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Only You
  • Текст добавлен: 21 октября 2016, 17:31

Текст книги "Only You"


Автор книги: Stephanie Rose



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Текущая страница: 11 (всего у книги 17 страниц)

“You’ve certainly had a lot of tests over the past few months.” Dr. Stephens, the rheumatologist that Dr. Ramirez referred me to, perused my file as I sat on her examining table. My grandmother used to see a rheumatologist for her arthritis, so I assumed Dr. Ramirez sent me here because of the joint pain. No shit, Sherlock. I was so over doctors, tests and feeling like shit without anyone offering a diagnosis.

My mother hadn’t been able to come with me as planned, or I’m sure those would have been her choice of words. Evan wanted to come, but he couldn’t leave work without Jessica in the office today. It was just as well. The last thing I needed was those two worrywarts adding to my own anxiety, which was now at its peak. Dr. Stephens was eerily silent but grimaced as her manicured hand flipped through my results.

“So, do you see anything? Because it’s been so frustrating that all I’ve been told so far is that I have a high level of inflammation and to rest. I’ve been resting for months and I’m over it.”

Dr. Stephens slowly nodded as she stood and came over to me. The paper on the table rustled as I squirmed. I waited impatiently for her to just spit out what she was thinking.

“And this all started when you got pneumonia in October?” She palpated the glands in my neck and lifted my hands to examine my fingers. They were sore to the touch, along with the rest of my joints.

“Yes.” I nodded. “I was sick as a dog for weeks and never seemed to get better. My cough still comes and goes and I need an inhaler sometimes. The worst of it is the fatigue and the joint pain. I actually feel like I have the flu twenty four-seven. Please tell me you know what this is. I’m ready to spit nails and I’m sick of being a goddamn pin cushion. Sorry, I shouldn’t vent at you.”

She put her hand on my shoulder and shook her head. “Please don’t be sorry. You’ve been through a lot. Did you have any traumatic events over the past year, any stressors that seemed to make you even sicker?” Dr. Stephens sat back at her desk and typed what looked like notes into her computer.

“My cousin died almost a month ago. We were very close.” I lowered my gaze and turned away, but I was pleasantly surprised I managed to say that without my voice breaking.

“I’m very sorry for your loss. Did your symptoms get worse after that?”

I let out a long sigh. “I didn’t realize it at the time, but yes I think so. The joint pain got worse and the fatigue became unbearable. The night he died, I had a high fever. I’ve been having them on and off but never over 101.”

“And you said you lost weight. Do you have trouble eating?”

I nodded again. “Sometimes it feels as if the food won’t go down. I assumed all the Advil I take burnt a hole in my stomach.” I laughed humorlessly. When did I go from being a gym rat who worked happily all day to a sickly hot mess?

“Can you open your mouth so I can get a look?” Her flashlight pen blinded me as she examined my throat.

“Just what I figured. Okay, Paige. There are still a few tests that I need to take, but I’m ninety eight percent sure I know what’s going on. I think you have systemic lupus.”

“Lupus? I . . . don’t know what that is. The only time I’ve ever heard about it was when I used to watch House.”

Dr. Stephens laughed and nodded. “Yes, that show was great for awareness. We’ve had a few patients ask to get tested because of an episode. It is a disease that is found by process of elimination more or less–why Dr. House would suggest it when they couldn’t find anything else. To put it in simple terms, your immune system is seeing your organs as an infection, and is attacking them as such.”

My head spun as she went over the symptoms and treatment, all of which sounded awful. This thing that had taken over my life finally had a name. I felt an odd combination of relief and terror as she handed me pamphlets to look over. “If this is what I have, why hasn’t anyone found it yet? It’s been months, Dr. Stephens.”

She gazed at me with a sad smile. “Lupus manifests itself in a lot of different ways—and frequently gets missed. I need to run a couple of more blood tests, but only as confirmation, and a few tests to see what organs may be affected. I know this is a lot to comprehend right now. Do you have any questions?”

