Page 28 of Engaging Evelyn (Blissful Bets)

Chapter 14

Two weeks had gone by without anything significant happening. Evelyn looked down at her watch and went back to surfing the Web on her office computer. In ten minutes, she’d be able to leave. Office duty had been hers this week, and she had to admit that this was the part she hated the most about her job. It was so boring, sitting here waiting for someone to come by.

Sure, they had a receptionist to lock up, but she was the one who took calls if anyone was interested to know the price of a certain property. The only time she got to leave was at lunch, whoopee big fucking deal. One hour out of the nine.

“Evelyn, don’t look so depressed,” Sarah said, walking over to her desk. Her stilettos clicked on the tile as she approached.

“Thank God. I thought I was going to go crazy. Where has everyone been today? You didn’t even call me once.” Evelyn glared playfully at her friend.

“Sorry, there was this cute little dish I had to shag before I started the weekend off. Now what’s this I hear about you hiding Stephen out in your apartment? Are you seriously talking to him again after everything he put you through?”

Evelyn felt the sharp stab of pain in her chest. That damn feeling was happening more frequently the last two days. “I’m not hiding him out. We all watch movies at night. I forgive him. He’s going through something similar at the moment. Sheila and Stephen broke it off, and he’s upset. I know how that feels.”

“Personally, I think you’ve lost your damn mind. I would have booted his ass right out of my house.” Sarah paused. “Wait, who is ‘we all’?” Her friend narrowed her eyes.

Evelyn blushed. “Brandon. He’s here until right after spring break, so he says. He’s really funny, actually.”

Sarah mouth parted. “He is such a hunk. And…so interested in you, I might add. I couldn’t even catch his attention that night in the bar. He watched you like a hawk. I don’t even think he blinked once. I thought you liked Paul, though. Whatever happened to him?”

Evelyn searched her memories. “Oh, him. He was hot, but something about him told me to back off. I don’t know. It was weird.”

“Well, he might be there tonight. You are going out for Bets, right? You’re not playing Betty Homemaker already, are you?” Sarah rolled her eyes.

“Of course I’m playing Bets.” Evelyn’s stomach twisted just thinking about going out to the bar. What if she got drugged again? Tonight, she vowed not to drink anything she didn’t watch made personally.

“Well, good, because you owe Melissa drinks. She did bet you, by the way, and you didn’t go through with it, so…”

“I know, I know,” Evelyn said, grabbing her purse. Finally, she could leave. Then it was off to get ready to go out. The guys weren’t planning to come over, so she didn’t have to worry about them. It was time to have a little fun, she hoped.

They walked toward the entrance of the building, waving at the receptionist on their way out. Another sharp pain had Evelyn paused at the door of her car. Trying to brace herself, she gripped her hand against the door handle.

“Hey, you all right?” Sarah asked, looking over at her from her car.

“Fine.” Evelyn tried to catch her breath. She opened the door, got in, and blindly searched for her keys. What in the hell was happening to her? It wasn’t heartburn. The aching feeling made her feel hollow. She wanted to ball up and cry from the immense loss she felt nestling itself inside her.

The engine roared to life and she watched Sarah drive out of the lot in her shiny red Corvette. Lucky bitch. Oh well, Sarah didn’t have a mortgage. She refused to buy a house when she swore that someday, she’d marry a guy who would do it for her. Her platinum blond friend was more the Barbie type. Everything about her radiated the perfect female. But Evelyn knew she wasn’t what she appeared, no matter how hard Sarah tried to hide it.

Evelyn drove out, using one hand on the steering wheel while pushing the other against the emptiness in her chest. If anything, she felt like her heart had been ripped out. One minute she was fine, happy-go-lucky, ready to play Bets, and the next she wanted to hide so she could scream and cry at the sadness she felt.

Port Aransas wasn’t that big. It took her less than five minutes to pull into the resort parking lot. Breathing deeply, Evelyn grabbed her purse and walked to the stairs. Both Stephen and Brandon were sitting in chairs in front of Brandon’s window. When had they become friends? They argued worse than her grandmothers did. Even when they were watching movies, they sniped at each other.

Trying to climb while she used one hand to clutch the railing and the other to clutch her chest was painful. She didn’t want to talk to them right now. The need to be alone consumed her. If she could use a good hour to cry for no apparent reason, then she’d feel better.

“Hey, beautiful, how was work,” Brandon asked, looking over at her.

Evelyn forced a smile. “Good, I’m just tired. I’m going to go in and rest.” She pushed her fist between her breasts harder at the sight of Stephen’s sympathetic smile. He probably thought she was tired, but tired was the last thing Evelyn was. The need to hold Stephen, to ask him why he had left her was like whiplash. It was enough to make her nearly stumble down the stairs. Thank God, she was clutching the railing.

“Are you okay?”

Brandon was suddenly on his feet. Evelyn hadn’t even seen him stand from the chair. She looked over and Stephen was standing too. When had that happened?

Tightness consumed Evelyn’s throat. Hysterics were moments away. What in the hell was the matter with her? The thought that she might cry in front of these two guys was enough to make her angry, which for some reason brought the tears on even more.

“I’m fine, really. I’m just tired. Maybe I’m getting sick. My chest has been hurting the last few days. I’m going to nap, and then maybe I’ll see you two later.”

The guys both looked at each other with concern. Evelyn pulled out her keys and shut herself in her apartment as fast as she could. Relief that she had made it inside made her eyes blurry with moisture. Now she could release and no one could see her. Everything would be fine, and tonight she would go and have fun.

Not once did Evelyn’s head drop. She held it high while she walked to her bed and crawled under the covers. Holding the pillow to her chest and wrapping herself in a ball around it, she let the sobs pour from her.

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