Page 43 of The Match

I reach in and push aside the box of colorful cereal and an open pack of sour candy. When I spot a tumbleweed blowing across the back, I move on to the fridge. I pull it open and find a carton of milk with a questionable date and a Tupperware container that’s half-filled with what looks like egg salad, but I don’t dare open it and find out.

She runs up and shuts the fridge door like I was peeking in her lingerie drawer instead of her fridge. Her cheeks are burning red, and suddenly she looks like she might bite my head off. “If you’re hungry, we can go down the street to a diner that stays open late.”

“Evie, do you have money to get groceries?”

Her cheeks burn deeper. I could fry a pancake on them. “Yes! Of course I do.”

“Do you have money to buy more than a box of cereal?”

“I’ll have you know that a serving of that cereal has half the recommended intake of fiber for the day.”

She’s trying to play, but I’m not having it. I’m the bad guy now. Stop fooling around; things just got serious. “Come on. Get your shoes.”

I grab her hand and start pulling her with me toward the door. Charlie darts off his perch on the bed and grabs his vest. For once, he gives me a look that says he is on my side. Evie deserves to have someone on her side, and I’ve just decided that that someone is going to be me.

She hits the brakes and digs her heels into the floor. “STOP. Where are we going?”

I swear, I will pick her up and carry her over my shoulder if I have to. “The grocery store.” She’s fighting, but I’m a big bully, and she doesn’t stand a chance against my size. “I’m buying you some food to go in that fridge.”

“No! Jake. I’m fine, I swear. UGH. Charlie, attack!”

Charlie trots beside me. I pause at the front door long enough to scoop up her tennis shoes. “Evie. You can’t live on cereal. And I will never be able to sleep at night knowing that the woman who helped change my daughter’s and my life for the better is at home with no food. Now, either you can hop in my truck on your own or I will pick you up and put you in myself, but either way you’re going to the grocery store with me.” I pause and then tack on, “Please let me.”

I can’t tell if she wants to smack me or smile. I think there’s a hint of both on her face. “Can I at least put on a bra first?”

I smile. “I guess.”

She stares me down, and her eyes narrow in contemplation. “I don’t need a sugar daddy, Jake.”

“Good, because that term has always creeped me out, and I really don’t want to be associated with it.”

“I’m serious. I’m not helpless. I’m just a little broke until I get paid again, because my insurance went up again this month, making things a little tighter.”

“When is payday?”

“. . . Two weeks.”

“Yeah. Come on.” She looks so torn. If I don’t want to throw her over my shoulder, I’m going to have to reason with her. “Please, Evie. Let me help. I promise this won’t make you beholden to me. I can just help you with this one little thing to get you on your feet, and then I swear I’ll never force my money on you again.”

She grins a little. “All right, fine.” She’s crossing in front of me, headed for my truck. Bra forgotten. “But we’re also buying the ingredients for your favorite brownies so I can make them as a thank-you.” She pauses at the right bumper and looks over her shoulder. The wind catches her hair, and she looks way too cute in that oversized T-shirt. “Except, I’m going to have to make them at your place because I don’t have an oven.”

CHAPTER 19

EVIE: I opened my pantry this morning and felt overwhelmed. I’ve never had so many breakfast choices before.

JAKE: Mix them all together.

EVIE: EW! Are you one of those people who stacks all of your food on top of one another at Thanksgiving?

JAKE: It all goes to the same place.

EVIE: *GIF of a woman yelling “murderer!”*

JAKE: So, you’re a gif girl, huh?

EVIE: I prefer them over words.

JAKE: *GIF of a person walking across the street*

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