“Right now, just one. Can I die from this?” My mind flashed to my mother and Evan, and watching Ellie and my aunt and uncle drown in their sorrow since we lost Jack. I couldn’t go back to them and announce I was dying, too. On top of that, I was scared out of my mind. I wished I had brought someone with me today. This was a lot to take in alone.

Dr. Stephens grimaced again. I really hoped she didn’t play poker because she had a sucky game face.

“It’s a serious illness. Complications can be dangerous, and at times fatal. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Make an appointment for next week and we’ll focus on a game plan. Until then, rest as much as you can, fill this prescription for your throat, and if you can help it, don’t Google.” She cocked an eyebrow at me and I laughed.

I thanked her and made an appointment for the next week. Telling a person not to Google anything never works. If anything, it only makes them do it faster. The second I stepped into my car and shut the door, I typed ‘lupus’ in the search engine on my iPhone.

There are times in your life that are milestones, some good and some bad. One event can divide your life—what happened before and what happened after. As I scrolled through the search results—the initial articles cited recent deaths from lupus—my life split in half; Paige before she had lupus, and Paige afterwards. Paige before had been full of life and possibilities. She had a job she loved and a wonderful man she was eager to build a future with. She didn’t pass out at nine o’clock at night because six hours of work was too strenuous. She got excited over eating, didn’t just force down enough to keep from passing out. She woke up vibrant and energetic, didn’t trudge to the bathroom in pain two hours before she had to get up so she could look sort of human at a client meeting.

Dr. Stephens had stressed the diagnosis wasn’t confirmed, but after browsing through the results, I was convinced I had lupus. It was all there, but I couldn’t tell Mom or Evan yet. They would both panic and try to find a plastic bubble to keep me in.

Was this how Jack felt when he first found out he was sick? How long did he wait before he told us? How did he brush it off like it was no big deal? Did he feel this alone? This angry? If he did, he never let it show. I needed to be strong like that. My family was still grieving; Evan was, too. They didn’t need to worry about this.

I needed to close the browser before the panic attack I was inflicting on myself swallowed me whole. Instead, I scrolled to the headline about Julian Lennon and lupus awareness at the bottom of the screen—and my heart dropped to my stomach. In a ridiculous twist of irony, the Lucy who inspired Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds died from lupus complications. I laughed mirthlessly. The universe had a fucked up sense of humor.

I started the car once my hands stopped shaking, and drove away. I didn’t know where I was going or how I would get there. I had a feeling that would be my life from now on.

“Still no name for this? This is bullshit, Paige. What else did she say?” My mother should have worked for the CIA. She wouldn’t stop until she got an answer. I kept my back to her as I put the salad together for dinner. Looking my mother in the eye right now would completely disarm me. I had no clue how to brush Evan off, too.

“She has a few more tests to take, but she gave me something for my throat so I could eat. She’s a specialist so I’m sure she knows what she’s doing.”

Mom huffed. “I lost faith in doctors after you were sick for the second month. She didn’t tell you anything? Give you any feeling of what she thought it might be? I knew you shouldn’t have went alone.” She shook her head at me; no one frustrated my mother more than me. I usually found it funny, but not today. If she only knew what I wasn’t telling her.

“I’m in my thirties, I can take care of myself. Look, let’s not worry about this tonight and have a nice dinner. Evan should be here soon. Put this on the table for me, please.” I was doing okay not speaking to my mother face to face. Dinner with both of them promised to be fun. I would pour myself a big glass of wine if I knew it wouldn’t burn like a bitch going down.

I jumped when my lock clicked open. My mother narrowed her eyes at me.

“Evan has a key? Is he living here and you just forgot to tell me?” Ah yes, this was good—this nagging I could handle.

“No, not living here. I would tell you.” I chuckled when she rolled her eyes.

