Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17

Merrick

The next morning, I woke up early. Kitty’s house was still dark and quiet, so I didn’t bother pulling on a shirt before I headed to the bathroom. As I reached for the doorknob, the door suddenly opened.

Evie stood before me, wrapped in only a towel. Her hand flew to her chest. “Shit. You scared the crap out of me.”

“Sorry. I didn’t think anyone was up yet.”

“I wanted to shower before Kitty woke up, so I wouldn’t be in the way. But I realized I forgot my conditioner in my bag.”

“Do you mind if I use the bathroom while you get it?”

She shook her head and tightened the corner of her towel. “No, of course not. Go right ahead.”

After I relieved myself, I found Evie waiting in the hall outside. I didn’t mean for it to happen, but my eyes surveyed the contours of her body. The towel only hung to the top of her thigh, and the way it was wrapped around her chest, her cleavage really wanted to spill over. I might’ve gotten stuck in that area for a few heartbeats. When my eyes finally found their way back to hers, she offered a knowing smile.

“Pervert.”

My brows shot up. “I’m a pervert? You’re half naked, and you’ve already shown me your ass. Actually, I saw you in your bra in that dressing room, too. You really need to stop coming on to me like this.”

She put her hand on my chest and nudged me to one side of the doorway. Then she squeezed into it with me. Our bodies weren’t touching, but they were damn close. She pushed up on her toes and looked into my eyes. “I bet if I left the bathroom door open a bit, I could prove who the pervert is.”

I swallowed. Fuck. I had the strongest urge to show her exactly how perverted I was feeling at the moment. In fact, she was about ten seconds away from finding out, because her attitude was making me hard. She was going to be in for a surprise when it hit her belly. But then Evie slipped past me into the bathroom and wiggled her fingers.

“You might want to step away so I can close the door, pervert.” She grinned.

I groaned. “You’re evil.”

It took every ounce of willpower to walk away as she pulled the door shut. I stood just down the hall for a few minutes, second-guessing myself. Luckily, my ruminations were cut short by my grandmother’s voice. It was just the cold shower I needed.

“Merrick!”

I took a relieved breath before walking to her room. “Morning, Grams. How’d you sleep?”

“A little better. I took that damn boot off.”

I shook my head. “You’re supposed to keep it on so you don’t cause further damage.”

She waved me off. “That foot feels fine. They just wanted another thing to bill my insurance for.”

I looked around the room. Finding the soft cast on the dresser, I walked over and grabbed it. “At least put it on before you get up.”

She grumbled but let me help her with it before we went out to the kitchen.

“You still take your coffee with enough sugar to induce a diabetic coma?” I asked.

Grams used her hands to lift the leg with the hard cast up on the chair next to her. “When you’re as sweet as me, you have to replenish the supply somehow.”

While my grandmother was certainly one of the kindest humans I knew, sweet wasn’t the way I’d describe her. “If your personality comes from what you ingest, I’m surprised you don’t put lemons in your coffee,” I teased. I prepped two mugs and took the seat across from her, sliding hers across the table.

“Thank you,” she said. “So tell me, what are you going to do about Everly?”

“Evie?”

Grams raised her mug to her lips. “Mmm-hmm.”

“I guess she’ll go back after your doctor’s appointment. I know she wanted to be here for it. I’ll see if there’s a flight for her tomorrow morning.”

“I wasn’t asking for her itinerary, dumbass. I was asking when you’re finally going to make your move.”

“What move?”

“I see the way you look at the girl when you think no one’s paying attention. A woman like that won’t be single for long. So stop dilly-dallying and throw your hat in the ring.”

Oh, Jesus. I shook my head. “We’re not having this conversation, Grams.”

“Why the hell not? When was the last time you had a girlfriend? I’m not talking about a hookup—I mean a nice girl to date.”

The word hookup should never come out of anyone’s grandmother’s mouth. “I’ve been focused on my business the last few years. Besides, that’s not what Evie wants.”

Grams frowned. “That twit really did a number on you. I worry about you, Merrick. When you close your heart to opportunity, you miss out on love.”

“I’m not doing that.”

“Okay. So then humor me for a minute. Do you think Everly is attractive?”

I sighed, knowing Grams would never let it go if I didn’t play along. “She’s a beautiful woman, yes.”

“Got a great ass, too.”

I shook my head with a laugh. “Yes, Evie also has a nice figure.”

“Do you often find yourself wondering what’s going on in her head?”

