Page 160 of I Shouldn't Feel This Way

“See the brown-haired guy sitting by that table near Subway? He’s wearing a gray T-shirt.”

She turned her line of sight and then her jaw dropped. “Whoa—it’s official, good looks definitely run on your dad’s side of the family. I have to ask again, are you positive you don’t want me to stay?”

“I’ll text you and come find you girls when I’m done having lunch with Evan.” I wasn’t going to tell her that he was adopted. Not yet.

“Okay, good luck!” She gave me a quick hug and released me before heading toward an escalator. Truthfully, I was thankful she was gone. Jessica’s quirkiness could be downright irritating sometimes. I tried to calm my nerves as I slowly approached the handsome man who just happened to be my uncle.

“Hey, Evan.” I smiled shyly and tucked my hair behind my ear.

“Aria!” His face lit up. “I was beginning to think you had changed your mind.” He got to his feet and wrapped his masculine arms around me. This took me by surprise, but I hugged him back. Evan didn’t wear the same cologne as Noah, but he still smelled good. I think it’s safe to say that I had a fetish for men’s hygiene products.

“Sorry,” I said, “my friend drove me here. That’s why I’m running a bit late.”

“No worries.” His smile never left his face. “What would you like to eat?”

I wasn’t very hungry. I couldn’t eat when I was feeling so nervous. “I’ll have a Greek salad.”

“Are you trying to watch your figure?”

“No.” I laughed anxiously.

“Good, because you don’t need to.”

He made me blush.

“I had a heavy breakfast,” I explained, “so I’m not very hungry at the moment.”

“Okay, sit tight and I’ll order our food. What would you like to drink?”

“Bottled water, please.”

“Look at you, Miss Health Freak.”

I’m pretty sure my cheeks went from pink to scarlet.

“I’m just teasing you, Aria.”

Crap, he noticed.I laughed it off and watched him stand in line to order our food. What was it about him that intrigued me so much? I couldn’t figure it out. I didn’t even know what I would ask him once we actually sat down to talk. Maybe this was a bad idea, because I’d probably end up embarrassing myself or something. Plus my motive behind this little excursion was strictly to piss off Noah. Childish, I know.

Evan shortly returned, holding a tray full of food, and sat across from me. The food court was crowded, but not so much around our area. The sushi bar and burger joint had more hungry customers occupying the seats near the restaurant counters.

“What did you get?” I asked.

“A turkey sub on whole wheat with lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers, cucumbers, Swiss cheese, and honey mustard—oh, and it’s toasted.”

“That’s exactly what I order whenever I eat at Subway!”

“I know.” He chuckled.

“Are you psychic?”

Evan shook his head. “I just meant that I know this is the best damn sub ever. It doesn’t surprise me that you order the same thing.” He took a bite of his food and chewed, while I stabbed my salad with a fork.

“You sure you don’t want some?” he asked.

“No, I’m good.” I smiled. Thankfully, my salad didn’t have any black olives. The server must have forgotten to add them in when they were prepping my order. Oh well, I wasn’t complaining.

“Tell me something, Aria.” He took a sip of his Coke and gave me his undivided attention. “What made you decide to go against Daddy’s wishes and secretly organize a rendezvous with me?” The way he saidrendezvousmade our meeting sound so scandalous!

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