Awakened By A Kiss (Once Upon A Romance) (6 page)

He smacked her on the arm. “Girl, he’s the one, I tell you.” He moaned. “Put you two together and you’re gonna have some bee-u-tie-full babies. I’m the uncle. I call it first.”

“You’re everyone’s uncle, Rico, so no real surprise there. But—”

The knock on the door cut Evelyn off.

“Oh, that must be Peg,” Rico squealed, jumping to his feet. “I can’t wait to tell her.”

Evelyn groaned as if in pain and leaned over until she hit the floor. She stayed that way, listening to her future sister-in-law and Rico greet each other.
Could they talk any louder?
Ev didn’t think they’d heard them over at King’s ten miles away yet.

Their blabbing went on through Peg’s changing into jammies—she peeked around the bathroom door in a non-stop exchange with Rico—to choosing snacks and drinks from the wide array Rico had on his table, and all the way to settling in beside her on the makeshift bed on the floor.

“What’s up with her?” Peg asked, nodding to Ev.

“Oh, girl, she’s had quite the time, our little Ev.” Rico’s voice filled with glee.

“Don’t listen to a word he says.” Evelyn tried to speak, but the last chug of wine hit, her mind woozy. “Interfering.”

“Now I gotta hear this. Spill it,” Peg said.

In the longest-winded explanation Evelyn ever had the misfortune to be a part of, Rico blabbed and blabbed. “The best part is Ev and Shane.” He crossed his fingers. “Baby makes three.”

“Pickles and pancakes, Ev, you’re preggers?” Peg’s voice rose another octave. “Did you tell Austin?” She frowned. “Nah, your brother would be here right now if you had. Maybe even beating up Shane. What gives?”

“The room is spinning,” Evelyn said, laying on her back and holding her hand over her eyes.

“That’s my disco ball, silly,” Rico chimed in.

“Peg, don’t tell my brother anything, all right?”

“Me? Lie? That ain’t gonna happen, honey.”

“Don’t bring it up, then.”

“Fat chance. He loves his baby sis and asks how you’re doing. By the way, you need to call him and tell him yourself.” Peg scrambled to get her things and brought back her trusty clipboard. “You need a list.”

This time Evelyn and Rico groaned together. “Not the clipboard,” Ev said, half smiling. Her ever-efficient sister-in-law-to-be never went anywhere without that clipboard. “O-M-G,” she parroted Rico’s favorite saying. “Tell me you don’t take that thing to bed with Austin.”

“Do you make a list of what needs to happen, you know, each step, while you’re doing the tango in bed?” Rico giggled.

“For crying out loud, you guys are sick. S-I-C-K!” Peg grabbed a pillow and hit Rico with it and then Evelyn.

“Girl, I can see it clearly now.” Rico pressed on, shoving the pillow away. “Austin, please you skipped number three—go back or I can’t scratch that one off my list.”

“I do not,” Peg cried in between fits of laughter. “Geez ’em Pete, I’m not that bad.”

“Oh, my big rock star, more hip, that’s what it says on my list right here.” Rico tapped his finger on the paper.

They chuckled.

“Shout it out. That’s our last step. That’s our big finale!” Rico threw his arms wide and tumbled backwards, hitting the floor with a thud.

“I knew I should have saved myself and not come tonight,” Peg said, wiping her eyes. She sighed and looked around the room. “This is where I first kissed Austin. Right up against the wall.” She lifted her glass of wine and pointed.

“Here? Eww, Peg, no details, okay? I am the sister,” Evelyn pointed out. “Now I’ll never be able to look at that spot again.”

“Get over it, girl,” Rico said, shoving himself up and sitting again. “You’re about to do a lot worse. Preggster.”

She sat up slowly, running a hand through her hair to settle down the long strands. “I am not pregs. Not yet. And it won’t be with Shane.” His name caught in her throat. “Some unknown guy from one of those clinics who has no claim over my baby.”

The serious nature of the talk sobered her up.

“Well, that ain’t fun,” Peg said. “Maybe we can run an ad—”

Ev held up her hand and covered Peg’s mouth. “Don’t even go there.”

Peg nudged her hand away. “It worked for me. Well, kinda sorta. But I did find my Mr. Wonderful while trying to find a date.”

“A fluke, Peg, honey,” Rico said. “I’m still searching.” His dramatic sigh rippled through the room.