“Yes, but she’s a therapist. So she has a unique way of looking at things.”

“See a future with her?”

I didn’t want to throw Evie under the bus and say it was her who was stopping anything from happening. But it was becoming inevitable.

“Grams, you’re talking to the wrong person. Evie knows I’m attracted to her.”

“Of course she does. But she also sees a man who’s closed off from his feelings and angry at the world—a man who can quickly answer questions about his attraction to her, but say the word future, and you change the subject. You’re two good-looking people. Lust isn’t the problem; it’s being afraid of love.”

“I’m fine, Grams. Really. You don’t need to worry about me. I’m not afraid to fall in love.”

Grams’s face turned serious. “Oh, I never thought you were, sweetheart. I think you’re afraid you won’t be loved back.”

• • •

“Thank you so much for coming today.” I shook my head as I drove. “I would never have gotten her to agree to have surgery without you. What did you say to her when you asked for a few minutes to talk alone?”

Grams, Evie, and I had all gone in to meet with the doctor after she examined Grams. The doctor laid out all of the reasons my grandmother needed a hysterectomy, but Grams was adamant that things would heal on their own. She wanted to give it some time. Then Evie asked if they could have a few minutes alone. Twenty minutes later, my grandmother was signing consent forms and getting scheduled for this coming Wednesday.

Evie smiled. “Do you really want to know?”

I sighed. “Never mind. But thank you.”

Grams had asked us to drop her off at Marvin’s, so now it was just the two of us pulling into her driveway.

“You’re welcome,” Evie said.

I put the car in park and killed the ignition, but made no move to get out. “I think I’m going to work from down here until she’s out of the hospital and back home safely. I’ll probably arrange a nurse to come by and check on her, too, which will piss her off.”

Evie smiled. “It definitely will. But I’m glad you’re going to stay. I’m going to see if I can get a flight home late tonight or tomorrow morning. I didn’t cancel tomorrow’s patients yet, and I hate to have people think they aren’t my priority when I just started.”

“I don’t think that’s the case, but I understand.”

“Would it be okay with you if I came back? Her surgery is on Wednesday, and the doctor said she would only be in the hospital two or three days, so she’ll likely be home Friday or Saturday. I could come down for the weekend.”

“I’m sure she’d like that. Though I can only have you come back under one condition.”

“Oh?”

“I’m paying for your flight. And I’m reimbursing you for the one you already paid for.”

“No, it’s fine. I’d have done it for Kitty even if you weren’t my employer.”

“I know you would have. But it will make me feel better.”

She nodded, but I had a feeling she had no intention of giving me the bill, so I made a mental note to tell Joan in HR to put a bonus in her next check.

We went inside, and since the market was open today, I had some work to do and a bunch of calls to make. Evie went online and booked a ticket for 6 AM tomorrow morning and then said she was running to the store to pick up some things to make dinner.

It was almost six by the time I joined her in the kitchen. “It smells good in here.”

“I’m making chicken piccata, but I think it’s the cookies I’m baking that you smell.”

“Uh-oh. Should I be nervous about why you’re baking?”

She smiled. “No, I’m in a good mood. It was nice to be down here, and I’m relieved Kitty is feeling well and going to have the surgery.”

“Yeah, me, too.”

Evie turned to face me and leaned against the kitchen island. “Can I say something and you won’t get offended?”

“That’s never a good start to a conversation…”

She laughed. “It’s not terrible. Just an observation.”

I folded my arms across my chest and leaned against the counter across from her. “Go ahead. Lay it on me.”

“Well, you’re a very different person out of the office. You come across as cold and hard, but you’re actually warm and soft.”

“Soft is not a word a man likes to hear himself described as, for many reasons.”

Evie smiled. “If you showed even just a glimpse of this side of you in the office, I think it would go a long way.”

I looked down, quiet for a moment. “I think I might have forgotten that there was another side of me. Maybe the trip down here was a reminder I needed.”

“Your grandmother is a special lady. She brings out the best in people.”

I looked up and caught Evie’s eye. “She is a special lady. But I’m not sure she’s the one who brought about the change.”

Evie’s lips parted, and I couldn’t stop staring at them for the longest time. When I finally forced my eyes up to meet hers, I found her watching me just as intently as I’d been watching her. But then…

“Merrick! We’re back!” Grams yelled from the other room. “Just wanted to let you know in case we’re walking in at a bad time.”

Evie and I looked at each other, breaking into smiles. I wasn’t sure if Grams had bad timing or good.