“Of course you would. I’ll go set the rest of the table.” She mumbled to herself as she counted out the napkins.

“Hi honey, I’m home!” Evan sauntered into my tiny kitchen wearing a big smile. His face fell when he noticed my mother by the table not appreciating his little joke. I playfully grimaced at his discomfort.

“Oh hey, Mrs. Taylor! I didn’t expect to see you tonight.” He strode over to where she was standing and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“For God’s sake, call me Tess. You’ve been in this family for how long now?”

“Sorry, Tess.” Evan’s mouth turned up in a smirk as she patted his cheek.

“That’s better, cookie. How’s the business?” Unbelievable. She was mad at me, not Evan, for having him supposedly living here. Jack was right; Evan totally had the golden ticket with Contessa Taylor.

“Good! Busy, and Jessica’s a godsend. She takes care of all the back end stuff I hate so I can focus on making sure the jobs run smoothly.”

Yes, Jessica was wonderful. Pretty, almost six feet, body to die for, Jessica. I trusted Evan, but I couldn’t help the twinge of jealousy in my gut.

I tried to push it out of my mind as I pulled dinner out of the oven. Evan loved me, and I didn’t want to be one of those jealous girlfriends who always felt the need to compete with other women, especially when my sickly self couldn’t hold a candle to my boyfriend’s office manager. The tray was heavier than usual and I hoped my sore hands wouldn’t drop it. It was easier to keep the conversation centered on my possible living in sin rather than my deteriorating health.

“Hey, Daisy, how’s my girl?” I set the tray down on the stove and wrapped my arms around Evan’s waist. He gave me a sweet kiss on the lips as he ran his knuckles down my cheek. “What did the doctor say?”

“Nothing!” My mother yelled from the table. “More tests, and medicine for her throat. I knew one of us should have gone with her.” Evan’s eyes narrowed as he glared.

“Come on! Still?” Evan’s brow furrowed as he turned back to me. “What’s wrong with your throat?”

“I have sores down my throat, and that’s why it’s hard to eat. She said she didn’t want to speculate on the rest until she confirmed it with a few more blood tests. She’s a specialist, though, and Natalie and Dr. Ramirez both said she’s good. Can we just have a nice dinner, please?” How many times would I have to repeat that tonight? Evan frowned at me and shook his head.

“Sores down your throat? Daisy, I don’t like this. When will she know?”

“Next week. I have another appointment.” I took Evan’s face in my hands. “I feel okay today. Let’s just put a pin in this for now and eat.” I felt okay after a two hour nap and three Advil, but he didn’t need to know that.

Evan grabbed my wrists and ran his thumbs over my knuckles. The weary look on his face as he let out a long sigh broke my heart. I hated lying to him.

“Alright, Daisy. We’ll put a ‘pin in it.’ For now.” He kissed my forehead and left to join my mother at the table.

Keeping this to myself was killing me. I needed someone to talk to that wouldn’t freak out. I picked up my phone and shot a quick text to Natalie.

Me: What do you know about lupus?

Natalie responded right away.

Natalie: Shit that’s what you have? I had a feeling when Ramirez sent you to Stephens.

Me: Well that’s comforting. Mom and Evan are giving me the third degree over here and I haven’t told them yet. Are you working tomorrow? Can I meet you for lunch or can you come here?

Natalie: Yeah I’m off. I’ll come over. You’re not telling them?

Me: I know, I know. I’ll tell them after she confirms.

Natalie: You’re a shitty liar. And your mom is a maniac.

Me: I hate that I can’t tell them.

Natalie: You’re gonna have to. Soon. We’ll talk tomorrow. Lupus is treatable. Stop Googling.

Me: You’re like Evan with the eyes in back of your head.

Natalie: No, I just know you. Love you. Everything will be fine.

Me: Love you, too. See you tomorrow.

“Paige! Put the damn phone down and come and eat.” My mother’s shrill voice filled my ears. Rather than yell back at her, I set my phone down and rushed to the table.

