She waited, tapping her fingers on the desk in anticipation of a reply. He never took this length of time to answer when they were in conversation.
She needed to get dressed and ready for Hope’s party. She’d had a lunch planned with her female friends today, so she hadn’t had time to see Evan earlier. Besides, she would have felt guilty taking up what little time he had to spend with his cousin Julian. The famous actor had just flown in from California late last night.
More time passed before she got a short reply from S.
I have to get going.
Randi frowned at his response, afraid that she might have hurt his feelings because she didn’t want to talk about Evan. Maybe he saw her lack of communication as a snub. She sent a final one-line email, not sure how to explain why she couldn’t share her feelings with him.
Have a great weekend.
She signed out of her email, a sense of loss overwhelming her as she closed the laptop. Somehow, she was losing her connection with S., and tonight was going to be the last time she ever saw Evan. Oh, he’d be back someday for his family, but Randi knew she could never be with him again intimately.
She was way too emotionally invested in this whole affair with Evan, and it hurt. The best thing she could do was try to forget what had happened in the past with Evan and move on. She did want to have children someday. Her love for kids had been her entire reason for going into teaching and trying to make a difference in their lives.
I’ll forget him eventually. The emptiness I feel right now will go away.
Evan had shown up at the Center last night after her tutoring session with Matt, giving the child his personal email address so they could keep in touch. The gesture had almost brought Randi to tears. The thought of a man as busy and important as Evan giving a kid his contact information to hear about his progress was so damn touching that she’d wanted to cry. The sincerity in Evan’s expression, and his personal interest in a little boy who had the same disorder he had was just so damn . . . sweet.
Afterward, she and Evan had gone for coffee at Brew Magic. Randi could still hear his voice saying that he was happy just because he had a chance to see her. They hadn’t done anything except talk about their day, but it had seemed almost as intimate as sex.
Evan had seemed disappointed when he had to leave their impromptu meeting to go see Julian, who was just about to arrive in Amesport.
I’m totally, completely, and undeniably addicted to him. I was just as sad to see him go last night.
Conflicted, Randi got up to head to her bedroom to get ready for Hope’s ball. Because she was going with Evan, she wished tonight could last forever, but the pragmatic woman in her knew it was going to end.
She looked at her computer, thinking about the distance that seemed to be growing between her and S. Randi was glad he had a woman in his real life, but she missed their uncomplicated conversations, too.
No Evan.
No S. to console her anymore.
“It’s going to be lonely,” Randi murmured to Lily as she stroked the dog’s head, wondering why in the world a streetwise woman like her had been stupid enough to fall head over heels in love with Evan Sinclair.
“I’m worried about Evan,” Mara Sinclair shared with her husband, Jared, as she looked at herself in the mirror and changed her earrings. She was almost ready to leave for Hope’s ball, but she had a bad feeling about how things were going to end for Evan after tonight.
Jared stood above her, adjusting his bow tie. “Why?” he asked curiously.
Mara’s breath caught as she looked up and saw her husband’s handsome reflection in the mirror. She still wasn’t used to being married to such an amazingly gorgeous man. Sighing as she picked up her lipstick, she didn’t ask herself why they had fallen for each other so hard or so completely. She was just grateful for that love every single day.
“All of us are worried,” Mara confessed. She, Hope, Sarah, and Emily had shared their concern during their coffee time. “He’s in love with Randi. I know he is. What happens when he leaves?” Would he retreat inside himself again, lose all the progress he had made in coming out of his defensive shell? Mara was pretty certain that Randi was the reason for the change in Evan. And he had changed. She was doubtful he’d ever lose his know-it-all arrogance. That was just part of Evan. But he was different, less guarded, more connected to the family. She didn’t want him to lose that now.
“I know he’s in love with her,” Jared answered nonchalantly. “I’m just not certain he knows it yet. It’s pretty evident to Grady, Dante, and me because we’ve been where he is right now. After the way he stuck his nose into my relationship with you, I shouldn’t feel sorry for the asshole, but I do.”
Mara turned and punched him lightly in the stomach. “That’s a terrible thing to say. You love Evan and you know it.”
“I love you more,” he answered promptly. “I love you more and more every single day.”
Mara’s heart melted. There wasn’t a single day that Jared didn’t declare that he loved her more today than yesterday. “You love your siblings, too.”
Jared shrugged. “I do love them, and yes, Evan saved my life. But I’m not going to meddle in his business.”
Mara smiled, knowing that Jared would absolutely intervene with Evan if necessary, as she took a final look at herself in the mirror and stood up. She didn’t look bad for a plain, ordinary woman. She’d never be a stunner like Randi, or as eye-catching as Sarah, but the way that Jared looked at her was all that mattered.