Chapter 28

28

Tyrion

I t was Friday, and I’d convinced my wife to go on a date with me. Even though I’d been with her since I was sixteen, I was nervous as hell. This would be our first time really being alone together since she came home. I’d dropped Summer Rose off at my parents after school, then went to get my hair cut and beard lined up before going home to get ready. I wanted this to feel like a real date, so I was picking Evenie up from her parents.

Since we both loved music, I was taking her to dinner at this place that had a live band and a dance floor. Looking myself over in the mirror, I thought I looked pretty good. I’d dressed myself in all black from head to toe, knowing Evenie loved that on me. My ensemble was completed with a gold chain, matching wristwatch, and a single stud in my earlobe. I sprayed on her favorite cologne before grabbing my phone and wallet and heading out of the house.

The ride to the Longs’ residence only took about fifteen minutes, with me stopping to pick up the bouquet of flowers I’d ordered. When I arrived, I pulled up to the curb and got out. I felt like I was picking her up for our first date all over again. Back then, the sixteen-year-old me was nervous as hell to meet my in-laws. She’d told me how her father didn’t play about her, and in my mind, that meant the man was coming to the door with a sawed-off shotgun ready to send me to my maker.

It was quite the opposite. He’d opened the door with a smile and a firm handshake. He introduced me to his wife, then sat me down and explained to me his expectations of me with his baby girl. Pops was nothing but respectful, and it put my young mind at ease. At that point, I was already falling for Evenie, and I just wanted her people to like me.

Raising a closed fist, I knocked on the door. A few seconds later, I heard the locks disengage, and the door opened. Mr. David stood there with a friendly smile.

“Hey, son.”

“Hey, Pops.”

He opened the door wider so I could come in. “That wife of yours is still getting ready. She’s changed clothes about six different times already.”

I chuckled. “I expected nothing less. That’s why our dinner reservation is thirty minutes later than I told her.”

He slapped my shoulder. “You learned the game early. Come have a drink with me.”

I followed him into the den where the bar was set up. He grabbed two glasses and poured us up a serving of Jack Daniels.

“You looking dapper tonight,” he noted, taking a sip.

“I tried, I tried. I’m a little nervous, Pops.”

He smiled. “That means you’re doing something right. Trust me, she’s nervous too. She and her mother have been driving me crazy in here.”

“I heard that!” Mrs. Cheryl yelled.

Her husband shook his head. “Damn bionic ears.”

Mrs. Cheryl came strutting around the corner with her hands on her hips. “You around here talking shit, David?”

“Never, my love.” He opened his arms to her, and she went straight into them, tilting her head up for a kiss. She looked over at me and smiled. “Hey, Tyrion, baby. Ooooo, don’t you look fine!”

I grinned. “Thank you, Ma.”

“Evenie is almost ready. She’s just putting on her shoes. I swear, she’s acting like this is her first date again. She wanted everything to look perfect.”

“Ev could never look bad, no matter what she put on.”

My father-in-law chuckled. “That’s how you know you’re in love.”

His wife slapped his chest. “You trying to say something?”

“Baby, I’ve been with you since we were kids. There is no part of you that I ain’t used to, okay? I’m still gonna—”

She giggled as she covered his mouth. “Not in front of Tyrion,” she warned him.

I had to laugh because I knew he was about to say something out of pocket that I didn’t want to imagine. The sound of heels clicking across the floor caused us all to look back. Evenie appeared, and my mouth immediately began to salivate.

She was breathtaking.

A tan sweater dress showed off her shoulders, stopped at her mid-calf, and hugged her curves in ways that made me jealous. The gold strappy heels on her feet matched the gold accessories and accentuated her pretty, nude toenails. Just from where she stood, I could smell the sweet scent of her perfume. Her face held a light beat of makeup that looked like she wasn’t wearing any at all.

“Damn,” I said aloud.