I sat between Evan and my mother and both looked me over with worried eyes. I hated lying to the two most important people in my life. And hated even more that I felt like I had no choice.

My head spun as Dr. Stephens spewed through the last of my test results. It wasn’t a surprise, but knowing something for sure is much different than merely suspecting it. Again, I sat on the examining table with my fidgety legs crackling the paper beneath me.

And again, I was all alone.

“As I suspected, you have systemic lupus. The inflammation levels are very high, as are the levels of protein in your urine.” Dr. Stephens held my file in her hand as she gazed at me from the desk.

“I’m sorry, what does that mean?”

“It means lupus may be affecting your kidneys. I’ll watch it for the moment, but if it’s still high when you come back in a couple of weeks, we’ll need to do more tests, maybe even a biopsy.”

“My kidneys?” My voice was shrill as panic set in. Everything had gone downhill with my health over the past six months, but since Jack died it seemed to be picking up speed.

Dr. Stephens grimaced. In the short time I’d been in her presence I’d learned that wasn’t a good sign.

“Could mean a lot of things. Sometimes lupus can affect the kidneys to the point they fail, and patients need a transplant. But that’s getting way ahead of ourselves. At the moment, this is just another complication we need to watch out for. The x-ray showed your lungs have fluid in them, so I’d like you to see a pulmonologist.”

More doctors. This was getting better and better. I raked my hand through my hair and sighed as I looked up at the ceiling.

Dr. Stephens scribbled on a few pages in her notepad and stood up to hand them to me.

“I’m going to start you on a moderate dose of medication for now.” She put her hand on my shoulder. “You’ve been flaring since October. It may take a while, but we’ll get you out of it one way or the other. In the meantime, I need you to be very careful about catching infections. If you get another fever, call me right away and either come to my office or head to the emergency room.” I nodded as I hopped off the table and shoved the prescriptions in my purse.

“Can anyone come with you to appointments? This is a lot to keep track of and can be a little scary.”

“No.” There was no way Evan or my mother could come with me. I could almost hear the clicking of mom’s tongue against her teeth while she laced into me. What’s the matter with me? Why didn’t I see a specialist sooner? She’d be right, but I didn’t need to hear any of it right now. Taking Evan with me wouldn’t do any good either. He would completely panic, and he’d already been putting a ton of pressure on himself running Taylor’s Flooring alone. I couldn’t bother him with this.

I didn’t tell anyone when my follow up with Dr. Stephens was so I wouldn’t be grilled afterwards. I lived a secret life now, and made sure I kept my stories straight. My phone buzzed in my purse as I opened my car door.

“Paige! The client loved your designs so much, they want to do a new banner campaign based on what you came up with!” The excitement in my boss’s voice was infectious. I smiled when a loud “squee” filled my ears.

“Wow, that’s great Trish. I’d been dying to do more display ads. When do we start?” I turned on my Bluetooth before I pulled out of the spot.

“ASAP, my little golden child. Can you come into the office on Monday?”

Shit. This new project sounded like it might entail long days of commuting and endless meetings. I didn’t go in to the office much these days and spoke to my agency and freelance clients via email or over the phone. Even though I had the advantage of still looking healthy, but I sure as hell didn’t feel that way. Some days, climbing the stairs of the six train to go into the city seemed as daunting as trekking up Everest.

“Not sure I can be someone’s golden child in my thirties, but sure, Trish. I’ll see you Monday at nine o’clock.”

“Fabulous! This looks like the start of a lot more work from this client, and we haven’t had a client with this much potential for opportunity in a long time. The account team is over the moon—this could mean big things, Paige!”

Covering up how bad I felt had been easy to this point. Evan awoke before I did every morning, so he didn’t see me struggle with the joint pain that greeted me for the first two hours of each day. I lied to friends who asked me to go out and said I was busy, because if one more person asked me why I was limping, I would lose it.

