The Running Series Complete Collection: 3-Book Set plus Bonus Novella (80 page)

Evan slips out from behind the bar and stands behind me.  He takes my bar stool and spins it so that I’m facing him.  He’s got the most adorably devilish grin on his face.  He inches closer to me, nudging his legs between mine, forcing me to open up for him.  He places both hands on the bar behind me, bringing us nose-to-nose.  Softly, sweetly, he turns his head slightly, surprising me with Eskimo kisses.  He whispers in my ear, “Come home with me tonight, Juliette.”

I smile at the thought, place my hands on his hips, and bring my lips to his ear.  Gently, I nibble on his earlobe and inhale his manly scent, as I hiss, “No.”

Evan backs up infinitesimally and breathes seductively, “Please.”

I bite my lip and shake my head.  “No,” I repeat.  “Not yet.”

Evan steps back and teases, “Oh, okay – not
yet
.  What kind of plan do you have worked out in the beautifully devious mind of yours, Miss Fletcher?”

“I’ll make a deal with you, Mr. McGuire.”  I pull him closer by grabbing his belt loops and dragging him into me.  “I’ll let you take me on a date if you agree to join me at my doctor’s appointment tomorrow.”

The impish grin disappears, immediately replaced by a look of concern and worry.  “Doctor?  Juliette, are you okay?  Is something wrong?”

“No, Evan, the appointment is with my therapist.  I’ll do all the talking.  You don’t have to say a word,” I beg.  “I know you’re off tomorrow.  It’s just for one hour.  That’s it.  Give me one hour and then I’ll let you take me out, just the two of us.”  I wrap my legs around his, and lock him in a tight embrace.  “You can make me dinner, and then maybe I’ll make you – ”

He stops me in the middle of my sentence with a kiss.  I wrap my fingers in his hair when I feel his tongue collide with my own.  I lose all my defenses and let him devour me.  When he finally releases me, he looks down with clouded, sultry eyes.  “Is that a ‘yes’?” I ask.

“Right now, Juliette, you could ask me almost anything and I’d be helpless to refuse.”

I
wake up bright and early the next day after a solid night’s sleep.  I’m feeling more hopeful than I have in weeks.  As I brew myself a cup of hot coffee, I get a text from Evan.

Evan: 
Morning Running Grl.
 

Juliette: 
Good morning chief.  Change ur mind yet?

Evan: 
nope.  Pick u up at 10?

Juliette: 
OK – see u then

When Auggie catches a whiff of the aroma of freshly brewed coffee wafting through the house, he calls for me to help him up and out of bed.  Auggie sits with me as I make us breakfast.  He listens as I share every juicy detail about the night.  As I clean up from breakfast, he pulls out his iPad and searches for pictures and reviews from last night.  “Jepetto, come here, my dear – you’re going to love this!”

I turn off the water and dry off my hands before rejoining Auggie at the kitchen island.  He hands over the iPad and the screen is filled with the most glorious picture of the eight of us standing beneath a Grand Opening Banner in front of our restaurant.  Evan has his arm around me and we both look beyond happy.  I’m smiling so broadly, it feels like my face might split in half.  I hand the iPad back to Auggie and return to wash the rest of the dishes.

“Don’t you want to read the reviews?” he calls to me over the loud sound of running water.

“Nope, I was there, I know how it went.  I’ve seen what I need to see.  Can you message me that picture, Auggie?”  I want to have that picture with me, always.

When I’m done cleaning, I help Auggie get comfortable on the couch.  It’s time for me to jump in the shower.  Evan will be here soon.  We have a very important appointment in exactly one hour and I have a very good feeling. 

More Than Meets the Eye

A
fter a short visit with Auggie, we drive straight to the counselor’s office.  Evan insists we take my sad excuse for a car because he doesn’t want anyone to recognize him or his fancy sports car.  I have concerns about his privacy, as well.  “Are you positive you didn’t tell anyone, Evan?  Not even Adam.”

“No, Juliette, I didn’t say a word to him or to anyone.  But, honestly, I don’t understand why we’re keeping secrets from Adam,” he repeats.  Last night, I asked him to keep this private, and it was a bit of a struggle to get him to agree.  I promised I would explain today.

“I just think Adam’s a little too involved in your personal life, Evan.  He’s done an amazing job of managing your professional affairs, but I think it’s time you started managing your own life,” I tell him.

“Maybe you’re right.  Adam didn’t like it when I wouldn’t tell him where we were going today.  I’m not sure why, though.”

“Evan, can I ask you a question?”

“Anything, Juliette.”  He takes my hand in his and gives an affectionate squeeze.  “You can ask me absolutely anything.” 

“Today is Friday.  You haven’t been to practice in exactly one week, right?”

“Right.”

“Well, I was just wondering if you feel any different?  The past few days, you seem calmer.  More relaxed.  I couldn’t help but notice.”

“Actually, I do feel better.”  He brings my hand up to his lips and places a soft kiss on the top of my hand.  “But I don’t think it has anything to do with football.  It has
everything
to do with you, Juliette.  I knew I was going to spend time with you,” he assures me.

“That’s really sweet, Evan, but I don’t think it’s true.  Last week, each time you saw me, it ended in a fight.  The week before that wasn’t much better,” I remind him.

“Hmm.  Maybe Adam and my father were right.  It’s probably just stress.  I’ve had a whole week off to decompress, and I feel like a new man,” he proudly proclaims.

