Page 48 of The Holy Grail
“There would be really good music playing through a nice sound system, and no live bands. I’ve tried to get rid of that, but Everett and Evelyn like having live music on Wednesdays and the weekends because it draws a lot of people to the bar. However, what they don’t understand is it draws a lot of people who drink cheap pitchers of beer, who tend to spill a lot of it on the floor, which usually gets cleaned up by me, because I work almost every one of those nights. And don’t get me started on how my ears are ringing when I go home after one of those shifts.”
When it was clear Evan was done, Jules murmured, “It sounds like you had a lot of vision.”
He swallowed a few times, feeling slightly raw and exposed in the aftermath of opening himself up to another person. But it was just incredibly easy to talk to her, and it had beenso long since he’d felt a connection like this with anyone, he hadn’t been able to rein it in. “Not that it mattered. None of it got implemented.”
“That’s a shame. I think they were all really innovative ideas, and would have made the bar a much better place—and I’m not just saying that to be nice.”
He knew that to be true, and her praise warmed him like a blanket. “Thanks.”
“I appreciate you sharing all that with me,” she said, then added dryly, “but you still haven’t answered my question.”
His expression turned rueful. “About what I’d want to be doing if I wasn’t involved with the bar? Well, as soon as I figure it out, you’ll be the first to know. How’s that?”
“Fair enough,” she said, before stretching out her cramped body and slowly getting to her feet. “Jesus, I’m wrecked. I think I’m going to call it a night.”
“I don’t blame you.”
As usual, he insisted on walking her out to her car, and as she was unlocking the driver’s side, she felt his hand come to rest on her shoulder. He’d never really touched her before, except for when they’d shaken hands the night they met on Paige’s birthday, and his gesture gave her pause. She was still trying to process the moment when she felt the upward trail of his warm fingertips along her bare neck, until he had her in a sort of gentle grip.
It felt sensual,sexual, and possessive.
It also felt really good.
“Thank you,” he told her, the words spoken softly in her ear, his deep voice sounding even sexier than normal. “For everything … but mostly for just listening.”
Jules took a long, deep breath, trying to slow the beating of her heart. “You’re welcome,” she returned, forcing herself to remain still and not look back at him, not wanting to see the desire she knew would be on his face, and not wanting him to see the desire onherface, either. Because she did desire him, and if she turned around, he would try to kiss her, and she was afraid she’d let him—hell, she was afraid she’d pull him into her car and take a ride on the Evan Express.
She’d never been in this position before, where she couldn’t act on sexual attraction. It was foreign to her, and she didn’t like it very much, but she knew she had to throw cold water on this situation, stat, before something happened she’d regret. And Jules knew she would regret it, because Malcom didn’t deserve this.
“I’m seeing someone, Evan,” she said, even as her heart rate was pounding and her body was thrumming with awareness of the man at her back.
She felt his body become tense behind her, and his fingers actually tightened a little on her neck, affecting her even more. “You are?”
She could hear the dismay and disbelief in his voice and it sliced at her heart, not unlike when she’d realized how much she’d hurt Malcom. “Yes.”
“Since when?”
“Since a couple of weeks ago.”
“Since … a couple ofweeksago? Are you kidding me?”
He pulled away from her, and she felt the loss of his presence and heat acutely. “I actually met him a while ago, but just started going out with him,” she explained, pivoting to meet his gaze, only to wish she hadn’t when she saw his expression, which was filled with gut-wrenching disappointment.
“Fuck, I knew I should’ve asked you out when I had the chance,” he muttered. “Not the night we met, obviously, because you thought I was a giant douche, but after that … I should have.”
“I probably wouldn’t have gone out with you then, because of Paige and David,” she told him gently. “But I’m not going to lie and say there hasn’t always been something between us, because there is. It just … can’t go anywhere now.”
“Fuck,” he said again, scrubbing at his face.
She could see him struggling to accept what she was telling him, and it sliced at her heart again. “I understand this might be an uncomfortable situation going forward—”
“It won’t.”
“Evan …”
“It won’t. It really won’t,” he insisted, telling himself he wasn’t lying, because he didn’t have any choice. This was his life, and he had to live it like he wasn’t hot for this woman and not being able to act on it wasn’t killing him. “I can keep this professional.”
“Maybe I could—”