I had days when it wasn’t so bad, but then, without warning, it would come back—the pain, the fatigue, the overall feeling of ‘sick’. I took the most advantage I could out of good days, and pretended the best I could on the bad. Today so far was a decent day, and I prayed that would carry over through the weekend.

The old Paige would have been right up there with the account team. This was a chance to get my designs in front of a ton of new people. However, the Paige I was now already dreaded the long hours and back and forth travel. How much more happiness would be drained from my life before I started to feel better? I had no doubt it was just the tip of the iceberg.

I would just tell Mom and Evan that I had a weak immune system. It wasn’t a complete and total lie. Weak immune system, chronic and debilitating autoimmune disease—potato/potahtoe. The longer I waited, the worse it would be to admit, yet I couldn’t make myself do it. Telling my family made my condition more real than I was ready to acknowledge. I thought once I got it under control, then I would tell Evan and my mother, but that didn’t look like it was happening anytime soon.

Instead of going straight home, my car ended up parked in front of Evan’s office. I needed to see his face. Everything looked very different as I strolled in. Jessica was a fantastic organizer, everything was spotless and in its place.

Laughter traveled out to the storefront as I crept into the back office. Jessica and Evan were laughing about something, and seeing them by her desk—Jack’s old desk—unnerved me. Did I think anything was going on between them? No. But I sure as hell wasn’t fun these days. I wanted to be the one to laugh with Evan again without a care in the world. The constant dark cloud over my head prevented me from doing that.

“Hey guys!” I plastered a big smile on my face and ignored the urge to tell Jessica to find somewhere else to sit. Jack’s business was his baby, and although I was delighted it was still doing well, it broke my heart to see it going on without him.

“Hi Paige, how are you? Thanks for filling out that paperwork for me.” Jack always kept the work I did for him easy. I’d design something and he paid me whatever we agreed on. Now, I had vendor forms along with other documents to fill out before I could do any more designing for Evan. Jessica really cracked the whip, but since she was helping Evan, I did whatever she asked.

A slow smile spread across Evan’s face as he closed the small distance between us.

“Hey, Daisy! To what do I owe this nice surprise?” He wrapped his arms around my waist. I glided my hands up his chest and flung my arms around his neck before I kissed him. I didn’t slip him the tongue, but lingered on his lips a little longer than usual. Evan chuckled against my mouth. “Everything okay?”

I shrugged as I rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, I just got done early today and I missed you. Think you can start the weekend early?” I slid my hands down to his waist and fluttered my eyelashes.

“Now, how can I turn down an offer like that?” Evan took my face in his hands and kissed my forehead. “I think we could close in a half hour. Right, Jessica?”

Jessica nodded. “All the guys are done for the day. Just have to clean up a bit before I go. My brother is meeting me here soon with his kids. We’re headed upstate to see my mother for the weekend.”

Evan crinkled his nose at her as he wrapped his arm around my waist.

“You’re an aunt? You must be fun—” He raised his eyebrows at me.

“I’m very good to my niece and nephew.”

“—until they get dirty or put a toy back out of place.” Evan turned to me. “I mislabeled a file one day. It wasn’t pretty.” He smirked as Jessica scowled back at him. She was about to go back at him when the doorbell rang.

Jessica turned to me before she strolled over to the door. “Look who’s got the jokes today. I don’t know what you see in him.”

I shrugged and kissed Evan’s cheek. “He’s kinda cute.” I responded to her without taking my eyes off Evan.

When Jessica was out of the office he pulled me closer and sucked on my earlobe.

“Holy shit, that was hot.”

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as he whispered in my ear. “What are you talking about?” I played dumb as Evan laughed at me.

“Next time you want to claim me, you should straddle me in my chair. Make it totally crystal clear.” I fought a smile as I elbowed his side.

An adorable sandy brown haired toddler raced in and plowed himself against my leg. His blue eyes twinkled as he gazed up at me with a big smile.

