The Billionaire's Touch (The Sinclairs #3) (7 page)

“I don’t know if I can,” Evan shared quietly. “They’re all happy now.”

So they no longer needed or wanted their eldest brother?

Hope’s heart clenched because Evan didn’t feel like he had a purpose anymore, now that they were all grown. He’d tried to be a surrogate father to them all for so long that he didn’t know how to be just a brother. “We still need you, Evan. We love you. You don’t need to be perfect anymore.”

“I’m as close to perfect as any man can be,” Evan grumbled disgruntledly. “It’s impossible to be completely faultless.”

Hope burst out laughing. Tears were still rolling down her face as she realized that some things about her eldest brother would never change, and she really didn’t want him to be someone he wasn’t. He was a product of his upbringing and his own experiences in his life. Evan was a good man, but he needed a woman who would help him laugh at himself occasionally.

Randi would be perfect for him, but the situation was definitely precarious at the moment. After everything she’d learned about Evan today, the last thing she wanted was to see him brokenhearted. Oh, not that he’d admitted that he was anything more than strangely attracted to Randi right now, and that he’d come to like her through their correspondence when he’d thought he was talking to someone else. But Hope could see all of the signs. She had a husband she’d been in love with most of her life. It wasn’t difficult for her to recognize Evan’s attraction as a little more than what he’d described.

“Just shut up and hug me, Evan,” she insisted, smiling through her tears.

He turned away from the steering wheel and held his arms open for her. “Of course, if that’s what you need,” he agreed readily.

I’m not the only one who needs it.

Hope threw herself into his sheltering embrace, knowing he needed a hug just as badly as she did. He held her close and she rested her head on his shoulder, hopeful that someone special like Randi could help heal Evan’s hidden pain. He’d been the rock of their family, the sibling who had always been there for every one of them. As Hope squeezed him tightly, she knew it was beyond his turn to begin healing the wounds of his childhood. She planned on doing everything in her power to make that happen.

“So do you have any suggestions?” Evan asked hesitantly.

Hope knew he was talking about his situation with Randi. As she pulled back from his hug and swiped at her damp face, she told him firmly, “Plenty of them. We need to make another stop on the way back to the Peninsula. We have to get you to loosen up a little. You can drop me off afterward and then run out to Randi’s place with the groceries. I’ll call her so she doesn’t try to make the trip into town. Take my vehicle, and have the plow run in front of you on the way out there. It’s a small, two-lane highway going out to her place. It can get pretty bad.”

Evan gave her a suspicious look, but he didn’t say another word. He shifted the large SUV into gear and asked her where she wanted to go. She gave him directions, and he followed them silently. For once, Hope didn’t feel awkward because of the distance he was trying to create, or his silence, because she understood that Evan was far from indifferent. So much of the
Evan
they saw on the surface was nothing more than a façade. There was no question he was arrogant, but he was so much more.

“Turn right at the light,” she instructed, wondering how difficult he was going to make her effort to get him some casual clothing.

“When did you get so bossy?” Evan asked gruffly, but he slowed the vehicle to make the turn.

Hope smiled at his comment and answered, “I’ve always been that way. You just never noticed because you were so much bossier.”

He didn’t answer, but she could see the corners of his lips start to turn up.

She leaned back in the heated leather seat contentedly with a grin on her face. Evan was nearly smiling. It might not seem like much to most people, but for her, it meant a hell of a lot.

CHAPTER 6

Randi lost her power around two o’clock in the afternoon, just as she was getting ready to leave for town.

Hope called her cell phone just a few minutes after to let her know she’d picked up supplies for her and they were on their way.

“My power is out,” she told Hope unhappily as she stuffed some clothing into her backpack. “I’m going to need to come into town anyway and wait out the storm. My generator isn’t working.”

Randi had made that unfortunate discovery soon after the power had gone off. Being rural, she lost power more often than they did in town, and it was slower to come back on. She should have checked the generator before winter, but Joan had been so sick that it had slipped her mind. “I’ll get a room at one of the inns for a day or two. The hotels and inns should have openings. It’s off-season right now.”

“No, you will not!” Hope’s declaration came fiercely across the phone communication. “You can stay with us. We have plenty of room, and we have a whole-house generator even if the power goes out.”

“You have a new baby—”

“And you have friends. Lots of them,” Hope said firmly. “Get your butt over here. Tell Evan to bring you home with him. He should be there to drop off your groceries any minute.”

“Evan?” Randi stopped short of stuffing her underwear inside her pack.

“He’s bringing the supplies personally. He was worried about you.”

“Evan?” Randi repeated, having a difficult time imagining one of the richest men in the world delivering groceries, much less just because he was concerned about her being caught in a storm.

“He’s not so bad, Randi,” Hope replied softly. “Maybe he can’t always express himself well, but he does have a heart.”

