It's About Time (Hunt Family #5) (12 page)

Chapter 15

Evan told me about his trip to Haiti when I spent the day with him. He was in Charlotte for three days after that, and we spent all the time we could together, but his trip snuck up on us. Before I knew it, he was gone again. Between his trip to Haiti and their family vacation to Myrtle Beach, he would be out of town for nearly three weeks, which might as well be a lifetime since I was already so attached. Thankfully, it was a busy time of year at the restaurant and the salon, so I had plenty to keep me occupied.

I talked to him every night while he was in Haiti. He told me about their work trying to get clean drinking water to one of the villages there, and I felt proud of him and inspired to do what I could to help people even from right where I was in Charlotte.

I ended up going to a women's shelter one night after work to talk to someone about doing a few free haircuts. I met one of the women while I was there, and she was absolutely thrilled to volunteer to be my first customer. She overheard me talking about what salon I worked at, and she almost cried at the thought of getting an expensive haircut. She told me it had been two years since she last had it done. I was humbled by how excited she was and grateful to Evan for inspiring me to get out of my little box and see what I could do to serve others.

I talked to Paige about it at the salon the next day because I thought it was something she'd be interested in as well. It was a busy Saturday with two separate wedding parties coming in, but I had time to talk to her about it while she and I worked together on the first of our two brides.

"I went to the Hope Center last night," I said.

Paige glanced at me with a curious smile. "What's that?"

"It’s a shelter for women and children. Most of them come from abusive situations."

"What'd you do over there?"

"I talked to them about volunteering a few free haircuts."

"At the salon?" she asked, thinking I was asking her permission to do it there.

I shook my head. "I'm just gonna bring my stuff to the shelter and do it there. I told them to have their hair washed and wet when I got there."

"Aw, that's so sweet," she said. "We should all get in on that."

"That's why I was telling you. They have anywhere from twenty to forty women there at one time, and the lady told me she thought all of them would be interested in haircuts. I was thinking I could just do a couple of them a week and chip away at it, but if we could get a group to go up there, that'd be even better."

We continued to curl, spray, and pin as we talked.

"I don't think I could talk everyone into committing to a weekly thing, but we could maybe get a group together and go over there once a month or every other month. I'll bet I can get six or eight people to volunteer for that. I'll send out an email tonight."

"Oh, they'd be so excited if we could make that happen," I said.

"I follow this guy on Instagram who gives free haircuts to homeless people on his days off, and every time I see his pictures, they make me want to find some sort of volunteer outlet."

"The women I talked to last night were so appreciative," I said. "And I really think we'll have fun doing it."

She elbowed me, and I glanced at her to find that she was smiling at me sweetly. "Thanks for doing that," she said.

"It was Evan who made me want to," I said. "He's been telling me about what they're doing in Haiti, and it made me want to find a way to give back, even if I had to start with something small."

"Have you been talking to Evan?" she said, glancing at me curiously.

I shot her a smile before focusing on my curling iron again. She knew we hung out during those days before he left, but I hadn't told anyone (besides my mom) that I'd been talking to him every day since he'd been away. She glanced at me to see how I'd answer her question, and I nodded.

"Since he's been in Haiti?" she asked.

I nodded again.

"I don't guess I realized y'all were…" she hesitated, and I laughed.

"I don't know that we're…" I hesitated just like she did. "But we talk a lot."

"What's a lot?" she asked, sweetly curious.

I shrugged when she glanced at me and she leveled me with that friend stare that said I better go ahead and spill my guts about it.

I smiled. "Probably every day."

"Every day?" she asked, sounding more shocked than I thought she'd be.

I giggled at how surprised she was.

"Are you dating
Evan
?" she asked, obviously happy about the idea.

I could not contain the smile that threatened to spread across my face.

"You're so cute," she said, laughing a little. "You're totally dating Evan and you didn't tell me about it!"

"I wouldn't go calling us dating or anything official, but we've been talking quite a bit, and I like him."

"Evan Hunt?" the bride asked since she'd been listening to our conversation.

"You know him?" Paige asked.

"He's friends with my brother," the bride said. "And I've seen him on one of those posters at the fragrance counter at Dillard's," she added laughing.

"I'm married to his brother, Cody," Paige said.

The bride nodded and said that she might have known that somewhere in the back of her mind.

"Why aren't you coming with us next week?" Paige asked, looking at me with a serious expression.

I smiled because I thought she was joking.

"Why aren't you?" she asked again. "We have so much fun every year. You'd love Dee-dee's beach house."

"I've never been to the beach," I said.

"You're kidding!" Paige said. "I hadn't been either when I first went with them, but I thought I was the only one."

"My mom's parent's live in Tennessee, so we always go there on vacation."

"There are no beaches in Tennessee," she said, kidding around.