“Sorry about that. Joey’s a handful.” Jessica jogged over to us and scooped him up. Joey cuddled into her neck even as he kept his smile on me. I’d never seen a baby so good at flirting.

Next to Jessica was a young girl with long chestnut hair and light brown eyes. She wasn’t little, but not quite a teenager. “This is Bella, and you’ve already met this little troublemaker.” Jessica tickled Joey’s side and the sweet sound of baby laughter filled the office. This boy was so damn cute he made my uterus hurt.

Bella blushed when Evan smiled at her. I sympathized with the poor thing—his dimples were blinding.

“Evan, Paige, this is my brother—”

“Lucas?! Oh my God!” I yelled as my jaw dropped open.

I hadn’t seen Lucas in over ten years. I was a freshman in college working in the advisors office when we met. Lucas was a master’s student working as an advisor to pay his tuition, and sex on legs. The years just made him that much hotter. His full head of sandy brown hair was a little shorter than I remembered but his piercing blue eyes were exactly the same. It made perfect sense that Joey looked like he walked straight out of a babyGap ad—and knew how to flirt so shamelessly.

“Paige? What a small frigging world! How are you?” Lucas sauntered over and pulled me into a hug. In addition to being one of the most attractive men on the planet, he was one of the nicest, too. One night during freshman year, I caught my then boyfriend making out with someone else at a frat party and Lucas came to my rescue. He gave me money for a cab home after assuring me that not all guys are jerks. We became good friends until he graduated and moved away in the spring.

“You look great! I forgot you lived in the Bronx.” Great? Maybe the makeup I bought to cover the dark circles and blotchy cheeks was working. Lucas didn’t fully release me from his hug. His hands stayed on my upper arms as we spoke. I felt Evan’s eyes on me as he looked between us.

“Thanks, you still look awful.” Lucas laughed as he nudged my arm.

Evan loudly cleared his throat. “Now that you have your hands all over my girl, I should introduce myself.” Evan cocked an eyebrow but smirked at me as he extended his hand. “Evan Jacobs.”

Lucas laughed and took Evan’s hand. “Paige and I were friends in college, and I’m happily married. I’m Lucas Hunter. You must be the poor bastard that has to deal with my sister all day.”

“Leave it to my brother to know everyone.” Jessica rolled her eyes and turned to the kids. “Guys, give me a few minutes. I need to organize the new tile in the storage room before we leave.”

“Jessica, you can go. I’ll do it.” Evan slid his arm around my waist and pulled me close. I wasn’t the only one in a claiming mood today.

“No, I need to make sure everything is in place before Monday. We have two big jobs starting. Bella can take Joey to Cold Stone across the street.”

“There’s a Cold Stone across the street?” I turned to Evan and he nodded.

“Just opened last week. Figures right?” I chuckled and looked away. Jack was an ice cream fanatic. He would have been their best customer.

“It’s a strange neighborhood; I don’t want them going alone.” Lucas raised his eyebrows at Jessica.

“I’m sure Evan wouldn’t mind taking them.” I gave Lucas a wink, making him chuckle and shake his head.

“Sure, I’ll take them if that’s okay with you, Lucas.” Evan strolled over to Joey, who rested on Jessica’s hip. “Want some ice cream, little guy?” Joey beamed as he squirmed out of Jessica’s arms and leapt into Evan’s.

Lucas nodded and pulled his wallet out of his jeans. “Just be careful with the little guy. He’s a runner, as you just saw.”

Evan shook his head. “It’s on me. Least I could do for Jessica saving me these few months. And it’s nice to have real kids running around here instead of the man children that are on the payroll. Ready guys?” Evan held onto Joey and led Bella out of the office.

I chuckled as I plopped myself in Evan’s desk chair. Lucas sat on the edge of the desk, shaking his head.

“I think my daughter wants to steal your boyfriend,” Lucas groaned as he dropped his face in his hands. “This is starting way too fucking early. I’m going to age ten years by the time she’s sixteen.”