Randi could hear the fondness radiate through Hope’s voice, and she could hardly tell Evan’s sister that she thought her brother was an arrogant jackass. “It was a nice thing for him to do,” she admitted reluctantly, wondering at the same time what ulterior motive Evan had in doing her a favor. Men like Evan Sinclair didn’t just do menial jobs for anybody who needed something. He had to have a purpose. She supposed all sisters wanted to think their brothers had a heart, but Randi certainly hadn’t seen any sign of one existing in Evan yet.

“Do me a favor?” Hope requested.

“Of course,” Randi agreed readily. She adored Hope, and she’d do anything she asked.

“Give Evan a chance.”

Okay . . . she’d do anything except
that
. “We don’t like each other, Hope. We rub each other the wrong way. We’re too different to be friends.” It wasn’t like Randi hadn’t tried, and she still couldn’t forget the scorching-hot kiss they’d shared a few days ago. However, getting involved with a heartless billionaire like Evan would be a big mistake. In spite of having some basic and incredibly strong physical chemistry, they couldn’t be together for more than a minute without arguing or just plain ignoring each other so they didn’t fight.

“Things aren’t always exactly what they seem,” Hope hedged.

“Are you saying your brother isn’t an asshole?” Randi asked bluntly, wondering if Hope saw a way-different Evan than she did.

“No,” Hope admitted with humor in her voice. “He is an asshole sometimes, but maybe he has his reasons. You know what our childhood was like.”

Randi’s heart clenched as she heard a trace of vulnerability in Hope’s voice. She often met with the Sinclair wives, along with her friends Kristin and Tessa, and all of the women had become pretty close. They all shared most of their secrets, and Randi knew how stifling and depressing Hope’s upbringing had been. What would it have been like to be the eldest child of Hope’s alcoholic, neurotic father? Obviously, Hope’s parent had put some pretty high expectations on his eldest son. “I know,” she finally answered as she continued stuffing articles of clothing into her bag. “I’ll try to be nice to him. I promise,” she vowed, optimistic that she could hold her temper for more than a few minutes. The guy was bringing her supplies through a major blizzard. Even if he did have ulterior motives, Randi was grateful. Too bad she’d lost power and had to go into town. It would essentially be a wasted trip for Evan.

“Good. I’ll see you soon,” Hope said, sounding satisfied.

Randi said good-bye to Hope and clicked the “Off” button on her phone, dropping it onto the bed.

“Looks like we’re going for a longer ride, Lily,” she informed her dog.

Lily was lying on the bed next to Randi’s backpack, watching her mistress carefully, trying to surmise what was about to happen.

At the mention of a ride, Lily bolted to her feet and leapt agilely and happily off the mattress to the carpeted floor, whining her doggy joy.

“I’m glad you’re happy,” Randi told her pup as she closed the zipper on her pack. She wasn’t exactly thrilled about leaving her home, even if it was for just a day or two. She jumped as she heard somebody hammering on her front door.

Evan?

Her heart skipping a beat, she tried not to picture him pinning her body against her vehicle and kissing her breathless.

“Coming,” she yelled as Lily began to bark.

She opened the door and every bit of air left her lungs in one enormous
whoosh
, a sound she couldn’t conceal as she looked at the man on her doorstep. There was Evan Sinclair in his fancy wool coat, looking as handsome as ever, and she had the same breathless reaction to him that she always did. He had a cream scarf tucked into the neckline, but his head was bare. “I need to unload some stuff,” Evan said bluntly, his windblown dark hair whipping around in the brutal storm.

Randi was mute for a moment, her gaze lost in the depths of his blue-eyed stare.

“Um . . . no need,” she finally informed him, hating her own body for its volatile reaction to Evan. “I have to go into town. I lost power.”

“You don’t have a generator?”

“Not working,” Randi replied.
Just like my brain right now.
Sweet Jesus! The weather might be frigid, but she was suddenly roasting in her jeans, sweater, and ski jacket.

Evan reached out and took the backpack out of her hand, an item she’d forgotten she was clutching.

“Let’s go. The roads aren’t good, and the second storm is about to hit. I don’t think they’ll be passable for much longer,” Evan demanded. “I’ll take the groceries with us. You’ll need them.”

Randi snapped out of her haze of lust, telling Evan quickly, “I just need to get my car out of the garage.”

“You’re not driving. I have a vehicle twice the size of that miniature SUV of yours, and I barely made it through. Let’s go. For once, no arguing. We don’t have the time.” Evan’s eyes drilled into hers, his stern expression demanding she relent.

I don’t have to argue with him. What he’s saying makes sense. He’s been on the roads; I haven’t.

What Evan suggested was perfectly logical. She just wished he wouldn’t say it in such a high-handed way. It made her want to go on the defensive immediately.

“Fine,” she answered briskly and went to get the rest of her winter gear and her laptop. She had promised Hope she would try to be nice.

Randi scooped up only what she’d need for the next day or two and put Lily on her leash.

“You’re taking the dog?” Evan frowned at her as she met him at the door. He’d stepped inside, but just barely. Just enough to close the door and prevent the heat from escaping.