She blushed, and her parents chuckled to themselves. I slowly made my way over to her and handed her the flowers.

“These are for you.”

She smiled as she took and smelled them.

“You look… amazing, love. Stunning.”

“Thank you, baby.” She leaned in and kissed me sweetly. “You look pretty handsome yourself. I can see now that I’m gonna have to stick close to you. The moment I leave you alone, somebody is gonna shoot their shot, and I’m gonna have to snatch them up.”

“Evenie,” her mother fussed.

“Snatch ’em good, baby,” her father encouraged.

We shared a laugh.

“I promise, I’m all yours. Tonight, tomorrow, and forever.” I leaned over and kissed her again. “You ready to go?”

“I’m starving, so yes.” She walked over to her parents, hugging and kissing them both. “I love you both. I’ll see you later.”

“You kids have fun.”

We linked hands, and I led her out of the house and to my car with my eyes on her ass the whole time. Damn, she looked good! I didn’t even realize we’d made it to the car until she turned around on me.

“Eyes up here, sir,” she said, pointing at me.

“I’m sorry. I can’t help myself.” I reached for her, pulling her into my arms. My hand slid down her spine to her perfectly round backside. “You are tempting me beyond anything I can control, Evenie. I’m trying to contain it, but baby… you have my nose wide the fuck open.”

She smiled as she stroked my beard. “I want you,” she said softly. “I just… I want to be ready. When it’s time, I don’t want fear and trauma to hold me back from you.”

“I know, love. I’m patient, I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere. When you’re ready, you let me know.” We shared a sensual kiss before I opened her door. “Let’s get this date underway.”

Evenie groaned as she took a bite of the steak on her plate.

“Oh. My. God. This is amazing.”

I’d taken her to a fairly new place downtown called Table Twenty-Two. They had a bunch of raving reviews that said it was the place to be, but there was always a waiting list. Luckily for me, the owner was one of my clients. I called in a favor, and he made sure we had a table.

From the time we walked in, to the time we got our food, she was in awe. The place was pretty massive, and the decor was right up her alley as a designer. She was speaking a mile a minute as she pointed out different aspects and took several pictures. The smile on her face was priceless.

“It’s definitely good,” I agreed.

“This place is so nice. The food is good, the music is everything, and the aesthetics… oh my God. I would have loved to be the designer on this project.”

“The aesthetics is one of the reasons I brought you here. I knew you would love them. Speaking of aesthetics, how is it going with this client?”

“Amazing. She really didn’t have a vision going in, but I got her on track. Most of her pieces are being delivered on Monday, so I’ll probably have a long day with putting the spaces together.”

“I know you’ll make her very happy. I’m so proud of you.”

She smiled. “Thank you, baby.” She picked up her wineglass and took a sip. “I um… I have some news.”

“Oh?”

“So, a few weeks ago, Ms. Lacey asked me about taking over when she retires.”

“What! Baby, that’s an amazing offer. I know she’s like an idol to you.”

“Not an idol, just someone I admire and respect.”

“Are you gonna take her up on it?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s a lot of pressure. She said she needed a protégé and before everything happened, she was going to train me to take over when she got ready to step down. She said I showed the most promise and reminded her so much of herself. Me, Tyrion. A powerhouse like Lacey Tommin wants me to take over her business when she retires. Out of all the people that worked for her, she wants me. What if I ruin everything she’s worked so hard to build?”

“You won’t.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I know you. When you’re passionate about something, you give it your all. I’ve watched you do that since we were kids. How many times did you have me helping you move shit around in your bedroom when we were sixteen? I can remember at least three times that summer you had me and your dad breaking a sweat while you made us move everything around and paint walls until the room was perfect.”

She giggled. “Daddy complained about his back for days after that. Said he was never doing it again, but every time, he was right there.”

“I just think he didn’t want me alone in the room with you.”

“Maybe. He did tell me to make sure you weren’t after my goodies when we first started dating.”

