Page 73 of Cash

He checked his phone. He had left it here for his run, but he wasn't even sure why he was checking. It's not like Evie magically decided she was ready to talk to him, but as he picked it up, he saw a text from her. His heart started pounding in his chest as he opened it.

Evie - Can we talk?

That gave him nothing to go on. It could be a fuck you or a reconciliation. While he didn't know what this was, he knew he was only willing to accept the latter. He couldn't change his past and he didn't want to, he just hoped she would be able to accept it.

Cash - Please. Where?

His heart warmed at the dots that appeared immediately beneath their text exchange.

Evie - Dinner? Manelli's?

Cash - I'll pick you up at six

Evie – Okay. I'm sorry Cash.

At that his heart nearly fell out of his chest. Everything was going to be okay, and he would make sure it stayed that way.

Cash - I can't wait to see you, baby girl.

Somehow Cash managed to get through the rest of the day. He fought all the urges to drive her to her house and talk to her earlier. He was ready to make this better right now, but he could be patient.

At six on the nose, he was knocking on her door. When she came to the door in a pretty sun dress, he was done. He wouldn’t take her back in her house and lift up her pretty sun dress, no matter how badly he wanted to.

"Hi," she said quietly behind a small smile Cash didn't recognize.

"Hey there, baby girl. You look amazing," he said as he pulled her hand up to her mouth and kissed it.

A real smile stretched across her face and settled in his heart. He had suspected he loved her for a while now, but after this moment there was no denying it. He was in love with Evie Masterson, and he would do whatever it took to make her his.

"Are you ready?"

"Yeah, let's go."

They walked hand in hand to Cash's truck because he couldn’t bring himself to break contact with her.

Once they were seated in a cushy round booth in Manelli's, he slid her over, so they were sitting close.

Evie jumped in as soon as they were comfortable. "I'm so sorry about what happened."

He wanted to tell her there was no need to apologize, but she had hurt his feelings, and he really did want her to stop blocking him every time something happened. So, he just sat there holding her hand and let her continue.

"I know about your history and that's not what bothered me. I think it was just the culmination of a lot of things with too much alcohol and I kind of freaked out."

"If my past doesn't bother you, why were you so upset?"

"It's silly," she said as she turned her face from his breaking their gaze.

"It is not silly if it bothered you enough to leave me at a bar and block me for three days."

She looked back at him with a tentative eye. All the graceful confidence she usually exuded was gone. He didn't like it one bit.

"I know we’re going to run into women you've been with, but I guess when I saw them and how different they are from me it made me nervous."

"What do you mean different from you?"

"Cash," she said, giving him a pleading look. "Are you really going to make me say it?"

"I'm afraid you're going to have to, baby girl, because I'm not sure what you’re talking about."

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