“Evan, baby, think about it before you answer me.  You’ve been playing football for a long time now.  Why, all of a sudden, does your entire personality change just because it’s football season again?  Granted, I’ve never known you during previous football seasons, but I seriously doubt you ever turned into such an angry brute before.”

Evan quiets to consider my observation.  He says nothing.  He doesn’t accept my theory as fact, but he doesn’t deny it, either.  Again, he just squeezes my hand and drives on. 

When we arrive at Dr. Falkowski’s office, I check in with the receptionist and tell her that I’d like my boyfriend to sit in on my session today.  She asks for Evan’s name for their records and he responds without missing a beat, “Evan Thomas.”  My mind immediately flashes back to the early days of our relationship when he hid his identity from me by using that name.  Technically, since Thomas is his middle name, he’s not lying.  He’s just withholding his last name.  I can’t say I blame him, though.  If word were to get out that we are in counseling together, the rumor mills would buzz with excitement.

Since we are the first appointment of the day, there’s no one else in the office.  Dr. Falkowski comes out right away and invites us into his office.  “Juliette, it’s nice to see you again.  Who have you brought with you today?”

“Dr. Falkowski, this is Evan Thomas.  Evan, this is Dr. Falkowski.”  The men shake hands cordially. 

Dr. Falkowski takes a seat behind his desk, takes out a notepad and scribbles some precursory notes.  As he’s writing, he addressed Evan directly, “Mr.
Thomas
, it’s a pleasure to meet you.  Juliette has told me a lot about you.”

“I’m sure she has.  But before we continue, I’d like to ask you a few questions.  Do you record your sessions?” Evan asks.

“My notes are all hand written,” he responds, showing Evan the yellow notepad he has in front of him.  “I don’t do any audio or video recordings of my sessions.  If it becomes therapeutically necessary, I make sure to get the consent of the patient before beginning.  I don’t see the need for any such recordings at this point.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”  Evan visibly relaxes.  “Now, for the record, my full name is Evan Thomas McGuire, but in this setting, I prefer to use Evan Thomas.  Juliette tells me that you are familiar with my situation.  Is that correct?”  Evan is acting as if he is in control of this entire process.  I hope that’s not the case.

“Yes, I understand your situation as well as the circumstances that brought you here today.  Your privacy is very important to me, as well.  I want you to feel that you are in a safe place where you can speak freely.”  Dr. Falkowski stands up, walks to the front of his desk, and takes a seat in a chair near Evan and me.  “So tell me, Juliette, what would you like to discuss today?”

I look at Evan to see if he has any input.  He shakes his head and shrugs his shoulders, reminding me that he’s only here as a spectator.  “Um, well, I guess I’d like to discuss my behavior and choices last night.”

“I see.  What, specifically, concerns you the most?” he asks.

“Well, Evan and I agreed to act as a couple in front of the press at yesterday’s Grand Opening.  We want the news to be about the restaurant, not our personal problems.  But I’m afraid I may have taken things a little too far,” I confess.  I give Dr. Falkowski all the details about the entire night, starting with make-out session in front of the press, and ending with our flirting at the bar after closing.  He listens carefully without interrupting me, and takes notes throughout it all.

“Evan, do you agree with Juliette’s description of last night’s events?” he asks.

“Not exactly,” he responds.  “Juliette says she thinks things went too far, and I think they didn’t go far enough.”

“Ah, I see.”  The doctor sits back in his chair and appraises us both.  He doesn’t respond right away.  “It would appear to me that at this time, your goals are not exactly in synch with one another.”

Evan answers before I get a chance to.  “Oh, we’re in synch, all right.  We were in synch all night long.  It wasn’t until closing that she threw the brakes on.”

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about.  It was too easy for both of us to fall back into hold habits last night,” I try to explain.

“Well, I can’t say I’m surprised.  If you had come to me with this plan beforehand, I would have warned you about blurring the lines, Juliette.  Without clearly set boundaries, you’re likely to give mixed signals to one another again.”  Dr. Falkowski is making sense; he’s right.  “You’re creating a situation where you both can become frustrated with the other and disappointed in the outcome.  If you intend to reconcile, I suggest setting up ground rules you both can live with for now.  If things go well, then you can negotiate to change the rules.  Does that sound like something you both can agree to?”

Evan and I look at one another, nodding our heads in agreement.  Good!  We have a starting point.

“Dr. Falkowski, can I ask you a few more questions?” I ask.

“Of course.  What’s on your mind?”

“Well, last time we spoke, you said something I think Evan needs to hear.”

“We spoke about many things, Juliette.  Could you be more specific?”

“It had to do with Evan getting evaluated by someone, how did you put it?  Out of his circle or something like that?  And that if he were your patient, you’d start by running some medical tests.  Isn’t that right?”

“That’s correct.”  Dr. Falkowski turns in his swivel chair to address Evan directly.  “What Juliette is referring to is our discussion about getting an outside opinion about your medical and mental state.  It’s important that everyone develop an inner circle of individuals to provide support and friendship throughout their lives.  No man is an island, as they say.  But when those same individuals are also entrusted to make business decisions that will affect their own professional livelihoods, their personal interests might supersede your own.”

“Wait a minute.  I completely trust Adam.  He’s my closest friend and an amazing business manager,” Evan contended.  I just knew he would react like this.

“I’m sure he is, Evan.  The fact is, he might think that his advise is what’s best for you.  His intentions might be completely honorable.  However, you can’t deny the fact that if what was best for you conflicted with what was best for his career as your manager, he might not see that as a viable option.”