Evie
Evie
E vie wasn’t sure how she had allowed her best friend to talk her into letting her set her up with Alex’s brother. Sure, Alex was the perfect man, but the chances of lightning striking twice and his brother being just as good-looking and sweet were close to zero. She had seen Rod at Nova and Alex’s wedding and she knew how handsome he was, but he didn’t seem to be as good-natured as his older brother. In fact, he seemed a bit standoffish at the wedding and she knew that she wouldn’t be interested in spending time with a man like that—good-looking or not.
She had never been very good with the whole dating thing. The fact that she was still a virgin at twenty-two screamed that to be true. She hated having to tell guys that she had never had sex. It was like she’d thrown a bucket of cold water on her date after her admission, and there was no coming back from that. Evie didn’t have to tell them, but by the third or fourth date, the guy was expecting more than a kiss goodnight and when she put a halt to his plans, they asked her why and she felt the need to tell them the truth. That was usually when her date would find an excuse to leave early and make every promise to call her to reschedule as soon as possible. It was a lie—they never called her again.
Now, she was sitting in a restaurant waiting for Rodrick McTavish to meet her for dinner and she felt like a high schooler again. “Evie Jones,” a deep voice asked. She turned around to look at the tall, dark, and extremely handsome man looking down at her. God, he looked so much like his brother, she felt as though she had hit the jackpot. The question now was if he was as sweet as Alex had turned out to be. He treated her best friend, Nova, like a princess and if she was being honest, a part of Evie wanted that too.
“I’m Evie Jones,” she said, standing from her seat, holding out her hand. He took it into his own and damn if she didn’t want to swoon.
“Good to meet you,” he said. “I’m Rod McTavish.”
“I figured you were. I noticed the family resemblance,” she admitted.
“Yeah,” he said. “Alex and I might be a few years apart in age, but we are often mistaken for the other. He likes to point out that he must look incredibly young if people think that he’s me. Drives me crazy, really, and he knows it.”
She giggled and took her seat again when he held it out for her. “I bet,” she said. “Your brother is funny though, most of the time,” she said.
“If you say so,” he grumbled. “I seem to find him a whole lot less funny than others do.”
“I get that,” she said. “I have a younger sister and people are always telling me how nice she is and how it must be so great to have her as a sister and I’m usually like, ‘Meh,’” she said. “I mean, you never think that your own siblings are as awesome as others do. It doesn’t help that she’s my mother’s favorite either.”
Rod chuckled and she loved how the dimples in the side of his cheek popped when he smiled at her. God, he was sexy. “Alex is everyone’s favorite, so I know just what you mean.”
The waitress stopped by their table and took their drink orders. She reluctantly ordered a glass of white wine when Rod ordered a bourbon neat. She didn’t want him to think she was a prude, but she had to hit the pavement tomorrow in search of a new job and she didn’t want even a hint of a hangover plaguing her.
“So,” she said, “first of all, thanks for meeting with me. I know that Nova can be a bit persistent when she wants to be. I wasn’t planning on going out on a date right now, but she insisted.”
“Yeah, my new sister-in-law can be a little pushy when she wants her way, but I don’t mind. I feel the same way about dating right now. I’ve just started at my brother’s law firm, and I really don’t have time for extracurriculars right now. I’m afraid that my life is pretty boring at this point, but it’s nice to get out for one night.” Ahh, so this was a one-night thing for him. Good to know—but Evie wouldn’t be anyone’s one-night fling.
“I understand,” she lied. She didn’t understand why he’d show up for a date that wouldn’t lead anywhere. There would be no promise of a second date. No, “I’ll call you soon,” or anything of the sort. Rod had met with her just to let her know that he wasn’t interested and that just plain sucked.
“Oh?” he asked, “how so? What do you do for a living?”
“Well, I’m a paralegal. At least, I was. That’s how I met Nova. We both worked at her ex-husband’s firm.”
“You wouldn’t happen to be her spy, would you?” he asked.
“Ahh, so you know about the whole spy thing then?” she asked.
“I helped my brother on her case to get Jack back, and yes, I knew about you spying for her. Your information was very helpful in helping Alex get custody of Jack back.”
“I just told her about her ex’s illegal activity, Alex, and well, you did the rest as her lawyers,” Evie insisted. Honestly, she was just happy to help her best friend get her little boy back. Nova’s ex had no interest in being a father. He held onto their son just to spite Nova and that made him a complete asshole in her book.
