Wishing for the Girl Next Door (Piney Brook Wishes Book 3)

11. Karlee

My phone dings again. I cringe. How has word spread so quickly? I peek at the message.

Terran:Girl, I KNEW something was going on with the hot neighbor!

Seriously? I groan and tuck the phone under the couch pillow. How in the world are we going to fix this?

I hear footsteps in the hallway and jump up. Rushing to the door, I swing it open just as Evan has his hand raised to knock.

“Well, hello, sunshine,” he says. His signature dimple is on display, making me melt a little bit.

“Don’t call me sunshine, mister.” I stand back so he can come inside.

Placing the takeout bag on the coffee table, he steps back and looks at me. Frowning, he steps closer.

I put out my hand to stop him. “No way. You stay there.”

He puts his hands up in surrender. “Okay,” he says slowly. “What’s wrong?”

I laugh, the sound harsh to my own ears. “What’s wrong? What’s wrong? This whole day is wrong!“ I wrap my arms around my middle, hoping to hold myself together. “First, my mom gives Patrick my address. Then he shows up claiming I wasn’t in love with him anymore anyway—which is true now that I think about it. But he still cheated on me, and that’s wrong no matter how you slice it.”

I suck in a breath and continue. “Then you appear and declare you’re my boyfriend, and now the women from work are talking about it, apparently. How in the world are we going to fix this?” I take a deep breath and fall into the couch cushions.

“Whoa, slow down.” Evan sits beside me. “That’s a lot to process for anyone.” He opens the bag and places my food in front of me. “Why don’t we eat, and then we can talk about all of those things one by one?”

He sounds so calm. How is he not freaking out? “Don’t you care that people think we are together?”

He pins me with his chocolate eyes. “To be honest, no.”

My mouth drops open in shock. No?

With one finger under my chin, he closes my mouth and points to my food. “Eat, or it will get cold.” He takes a huge bite of his burger and smiles.

I pick up a fry and run it along the edge of the burger, gathering the condiments that are oozing out the sides, and pop it in my mouth.

He shudders but doesn’t say a word. Smart man.

We eat our food in silence, which I appreciate. I need the time to regroup. When I got home earlier, I lay down for a nap hoping that when I woke up, this would all be a bad dream. Unfortunately, I woke up to several texts from co-workers who were not the least bit surprised that Evan and I were dating now. They’d seen the sparks, they said.

I roll my eyes.

Evan stands and collects the empty food containers, taking them to the kitchen and throwing them away. He grabs a cold Coke from the fridge and brings it back to the sofa, popping the tab and taking a drink.

“Can we talk now?” I ask, pouting a bit. I slurp up the last of my chocolate shake.

“Sure.” He sets the can on the table in front of him and positions his body towards me. “Let’s start at the part where you said you weren’t in love with Patrick anymore.” He grins.

“Or, we could start at the part where I don’t know what to tell people who think we are really dating now.”

“Well,” he says. “What if we just roll with it?”

“Roll with it?” Is he serious right now?

“Yeah,” he says, calmly. “What if we just let it be? At least until we get back from your sister’s wedding.”

“Just let all of Piney Brook think we are dating?” I ask.

He nods. “Would it be so bad to be my girlfriend?”

I stare at him so long, my eyes get dry from forgetting to blink. “Evan, I’m the quiet girl. The nerdy girl, who would rather stay in than go out. Who has a to-be-read list longer than the average life span. I am not the girl who gets the hottest guy in town.” I shake my head. “I don’t like people gossiping about me. It’s part of why I left Rockdale to begin with.”

“Listen, I get it. I do. Being the latest gossip isn’t fun. Trust me, I know. Just tell your friends that I jumped in to save you from your ex if you’re not comfortable with a relationship right now. They’ll understand.”

I roll my eyes and chew on my thumbnail. “What about everyone else?”

“What about them? They’ll get the hint soon enough.” He sighs. “Seriously. Let’s just focus on getting through the wedding and then we can talk about the rumors... if they’re still making the rounds. Who knows, by then, they may have moved onto something else.”

I’m rushing around throwing last minute things into my suitcase. I can’t believe today is the day we leave for Keeley’s wedding. Evan called me a few minutes ago to let me know he’s ready to go. Why is it so much easier for men to pack?