“We’re here to celebrate Peg’s upcoming nuptials to my superstar brother. No sad stories, all right? I’ll find a baby daddy. Rico, you’ll find your soul mate. And Peg will cheer us on.” Just saying it out loud made it feel impossible.

Finding some random guy out of thousands of potential donors wasn’t appealing at this moment. Maybe it never would be… Her heart sank. A big hollow feeling took its place in her chest.

Her messed-up body ticked like a time bomb. Her chances were dwindling right before her eyes.

What was she going to do?

“Act natural,” Shane coached as he held the door to the restaurant open for her.

“Natural? In front of your could-have-been, but is now your cousin’s future?” Evelyn shook her head, wondering where she’d gone wrong.
Yep, that’s where
.
Never should have said yes to this ridiculous plan at his house the other night.

“Follow my lead.”

In the cozy foyer, she reared back and looked up at him. He was so close, his body heat surrounding her. Ev gulped hard. “You’ve done this before?”

“Me? I make it a point to stay away from drama, not dive head first into it. I had enough of that with my mom and dad,” he muttered the last under his breath.

“For Dex.”

Someone pushed through to get to the front. Shane shifted nearer; his hip brushed hers and his hand automatically came around her. The warm imprint of his hand seared through her favorite little black dress, scorching her skin.

She shivered, trying to clutch her tote. Then she recalled, she’d left it in the car. All she had was an envelope of a clutch. That did nothing to make her feel secure.

“Ready?” he murmured close to her ear.

Biting her lip, she nodded and covered up another shiver racking her body. It just wasn’t fair. He was H1 to the max, cared about his cousin, didn’t lie—well, not much anyway—and didn’t even realize how damn sexy he was.

She followed the hostess, each step a death knell for Evelyn as they all grew closer to the waiting couple. What, no one was smiling at the table? Dex had his head buried in a menu and Candace was twirling wine in her glass, looking bored to tears.

“Thank you,” Shane said when the hostess seated them.

He helped Ev to her seat, but the damp soles of her feet slipped in the just one size too big for her high heels. She lurched forward; her long hair swung wildly, covering her vision. Reaching out blindly, Ev found the table top and gripped the edge. It tilted. The silverware and glassware shifted, clinking together. The wine bottle slid across the sleek wood surface.

With one hand, Shane grabbed the neck of the bottle and, with the other, he clutched Ev’s elbow, guiding her gently into her seat.

“Phew, close one,” she said, shoving the hair out of her eyes. Two pairs of wide eyes stared back. She cringed. “Sorry.” Shane settled beside her, replaced the wine bottle, and together they rearranged the silverware from their side of the table to its rightful place.

“Dangerous,” Shane said softly. “I get more practice at saving the day every time you’re near me.”

Turning to him, she nudged him in the ribs. “Nothing broke.”

“This time.” He held her fisted hand. “My ribs have a few dents in them.”

His smiling eyes blunted the mild censor of his words. “Okay, I admit, I’m a little—”

“Tipsy?” he volunteered.

She liked the feel of his skin. Uncurling her fingers, she touched his palm. Tingles shot up her arm. “I’m not drunk.” Not on wine.
Maybe on your eyes, if I keep looking into those baby blues of yours.

“Could have fooled me,” Candace bit out, drawing their attention and shoving her glass away.

Heat whooshed into Ev’s cheeks. She tugged her hand, but Shane wouldn’t release it. It didn’t go unnoticed. The sharp eyes of the woman across from her cut her in two.

“I’ll just take this back,” she said to Shane, extracting her hand and sliding it under the table. In her lap, she held onto the little clutch as if her life depended on it. “Candace, Dex, sorry about my faux pas. A little clumsy now and then.” She shrugged. Her days of tripping and falling in the school hallways rushed back to her now.
Okay, a lot of clumsy
.

The flawless woman smiled, showing the beauty she truly was.

“Were you in pageants?” Evelyn asked, curiosity making her speak without thinking.

“Oh,” Candace said. “My, I could have been.”

Dex put his arm around her. “That’s right. Our little Candy would have stolen the show.”

It was kinda sweet the way he stuck up for her. The woman preened, shooting him a sugary smile. “Oh, Dex, you are my one true advocate.” Under her lashes, she slid a look to Shane.

The man beside Evelyn didn’t miss it; he nudged Ev with his knee. Yep, he was keeping score. No one but Dex was fooled at this interplay.

Shane’s cell phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen. “My dad,” he said, defeat in his voice.

