Page 115 of Crave Me

He raises his brows slightly. “I can’t say that I blame you.”

I smile a little. “Neither did Sister Hildegard. She took me aside, well, after she hauled me off Carolina and cleaned up my bloody nose.”

“Carolina gave you a bloody nose?”

“Oh, yeah. That bleached broad had a mean right cross. Anyway, Sister Hildegard told me that while she didn’t approve of me punching Carolina, she said I was right for sticking up for my family.”

He pulls me to him. “I take it there’s a point to your story.”

“There is,” I agree, wrapping my arms around his neck. “I wanted to tell you that no matter the pitfalls you’ve endured, and any that follow, I’m going to stand by you like my family has always stood by me—that I believe in you, like Angus did, even if things don’t always go exactly as planned. And despite what tomorrow brings, you’ve earned your spot on that podium and all the success that’s coming.”

I expect him to laugh. Then again, maybe I don’t. He looks at me, those specks of gold in his deep green eyes warming the same way they did the first time he told me he loved me. “Thank you,” he says.

“Always,” I say, meaning it.

He kisses my lips and gathers me close. “Just one thing, don’t punch anyone in the face out there.”

“I’m not making any promises, bossman,” I say, inching away when someone knocks on the door. “I’ve seen the way Giselle from Accounting looks at your ass.”

“Evan?” Anne smiles when she finds us laughing. “We’re ready for you.”

He nods, leading me forward. Together, we walk out into the hall and into the audience, my hand in his until he releases it to take his place on the podium.

I’ve always loved the feel of the Explorer as it takes the road. The cabin envelops us, stowing us away from the rest of the world and encasing us in its protection. I can’t even hear the engine as we barrel off the highway and onto the exit leading to Villanova. But then I don’t hear much except for Evan’s easy breathing.

He hasn’t stopped smiling since we left iCronos, the pure excitement of his employees leaving him speechless. They leapt to their feet, cheering, but it was the ones who cried tears of joy who really touched his heart.

“You did it, Evan,” Clifton told him.

“No, we did it,” Evan countered, shaking his hand and clasping his shoulder.

“I didn’t expect Anne to react the way she did,” Evan says, verbalizing exactly what I was thinking.

“I know,” I say, smoothing my palm against his thigh.

“She was close to hysterics.”

“She was just happy.” I grin. “She’s always believed in her daddykins.”

“Somehow I doubt that’s how she thinks of me,” he says laughing.

“Of course she does. It meant everything to her when you gave her away at her wedding.”

His humor fades, likely remembering all the people who waited for a chance to offer their congratulations. Most he only knew by face, but they didn’t seem to mind. Like me, they saw something special in the products he and his engineers created, and more importantly, they recognized the brilliant leader he was from the start.

He shook their hands. He smiled kindly. He was simply Evan.

The gates to his house part and he pulls into the long driveway. The bushes and trees are freshly trimmed, but hide the house away from the road. I love it here and love how it feels like home even more.

“That was pretty awesome,” I say, my mind remembering how happy and excited everyone seemed.

“It was,” he agrees.

“Like Jimmy Stewart in It’s a Wonderful Life.” I hit my seatbelt release and reach for my purse. “Except not as depressing and no angels in long underwear.”

“I’ll give you that,” he says, flinging open his door.

He winks at me as he walks around to open my door.

But Bryant gets to me first.

“Wren!”

Evan lurches forward when Bryant grabs me in a headlock and hauls me out.

I kick back hard, nailing him in the shin.

The contents of my purse spill across the concrete floor.

And the cold barrel of a gun slams into my head.

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