Page 4 of Engaging Evelyn (Blissful Bets)

It was almost enough to make her look, but she didn’t. With a whisper, Evelyn excused herself as she moved past him and had to keep herself from running to the door. Maybe he had come for spring break a few weeks early?

Slipping her key in the lock, she tried not to ponder on what had brought him here. The last thing she needed was to think about another guy.

“Excuse me.”

The male voice seemed to be almost right behind her. It made her jump in surprise. Evelyn couldn’t turn around, couldn’t look into those eyes again. Something about them was unsettling and all too enticing.

“Yes,” she said cautiously, gripping the doorknob. The cool metal almost made her shake.

“I think you dropped this.” The amusement in his voice made her thoughts pause. What was so funny?

Damn it. Now she would have to look. Taking a deep breath, she slowly turned, avoiding direct eye contact. Instead, she looked at his lips. Big mistake. They looked so soft, so ready for her to kiss. She could almost feel them against her own. If she brought hers to brush against his, would he react and kiss her gently, or would it be one of those rough kisses that would make her forget every man she’d ever been with?

A key was raised eye level, breaking her focus from his lips. A red tag hung down from the ring, a number nine or six, depending on how one viewed it, drawn on with a black permanent marker. It was enough to stop her heart. How had she missed that before? Where in the hell had it come from? Evelyn looked down at her opened purse. She never closed it, a habit she was about to break.

“Thank you,” she said, giving the man a tight smile. No doubt he could tell she was somewhat pissed off. At least it was enough to take her focus off the desire she was feeling for this particular stranger.

Evelyn took the key, slid her fingers over the sloppily written number nine, and cracked her door. Removing her own key from the lock, she couldn’t help but feel his energy pushing against her back. She’d never felt this with a particular person before. It left her confused while she tried to find a reason to politely excuse herself.

“You’re welcome. Listen, I’m new here. I was wondering if you had any plans for later, maybe dinner.”

Evelyn closed her eyes while she faced the metal door. She let its coldness penetrate through her palm. “I’m sorry, but I can’t. I’ve already made plans for the evening. Maybe some other time.”

“I’m going to hold you to that,” he said from behind her.

Big mistake, huge. Why didn’t she just tell him no? Quickly, she turned around, but he was gone. Just like that he had disappeared. Evelyn, frantic to right her wrong, peered over the edge of the railing and noticed the dark edge of his jeans vanishing just out of range on the bottom walkway.

“Hey, you!” Why the hell didn’t she get his name? “Hey!”

His face came into view, a look of pure amusement lighting his features. “Are you yelling at me?” He laughed.

“You know I am. How did you get down there so fast? Did you jump?”

Evelyn’s hair whirled around her face while she continued to lean over the railing to see him. The wind had picked up as the clouds covered the sun. Just holding on to the metal nearly made her teeth chatter.

“Did I jump? Now, why would I do something like that?” He smiled, bigger.

Great, a comedian. She didn’t like to be teased. It didn’t help that she was becoming lightheaded from leaning over so far.

“Do you think maybe you could come closer? I don’t think I can lean over much longer.” “If you fall, I’ll catch you.”

His voice was filled with humor, yet something else she couldn’t quite make out. Somehow, she felt like he was serious. He seemed to have no doubt that if Evelyn fell, he could catch her. Unbelievable. Biting her lip so she wouldn’t say anything too rude, she watched him take one step forward.

“Quit messing around and get over here. I would prefer not to fall, if it’s all the same to you.”

Arrogantly, he walked back over just past the railing, looking up at her like she had missed the punch line of some joke. It was enough to annoy the hell out of her. Evelyn hated feeling like a fool, and this time, she didn’t even know why.

“About dinner, I’m not so sure that’s a good idea.”

His face fell slightly, but he looked more pleased if anything. What was the matter with this guy? She was trying to be nice, but he just wasn’t getting it.

“You already gave me your word. I’ll be here tomorrow night to pick you up at, say, seven?”

“Oh my God, are you serious? I don’t even know you. No, I can’t. It’s…complicated. I don’t do dates. Plus, I didn’t give you my word. How can you even say that?”

“I like complicated. Seven it is,” he said, nodding.

Evelyn watched him walk away. She could feel her lips part in shock. This guy had problems. Was he even sane? Well, she wouldn’t be here at seven tomorrow. He’d have fun waiting. It would serve him right for being so pushy toward her. She was, after all, a stranger to him. Didn’t most people who did dates know each other more than ten minutes?

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