Meant For Her

  “No, thanks,” he said. “We’re getting close to landing. Better cut myself off.”

  “I hear you.” Since he was in the first row for the extra legroom, she leaned against the cabin wall. “These late flights leave me itching to do something. I’m used to having two little ones and my husband constantly needing me. Having free time when I’m getting paid for it feels sacrilegious.”

  “Maybe you should take a load off,” he said. “Relax while you can.”

  She laughed. “That just isn’t in my physical makeup. So, is Atlanta your permanent home, or do you live elsewhere?”

  “No, not permanent.”

  She tilted her head when he didn’t elaborate. “So, no ties to anywhere, then?”

  He thought of Sierra, whom he’d known for only a month. When before he’d been sure he wanted to keep moving, certain that he didn’t want any attachments of any kind, she somehow made him question himself.

  “I know that look,” she said. “There’s someone who’s turned your head, isn’t there?”

  “Something like that,” he admitted.

  Smiling, she patted his shoulder. “Let me give you some advice, honey. If this person’s giving you a reason to consider shaping a future that scares you, either a little or a lot, then hold onto ‘em. Trust me, that’s just what you need.”

  The overhead lights flashed and sounds dinged in the cabin, signaling their descent. Lynn glanced up as one of the other players flagged her down.

  “Thanks,” he told her.

  “You bet. Good luck.”

  Her words ran through his mind as he climbed into the chartered car for the ride home. He could admit that the thought of considering a future that involved a commitment to anyone terrified him. Love meant loss, or at least the potential for it. Despite what Lynn had said, he knew that as long as he felt that way, he wouldn’t be good for anyone.

  It was just after eleven when he got out of the car at the apartment building. He felt even happier to be home than he’d expected. The closer to the building he got, the quicker he walked. He had to consciously slow himself down as he reached the lobby.

  “Hi, Mr. Dorsey,” said the night manager.

  “Hi, Everett. Anything exciting happen while I was gone?”

  “Not much. Ginny Moreland had her baby.”

  “Did she?” He vaguely remembered the hugely pregnant woman at the barbecue. “What did she cook up?”

  “A boy. Nine pounds, eight ounces.”

  He whistled. “I’ll have to remember to congratulate the family when I see them. Don’t work too hard up here.”

  “No, sir.”

  He shook his head at himself as he got into the elevator. When had he gotten into small talk? First with Lynn and now with Everett. It was like he was making an effort to be sociable.

  Something was seriously messed up with his head.

  The elevator doors opened. Seeing the familiar hallway made one corner of his mouth turn up. As he approached Sierra’s apartment, his heart rate sprung into a gallop. He decided to screw his routine and knock on her door first.

  No sooner had he lifted his hand to knock than the door to his apartment opened. Frowning, he wondered if Sierra had snuck into his place again.

  He realized right away that it wasn’t Sierra. It was a tall male with long, blond hair and enough silver in his ear to slay a den of werewolves.

  “Mr. Dorsey?” the male said, his hand on the door handle. “I didn’t think you’d be home until tomorrow.”

  Evan recognized his voice. The dogsitter, Geoff.

  “Yeah, sorry,” he said. “They managed to get us out early.”

  “Ah, cool. Well, the dogs are great. They’re in their cages, but I’m sure they’ll be happy you’re home so they don’t have to stay in there.”

  “I’m sure.”

  Glancing back at Evan’s door, Geoff said, “Um, sorry it’s so late, by the way. My schedule has been a little unpredictable with my other job.”

  “As long as the dogs are happy, I’m happy.

  “Awesome. So, unless I hear otherwise, I’ll pick back up again on the nineteenth.”

  “Sounds good.”

  Evan wondered why the guy didn’t step away from his door and head to the elevator. He kept smiling like he was in on some joke that the rest of the world missed.

  Eventually, Geoff started forward. His eyes moved from Evan to Sierra’s door and back again.

  “If you’re looking for Sierra, she’s not in,” he said. “She had a date.”

  “A date?”

  “Yeah.” Geoff shrugged. “Apparently there’s some guy. She says it’s pretty serious.”

  Evan stepped away from her door and gave Geoff a nod. “Good night,” he said.

  “Good night, Mr. Dorsey.”

  Heading to his apartment, Evan battled his reaction to Geoff’s revelation. Sierra was involved with someone? When the hell had that happened? What had all of the kissing been about if she was seeing someone else? How had he not heard of this person?

  Stepping into his apartment, he locked the door and set his bag down just inside the door. Then he stood there, trying to figure out how he could possibly be so disappointed when he had convinced himself that he wasn’t interested in a future with Sierra anyway.

  Chapter 30

  Thirty seconds later, his cell buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw that he had a text from Sierra.

  Welcome home, Evan.

  Blinking, his gaze moved to the wall separating his kitchen from her bedroom. He looked at the doorway where Geoff had just departed, then back at the wall.

  Shaking his head and grinning, he typed, Faked a date, did you?

  IDK what you mean. I’m in the dark with a hot guy who’s panting all over me.

  Leo doesn’t count.

  Then I faked a date.

  Bad girl. Come on over if you’re up to it.