I smiled and shook my head. "Tell me about it. I was planning on going to Destin for my senior trip, but my grandma got sick and I had to stay and help out at the restaurant."

I had just finished curling and pinning the last lock of hair on the nape of the bride's neck, and I smiled at Paige as I patted the bride on the shoulder. "I'll let Paige take it from here," I said. "I'm gonna get started on one of your little flower girls. You're gonna be a beautiful bride. Congratulations."

"Thank you," she said with a smile.

"Thanks for the help," Paige said. "And we should really talk more about you coming with us next week."

I smiled and winked at her as I walked off, knowing she was sweet for saying that, but it would never work out.

"I think I know what we can do," Paige said, coming into the break room later that afternoon.

I had been scarfing down a fold-over P.B. & J. sandwich when she came in, and I glanced up to see that she was walking in with Kevin. I assumed she had been talking to him since they walked in together, so I just sat there smiling as I chewed a bite of sandwich.

"I think I know what we can do," she repeated, staring straight at me with a smile as she crossed the room headed in my direction. She sat down on the edge of the booth right across from me. "I looked at your schedule for next week. You're full, but I think if you squeeze the ones from the end of the week into the beginning, we could manage to get you there for a few days. We're gonna be over there till the following Monday, so you should be able to come during last half of the vacation, at least—especially if they can give you off at the restaurant next Monday."

I just stood there staring at her like she had lost her mind. I knew she said earlier that she wanted to help me find a way to go with them, but I thought she was just being sweet and it was somewhat of an empty promise. That whole dialogue might have been the last thing I expected her to say when she came in there.

"Believe me, I've thought about meeting you guys there, but we've got that bridal party Saturday afternoon. That'll put me driving there Sunday, and driving back Monday." I paused and shook my head. "Even still, I thought about doing it, but I think I'll just wait for him to come home."

She covered her mouth and stared at me with smiling eyes when I said that.

"What?" I asked.

"You said you'll wait for him," she said. "That's just so sweet."

I smiled and shook my head at her. "It's not gonna kill me to wait one more day."

"I think if we move your schedule around and get Becca to cover Saturday, we can get you out of here by Thursday or Friday. That'll give you a few days with us. I think you should come." She reached out to pinch my arm with a smile. "You'd love it over there. And you can meet Logan and Charlotte and those guys."

"Mia and Nico talk about them all the time," I said. "I feel like I know them even though we've never met."

"You've never met the California crew?" she asked, looking like that was impossible.

I smiled and shook my head.

"Aw, you'd love everybody." She pinched me again. "You have to come."

"Becca's not gonna want to work Saturday," I said. "She doesn't even like up-do's."

"Yeah, but she does a good job, and she'll do it if I ask her," Paige said.

"You think?"

"Sure I think. I already called her."

"Seriously?"

She smiled and nodded.

"What'd she say?"

"She said she'd work Saturday if you come to Myrtle Beach with me."

"You're kidding," I said as a grin spread across my face.

Paige was wearing a grin to match mine as she shook her head.

"You're serious?" I asked.

She started nodding. "Are you coming?"

"Let me think about this for a second," I said, holding up a finger as I stared into space, trying to consider the logistics of everything. I thought about my schedule for next week—the one I thought was impenetrable until two minutes ago. "Are you sure she doesn't mind?" I asked, knowing Saturday would be the hardest day for me to cover.

Paige shook her head. "She was fine with it."

The timer that was hooked to her apron started beeping, and she glanced down at it and pushed a button to turn it off. "I gotta go," she said. "But you need to go talk to Amanda about helping you rearrange next week if you think you want to make it happen. That's something you have to start on now."

"Oh, my gosh, Paige, thank you so much."

She reached over to give me a hug before she left. "You’re welcome. I'm so excited to hear about you and Evan."

"I wouldn't say we're…"

"You know what's amazing about this whole thing?" she asked, completely ignoring me.

"What?"

"That day," she said staring at me with a serious expression while she shook her head nostalgically. "The first day I ever met you all those years ago."

"What about it?" I asked, not quite certain that I remembered the exact day I met Paige.

"I randomly met Dee-dee at Amy's one morning and she ended up bringing me to Myrtle Beach with them."

"Ohh," I said, thinking she was just talking about the similarity of me going to Myrtle Beach this time.

She laughed and put her hand on my arm. "No, there's more. Dee-dee brought me there to try to set me up with Evan. She was worried about him, and she wanted him to move back home, so she tried to bring a nice girl from Charlotte as a trap."

"Ohhhh," I said, not quite seeing the point and honestly feeling a little weird at the thought of Paige being set up with Evan.

"You still don't get what I'm saying," she said, seeing my blank face. "All Dee-dee had to do was look across the counter at Amy's, and she would have had the right girl that morning, but because she brought me instead, I found Cody, and now my life's forever changed." She glanced at her timer. "I gotta go," she said, smiling. "I just thought it was amazing how that all worked out. I honestly don't think Evan was ready for you back then. Leave it to God to bring it all full-circle like this after all these years."

