Chapter 7
CHLOE
The look on his face was priceless. Evan knew damn well he needed practice.
I flipped one of the chairs around and straddled it. Looking over my shoulder, I chided, “Any time now, big guy…”
He took a seat behind me and let out a long breath that I felt at the back of my neck, the hairs there stiffening.
After several seconds, Evan ran his hands through my hair to even it out.
That brief touch sent what felt like a jolt of electricity through my body.
While I couldn’t be certain, this might’ve been the only time he’d ever touched my hair.
I couldn’t have predicted it would happen like this.
“Okay, I know you don’t really know how to do it yet. This isn’t about you proving anything,” I admitted. “But I figured you could practice on me until you get it right.”
Those words reminded me of how much I’d wanted to practice things on Evan way back in the day. I shook the thought from my head.
To my surprise, Evan didn’t argue. Instead, I felt his hands in my hair again, pulling sections as he followed along with the instructions in the online tutorial.
“Left over middle. Right over middle,” the instructor said. “Good job.”
“This woman is talking to me like I’m a fucking idiot,” he snapped.
I snorted. “No comment.”
“You’d better not.”
While I wasn’t able to see behind me, I felt a lot of tugging. I hoped that meant he was getting the hang of it. It was a good thing he couldn’t see the permasmile on my face. I was all too amused by this scenario, and tickled that he’d agreed to go along with it.
“You have way more hair than the model,” he complained. “It’s not really fair. Makes it harder to do it tightly.”
“That’s your excuse?” I scoffed.
“That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.”
“I’m kidding, you know. This isn’t a skill you should ever be expected to have. I can’t imagine my dad French braiding my hair when I was younger. Not sure he could’ve done this if his life depended on it. I give you credit for even trying.”
“You’d be surprised what you can do when you have to,” Evan said.
He kept undoing what he’d started and trying again. And truthfully, I loved every minute of feeling his hands in my hair. If he needed all night to practice, you wouldn’t hear me complain.
After about half an hour of consistent trial and error, he finally said, “Wait. I think I got it.” Then he stilled. “Hang on, actually. I just braided my fingers into your hair.”
I shook with laughter. “That sounds more like it.”
After several more minutes, though, it seemed like things had taken a positive turn. Evan was quieter, swearing under his breath less often. We might’ve been getting somewhere. I closed my eyes for a while and was so relaxed I almost fell asleep.
“Holy shit,” he said. “I think I did it right this time.”
It actually felt pretty tight back there. I handed him my phone. “Take a photo so I can see.”
Evan snapped a picture and handed it back to me. While the braid wasn’t completely symmetrical, it was pretty darn close. Wow. He’d actually done it.
I opened my camera to see what it looked like from the front. “You’ve officially turned me into a character from Little House on the Prairie.” I grinned. “You did it, Evan.”
“I did, didn’t I?” He scratched his chin as he took in the finished product. “I’ve designed complex piping systems for the power plant, and that was way easier than this French-braiding shit.”
I chuckled. “I feel like I can’t take it out now that you’ve worked so hard on it. I might have to go find me a polygamist husband and some sister wives.”
The low rumble of his laughter vibrated through me. It was the first genuine laugh I’d heard since I arrived. I’d missed his laugh. But I needed to quit while I was ahead.
“You should probably get to bed,” I told him. “You have to get up early and do that all over again.”
“Yeah.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Thank you for letting me practice on you.”
“No problem.” I cleared my throat, his words once again taking my mind to a place I shouldn’t have let it go. Fuck. The butterflies I remembered feeling all those years ago were back in full force tonight. But in what world was it okay to fall for a man who’d already blatantly rejected me?
A little while after I returned to my room, I settled in to check my email before bed.
There was a new message from the property management company.
Dear Ms. Cavanaugh,
We’ve been instructed by the owner of the property you booked to issue you a full refund. We apologize for any confusion over the availability of the house you were assigned. Should you become interested in one of the other properties we manage, please let us know.
Sincerely,
The HR Edwards Property Management Team
***
The following morning, I specifically waited for Evan and Effie to leave before coming out of my room. When Evan didn’t return after forty-five minutes, I felt safe assuming he’d gone straight in to work.
Feeling relaxed, I poured myself some of the coffee Evan had made and prepared it with extra cream and sugar.
He’d left the black hoodie he’d been wearing the night before hanging on the chair in the kitchen.
It was a bit chilly in the house, so I took the sweatshirt and wrapped it around myself before zipping it up.
It enveloped me in the heavenly scent of Evan’s cologne and a delicious aroma that was all his own.
My nipples hardened. How pathetic was it to be turned on by a piece of material?
