She gave him a flat stare. "Are you serious?"
He nodded and waited for her to continue.
She huffed and rolled her eyes. "Those women at the bar were perfect. All blond and petite. I'm not like the women you are usually with."
He was openly gawking at her like she had lost her mind because what in the actual fuck was she thinking. "Evie. Youareperfect. You blow me away every fucking time I see you, and you have from the moment I saw you at the gala."
"I know, I think I just got in my head."
"Hey," he said as he cupped her face, turning her to face him. "I mean it. You take my breath away." He kissed her and she relaxed into him. "I don’t want to get into my past too much, but I do want you to know I don't have a type. I've been with all kinds of women who all look vastly different, and while I never thought I’d be talking about it like this on a date with a woman I actually want something long term with, I feel like you should know that. I’m attracted more to the way women carry themselves...and honestly sometimes what was convenient, which I'm not proud of, but that's the truth of it."
"I get it," she said quietly. She turned away from him, taking a sip of her wine.
"Evie," he said, resting his hand on her gently trying to pull back her attention. "I like you a lot. I think this could be something very special, but I need you to stop blocking me every time we get in an argument. I'm going to fuck up, I know this about myself, but it really fucking sucks when you block me."
She closed her eyes and nodded her head. "I know. I promise not to block you. I'm sorry I did." She finally met his gaze and the tortured look on her face gutted him. "You scare me."
"What?" he asked gently.
She took a deep breath and looked away, but he wasn't going to let her off the hook that easily. "Why?"
She was chewing on her bottom lip still not meeting his gaze. "Evie," he said as he gently turned her chin.
"I've never felt like this before. I feel out of control when I’m with you, but in the best possible way and sometimes that freaks me out."
He held her gaze and something settled in him, "I feel the same way too, baby. Whatever this is, it blindsided me, but feels big. I just really need you to stay in it with me and trust me."
A little light finally found her eyes and a small smile pulled at the corner of her mouth. And damn, that smile was everything to him, shewas everything to him.
"Do you still want to go to the wedding with me?" she asked tentatively.
"Baby," he said, brushing her hair behind her ear. "You couldn't keep me away from that wedding."
An actual smile finally found her face for the first time since that night, all the tension left Cash's shoulders and he wanted to scoop her up and do really dirty things to her on this table, but he would wait until he could get her home.
"I should probably tell you something else too," she said with a look on her face she couldn't quite read. He gave a little nod and waited for her to go on. "That night at the bar when I was talking to Bryan, he tried to kiss me."
"What?" Cash almost growled out. He tried to silence the fighter in him, but he was about to lose the battle.
"I slapped him and told him to leave," Evie said, quickly sensing the rage rising in him. "I told my sister about it, and she said she would take him off the wedding guest list."
"You hit him?" That did appease his caveman a little bit.
"I did. Then I told him to leave. I was still so emotional after that...then I saw that woman with her hands on you and I just couldn't think clearly."
"You were jealous," he said, grinning at her.
She pointed her nose up and crossed her arms. "I was not."
Cash just looked at her with a cocked eyebrow.
"Okay, maybe I was a little jealous."
"As much as I like that you feel just as jealous as I do, I need you to know that you’re all I see. You’re everything and you have been since the gala."
The look on her face softened and Cash could have sworn he saw tears in her eyes until she took a deep breath.
"I told my sister to take him off the guest list. I’m so done with all of that."