Do I love her? Without a doubt.
I just haven’t quite told her yet. I haven’t found the right time.
“Seriously?” Max laughs. “That was weak, guys. A nap? Why not just be honest and say that you’re going upstairs to have sex—or at the very least, oral?”
Max knows Evie and I haven’t had actual sex. He’s saying this to wind her up.
I don’t discuss our sex life with him, but he’s also my best friend. When Evie and I first got together, he pushed to know if we’d done it, so I told him that Evie was a virgin, and we were taking it slow.
At that point, I think he realized how serious I was about her.
Evie’s face goes bright red, and she drops her head to my chest, letting out a mortified-sounding laugh.
I lift a hand, giving Max the middle finger. “Fuck you very much, dickwad.”
“Love you, too, man.” He blows me a kiss. “Have fun, kids, and play safe. I’ll be in the game room if you need me.”
“Not likely,” I mutter.
He laughs again before disappearing through the door.
“Is he gone?” Evie mumbles into my shirt.
“Yep.”
She lifts her face, a blush still staining her cheeks.
I run my finger over the soft skin there. “You still wanna go fool around?”
“I want to, I just…feel kind of weird, knowing that Max knows what we’re doing.”
“Just ignore him. But we don’t have to if you don’t feel comfortable.”
She reaches up and presses a kiss to my lips. “You’re perfect, you know that?”
“It’s been said before.” I grin.
She playfully slaps my chest. I catch her hand, and bringing it to my lips, I kiss the tips of her fingers. Then, I catch the top of one with my teeth.
She shivers, and her eyes darken. “You know, I’m not feeling so embarrassed anymore.”
“No?” I suck the tip of her finger into my mouth, nibbling on it.
“No,” she says on a breath. “Let’s go upstairs.”
Evie limbers off me, getting to her feet. I stand, and then I take her face in my hands. I kiss her long and deep. Then, I grab her hand and lead her in the direction of the stairs, listening to the sound of her sexy giggle.
I’ve just gotten up the first step when there’s a knock at the front door.
“Who could that be?” Evie asks.
I shrug. “Max probably ordered takeout. I’ll get rid of whoever it is.”
I give her a quick kiss and then head for the front door.
I pull it open, and my heart sinks.
Fuck.
Ava is standing there. Over her shoulder, I see her limo parked on my driveway, her bodyguard standing beside it.
“Ava,” I say her name like a bad taste is in my mouth. “What are you doing here?”
I haven’t seen her since I left Beverly Hills back in July, and even those few months haven’t been long enough.
“It’s nice to see you, too, and call me mother. You know how much I hate it when you call me Ava.” She sweeps past me, walking into the house.
I release a sigh and close the door. My eyes immediately seek out Evie, who’s still standing at the bottom of the stairs.
My mother’s eyes are on her like a lion stalking a gazelle. I feel a nasty twist in my gut.
“And who have we got here?” Ava asks me without taking her eyes off Evie.
“Nobody. She’s just a friend.”
Evie’s eyes immediately flick to mine, and I see the hurt flash through them.
Her pain strikes me like a blow to the stomach.
I didn’t mean that. I just don’t want Ava to know that Evie is my girlfriend. Ava knows I don’t do girlfriends, and if she knows Evie’s my girlfriend, then she’ll know that Evie means something to me. And the minute Ava knows that, she’ll have more power over me. She’ll wield Evie like a weapon against me.
I can’t let that happen, so I need her to think that Evie is just another girl.
Evie knows my mother is a bitch and that we’re not close, but she doesn’t know the extent of what a fucking devil she is.