Chapter 16
CHLOE
“Shit.” My stomach dropped. “I’m sorry. I assumed you’d be alone with Effie.”
“What is she doing back here?” Naomi asked Evan as if I wasn’t right in front of her.
“I can…come back,” I said, turning toward the door.
“No, Chloe. It’s okay,” Evan called after me.
I shook my head. “I should’ve knocked.”
Naomi glared at me. “We’re in the middle of a private conversation.”
“I’ll come back,” I said again, leaving before either of them could say anything else.
“Chloe!” I heard from behind me as I stepped outside.
Effie came running toward me from the small yard behind the house.
“Hey!” I smiled, relieved to see her welcoming face.
She caught her breath. “You came back!”
“I did.” I knelt. “I missed you. What are you up to?”
“Naomi came over, and Daddy asked me to play outside while they talk.”
“What were you doing in the yard?” I asked.
“Looking for rabbits. Our old house had a lot, but I haven’t seen one here yet.”
“I bet if you hang out long enough, you’ll see one. I saw a couple earlier today in the front yard of the other place I was staying.”
“Do you like your new house?”
“Well, actually…” I hesitated, unsure what to say without having spoken to Evan first. “That’s part of why I came back, to talk to your dad about letting me stay here again. But it’s going to be up to him. I didn’t like the other place at all. I wasn’t as comfortable there as I am here.”
“Daddy will let you stay, but I don’t know about your friend Scott. Where is he?”
I chewed on my bottom lip. “He…decided to go back to Chicago.”
“He didn’t like it here?”
“He liked it here, but he needed to leave.”
“Oh.”
“Anyway, don’t mention anything to your dad about me wanting to come back. I’d like to talk to him first, okay?”
“Okay.” She shrugged.
I saw movement and looked to my left. “Oh my gosh, Effie. Look! It’s a little bunny.”
She gasped. “I can’t believe it.”
“You wished it, and it came true.”
“Just like I wished for you to come back.” She beamed.
Oh my God. I wanted to cry. “Aw, honey.”
That tugged at my heartstrings, but it also made me wonder if messing with her head like this was a mistake. How many times could people enter and exit her life—in my case, in the span of twenty-four hours?
Effie and I went around back to see if we could get lucky again and spot more wildlife. We saw some chipmunks, but there weren’t any other rabbits.
About fifteen minutes later, I heard a car start out front. Then the back door opened and Evan walked out into the yard.
Effie ran to him. “Look who’s here, Daddy!”
“Hi.” I smiled awkwardly, my heart speeding up with each step Evan took toward me.
“Hi,” he said in a low voice, seeming pretty calm, considering I’d barged in on his talk with Naomi.
I’m sure they’d had a multitude of things to discuss, thanks to me. Evan and I had a lot to talk about, too, but I couldn’t say what I wanted to in front of Effie.
“I have to do my homework,” Effie suddenly announced, perhaps sensing that her father and I needed privacy.
Thank you, sweet girl.
“Okay, baby,” Evan said. He watched her as she ran inside the house.
Then he turned and looked at me, but he didn’t say anything.
There was so much I knew I should say, but somehow the words escaped me as I looked into his eyes.
I had only spent a day away from this man, but it was as if I’d somehow forgotten how damn stunning he was, the power his mere presence had over my nervous system.
He tilted his head and finally asked, “What brings you by, neighbor?”
“Well…” I straightened my posture. “To be frank, I missed it here. I was wondering if my room was still available.”
He shook his head. “It isn’t, actually.”
My heart dropped.
“But my room is,” he clarified. “Like I told you before, I can take your old room so you can have more space.”
“You had me there for a minute.” I placed my hand on my chest, feeling my heart pound. “You’re not even gonna ask why the hell I’m back?”
“Not sure I care. I’m just happy to see you.” He looked over his shoulder. “But since we’re alone, why don’t you tell me what the fuck happened?”
I chuckled, looking down at my feet. “To make a very long story short, I broke up with Scott.”
Evan’s eyes widened. “Really…”
I nodded. “He left. And then I canceled the lease on that other place, which was horrible, by the way.”
“All in a day’s work, huh?”
“Scott shouldn’t have come, but it was for the best, because I was able to end things in person, which he deserved. I should’ve done that before I came here, but I’d been too overwhelmed by the uncertainty of what I’d find when I arrived.”
“Little did you know, you’d have more than you bargained for with me, right?”
“Actually, you and Effie have been the best part.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed, but he didn’t say anything, just kept looking into my eyes. It felt like the air shifted between us.
As a cool breeze lifted my hair, I cleared my throat. “It’s none of my business, but what happened with Naomi?”
“I hadn’t properly closed things out with her after the first time she ran into you here. It was only fitting that you crashed things a second time.”
“I’m so sorry.” I chuckled.
“No, you’re not.” He grinned. “Anyway, it wouldn’t have changed anything if you hadn’t come by. She and I weren’t going to last. But you showing up here today definitely added the final nail to the coffin. She was already suspicious of you.”
“Little does she know, she doesn’t actually have anything to worry about when it comes to me, right?” I felt bold all of a sudden, testing his reaction.
But Evan didn’t take the bait. “It is what it is,” he said. “Effie didn’t like her, and even aside from that, I always knew she wasn’t right for me.”
“So, you’re officially a single man now, eh?”
He nodded slowly. “And I think I need to stay that way for a while.”
“But surely you need…” I chewed on my lip, not sure how to say it.
But he figured it out. “I said I was gonna stay single, not celibate.”
“Right.” I swallowed hard, riddled with jealousy. I’d asked for it. After a moment, I took a deep breath. “Anyway, I presumptively packed all my crap into my car, assuming you wouldn’t send me away. So, I’m gonna unpack it.”
He led the way inside. “I’ll start clearing my room.”
A quiet tension hung in the air that evening as I arranged my stuff in Evan’s old bedroom and he moved his things into mine.
As we crossed paths in the hallway for what felt like the umpteenth time, he stopped me and said, “How about waffles for dinner?”
My mouth curved into a smile, and before I could answer, I heard Effie cheering from her room.