  After typing that message, he unlocked his front door for her and headed to the dog cages. The moment Miller and Beck saw him, they started yelping. He opened the doors and squatted down so he could greet them. They bounced around like deranged monkeys. He was pleased to see that Beck was moving more easily on his injured forepaw.

  “Did you guys behave yourselves?” he asked. “Tell me you at least got into a little trouble while I was gone. I live vicariously through you, you know.”

  They panted and issued a couple of barks. He took that as a yes.

  When the apartment door opened, he rose so he could greet Sierra and Leo. She carried something large and rectangular. He hurried forward to try and take it from her.

  “Uh-uh,” she said, propping the paper-covered rectangle against the wall near his bag. “I’m going to work on convincing you to let me give this to you before I leave. But you don’t get to see it until it’s in its proper place.”

  “I’m intrigued.”

  “That’s a good start.”

  He allowed himself a moment to just enjoy the sight of her as he bent down to pet Leo. She had on a dark blue sleep tank and coordinating shorts. No shoes, makeup, or jewelry outside of the diamond nose stud she always wore. The colored streaks in her hair were still red and dark blue, and were currently pulled back into a ponytail with the rest of her curls.

  “I missed you,” she said, stepping forward and hugging him when he rose.

  As his arms went around her, he leaned down to catch her scent. His entire body tightened in reaction.

  “I missed you, too,” he said.

  “Want to have a beer and catch up?”

  “I’d like that.”

  Smiling, she pulled away and walked to the fridge to grab a couple of beers. He glanced over her shoulder as she did so. It looked suspiciously like she’d replenished his supplies again. Apparently, sneaking into his apartment hadn’t completely fallen off her list of extracurricular activities. Funny how it didn’t bother him as much now.

  “Balcony or family room?” he asked.

 
“Family room. The boys have missed you. They’ll want lap time.”

  Taking one of the beers from her, he stopped resisting the impulse and leaned down to kiss her. He deliberately kept it light, guiding her chin with his fingertips, brushing his lips across hers a couple of times before pulling back. Anything more than that right then and he knew he wouldn’t be able to stop.

  She squeezed his hand and led him over to the sofa. They were promptly trampled by three dogs seeking attention. He had to shift his weight or risk being caught in the groin by their prancing feet.

  Sierra laughed. It took them a few minutes to get everyone calm enough to lie down.

  “Told you they missed you,” she said. “They’ll be happy to be out of their cages tonight.”

  “That’s what Geoff said.”

  She took a sip of her beer and nodded, but he noticed that her expression changed when he mentioned the other guy. Curious, he took a sip of his own beer and thought about what could have caused the reaction.

  “I was glad to see your hot streak continue once you hit the road,” she said. “Winning four of six games is great.”

  “Can’t complain about it, that’s for sure.”

  “You start another home stand tomorrow, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  She reached over and patted his hand. “This is an exhausting stretch for you guys. How are you holding up?”

  He twisted his hand so he could twine his fingers with hers. “Better now.”

  She smiled. “Good.”

  “What about you? Did you get things sorted with Bastian?”

  “As a matter of fact, I did. We haven’t gotten to speak with Camille yet because she’s on vacation, but he was convinced by my evidence.”

  “I’m glad.” He took a fortifying sip of beer. “Look, I shouldn’t have reacted like I did when you told me what happened. You were right.”

  “I was right? I didn’t think guys were allowed to say that.”

  “Let’s just say if you ever tell anyone I said it, I’ll deny it until my last breath.”

  Laughing, she squeezed his hand. “Well, if it helps, all of my other friends and family members had similar reactions. You were right, too. I needed to call her out, no matter how difficult the potential confrontation might be.”

  “I still think you should kick her ass.”

  “I’ll give that some thought. Outside of that, you haven’t missed much around here.”

  Finishing his beer, he set the bottle on the floor. Idly, he thought it might not be a bad idea to get a coffee table. Of course, that would be just one more thing to move, he reminded himself.

  “What’s up with Geoff the dogsitter?” he asked.

  Once again, her expression changed. She went from cheerful to something else. Wary maybe?

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, let’s start with the fake date.”

  Fiddling with the label on her bottle, she said, “You think I’m a terrible person for lying to him, don’t you?”

  “No. I’m just curious why.”

  “I wish I could tell you. I just don’t feel comfortable around him. He seems nice enough, so I can’t explain why I feel this way.”

  “He sure does smile a lot.”

  Her eyes widened and she nodded. “I know. Isn’t it weird?”

  “Why? Just because he looks like a maniacal serial killer?”

  She gasped, smacking his arm as she laughed. “You said that, not me.”

  Shrugging, he said, “I think he’s just a nervous guy. He seems easily intimidated.”

  “Why would I intimidate him?”

  Dipping his head, he slowly lowered his gaze along her body, then lifted it just as slowly until he once again met her eyes.

  “Oh.” She seemed to think about that. “Well, I tried to be tactful when I told him I wasn’t open to dating. I didn’t let him know that it was because I wasn’t interested in him.”

  “No…according to him, you’re in a pretty serious relationship right now.”