Randi gaped at him. “I have to take Lily. How would she eat? How would she drink? How would she stay warm?”

Evan gave her a puzzled look, but he took her laptop and the leash from her hand, after slinging the heavy pack to his shoulder to let her lock up. Randi could feel how much the wind had strengthened since she’d plowed out the driveway. “It is getting bad,” she yelled at Evan as she locked the front door.

Taking Lily’s leash back from Evan, she sprinted with him to Hope’s large SUV, letting him grasp her hand as they trekked through ankle-deep snow that had fallen or blown into the driveway. It hadn’t been that long since she’d cleaned it, and it was already starting to pile up again.

Breathless from the shock of the wind and cold once she settled into the luxurious SUV, she leaned back against the leather, relieved. It was her first winter alone in Dennis and Joan’s home. She hadn’t been looking forward to experiencing it without power for a few days. Being there was both a comfort and a trigger for her melancholy moods when she was missing them. Without power, she’d started feeling downright gloomy.

“Thanks,” she told Evan as he put the vehicle in motion, and Lily found a comfortable position sitting between her legs on the floorboard.

Evan frowned at Lily as she whined and squirmed with excitement before focusing his attention on the road.

“You don’t like dogs?” Randi asked just to make conversation. She might only be ten miles out of town, but it was going to be a long ride, since the roads sucked. They looked like they’d been plowed, but the wind was blowing a massive amount of snow, making visibility a nightmare.

“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never had one,” he answered flatly.

“Cats?”

“I’ve never had any type of animal,” Evan said shortly. “I travel too much.”

Randi’s heart sank, remembering that Hope had once told her that her father had hated animals and hadn’t allowed any of the kids to have a pet. She sank her fingers into Lily’s silky coat. “Well, Evan, this is Lily. She was my college graduation present from my foster parents. She’s four years old and is generally very well behaved. She just gets excited because she loves to go for rides.”

“Will she need to go to the bathroom?” Evan asked, sounding concerned.

Randi chuckled at his serious tone. “No. She can hold it. Just keep moving or we might get stuck.” She hesitated as she looked at the road in front of them, the visibility so bad that she could barely make out the road. “Can you see okay?”

Evan shrugged his broad shoulders. “Not great. But I’ll get us home safely.”

His voice was so calm, so certain, that Randi relaxed. She doubted there was anything that Evan Sinclair wasn’t capable of doing well. She was glad she wasn’t driving. She could probably get through it, but she’d be white-knuckled for the whole drive. Bad weather rarely bothered her, but this was an epic blizzard, even for the East Coast. “I’m surprised that they actually plowed way out here.”

“They didn’t,” Evan answered. “We sent the Peninsula plow out before the SUV. You never would have made it into town. I can’t believe you were even going to attempt the drive.”

“I guess I forgot how bad the roads can get out here. It’s my first winter in the house since I went off to college.” Randi had moved back in with Joan last summer, giving up her small apartment in town to take care of her. “Joan needed help, and I couldn’t leave her alone anymore. She was forgetting to take her medications, and she wasn’t eating very well.”

“Your foster mother?” Evan questioned. “Hope told me she passed away not long ago.”

Randi nodded, even though Evan was focused on the road. “I miss her. I miss both my foster parents.” She buried her fingers in Lily’s fur, stroking the dog more to comfort herself than Lily.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Evan said in a husky voice.

“Thanks,” she finally answered Evan’s expression of sympathy, not certain what to make of him at the moment. His comment was probably the nicest thing he’d ever said to her.

She stared at him in profile, unable to ignore his strong, capable fingers gripping the steering wheel and the rugged handsomeness of his features from a sideways view. He had a small amount of dark stubble on his jaw, but that only made him hotter, more approachable. Randi was willing to bet that the coat—identical to or the same as the one she’d spilled her coffee on—cost more than her monthly salary. But he somehow seemed . . . different today.

Why?

Even though the SUV was large, she could smell his masculine scent, and the fragrance made every female hormone in her body take notice. She’d always loved Evan’s essence, ever since the first time she’d had to stand beside him at Emily’s wedding.

He doesn’t seem like he has a stick up his ass today!

He was still arrogant, but he seemed more . . . relaxed. Her eyes traveled down his body, noting that he was actually dressed in a pair of jeans and was wearing boots instead of shoes. Granted, they looked like they were expensive black leather, but they were more casual, lace-up boots rather than his usual sleek, custom-made shoes. Those were gone today, as were his usual suit and tie. The whole package made him seem more . . . human, and eminently more touchable.

Randi was silent as Evan navigated the roads, not only to let him concentrate, but because desire was burning so fiercely in her gut that she couldn’t really even make conversation.

It had always been this way for her. She’d always wanted Evan Sinclair with a savage intensity that she constantly had to fight.

She didn’t understand it.

She didn’t like it.

However, it wouldn’t go away, even when Evan was being a complete ass—which had been almost constantly from the moment they’d first met.

It’s just physical. I haven’t gotten laid for a long time.