“That sounds like karma to me, big brother. Let me get this done and we can get going.” Jessica smirked at her brother as she strolled to the back.

“She is a beauty. I would rest up now, old man. Joey is your twin, but I’m guessing Bella looks like her mother.”

Lucas nodded. “My wife is beautiful. She definitely favors her—and a little of her biological father, unfortunately.”

I narrowed my eyes at Lucas. “I didn’t realize she was your stepdaughter.”

“No, she’s my daughter. We don’t discuss Marc. I married Samantha O’Rourke, Marc Christensen’s ex-wife.”

My eyes bugged out of my head as I clutched my chest.

“Marc? My, well my ex-Marc?” I hadn’t seen Marc since college. He was the reason I moped out of the frat party that night. “How did he end up with Samantha?” She was a few years older than me, but I remembered her as a smart and strikingly beautiful girl.

“He didn’t. I did.” Lucas smirked as he crossed his arms. I laughed and shook my head.

“You know, I didn’t really see you as a family man. I figured you’d be too busy with the crowds of women always following you around.”

Lucas shrugged with a smirk. “I don’t need a crowd of women. I just need Sam. And being a dad is the best thing that ever happened to me. How long have you and Evan been together? Shit, his partner who just died was your cousin, wasn’t he? I’m so sorry.”

“Thank you. We’ve been together for almost a year. Evan had been Jack’s best friend since they were fifteen. Nothing happened between us until he moved back to help Jack with the business, and now it’s like we’ve always been together.” My eyes drifted to the picture from our weekend in the Hamptons that sat on Evan’s desk. I envied the healthy, unburdened girl that smiled back at me.

“It’s nice when fate gives you a second chance after you were an idiot the first time, isn’t it? I give thanks for that every day. From what Jess tells me, Evan is a great guy. I’m glad. You deserve that, Paige.”

“We’re back!” Evan’s voice traveled from the outer doorway. “I got Joey a cup since I didn’t think any good would come out of giving a two-year-old a cone. He’s doing okay so far.”

I laughed at Joey’s stern little face as he scooped chocolate ice cream out of the cup and got sprinkles stuck to his nose.

“Buddy, it’s supposed to go in your mouth not on your face.” Lucas chuckled as he stood.

“It’s okay, I got it.” Evan wiped Joey’s little face with a napkin. Watching Evan’s easy rapport with Joey and Bella, you would never know he didn’t have children of his own.

“Thank you for the ice cream.” Bella’s voice was barely a whisper. She kept her eyes on Evan as she licked her ice cream cone.

“You’re very welcome.” Evan tapped her chin and Bella stiffened up. I turned to Lucas and raised my eyebrows. He nodded and raked his hands down his face.

Jessica jogged back in and nudged Lucas’s shoulder.

“We better get on the road. I don’t want to hit too much traffic.”

“Let the kids finish their ice cream first. I’m driving; what do you care?” Jessica huffed as she rushed past him.

“I’ll run to the bathroom and we’ll get going.” Lucas let out a long sigh.

I rose from Evan’s chair and snaked my arm around his waist.

“Easier just to do what she says, right?” Evan laughed and shook his head.

Lucas nodded at Evan as he cleaned Joey’s hands. “Pretty much. It’s how I spent my childhood. Come on guys.” Lucas extended his hand to Evan. “Nice to meet you. Thanks for putting up with my sister, and I’m glad Paige has someone like you. She deserves a guy willing to beat people up for her.” Lucas kissed my cheek. “Good to see you again, Paige.”

“You too, Lucas.” Evan and I waved to Joey and Bella as they scurried out the door.

“Okay, I’m out.” Jessica grabbed her bag and ran out. She stopped short and turned back to Evan. “Leave the storage room alone, please.”

“Yes, ma’am!” He gave her a salute as she glowered at him while she ran out the door.


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