  She smiled. Much like he had done, she let her gaze slide from his head to his feet and back up. His heart rate spiked as he grasped what she’d meant.

  Was it fear or exultation that caused his reaction?

  “Do you remember that photography project I told you about?” she asked. “The one from a few weeks ago?”

  He nodded.

  “Well, I got it back while you were gone. Since you inspired it, I wanted to give it you.”

  He glanced back at the rectangle propped against the wall. She wanted to give him another picture.

  Did she know that hanging pictures and putting out personal effects was against his rules? That it equated with settling in and getting attached?

  He thought she did. That was why this time, she’d given him the choice. He could either refuse the gift and stick to his personal path, or he could accept it and the changes it symbolized.

  Meeting her green gaze, he said, “I’d like to see it.”

  “I need a hammer and nails. I’d like to hang it before you see it.”

  Deliberately looking at the pictures hung beside them on the family room wall, he drawled, “You know where to find them.”

  She grinned unapologetically and got up from the sofa, jarring the dogs. Leo hopped down and followed her as she stopped to pick up Evan’s beer bottle and headed to the kitchen. He heard her rifling through the plastic tool chest under his sink. She emerged with a hammer, nails, a level, and a tape measure. It took her two trips to drop the items off in his bedroom and then get the picture.

  Once she was out of sight, he asked himself what the hell he was doing. What had happened to his resolve? What if things progressed even further between them? Could he open himself back up to that level of potential pain?

  After a series of hammer bangs and a pause during which time he imagined the picture was being hung, Sierra appeared in his bedroom doorway.

  “Okay,” she said.

  He moved Miller off his lap and got to his feet. It was just a picture, he reminded himself. Pictures could be taken down.

  When he stepped into the bedroom, he realized she had hung it over his bed. At first, the glare from the table lamp made it hard for him to make it out, so he moved until he stood at the foot of the bed.

  Then he just stared.

  She’d captured the Atlanta stadium from a distance during the moment after a thunderstorm when the sun had started to emerge from between the clouds. Bright beams of sunlight broke through the darkness, bathing the field in an almost ethereal glow. Behind one of the high stadium lights, the hint of a rainbow shimmered.

  He didn’t realize that he was holding his breath until his chest started burning. The physical reaction shook him. Nothing had ever affected him as powerfully as this photograph.

  Clearing his throat, he managed, “I see why you got an A.”

  “Thank you.” She approached him and took his hand, drawing his gaze down to her. “I made it for you, Evan. Will you accept it?”

  He knew her enough to understand that she’d captured part of herself in the image. He knew that he wouldn’t only be accepting the photograph by agreeing to leave it on the wall. He knew that things would no longer be the same between them.

  And still, he said, “Yes.”

  Chapter 31

  “How are we preparing these?” Sierra asked Everly, holding up a bag of carrots.

  Everly snorted. “Are you kidding? This is poker night. Those are for me to eat during the week. The junk food and booze is for the guys.”

  “Oh, right.”

  Walking over to Cole and Everly’s gourmet fridge, she opened the door and placed the carrots in the veggie drawer. She accepted a few other cold items from Everly, who was unloading the bags from the grocery store where they’d just spent an obscene amount of money on poker night provisions.

  “You have a housekeeper,” Sierra pointed out as she set onion dip on a shelf. “Doesn’t she usually do this kind
of thing?”

  Setting a bag of chips next to a bowl, Everly said, “Would you feel comfortable having someone else do every little thing for you?”

  “Point taken.”

  Sierra knew that Everly hadn’t grown up in a household anything like the one she’d married into. She’d worked hard to overcome humble and difficult beginnings before she met Cole. Although Everly wasn’t very forthcoming with the specifics about her background, Sierra had gathered enough from things that she, Cole, and her Aunt Caroline had said to piece it together.

  Scanning the vast amount of food spread along the counter, she asked, “Just how many guys are going to be playing?”

  “Eight,” Everly replied, placing her hands on her hips and also looking at the food. “Five of whom are baseball players who will be coming here straight after a game without eating dinner first.”

  Sierra’s eyebrows rose. “Maybe we should have bought half a cow, too.”

  “We might have one in the freezer,” Everly deadpanned.

  Laughing, Sierra picked up a couple of bowls bearing unopened bags of snacks. “Where are these going?”

  “Downstairs to the man cave.”

  Sierra led the way. She’d only been through Cole and Everly’s house a few times, but she knew the layout well enough. When Everly had called to see if she wanted to get together for a girls’ night while Cole and Evan participated in poker night, Sierra had immediately jumped on board. They’d be meeting Zoe and Hannah for dinner and a chick flick later.

  “You can set everything on the bar,” Everly instructed as she set her items down.

  Following her lead, Sierra placed the bowls down and headed back toward the stairs to get more. She smiled when she saw Everly rub a hand over the growing swell of her belly. It was more obvious than the last time they’d been together. The cute maternity top she wore showed it off in the best possible way.

  “Tomorrow’s the gender ultrasound, isn’t it?” she asked.

  “Yep. Cole got permission to travel on a later flight for the All-Star festivities tomorrow just so he can attend the appointment. I doubt I’ll sleep a wink tonight.”