“You said that you were a paralegal,” he said. “What do you do now?” he asked.
“Well, I’m sort of in between jobs right now,” she admitted. “After what happened at the firm, I was blackballed for helping Nova. I shared documents that went against my NDA and well, that meant an automatic termination of my contract. I’ve been trying to find something for a few months now.”
“Why not apply at Alex’s firm?” he asked.
“Because I don’t want any favors, you know? I want to get a job on my own merit, not because my best friend’s new husband just gave me one,” she said. “It’s silly, probably.”
“Not at all,” he said. “I know how it feels to have everyone think that you’ve only been hired because you’re related to the boss. Everyone thinks that Alex gave me the job because I’m his brother, not because I passed the bar and he’s looking to expand his firm. He’s looking for young, new lawyers to help grow his business. Hell, his own wife works for him as a junior lawyer, but no one questions her being hired because she’s sleeping with the boss.”
Evie giggled, “I can’t imagine anyone saying that about Nova. She worked so hard to pass the bar after they were married. Alex would kill the person who’d dare to say something like that.”
Rod chuckled, “You’re right, he would. He’s very protective of her, and rightly so. She’s pretty fantastic.”
“She is,” Evie agreed. “I love her as if she was my own sister.” The waitress brought back their drinks and asked if they were ready to order. Rod looked like he was trying to decide what to do next, and she wondered if he only wanted to have drinks tonight on their date.
“Why not?” he asked. “You have time for dinner, Evie?” he asked. She wanted to point out that was what she had agreed to for their date, but she found herself nodding instead.
“Sure,” she agreed.
“Do you mind if I order for us?” he asked.
“Not at all. The menu is in French, and I have no idea what to order,” she admitted. He ordered their meals, and she said a little prayer that she wasn’t going to end up with a bowlful of snails or something gross.
“You didn’t order me snails, right?” she asked, leaning across the table to whisper her question to him.
He threw back his head, barking out his laugh, and she was sure that he was the sexiest man that she’d ever met. “No,” he said. “I wouldn’t do that to you, Evie—not when I have a proposition for you.” Crap, this was the part where he was going to ask her for one night together and she was going to have to explain to him that she was a virgin. That was the very last thing she wanted to do on their first date—even if it ended up being their only date.
“Proposition?” she questioned.
“Yep,” he said. “Come work for me. I know that I’m only a junior-level lawyer, but I don’t plan on staying where I am forever. I have a detailed plan for growing my clientele and working my way up quickly. I need a paralegal that I can trust to help me out. How about it?” he asked.
“How do you know you can trust me?” she asked, sending him her sly smile.
“Well, you trust me, or you wouldn’t have let me order your dinner in French for you. And you were Nova’s spy and helped to get her kid back. I think that makes you pretty trustworthy,” he said.
Evie sat back and looked him over, trying to decide if she trusted him and his job offer or if she’d be better off continuing her job search. She had been at it for months now, and she had to admit, it was exhausting trying to find a firm she hadn’t been blacklisted in for breaking her NDA. Word spread quickly about what she had done to help Nova and Alex with the case and the bigwigs didn’t like it. They turned her down at every interview as soon as they saw her name on their schedule. She’d be turned away as soon as she entered the building at most places. One asshole had her brought up to his office to tell her personally why he’d never hire her. Of course, she took his berating with her chin up and when he sent her on her way, she told him to have a good day. Who the hell does stuff like that? She couldn’t seem to bring herself to be mean to other people no matter how mean they were in return to her. That’s why she had dropped out of law school and only became a paralegal. She didn’t think she’d be able to handle the nasty parts of what came with being a lawyer. What did she have to lose by telling him, yes?
“Come on, Evie,” he insisted. “I’ll make sure that my brother has nothing to do with hiring you. It’ll be great,” he promised.
She smiled over at him and nodded. “All right,” she agreed. “I’ll take the job.”
“Great,” he said, “then this can be a celebratory dinner. When can you start?” he asked.
“Tomorrow morning?” she asked.
He laughed again and Evie wondered what she had said that was so funny. “Um, you are eager, and I love that, Evie, but tomorrow’s Saturday.”
She sunk back into her chair and rolled her eyes at herself. “Sorry,” she mumbled. “When you don’t have to report to an office every day, you kind of lose track of what day it is,” she admitted.
“I’m sure,” he said, “how about starting Monday?” he asked.
“Monday works for me,” she agreed.