***Evelyn POV*** I don’t know how I got here. When I got out of the cab at the hotel, I numbly made my way to my room and face planted on my bed. I slept for hours. I got a couple worried voicemails from both Mike and Jacob. When I woke up mid-afternoon the next day, I quickly lied through my teeth and said I was fine. It wasn’t fine. None of it was fine. It was all fucked up and I could barely function. Managing to check my email, I did at least read over the document the lawyer sent me. I made a few adjustments; adding Elliot’s name to the trust fund so I wouldn’t need to go through the hassle of it later but made sure the last name said Harris, not Anderson. He also said Zach had asked for photos of the time we were together. It seemed weird when we were literally finalizing our divorce. I wanted to say no. Those photos now were the only proof I carried of what we had together. The only thing that now kept me sane and proved that our time together wasn’t a dream. Other than Ellio
Leaning over, he put his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath through his guffawing. “M*****a chica, te llevaré a donde quieras ir.” [Damn girl, I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.] I felt strong hands on my shoulders and Zach pulled me back. The smirk he was wearing earlier was gone. Clear irritation was written all over his face. The chef straightened up and looked at him for a moment before chuckling. “A couple specials, coming up! I can’t make a beautiful woman pay, though. It’s on the house.” He turned and walked into the small space. Making quick work, he moved nimbly around the kitchen. It was surprising between the size of the space and the size of him, but he whipped up two orders of tacos and came back over, handing them to us. Zach reached over me and grabbed the two containers from him. “Oh shit! Let me get…” He turned in to the truck and opened a mini fridge in the corner. “Mamá just made a new batch today.” Pouring out two drinks, I took them from him an
The area started to thin out around 4:30 a.m. and after grabbing some dessert at one of the other trucks, Zach started to walk me back to the hotel. I had refused a ride, but he also refused to allow me to walk back alone. We walked close, but his hands were tucked into his pockets again. My phone vibrated in my pocket and I looked at the caller ID. Stopping, I answered. “Jacob?” “Hey! I’m sorry! I know it’s like 4 a.m., but Elliot woke up and he has been crying because he had a bad dream, and I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.” “Okay, okay. Calm down, for one. It’s just a bad dream, not the end of the world.” I stopped walking and ran my hand through my hair. Zach stopped as well, curiosity coming across his features. “Is Anne awake?” “Yeah, she is holding him, but he’s still crying.” I wrinkled my nose. “Did he say anything specific about it? About the dream?” “It was dark and that he was alone and scared.” I cursed. It had been months since he had that dream. Shit. I leane
People pushed me around as I walked down the street. Quite a few of them turned to cuss me out, but I didn’t hear them. The tears kept falling and I couldn’t stop them. The numbness had seeped in and felt it restricting my breathing. I didn’t even know where I was walking anymore. I just started to walk as soon as I made it out of the office building, and I couldn’t stop. I feared if I stopped then I would break. I hit a street corner and I looked around. The street to my left was closed down for a street faire and I turned to walk down the middle of the road with the stream of people. There were vendors and stalls selling food and goods. There were also games and kids activities. I wondered with all the kids running around if school was out, but it was after 4 p.m. and so I figured everyone was just off school for the day. Looking around, I stopped at a couple of the stalls and picked out two gifts for Elliot. I thanked the vendor and walked through the crowd. I stopped at a guy who
***Zachary’s POV*** There was banging at the door again. How many times was this? It was pissing me off. I didn’t want anyone in the apartment. Hence the lock on the door. Not enough, well now the couch was thrown in front of the door. I moved out to the balcony with a pack of cigarettes and sat down on the only non-broken or thrown piece of furniture. Lighting the cigarette, I leaned back in the chair and closed my eyes. Taking another drag, I peeked over my shoulder as I heard the couch scraping across the floor. I wondered how many people were pushing the door open to get that thing to move. Honestly, it was heavy as fuck, but it was the first thing I trashed when I got home after I spent time with Evie. After I found out I had a son. She named him after my grandfather and I knew that wasn’t a coincidence. There was no way. After the heated bout with my parents over whether or not I intended on keeping the agreement with the Sinclair’s, I told them I would be putting everything on
“Avez-vous besoin d'autre chose, monsieur?” [Do you need anything else, sir?] I looked up from my paper at the waiter and smiled. “Un café et deux sucres, s'il vous plaît.” [A coffee and two sugars, please.] He bowed and scurried off. I set my paper down and looked out into the street. It was busy, as most Saturday mornings were. There were plenty of tourists, but also the usual Saturday locals were enjoying the sunny day. Smiling, I thanked the waiter when he brought me my coffee. Pouring the sugar in my coffee, I looked out over the street again. The small flat I rented was only a couple blocks from this spot and this place was my go-to early in the morning. I had gotten up late today since, for once, I had a clear schedule. Four weeks I had been in France. I was overseeing the construction of one of our international branches which was nearly finished. The completion gave me mixed feelings. Part of me missed home and the other part didn’t want to go back. France was a distraction
“Zach!” I waved at Stacy as she ran to me and threw her arms around me. Rolling my eyes, I gave her a peck on the cheek. “Woman! People are going think we are lovers reuniting.” “Whatever you say, partner in crime. I’m just glad to be here.” She huffed. “I’ve had to listen to Adrian and Jay complain non-stop about being left behind. Fuck them. A girl can take a damn private jet by herself. Some real me time.” Smiling, I opened the car door for her and she slid in. The driver grabbed her luggage and I got in after her. “I’m glad you’re here. I was starting to miss home. I feel better now. I don’t think I need to go back.” Her mouth dropped open and she punched my stomach. I leaned forward, faking hurt. “Don’t you dare, Zach. I swear to god. You’re not going anywhere anytime soon. I missed you.” “I missed you too, bitch.” “Damn, you lost weight. You’re a toothpick. I swear you’re thinner than Adrian now.” I raised my eyebrow. “Did Adrian gain weight?” “No. Well, yes, but you’re
*** Three Years Ago *** “You wouldn’t believe our luck, dude!” Jason set down four shots in front of me and fell back on the couch. “There is a whole damn bachelorette party down there.” “Oh?” I smiled, grabbing two of the shots and throwing them back one after the other. Jason took his shots and downed them as well. “I’m taking multiple of them to bed. It’s my goal for the night.” Rolling my eyes, I looked over the club. We had landed in Las Vegas two hours before, checked into the hotel, raided the mini bar, and then headed out to the club. It was busy even for a Friday and I let my eyes roam over the bodies in the club. “You are gonna find someone and you are going to fuck someone. You got it? You’ve been an uptight twat all week.” “That had nothing to do with the fact I wasn’t fucking someone and all to do with my father’s board meeting.” Jason laughed. “Sure, but it would have helped!” Rolling my eyes, three girls came up to our VIP section and Jason’s face lit up. Motio