Page 62 of I'd Never Date my Best Friend's Brother

“Maybe that was a slight exaggeration, but it was a ton.” She takes another sip of her hot chocolate. “Mmm, this is really good. And just the perfect temperature.”

I take a look at my phone and see ten missed calls. Between the two of us it was probably close to twenty calls.

“Did you call them back?” I ask.

“I was going to wait, but then my phone rang again, and I thought it would be easier to just answer and get it over with.”

I laugh and shake my head. “Probably smart.”

“You know they’ll be calling back since you hung up on them, right?” She chuckles.

“Yes. But I silenced both of our phones.” Her eyes twinkle at me, and I grin. “Let them call all night long.”

She throws her head back and laughs. When her gaze captures mine the gleam in them has my heart flipping. “This was a really great idea Jamie. I forgot how much fun it is to go tubing. Thank you.”

I let my eyes drift over her face, taking in every inch of her beauty. The corner of my lips lift and I make my way to her sparkling blue eyes. “I think anything with you would be fun.”

A faint hint of color tinges her cheeks, and her gaze flits away before coming back and pinning mine.

“Do you want to tell me what had you looking so concerned about earlier?”

“That was slick of you, Miss Evelyn O’Connell.” I snicker.

“I saw my chance, and I took it.” A mischievous smile lines her lips. “Are you going to answer me or keep changing the subject?”

I swallow hard and look over at the kids, who are laughing as they run back up the hill to slide down again. “I was thinking about whether or not my job is the right one for me,” I mumble.

“What?” Evie asks. Her voice filled with surprise. “I thought you loved your job?”

“I do.” I look down and fiddle with the top of my cup. “I’m just questioning this specific line of work.”

“Jamie, I don’t understand.” She reaches out her hand to my arm, and I look at it before looking up and meeting her gaze. Her eyebrows are furrowed, and her mouth is frowning as she tries to understand.

“My job requires me to find some pretty bad people, Evie,” I murmur.

“I know.” She nods. “But they can’t find you, right?”

“Technically, no.”

“Technically?” Evie’s expression turns worried. “Are you in any danger?”

“No. No, I’m not.” When I look in her eyes, I can tell that she doesn’t believe me, so I add firmly. “I’m not in any danger, Evie. I swear.”

“Okay.” She nods, her face relaxing. “But I still don’t understand.”

“I am really good at my job and am usually completely untraceable. I’ve just been thinking about the people I’ve been tracking lately.” I blow out a deep breath. “Realizing that they are really good at what they do, too.”

I look up to her, watching me intently with pursed lips.

“I realized that my job could potentially put my family in danger. It was a thought I hadn’t had before, but now that I’ve had it, it’s making me question what I’m currently doing.”

“Ahhh. I understand now.” Her face relaxes as she grasps the direction my thoughts are moving. “How many people were there with you during the six months you were away?”

“There were eighteen others when I first got there, but by the last few weeks, there were only two of us left.”

“So you and one other person out of eighteen were offered jobs?” Evie queries.

“Actually, no. Just me.”

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