Chapter 15
EVIE
My mind is screaming for me to go home, but my stubborn heart doesn’t want to hear about being sensible right now.
Ugh, I’m going to regret this in the morning.
With every step I take closer to his room, my mind yells, “What the hell are you doing?”
“Just chill. We’re only going to talk,” my heart answers while doing silly somersaults and sprinkling glitter everywhere.
“Yeah right, I’ve heard that one before,” my mind says dryly.
Rhett stops at a room and pushes the door open.
“I didn’t know you guys were home,” he says to someone, and as I peek inside the room, I see a pretty girl with long black hair sitting on a bed next to one of Rhett’s friends. They both seem to be typing away on their laptops.
“Yeah, we got home about an hour ago,” the guy says as he looks up from his laptop.
“Evie, this is Logan and the pretty one pretending to do homework is my sister, Mia,” Rhett introduces us.
I can see the resemblance between Mia and Rhett, but where Rhett is tall, Mia looks much smaller.
“Nice to meet you both,” I say, trying my best to look friendly.
“You brought a girl home?” Mia says as she climbs off the bed. She stops in front of me, and I have to look up to meet her eyes. “I love your hair,” she compliments me with a genuine smile.
Self-consciously my hand shoots to the mess on my head. I forgot about it, but it must look awful after I let it air dry.
Mia reaches out and takes hold of my hand so she can pull it away. “I mean it. You have beautiful hair.”
A warm smile spreads across my face. “Thank you.”
I’m tempted to compliment her back, but I don’t want it to sound like it’s forced just because she praised me.
Mia lets go of my hand and lifts an eyebrow as she looks at Rhett.
“Don’t start with me, squirt,” Rhett growls, although his voice is warm with love for his sister.
Mia wags her eyebrows, silently teasing her big brother. It’s nice seeing this side of Rhett.
“Evie is just a friend. Get used to seeing her around.” Rhett leans closer to Mia and brushes his finger over the tip of her nose. “Now stop being nosy and finish your homework.”
She smiles warmly at Rhett before she goes back to the bed.
As we walk away, Rhett leans into me and whispers, “They have the hots for each other, but they think no one knows.”
“Oh,” I whisper as I glance over my shoulder. “How old is Mia?” I ask, wanting to know more about her.
“She’s fifteen.”
He doesn’t say anything else, so I gently probe, “And you’re okay with her dating Logan?”
Rhett shrugs. “Logan would rather die than hurt Mia. I know my sister is safe with him.”
Before I can ask another question, a guy comes barreling out of a room, slamming into my side. I lose balance and fall against Rhett, and when his arms circle me, I become highly aware of the fact that he’s still shirtless. My right-hand grabs hold of his lower back, and my left flattens over his chest. My entire front is plastered against his side until he pulls me closer, bringing us chest to chest.
His manly scent and the heat from his body overwhelm me. My heartbeat speeds up as every part of my body touching his starts to buzz with tiny electric bolts.
“Shit, sorry,” the guy says. “You’re so small I didn’t see you.”
“Evie, this is Jaxson. He and Logan are twins,” Rhett says, sounding way calmer than I feel. Apparently, he’s not affected like I am by our close proximity.
“Hi, Jaxson,” I say, trying to not let my rampant emotions seep through to my voice. I’d die if Rhett ever found out how affected I am by him.
“Hey, Evie.” Another guy comes out of the same room Jaxson was just in, and for a second I can only stare. He is easily the most gorgeous man I’ve ever laid eyes on. Where Jaxson is blonde like Logan, the new guy is all dark and broody. If someone had told me that he and Rhett were brothers, I would’ve believed them.
“And that’s Marcus. His bark is worse than his bite,” Rhett says playfully.
What does he mean by Marcus’ bark is worse than his bite?
“What-the-fuck-ever,” Marcus growls. He gives me a cold look before he shoves past us.
I instinctively inch closer to Rhett, until I feel his chest against my cheek.
A slow grin spreads over Jaxson’s face as he says, “You kids have fun now.”
Suddenly we’re alone in the hallway with Rhett’s arms still around me. I pull back, putting a safe distance between us.
Clearing my throat, I say, “Interesting friends you have.”
“They’re my family. For the last ten years, it’s just been us guys, Mia, and Mr. Hayes.”
“Mr. Hayes,” I ask, glad that we’re back to talking about Rhett’s life as we walk to his room.
“Carter’s dad. He took us all in and has been taking care of us.”
“Oh,” I whisper, wondering how they all landed up together. I don’t ask, scared that it will give Rhett the idea of asking me questions in turn.
When we walk into Rhett’s room, I glance around, not sure where I should sit.
Rhett plops down on the bed, crossing his arms behind his head.
“Make yourself comfortable, Evie,” he says.
All I can do is stare at his lean, hard body, stretched out before me like a feast waiting to be devoured.
I shake my head lightly to rid myself of the stupid fantasies and carefully sit on the edge of the bed by Rhett’s feet.
He rolls his eyes at me, then darting forward, and grabbing my arm, he pulls me back with him.
I end up lying stretched out, half on the covers and half over Rhett. My face flames up as I quickly move away, and turning on my side, I stare at the bed until it feels like my face has cooled down a little.
“You’re weird,” Rhett says, making my eyes snap up to his.
The words sting, and he must see it on my face, because he quickly adds, “Not a bad weird. You’re shy, but at the same time, you have all this fight inside of you. It’s a weird mixture. I’ve never met a shy girl who could argue as much as you do.”
I’m not sure if it’s a compliment or insult, so I decide to keep quiet.
“What are you scared of?” he asks.
I frown at him, not sure what he means.
“I’m scared of…” his words trail away. I sit up and fold my legs under me. “Rats. Fuck, I hate those critters with their beady red eyes.”
I start to laugh at the expression on his face. It looks like he stepped in something nasty.
“Well, you know I’m scared of clowns,” I say.
He lets out a deep chuckle that does crazy things to my hormones.
“Yeah, I figured as much after you crawled away from me.”
“I never watch horror movies,” I admit. I don’t add that my life has had enough horror. “I like comedies.”
“I’ll remember that next time we watch a movie.” He smiles tenderly at me, and it warms the spot in my chest where my heart is.