Page 148 of The Fake Out Flex

"Hey, did you get a chance to request a low-spice, would still like to feel the roof of his mouth by the end of the evening option for me?" I ask as we drive the short distance from Evie's place to her parents'.

"I did."

"And?"

"No luck. Mom said the food will be what the food will be. That's all I remember her saying. I zoned out when she started rambling about messing with her dinner theme."

"Uh, okay."

"Look, if it's too spicy for you, don't eat it, okay? Don't feel pressured to keep up with us. Especially when Mom starts laying it on. Be strong, Fraser, and resist the almighty Meredith Freeman."

I let out a chuckle, hoping it conceals my nerves.

Evie's playing it off, but the Freemans are crazy intense when it comes to chilis. Levi once didn't talk to me for a whole week because I refused to split a jalapeno with him.

I come to a stop before reaching the Freeman's house and take in my old family home. Mom and Dad sold it a year after that night. They wanted a fresh start, so they bought a beautiful house in the hills, halfway between Comfort Bay and Dawn in Cedar Crest Hollow.

"Walking down memory lane?" Evie asks, placing her hand on the center console.

"I'm just taking a minute."

I gaze at the house where I grew up, then turn to face Evie, threading our fingers together. She looks stunning in a chic form-fitting emerald-green dress that perfectly contours to her figure and accentuates her eyes.

"I have a question," I say.

"What is it?"

"Well, I fell in love with you back in high school. Did you…did you not fall for me, too?"

She reaches out and strokes my cheek. "Oh. I definitely had a crush on you. I made you a tacky bracelet, after all."

"Not tacky. It's the best lucky charm ever."

She smiles, her hazel eyes sparkling in the low light. "And I was heartbroken when you left which"—she raises a finger when she sees me open my mouth to say something—"I now realize wasn't what I made it out to be in my head."

"I still feel bad about it."

"Well, then, stop it. Please. It wasn't your fault. You did what you had to do for your family. That's actually really admirable."

"I just did what anyone would've done."

"I don't know about that. You put their needs ahead of your own. You spent the night comforting your sister when she would have been terrified and vulnerable and needed you more than ever. And you kept your end of the bargain all these years, shunning the spotlight and just focusing on being great at the thing you're great at."

"I think you're making me sound better than I am."

"Nope. I'm making you sound exactly the correct level of awesome that you are. I'm talented like that."

I can't help but grin. "Thanks, Evie."

I drive up the Freemans' driveway and park next to Levi's bright-blue Chevrolet Corvette. He came up from LA with Harper, so I'm assuming the other car belongs to Laney.

Everyone's here.

"Have you spoken to anyone in your family about our change in status?"

"Haven't had the chance," Evie says as we get out of the car. "Besides, everyone except for Levi thinks we're dating anyway, so I figure there's really no need."

"True." I walk next to her. Which brings us neatly to…"What about Levi, then?"

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