blame your dad for laughing at me. I was laughed at a lot back then. He was one of many.”
“He didn’t tell me about the award,” she said, and I could hear the hurt in her voice.
“You two still haven’t made up?”
“No. He won’t talk to me. I found out about the award through my friend who saw it in the paper. I called him and he let it go to voicemail.”
I reached for her hand. “I am really sorry he’s this upset with you about me. If you want us to stop seeing each other or being friends, I will totally understand. I don’t expect you to ruin your relationship with your father for me.”
“No,” she adamantly said. “He is not going to get to ruin this, whatever this is.”
“This is us having a good time,” I said, not sure what else to say about the situation.
“Right. Exactly. It’s nothing for him to get his panties in a bunch about.”
“Are you going to go?” I asked her.
“No! Why would I? He didn’t even tell me about it.”
“Evie,” I admonished. “You will regret not going. This thing that’s happening between you two is only temporary.”
“I’m not so sure about that anymore. We have never not talked to each other. This is serious.”
I turned around once again to look her directly in the eye. “If I am getting in the way, please tell me.”
She stared right back at me. “It isn’t you. This is him.”
“Okay.” I went back to my cooking. “For what it’s worth, I do respect your dad as a person. What he did raising you is pretty impressive.”
“Thanks.”
“I’m serious. He might be a dick to me, but you said he was great with you. I respect that. I respect a man that can raise a kid all on his own.”
“Part of me wonders if he’s embarrassed. His behavior was pretty atrocious. He doesn’t know how to walk it back and is choosing to ignore the situation.”
“That sounds very plausible,” I agreed. “He’s a proud man. He would never want to admit he was in the wrong, especially when it came to me.”
“Very true.”
“You should go,” I told her again. “I think you will regret it if you don’t. This thing between you guys isn’t permanent. Once you guys have made up, you don’t want to regret missing such a special moment in his life.”
She was quiet. Too quiet. I looked over my shoulder to make sure she was still there. “Want to come along with me?”
I chuckled. “Yeah, I’m sure that would go over as well as a lead balloon.”
“What exactly are you doing over there?” she asked.
“I’m cooking our dinner.”
I heard her feet hit the floor. I glanced behind me to see what she was doing. She was coming toward me. Her wine glass was in her hand. “Are we here alone?” she asked.
“Of course, we are.”
“Are you hungry?” she asked as she walked toward me.
I nodded. “I definitely am.”
She trailed a finger over my bicep and then traced my collarbone. “I’m so hungry,” she whispered.
“I’m cooking as fast as I can.”
She slowly shook her head. “I don’t think you are. I’m ravenous.”
Her words were spoken with such heat and desire, I knew she wasn’t talking about my fried chicken breasts. I reached for the knob on the stove and turned off the heat. “I’m rather ravenous myself.”
She put her wine glass on the kitchen counter before her fingers went to the buttons on my shirt. I braced my shoulders, preparing for the usual tug that accompanied her undressing me. There was no rip. I looked down and watched as she slowly undid one button after another.
“Evie,” I growled her name.
“Shh, I’m starving but I think I want to savor my meal.”
I dropped my hands to my sides and let her have her way. The shirt was pushed open and then down my shoulders. The white tee I was wearing was slowly lifted up my torso. I lifted my arms, and when she reached as high as she could go, I took over and pulled it off, dropping the shirt onto the floor.
She licked her lips. “You are so right. This private dinner is so much better than a fancy restaurant.”
I smirked. “I agree.”
I reached for the buttons on her blouse and gave her the same slow, purposeful treatment until her blouse was in a heap with my own. She was wearing a pretty blue-satin bra. It cupped her breasts, lifting the milky globes high while squeezing