Chapter 21
CHLOE
Evan and Effie were in the kitchen finishing up dinner when I walked in. I suppressed the urge to immediately address the Fawn situation. It would have to wait until later.
“Chloe!” Effie squeaked. “You missed it. We had hot dogs for supper. Daddy can make you one if you want.”
“That’s okay, sweetie. I’m not too hungry tonight.”
Evan examined my face. “Do anything interesting today?”
I glared. “Why ever would you ask that?”
“Just a hunch.”
“I did, in fact.”
Evan smiled proudly. “I knew it.”
“How so?”
“Because you always liked to get them over with so you didn’t have to spend the week worrying.”
“I’ll fill you in later,” I said in a low voice, pulling up a seat next to Effie.
“I missed dinner, and I’m not super hungry, but there’s always room for dessert.” I turned to Evan. “What sweet treat do we have?”
“Funny you should ask. I just so happened to have picked up some maple walnut ice cream.” He winked.
Holy crap. He remembered that was my favorite. “Good call, Ricci.”
“Consider it a reward.”
“Oh, I will.” I leaned back in the chair and tried to relax.
Evan served Effie and me each a bowl of the ice cream. We ate while Effie talked our ears off about her school’s upcoming book fair. Evan had apparently told her she could buy five books, but she was making an argument for seven.
Effie liked to move from subject to subject at warp speed. She began telling me about some dance school drama next.
“There are three solos in the dance routine this year. I want one of them. But the teacher hasn’t decided who’s gonna get them yet.”
I scraped the bottom of my bowl. “Well, you think you can do it, right?”
“Yes.”
“Maybe you should talk to her, explain why you believe you deserve one of the spots. If you show her that you believe in yourself, that might help her believe in you, too.”
Effie looked up at me, ice cream around her mouth. “You think that will work?”
“If you’ve been trying your best and showing up to practices on time, you’ve already been proving yourself. But it can’t hurt to sell yourself. At the very least, it shows confidence.” I shrugged. “The worst she can say is no, right?”
Effie nodded, seeming to ponder my advice as she finished the last of her ice cream.
Then she changed the subject again and announced, “I want to buy a bra, but Daddy won’t let me.”
My lips parted. “Do you need a bra?”
“She doesn’t need a bra.” Evan groaned.
“I just want one,” Effie explained to me. “Not the kind with the padded boobies inside, but one for girls with flowers on it.”
I turned to him. “What’s the harm?”
Evan glared. “The harm is that she’s too young.” He gritted his teeth. “It would be one thing if she needed it. Clearly, she doesn’t.”
“Well, it’s only a matter of time,” I said. “Maybe another year.”
“We can wait until then,” Evan snapped.
“I tried,” I mouthed to her.
“Thank you for the ice cream, Daddy.” Effie took her bowl to the sink.
“You’re welcome, baby. Why don’t you get washed up for bed before you do your homework? That way you don’t have to worry about it later.”
“Okay.”
After Effie left, I brought my bowl to the sink and started doing the dishes. “She’s so cute. I remember wanting to grow up before my time, too.”
“My life is gonna be hard enough as she gets older. I don’t need to rush her growing up for no good reason.”
I shrugged. “There’s truly no harm in letting her wear a bra if she wants to. I remember wanting boobs at her age.”
“Well, you certainly got what you wished for.” He smirked, his eyes flashing down to my chest.
I bit my bottom lip and smiled. “Was that a compliment?”
“Take it how you may.” He leaned against the counter next to me and crossed his arms. “Tell me what happened today with your dad.”
I shut off the water and turned to him. “I was freaked out until the moment I laid eyes on him. Then the anxiety began to decrease. Thankfully, his new wife, Courtney, wasn’t home.
I would not have been ready for that introduction.
” I paused for a breath. “But it felt nice to allow myself to have a parent again.”
Evan smiled, looking pleased. “Good.”
