XanderI checked the time and cursed. I didn’t know how to get myself to be where I was supposed to be at the right time. I was blaming the project this time. Once again, I had gotten caught up and lost all track of time. I whipped into the parking lot of the casual restaurant where I was meeting Evie for lunch.I walked inside and scanned the restaurant. Her black hair immediately caught my eye. She was looking down at her phone, probably wondering where in the hell I was. I made my way to the table. She looked up and smiled.“I’m sorry,” I blurted out. “I tried to get here.”“You’re right on time,” she said, getting up and giving me a quick kiss before taking her seat again. “Your time, that is.”I laughed and sat down. “I have tried every trick in the book. I set my watch ahead. I have my phone give me ten-minute warnings. Nothing works.”“It’s really okay. I plan for you to be a little late and get some work done while I wait.”I wrinkled my nose. “I really am sorry.”“Don’t be.”

EvieNelle was scowling at something behind me. I turned around to see what had her encouraging premature wrinkling. “Will you stop?” I scolded.“I can’t help it,” she muttered.“Yes, you can. This is why I didn’t want to come here. You are going to be picking apart that poor bartender all night. Give him a break.”“He sucks,” she said. “No wonder he doesn’t make any tips. I wouldn’t tip him a penny.”I sighed, sipping on the drink that really wasn’t all that good, but I was not about to tell her that. “If it wasn’t for him, you would never have a day off. He is a necessary evil.”“Evil maybe, but I’m not sure how necessary it is.”“Pay attention to me,” I demanded.She finally looked at me. “You are a needy date.”I laughed. “You have no idea just how needy I am.”“Gross.”I shrugged. “It’s true.”“I guess that means you guys still haven’t managed to find some alone time this week?”I groaned. “No. He had to go out of town to talk to someone about something that had something to do w

XanderI was tinkering on my boat when my phone rang. I glanced over, ready to let it go to voicemail until I saw Evie’s number. I quickly wiped my hand on my pants before grabbing the phone.“Hello,” I said, unable to stop the smile from spreading over my face.“What are you doing?” she asked.“I’m working on my boat.”She laughed. “Of course, you are. Your actual boat or the little boat you are using as a prototype?”“My actual boat. What are you doing?”“Well, my client canceled at the last minute. Turns out I have nothing to do on a Friday night. I was wondering if you were free.”“I’m always free for you,” I told her.“I like that.”“Come out to the boat,” I said.“Are you sure? If you’ve got big plans to tear apart a perfectly good boat, I don’t want to get in your way.”“Woman, I’m free. You’re free. Get your ass out here or I will hunt you down. You cannot put this man off another day.”Her sweet laughter came through the phone. She thought I was joking. I wasn’t. I was so fuc

EvieMy heart was shattering into a thousand pieces. The look on his face told me everything I needed to know. I had heard his side of the conversation. I had seen his shoulders slump before he threw them back. He was trying to pull himself together.“Xander,” I whispered.He had a blank stare on his face. “I, um, he—”I felt a tear stream down my face. “Kade?”He slowly nodded. “Yes.”I didn’t want to make the wrong assumption, but I was pretty sure I knew what had happened. I wanted to believe I was wrong. I could be wrong. Please, let me be wrong. “Is he, uh, is he—”“Yes.”I gasped. Hearing the confirmation made it all real. “I’m sorry,” I breathed before stepping closer.“It’s fine.”“Xander, it isn’t fine,” I told him. I put my hand on his arm. He flinched and pulled away. “What can I do?”“Nothing.”I could see him shutting down, pulling away. He was crawling into his corner to lick his wounds. “Can I get you a drink?” I offered.I had no idea how to help him. I was grasping at

XanderI had yet to sleep. I was afraid to sleep. Every time I stopped moving, I thought about Kade. I had spent some time on the boat and came home sometime around two. Then it was on the treadmill and then for a swim. I didn’t want to stop. Stopping meant thinking. The rational side of me knew I had to think at some point.My legs felt heavy, a sign my adrenaline was wearing off. Any moment, the crash was going to hit. I had gone through something similar when I lost my mom. Her death was expected. I was prepared for it. It sucked and it hurt but it wasn’t nearly as bad as what I knew waited for me. Kade’s death was going to hit hard. It already did, but instead of letting myself feel that pain, I pushed it away.I could feel it creeping in now. I climbed the stairs, one heavy footstep at a time, as I made my way to the room he had used when he stayed with me. I walked to the dresser where the picture he had left me was still resting.I picked up the picture, staring at the image of