“Little did he know, you were the one being hot in the ass.”

She laughed, slapping my shoulder. “Shut up!”

“You remember college and your dorm room? You made me drive you to every dollar store in the area to find shit to decorate your suite with. Your suite was the only one that looked and felt like home. Then there’s the house. You remember how long it took us to get it together because everything had to feel right to you? When we were looking for cabinets and furnishings, you had to touch every single piece. You would close your eyes and picture them in the rooms, and if it didn’t fit the vision, you scrapped it.

“You have never been a person that goes off of what looks good. It has to feel good to you. That’s what makes you great at what you do.” I picked up her hand and kissed it. “That’s why when you take the job, because I know you will, you are going to succeed at everything you put your hands on. They will be saying, Lacey Tommin who? You ain’t heard of Evenie Lewis? ”

She smiled as she squeezed my hand. “You’ve always been my biggest cheerleader.”

“And I always will be. You’ll be great.”

She did a little happy dance in her seat, and it was fucking adorable. I missed this version of her terribly. Evenie had always been my best friend. She was the one person I could unapologetically be myself with, no matter the time or space.

“What do you think Summer is doing?” she asked, taking another sip of her wine.

I chuckled. “I knew it was coming.”

“What! This is the first time I’ve been away from her since I’ve been home. I’m having withdrawals.”

“I’m sure she is fine. Just being spoiled by the other set of spoiling ass grandparents.”

“I blame you for that.”

“How do you blame me?”

She giggled. “Well, I wasn’t here, so who else can I blame?”

“How about the grandparents? And you have more than made up for not being able to spoil her, woman. All she has to do is bat those long eyelashes at you, and you’re a sucker.”

“That’s coming from the biggest sucker.”

We shared a laugh as she reached over and grabbed a grilled shrimp from my plate.

“Mmmm… that’s good.”

She was going to have to stop all that moaning. My dick was straining against my pants at this point. Every time she moaned, he responded. I shifted in my seat, trying to alleviate some of the pressure.

“Can I ask you something?” I asked.

“Anything.”

“Will you come home? For good? I miss you, Ev. I miss my baby, and I need both of you to come home. It doesn’t feel right being there by myself. The house is too big, too quiet… too damn lonely. Without either of you, it’s just a house… Just a bunch of walls with furniture and memories. I need you both to make it feel like home.” I reached out and grabbed her hand. “Please… I love you. I’m not whole without you, Ev.”

She sniffled and wiped the tears pooling on the corners of her eyes. Much to my surprise, she nodded.

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“I think the best way to work on us is under the same roof. Me and Summer are there all the time anyway now.” She squeezed my hand, giving me a soft smile. “I’m not whole without you either, Tyrion. I love you, and I’m ready to come home.”

I didn’t care that we were in a space full of people. I pulled her chair close to me, and cupped her face, kissing her with as much passion as I could muster. I loved this woman more than I loved myself. She was my first in so many things. We shared a soul tie that couldn’t be broken—not by time, not by distance, and not by circumstance.

Hearing someone clear their throat caused us to finally come up for air. Our waitress stood with a smile on her face.

“I’m sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay. Do you need anything?”

I shook my head. “Everything is perfect. We’re good.”

She bowed slightly and stepped away. I looked back to my wife, who was blushing like hell. I pecked her lips before releasing her to finish eating. By the time we were done, the band had kicked it up a notch. They started playing “No Letting Go” by Wayne Wonder.

Evenie was giddy with excitement as she stood and grabbed my hand, pulling me onto the dance floor. She started winding her hips against me, and I had no problem falling into step with her. Reggae was one of our favorite genres of music to dance to. There was something sensual about it. The way she swayed her hips to the beat was mesmerizing. The way she looked at me with those beautiful eyes had me falling deeper in love.

Every time I looked at her, I knew I made the right decision in marrying her. I knew that in this lifetime, there would never be another woman that could give me what she gave me.