Page 20 of Happily Evan After

“That is not what I meant,” he says, his eyes practically glowing with ferocity. “I looked for you too, you know.”

I roll my eyes. “No, you went back to the bar to retrieve your wallet and just asked Lana if she’d give you my name. It was a drive-by scenario, hardly worth mentioning.”

“Y’all are giving me whiplash,” Shelby announces. She comes closer to Evan and me. “This is not something that’s going to be resolved with a casual chat. I think for now, maybe it’s best if you separate and regroup, if you will.”

I’m simultaneously annoyed and grateful that she interrupted us. Mostly grateful. Because as much as he’s pretty to look at and he smells delicious, I evidently can’t be near him right now until I get my thoughts lined up.

“Good idea,” I muse. I turn to Shelby. “Could you take me back to my car?”

“Of course,” Shelby says.

I look at Evan and give him a nod. “We’ll talk again.”

“But-” Evan tries to protest, the man I don’t know silences him with a simple, “Kid.”

I turn to go to the golf cart we arrived in. I see Shelby hang back for a minute, and she says something to Evan quietly so I can’t hear.

“Dane, baby, keep your hands to yourself until you get home, please,” she singsongs to her husband. “We don’t need to further mess up Evan’s pretty face.

chapter

eleven

Evan

I am not in the mood to meet with the guys right now, but I’ve been summoned to the VFW Hall, where we currently have our staff meetings. It’s been a hell of a twenty-four hours. A life-changing twenty-four hours.

My phone rings and I see Abel’s name flash up.

“It’s about fucking time,” I say as a greeting.

“Good morning to you, too, Mary Sunshine. What crawled up your ass and died?” My brother’s voice comes through my truck’s speakers.

“I called you like four times last night,” I say. “Where were you?”

“Production meeting. Everything is a shit show here, but I’ll figure it out. What’s going on there?”

“I’m going to be a father,” I blurt. Shit, I meant to ease into that part. Tell him about Marley.

“What?”

“A dad. You know, me, which I guess means you’re going to be an uncle.”

“You knocked someone up? Are you sure it’s yours? Did you take a paternity test? Don’t make any promises, verbal or otherwise, until you speak to an attorney. I can have one of mine call you,” Abel says.

“Slow your roll, brother. No, I didn’t take a paternity test, but yes, I’m sure it’s mine.”

“Have you been in an exclusive relationship you haven’t told me about?”

“Well, no. But I know her. She wouldn’t lie about anything, much less something this big.”

My phone pings with an incoming text.

DANE: Meeting only works if you come inside and sit with us. Not stay in your fucking truck.

I blow out a breath.

“Abel, I gotta go. Work meeting. We can talk later, yeah?”