Chapter 24
RHETT
I frown as I stare at the notification from the bank. I wasn’t expecting any money.
I shoot a quick email to my banker asking him to check where the money came from before I shove the phone back in my pocket.
I got back to LA yesterday. I couldn’t believe how much work was waiting for me back at the office. You leave for three days, and the place collapses.
It’s only after nine when I finally leave the office. Thankfully, Jaxson and Marcus will be back tomorrow.
I scroll through my messages as I walk to my car. Not seeing anything that requires my urgent attention, I shove the phone in my pocket. Climbing in my car, I make my way home. Tonight I just want to enjoy a beer before I head to bed.
When I stop at a red light, I glance around the area. I notice the neon word Marilyn’s. The windows are blacked out so I can’t see inside. I’ll google the place when I get home. Funny how I’ve driven past it a hundred times but I only noticed it now.
When I get home, I throw my keys on the counter and grab a beer from the fridge. I plop down on the couch and kick off my shoes before I rest my feet on the coffee table. Yanking my tie loose, I take a deep pull from the bottle.
Fuck, yeah. Now, this is much better.
I finish half of the beer before I pull my phone out so I can check my emails. I delete a couple before I see the one from my banker.
Opening it, I scan the details of the funds I received earlier.
Payee: E. Cole
E. Cole? The only E. Cole I know is Evie.
It takes a moment for my mind to play catch up with what my eyes are seeing.
A tornado of emotions sweeps through my chest as the shock slams into my gut.
Evie paid me back every cent I gave her.
I gave her that fucking money!
I rise to my feet and place the bottle on the coffee table, so I don’t throw the damn thing. I drop my phone on the couch and fist my hands.
My thoughts are a jumbled mess, and I start stalking the length of my living room, trying to process the information. My emotions keep switching from anger to astonishment, giving me fucking whiplash.
Evie paid me back.
I stop in the middle of the living room as my mind clears and two distinct thoughts stand out.
Evie is still thinking of me.
She had to have at least thought of me once a month as she was saving the funds. She never forgot about me like I thought.
For Evie, it never was about the money. She really meant it when she said she loved me.
Fuck!
From the moment I met Evie, money played a prominent role in our relationship. I couldn’t let my guard down around her even though I loved her. I was a stupid dumbass back then. I’ve let the best thing that’s ever happened to me slip through my fingers because I have fucked-up trust issues.
Well, there is the tiny problem of the perverted secret I have, but it pales in comparison to the fact that I never trusted Evie.
Fuck, I was so caught up in myself she didn’t stand a chance.
What the hell have I done to Evie, to me… to us?
Every day she was in my life I was waiting for her to walk out on me. When she did, it solidified what I thought I had known all along. I was nothing but a free ride to her. But that never was the case.
And now…
It’s not about the actual money, but instead, what it all signifies. That I was an asshole, who broke my promise of protecting Evie, even from myself, because I couldn’t see the truth my heart already knew all along.
Evie wasn’t like the other girls. She really cared for me.
But it’s been six years.
A lot has happened. Fuck, Evie could’ve changed. Look at the guys, they’re all settled and happy. I’m the only fucker who’s still stuck in the past.
But she might still be the Evie I knew and fell in love with. If there’s a chance that she still feels something for me, don’t I owe it to us to find out?
The least I can do is apologize to her for being a dick and not trusting her.
“Don’t rush into this,” I whisper.
“Fuck.”
I shake my head at myself.
“You’re totally going to rush into this balls first.”
I grin at myself as I start to think of ways I can worm my way back into Evie’s life.