“I also learned some things about my parents’ marriage that I never knew. I’ll go into it another time when I’m not so tired. But in a nutshell, their marital issues started long before my mother got dementia, which I hadn’t realized.” I sighed. “All in all, I’m glad I went.”
“I’m proud of you. Good girl.”
Those words from his mouth sent a shiver of awareness through me.
I’d probably fantasize about him saying them under different circumstances tonight.
My pulse kicked up another notch in anticipation of what I was about to say.
“I found out something else that’s quite interesting while I was there, too. ”
Evan raised a brow. “Oh?”
I wrestled with my nerves for a moment. “My dad was under the impression that you moved out…because of my sister.”
Evan’s expression hardened. “What exactly did he say?”
“Well, he didn’t know much about the details.” I tilted my head. “I was hoping maybe you could elaborate. Any particular reason he would believe that?”
When he didn’t say anything, I held my breath a moment and then asked more directly. “Did something happen between you and my sister?”
“We kissed—barely,” he admitted. “She kissed me, actually. I didn’t immediately stop it, even though I should have. When I did, she wasn’t happy about it.”
I breathed a sigh of relief that his explanation lined up with hers. “So, you moved out because my sister kissed you?”
“That wasn’t exactly it, Chloe. But sure, maybe that was part of it.
It was the catalyst for something I had been working toward anyway—moving the hell out on my own.
I knew I couldn’t live in your parents’ house forever.
I’d been saving money to move out, and I’d almost reached my goal when things went down with Fawn. ”
Always the glutton for punishment, I prodded, “So, you didn’t like her?”
“There was nothing wrong with your sister. But we didn’t have the connection you and I had. And I didn’t think of her romantically—even if I kind of wished I had, since the kiss happened not long after you sent me your letter.” He winked. “That would’ve been a great way to stick it to you.”
Unfortunately, sticking it to me had never been on the table.
“Bottom line, the kiss didn’t mean anything. I just didn’t want to be rude and immediately push her away. But then I did.” He sighed. “The awkwardness of it did light a fire under my ass to get my own place. So, I suppose in that sense, your father was right to connect the dots.”
“Okay.”
“That’s it?” He raised his eyebrows. “I was expecting more chastising.”
“Your story matches hers.”
“Ah. I didn’t realize you were setting me up.” He scratched his chin. “You talked to Fawn?”
“On the way here, yeah.”
“I should’ve known.” He sighed. “Well, I’m glad she told the truth.”
“She sends her love and told me to smack you upside the head for rejecting both of us.” I winked.
“Great.” He rolled his eyes. “You know rejection wasn’t the full story with us. I didn’t have feelings for Fawn. I didn’t want her that way. With you, what I wanted didn’t matter. I was trying to protect you.”
That was the first time he’d put it that way. Before I could absorb it, though, Effie returned to the kitchen, putting a stop to our conversation. Her hair was wet, and she’d wrapped herself in a shrimp-colored terrycloth bath robe.
“What are you doing two Friday nights from now, Chloe?” she asked.
“I haven’t thought that far ahead. Why? You have plans for me, Effie?”
“You should come to The Lodge with us!”
The Lodge was a local bar and grille that sometimes had live music.
“What’s going on there?” I asked.
“Daddy’s performing with his friends.”
“Performing?” I turned to him in surprise. “What am I missing?”
Evan rubbed the back of his neck. “Once a month they have an open mic night. A few of the guys and I put together a little makeshift band a while ago. I sing and play the guitar.”
“You’re that good?”
“Well, you did challenge me to learn guitar in a week way back when. While I wasn’t very good at the time, I decided to continue learning. So, yeah.” He shrugged. “I’m okay.”
“He’s more than okay. He’s great!” Effie shouted.
Evan singing? Yes, please!
My skin tingled. “Effie, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“I hope you’re still feeling that way by the end of it.” Evan laughed.
“Why do you say that?”
“You’ll have to find out.” He winked.