Going over my mental checklist one more time, I slam the suitcase shut and zip it up. Heath is staying at Evan’s apartment to watch Peanut and Mittens, so I took Peanut and her things over last night so she could settle in.

I text Evan and let him know I’m ready. Grabbing my purse and my keys off the counter, I wheel my suitcase to the front door. I don’t even have the door all the way open when Evan steps out of his apartment looking suave in a pair of crisp dark jeans and a t-shirt.

I stare a moment too long. I’m used to seeing him in his work uniform or worn-down jeans. This cleaned-up version is too much.

“Don’t worry,” he says, mistaking my perusal as disapproval. “I have something to change into for the rehearsal dinner. I just wanted to be comfortable driving.”

I laugh. “You’re fine. I plan to change, too.” I push the suitcase into the hall and shut my door. Evan grabs the luggage and heads down the stairs while I lock up.

“I’ll get this into the truck and we’ll be good to go.”

I meet him at the truck where he’s already loaded our luggage in the back. He opens my door and helps me inside as usual, and I can’t help but huff. “I can get my own door, you know.”

He gets into the truck and buckles his seat belt. Sliding his sunglasses on, he starts the truck and looks at me. “Ready?” he asks, ignoring my protest.

I take a deep breath and nod. “Yeah, I think I am.”

He grins. “Let’s go, then.”

He pulls out of the parking lot and heads for the highway. He has country music playing softly in the truck, and I know it’s for me.

“We can listen to something else,” I say, reaching for the knob to change the station.

“Why?”

“I know you don’t like country music. You don’t have to listen to it for me.”

He glances in my direction. “It’s growing on me. Leave it.”

“Okay,” I say, unconvinced. I reach into my tote and pull out my bag of goodies.

“What’s that?” Evan asks.

“Snacks,” I say, opening the ziplock. “Want some?”

He laughs. “We just got on the road. Did you eat breakfast?”

I scoff. “Why eat breakfast when I can eat snacks? That’s the best part of a car ride.” I grab a candy rope and take a bite. “Yum.”

Evan flips his blinker on, pulling into a fast-food chain. “I would rather eat breakfast first if that’s okay with you.”

I shrug. “To each his own.” I take another bite of the chewy goodness.

Evan pulls the truck to a stop and puts it in park. “Do you mind if we eat inside?”

I look longingly at my treat bag. “Later,” I say, caressing it.

Evan laughs. “You take car snacks seriously, I see.”

“Of course,” I say, closing the bag back up and tucking it into the corner of the floorboard. “Let’s go.”

Evan rushes around to my side of the truck and helps me out. “Thanks.”

Once inside, he orders the egg, bacon, and cheese sandwich with a large coffee. “What do you want?”

I chuckle. “I’ve got snacks, remember?”

He laughs. “Okay, but it’s going to be a long weekend, and I’d hate it if you made yourself sick with candy before we even got there.”

I roll my eyes, but order a breakfast sandwich for myself. “Mom would have a fit if I couldn’t go to the rehearsal dinner tonight,” I tell him as we slide into a booth.

“I can see why that might be a problem,” he says, opening his sandwich. “Don’t they have to pay per person for those things?”

“Yeah, but it’s Scott’s family that pays for the rehearsal dinner, I think.”

He raises an eyebrow.

“Okay, fine. I know it’s rude. I’m going. Wouldn’t it be more fun to sneak off and do something else, though?”

“Like what?”

“Paintball, zip lining, base jumping...”

Evan laughs. “I didn’t take you for such an adventurous soul.”

“I’m not,” I sigh. “None of those things sound appealing to me.” I take a bite of my sandwich. “Except maybe paintball,” I say after I swallow.

He nods. “Good to know. No zipline or base jumping, but paintball is on the table.”

After we finish eating, and are back on the road, I turn in my seat a bit to face him. He didn’t shave yet this morning, and a bit of scruff lines his strong cheekbones. I like it. I wonder what it feels like to touch.

“What’s going through that pretty head of yours?” he asks, glancing at me.

“Nothing,” I say innocently. Embarrassed he caught me staring.

“Uh huh.” He waits a beat. “I think we missed some pretty vital information in our twenty questions when we first met.”

I draw my eyebrows together. “What do you mean?”

