And that officially did the trick because the rest of the night was spent talking about houses, interior decorating, and then baby showers.
Still, by the time they decided to head down to the fire pit for dessert, Evie was left wondering how and when she should bring up the subject of her leaving with Slater.
All she knew was that it was definitely not tonight.
Right now, she was feeling very relaxed thanks to two daiquiris, and she wanted to drag him back to the cabin and have her way with him.
But first…s’mores.
Evie lingered on the porch for a beat longer than necessary, watching the last of their friends drift down the gravel path with easy laughter and the lingering scent of toasted marshmallows trailing behind them.
The night air was cool enough to prickle her skin, and she rubbed her arms, pretending that was why she didn’t immediately follow Slater inside.
Soon this wouldn’t be part of her nightly routine because she’d be back in Seattle.
Back to her apartment with the perpetually dripping kitchen faucet she kept meaning to fix. Back to her job, her routine, her family Sunday brunches. Back to a life that had existed perfectly well before she’d ever stepped foot in this tiny upstate New York resort town.
Back to a life that didn’t include Slater.
He pushed the cabin door open and glanced over his shoulder when she didn’t move. “You coming, Bean?”
The nickname hit her square in the chest, soft and familiar and far more dangerous than it had any right to be.
She forced a smile. “Yeah. Just… enjoying the quiet for a second.”