“Forgot to tell you. He called me earlier. Wanted to talk to you, but couldn’t get you to pick up.” Dex shrugged.

Reading the text message, Shane shook his head.

“Bad news?” Ev asked, watching the play of emotion chase across his face.

“Checking in with me.”

“Asking about your mom as usual,” Dex said. “Have you heard from her? What’s she up to? But I guess you know that already.”

“Same old, same old.”

Tension rolled off Shane at the moment. Under the table, she slipped her hand in his large, warm one and squeezed. He returned the pressure. He seemed to relax a little bit. She pulled her hand back and tried to stop shaking.
He does that to me with one touch?

“So, the wedding,” Evelyn rushed out in a breathy voice, trying to get her equilibrium back on track as well as the purpose for this double date. “I’m sorta committed to another one on that same date. I can’t be in two places at the same time, after all.”

“No, that’s why you’ll cancel that one and be in charge of ours,” Candace said. “Isn’t that right, darling? Isn’t that what Griff agreed to? Evelyn White is my sole contact with King’s. She will be available to me at all hours of the day and night. At my beck and call.”

Evelyn’s stomach sank, and not the good kind of sinking sensation either. “Griff said that?”
What the heck was going on?
Her life would be turned upside down. This woman would wreak havoc.

“I don’t think he said those words exactly, Candy,” Dex said, drawing it out. He clearly judged her reaction.

“King’s would be at my disposal. Same thing.” Candace drilled her with a stare.

“Not even close to the same thing,” Ev pointed out. “Yes, I love to—”

Shane jabbed her in the arm, stopping her.

“What was that for?” Turning away from his scowl, she continued. “I love to babysit. Kids. Not adults.”

The gasp echoed around them. Candace’s mouth hung open. “How dare you!”

“Here we go again,” Shane muttered. “I was trying to warn you.”

“I’ll call Griff right now and we’ll get this straightened out.” Evelyn fished in her tiny purse and pulled out the phone. She punched in his number.

“That won’t be necessary,” Candace said, reaching for the phone.

Ev pulled away. “Oh, it will be.” A little bit of Rico’s ’tude took over. “You are not the boss of me.”

“I can’t believe she’d treat me like that. I can’t believe King’s would employ someone like her or that other one.” Candace’s voice rose. People turned to stare.

“Griff,” his rough voice shot over the line.

“This is Ev—”

“Few minutes late. Pixie just put Ruby down for the night.”

“Oh, how’s my Little Bit?” Her voice held a dreamy quality. “Hurry up and take your wife on a date night so I can see Ruby again.”

He chuckled. “Good idea. Is that why you’re calling?”

Suddenly, Ev became aware of the three people glaring at her. She was kicked back into reality. “No. Look, Griff. There must be a miscommunication here or something. Miss Hightower is under the impression I’m her”—she turned her back on the woman and whispered into the phone—“errand girl for her upcoming nuptials.”

“Where did she get that from?”

“You.”

“Me?” His strangled question clued her into his feelings on that one. “I run a business. A highly successful business. I do not ever and will not ever be pushed around by a wannabe socialite who thinks the world revolves around her petty desires. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir.” Evelyn gulped hard. She could feel the steam rolling off him even through the phone.

“First thing tomorrow morning, meeting in my office. You, Rico, the entire wedding boutique staff. Eight sharp. Then at nine, we bring in the couple. I’ll have Peg contact the others. I’m putting an end to any misunderstandings. On all sides.”

“Roger and out,” she said, using one of Peg’s lines now. Signing off, she glanced up. She winced. “Maybe we’ll skip dinner, how’s that?”

***

Shane dragged her out to the dance floor, pulling her into him. Her petite body fit his perfectly. Her arms around his neck brought her closer still. He allowed his hands to settle on her tiny waist. His body hummed. “We’re supposed to appease her, not antagonize her anymore.”

Evelyn sighed, snuggling her head into his shoulder. “You smell nice,” she said, almost absently.

“It’s called soap.”

Her halfhearted chuckle eased his anxiety. “I’m glad you didn’t get caught up in her web.”

“But Dex is. Now you see why it’s so important to save him. If he had half a clue with people as he does with his test tubes, I wouldn’t be so concerned.”

“But he’s not you and can’t see through the ruse.”

“You’re all I got.” It took a great deal of effort to admit that to her. There was no one else he could ask or turn to about this.