But it wasn’t merely the material, was it? It was him. His essence. The idea of him all over me at a time when my body was starving for contact.
Today was the first day since I’d arrived that I needed to log into my work database. I figured Evan wouldn’t be home for a while, so I set up my laptop on the kitchen table and spread out my stuff.
As a project manager, a good majority of my job was following up with people.
I spent the morning sending emails to make sure everyone was on track with their designated tasks.
My position also consisted of several web meetings over the course of a day.
Today I had two, which was pretty light.
Both meetings happened to be in the morning, which was perfect since it would allow me to focus on the storage unit in the afternoon without having to be tied to the computer.
And while I normally turned my camera on, I opted to keep it off today, having had no energy to do myself up.
Plus, I had no desire to take off Evan’s hoodie. So there was that.
Around noon, I’d just gotten off my last team call when the door that led into the kitchen opened. My stomach dropped as Evan sauntered in, tossing his keys on the counter.
What the hell is he doing here?
I jumped out of my seat. “I wasn’t expecting you back. That’s the only reason I set up my work stuff on the kitchen table.”
“Clearly you weren’t expecting me.” He gave me a once-over, obviously noticing his hoodie.
Crap! I’d planned to take it off before he got home. “Sorry.” I played with the zipper. “It was cold in here.”
“Feel free to borrow my clothes, Chloe,” he said, an amused look on his face.
I tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear. “What are you doing home anyway?”
“I forgot that Effie has dance lessons right after school. I didn’t pack her ballet shoes, so I figured I’d come home for lunch and grab them.”
“I see. What time do you pick her up from school?”
“Two thirty, but it’ll be around quarter to four today, actually, because there’s an arts event after school. I’ll have just enough time to get her to her four PM dance class.”
“You’re able to leave work every day early enough to pick her up from school?”
He nodded. “I make my own hours. But I’m always on call for emergencies to make up for that.”
“I see.” I glanced over at my stuff. “Well, I’ll pack up. I was about to close down for the day anyway. I have to leave.”
“Where are you headed?”
“The storage unit. I told myself I was going to tackle a little bit each day, figuring out what to toss and what to keep. It’s not easy parting with the only remaining evidence that your family ever existed.”
His face softened. “You need help?”
I looked down at my sherpa slippers. “I can’t ask you to do that…”
“That’s not an answer.”
This was not the time to refuse help. I’d had no idea how big of a job the cleanout was going to be. “Well, to be honest, I could use your truck to cart away some of the bigger items from time to time.”
“Yeah. No problem.” He nodded. “Why don’t I go with you today?”
“Okay… I mean, if you don’t mind.”
“It’s the least I could do for Judy.”
“Thank you.”
Evan cocked his head. “Have you eaten?”
“I kind of forgot. I’ve had plenty of coffee, though. Thanks for making it. It was really good.”
“Do you ever remember to eat?”
“Not since I got here.”
Evan rolled up his sleeves. “I’ll whip something up before we go.”
I knew better than to argue with him on that. Plus, it kind of felt nice to be taken care of. “Okay,” I said nonchalantly, as if it didn’t mean the world that he was making lunch for me. “While you do that, I’ll clean up my mess.”
I gathered my things and then returned to my room and put on some concealer plus a little eye makeup.
My hair was still braided from last night.
I had to laugh at myself as I looked in the mirror.
The idea that Evan had braided my hair was still so damn funny to me.
It had held up pretty well, considering I’d slept on it.
When I returned to the kitchen, Evan had put together a couple of bowls with rice, avocado, cut-up grape tomatoes, and some leftover grilled chicken. It looked like he’d drizzled balsamic dressing on top. My stomach growled. “Look at you with the fancy bowls, Evan. I’m impressed.”
“It’s called using up what we have in the fridge before it goes bad and making it look pretty.”
“Ah, so I’m your garbage disposal.” I sat down. “I’ll take it. This looks great.”
“Well, you seem like you’d be into fancy bowls.” He winked.
“I am, but I still appreciate a nice toasted Pop-Tart from time to time. I think of you whenever I have one.”
“And then you stab it with a fork?”
“Yes.” I winked. “Exactly.”
I took my first bite and smiled. It tasted as good as it looked. “How did Effie’s braid come out this morning?”
He nodded. “Pretty good. It wasn’t quite as tight as yours because we didn’t have all that much time. But she was happy with it. That’s what matters.” He licked the corner of his mouth. “I see yours is still hanging in there.”
“I’d planned to take it out before I saw you again, but…”
“Just like you planned to take off my sweatshirt before I came home?” He smirked.
“I don’t have a bra on at the moment. But I’ll take it off, if you need it back.”
He held up his palm. “Keep it on.”
Thought so.