It won’t.
He typed back one word.
Dear M.,
Why?
There were a lot of reasons, but the fact that Evan was leaving was the biggest one.
Dear S.,
He won’t be around long. We’ll spend some time together this week and then he’ll be gone.
How are things with the new woman in your life? I think I’m a little bit jealous.
It was winter in Amesport, not the best time to be showing Evan how to have fun. But she’d manage something.
Dear M.,
Don’t be jealous. I had you first, and I think I really like her because she’s a lot like you.
Randi was slightly taken aback by his words. S. didn’t really know her, yet he did. She’d shared so much of her thoughts, feelings, and emotions with him, even though they’d never met in person. In some ways she was envious of the unknown woman. If S. liked this female, he’d pursue her. If he went after her, he’d get her. Randi had never met him, but someone as intelligent, thoughtful, and insightful was undoubtedly a great guy. He’d never run away from her, and that was saying something since she’d done nothing but pour her heart out to him since Joan’s passing.
Dear S.,
I’m happy for you. She’s a lucky woman.
The two of them signed off after a few more exchanges.
She wandered into the kitchen, wondering what to cook. Too tired to really fuss with anything, she emptied food into Lily’s bowl and nuked herself a huge bowl of nacho cheese and took out the chips. Chuckling as she stood at her kitchen counter, she could only imagine what Evan would say about her dinner.
Evan.
What in the world had possessed her to accept his challenge to help him know happiness? What in the world did she know about being an upbeat person right now, anyway? She was a mess, a woman who was still in mourning with a piece of her soul missing.
I’ve been happy. I just need to remember how it was before I lost the last person who would love me like a daughter forever.
Maybe if she was very lucky, she and Evan could help heal each other. She could get her joy back, and Evan could find it for the first time.
She didn’t regret reaffirming that she’d go to Hope’s party with him, when she’d seen him earlier at the Center while tutoring Matt. It would be the last night she’d spend with him before he climbed into his expensive airplane and flew halfway across the world for another possible business deal.
Don’t think about him leaving. Just think about tomorrow. Live for now.
She ate a few more chips, dunking them in the massive bowl of warm, creamy nacho cheese.
Since she had no choice but to live for the moment, she wasn’t going to fight it. Thinking about the fact that Evan was leaving soon wasn’t going to ruin her chance of making him see that life was about so much more than work.
If anyone deserved a little bit of happiness, it was Evan Sinclair.
Pushing her negative thoughts from her mind, Randi contemplated exactly how to teach a man who knew nothing but work how to be happy.
CHAPTER 14
The next evening, Micah Sinclair found himself sitting at Sullivan’s Steak and Seafood wondering what in the hell he was doing there. He was alone, sitting at a corner table, completely obsessed with watching Tessa Sullivan.
And so he did just that. He watched her.
Obsessively.
Compulsively.
Constantly.
He watched as she moved around the room with the grace of a dancer, disappointed that she wasn’t the person who took his order. Instead, it had been an angry-looking man not much older than him, his hair almost the same color as Tessa’s.
You’re a pathetic loser, Sinclair. Get up and leave.
Micah had reminded himself several times that he wasn’t here by chance, and that he was actually stalking Tessa, but he couldn’t help himself. When he’d found her gone, he’d needed to reassure himself that she’d gotten home safe. Yeah, maybe he could have gotten her number from Hope, or asked her to text Tessa rather than just showing up at the restaurant himself.
He hadn’t.
Because he wanted to see her in person again.
He’d gone to Sullivan’s just to see her, and ended up eating the best lobster roll he’d ever had. The place might look like a dump, but the food was phenomenal.
He was still nursing a beer when he saw the guy who’d delivered his order making his way to his table.
“You good?” he asked as he stopped at Micah’s table. And damned if the guy wasn’t blocking his view of Tessa now.
Micah raised his hand. “I’m stuffed. Thanks.”
“Here’s your check,” the waiter answered, practically slamming the paper down on the table.
Micah nodded and grabbed the ticket, wondering why the big guy seemed to have suddenly become less friendly. That was saying something, because he hadn’t exactly been much fun in the first place. “Thanks.”
“You’ve been watching Tessa all night. Don’t even think about it, man.” The stranger’s face grew threatening and annoyed.
“She’s an attractive woman,” Micah replied sensibly.
“And she happens to be my sister. Stay the hell away from her. She’s been through a lot in the past several years. She doesn’t need a Sinclair to screw with her head.” The burly man crossed his arms and shot Micah a dangerous look, one that said if Micah fucked with his sister, he’d kill him.
“You know who I am?” Micah asked, surprised.
“Yes, I know. I recognize you. I’ve seen some of your work, and I’ve used your equipment in the past.”
“I don’t mean her any harm. I’m just looking,” Micah said calmly. “She makes it difficult not to look.”