“Well, we kept it light and fluffy,” he says. “So we skipped some of the more personal stuff.”

“Oh. What do you want to know?”

“Well, I know about Patrick and Celine. Is there anyone else I should know about?”

I shake my head. “No, not really. You’ll meet Keeley and Scott. My grandparents have flown in from Florida, so you’ll meet them too. Of course, you’ll meet my mom. Other than that, there’s really not anyone else.”

“All right,” he says, nodding his head. “When is your birthday?”

“October 27th. yours?”

“November 24th.”

I make a mental note of that for later. “I know your favorite color, that you have a sister, a niece and nephew. You work in the auto shop with your friends. You like baseball, are a loyal friend, and would rather hurt yourself than let someone down,” I say. “What else should I know?”

“When have I hurt myself instead of letting someone down?” he asks.

“Well, you went out with Heath when you clearly didn’t want to. You took him home and took care of him, even when you were upset with him.” I pause. “You listen to country music for me, even though you hate it.”

He’s quiet.

“I didn’t mean to upset you. It was just an observation.” I wring my hands together in my lap.

“No, you’re not wrong.” He grips the steering wheel. “I don’t like to disappoint people.”

I nod. “Sometimes it’s okay to put yourself first,” I remind him.

He glances at me. “Yeah, yeah.”

“Okay, why were you so upset with Heath? I know he was tipsy, but he seemed like he was being responsible, for the most part. He had a designated driver and was clearly careful not to get sloppy like some people. There was a girl that same night who got dragged out by her boyfriend.”

Evan’s face pales. If I hadn’t been looking at him, I might have missed it.

“What? What did I say?”

Evan swallows hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down in his throat. “That girl, the one who left so drunk? That was Louise.”

I gasp. “Louise, your ex-girlfriend?”

He nods.

“Oh, Evan. I didn’t know.”

“She started drinking at parties in high school. At the time, it seemed like that’s what everyone was doing. I was on the baseball team and the coach told us if he caught us drinking—even a little—he’d kick us off the team. So I never touched the stuff.” He pauses.

“After a while, she was drinking all the time. Paying our friends’ older siblings to buy it for her.” He shakes his head. “It was out of control. After we graduated, it got worse. She was drinking almost every day. I tried talking to her parents, but they ignored me.”

I reach out and touch his arm. “I’m so sorry.”

“That’s not even the worst part,” he says, taking a deep breath. “One night, I refused to go out with her. She had just turned twenty-one and wanted to go to the Curly Pig and party. I told her I needed to stay home that night. I figured if I didn’t drive her, she wouldn’t go.”

“But she did,” I guess.

“Yeah,” Evan says sadly. “She did. She got drunk and drove her car into a telephone pole. I rushed to the hospital as soon as I found out. Her parents yelled at me. They told me it was my fault. If I’d been the one to drive her that night, the accident wouldn’t have happened.”

“Oh, Evan,” I say, my heart breaking for him. “That’s not fair. It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t make her go, or drink, or drive.”

“I know,” he says. “I do, but emotionally, I have a hard time letting it go. Especially when they kicked me out of the hospital and wouldn’t let me see her.”

“Ouch.” I rub his arm. “They were hurting and took it out on you.”

He nods. “A few days later, she was released from the hospital and called me to tell me she didn’t want to date someone who wasn’t there for her.” He lets out a sad chuckle.

“That’s awful.”

“I swore after that I wouldn’t get involved again.” He looks at me oddly.

I blush. “I’m sorry,” I say, unsure what he wants to hear right now.

Slowly, I reach for the radio dial, and turn it to the alternative station I know he likes.

He looks at me and smiles. “We don’t have to listen to this, you know.”

“I know, but don’t change it. It’s growing on me.”

After three hours in the truck we finally pull up to the little motel in Rockville. I’d decided to get a hotel room instead of staying at the house so there was more room for wedding stuff–and to have my space. Since moving to Piney Brook, I’ve realized how little personal space we had growing up.

Evan parks the truck in a guest spot, and we head inside to check in.

“Hi, there. How can I help you?” the woman behind the counter asks.

“Yes, we should have two rooms booked for the weekend. Karlee Richards.”

The woman taps her bright red fingernails on the keyboard and raises a perfect brow. “Hmm.”