I smiled, trying to remember the day Paige met Diane Hunt, and wondering what I was thinking and doing back then. I was pretty sure I wasn't ready for Evan then, either, though I would have probably told you differently had you asked me. One thing I was learning to do was appreciate God's timing.

"Crazy," I said, shaking my head, and smiling as she jogged out of the room to tend to her client.

"I know. I'm so thankful Dee-dee didn't bring you and get her way that day," she added, from over her shoulder with a smile as she disappeared out of the doorway.

Chapter 16

I couldn't decide whether or not I wanted to surprise Evan. He had asked me more than once to go with them on the trip, so I was pretty sure he wanted me there, but I was still nervous about showing up unannounced.

It took some finesse, but Amanda and I worked out my schedule so I could leave town Thursday afternoon. That would give me four nights in Myrtle Beach, which was basically the last half of their trip.

I told Paige not to tell Evan I was coming just in case I decided to surprise him. I went back and fourth about it all week, but every time I talked to him on the phone or over text, I decided not to mention it.

It was now Thursday, the day for me to leave, and I still hadn't told him, which I guess, technically meant I was surprising him. I had two clients that morning but was done at one o'clock. I went to my mom's to say goodbye to her and Cupcake on my way out of town. I ate a sandwich while I was over there and took a half of a cookie and a bottled water for the road. My mom waved at me from the porch as I pulled away.

I never really picked up and left on a road trip by myself, so I had an odd sensation like I was forgetting something as I drove down the road. I heard my phone ringing in my purse, and I sort of thought it might be my mom telling me what it was that I had forgotten. I felt around in my purse and came up with the phone, which was still ringing. I glanced at the screen once I had a hold of it and saw Evan's name. There were earbuds already dangling from my phone so I quickly put one of them into my ear as I pushed the button to answer. It took me a second to get it because I was doing it all without taking my eyes off the road.

"Hello?" I said when I thought I heard the connection.

"What are you doing?" I heard Evan ask. I smiled at the sound of his deep voice. I could just picture what he looked like when he spoke—the shapes his lips made when he said the words.

"I'm, uh, driving," I said, since I wasn't quite prepared to answer that question.

"Where you going?" he asked.

"Uh, I'm, uh…"

I was a terrible liar. In my head, I was a great one. I could think of all sorts of lies like,
"I'm going to the store to get dog food,"
or better yet, (since he thought I was working)
"I'm headed to pick up lunch for the girls at work."
I should have been able to tell one of these or any other lie, but it was like my body was opposed to letting blatant untruths come out of my mouth. This made for a lot of stuttering.

"I thought you'd be busy," he said before I had the chance to continue. "I was just planning on leaving you a message."

"You want me to hang up and you can call me right back?" I asked, causing him to laugh.

"No, I'd much rather hear you talking back."

"What were you gonna say on your message?" I asked.

"That I'd see you soon."

"I know," I said. "Only three more days." (For whatever reason, that lie came out much easier than the one I was trying to tell a few seconds before.)

"No, I mean, sooner than that," he said.

The first thing that crossed my mind when he said it was that Paige had spilled the beans, and he knew I was on my way.

"What's that mean?" I asked instinctually.

"It means I'm gonna take off and come home. I'm ready to see you. Dee-dee said I could use her car and she'd ride back with my parents."

"Wait, you're coming
here
?" I asked, not believing I'd heard him right.

"Yes," he said. I could hear the smile in his voice.

"When?" I asked.

"I haven't made any plans. I just had the idea and ran it past Dee-dee. I've got a sandcastle going with Ryan and the girls, but I was thinking I could leave tonight after dinner."

"Why?" I asked.

"Well, because I'm ready to see you, Annabel. Why else?"

There was a smile in his voice, and I could just picture the look on his face. Just thinking about it made me smile.

"I don't think it's a good idea," I said, after a few second's hesitation.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because I wanted you to stay there."

There was a pause, but I waited for him to speak. "Are you coming here?" he asked, since he was smart enough to know that I wouldn't be saying that if I was home and everything was normal.

"I was thinking about it," I said, still unable to fully expose my plans.

"Annabel, are you coming to this beach house?"

"Probably," I said.

"When?" he asked.

"I guess now," I said, feeling nervous to tell him for some reason.

"You guess, or you are?"

"I am."

"Are you serious?"

"Uh-huh."

"Like you're on your way here?"

"Yeah," I said, tentatively.

"Where are you?"

"I just left my mom's."

"And you're driving here?"

"Yeah."

"Right now?"

"Uh-huh."

"What about work?"

"I moved my clients around and had Becca cover for me Saturday."

"You get to stay till Saturday?" he asked, seeming excited, even over the phone.

"I was just gonna stay till y'all came back."

"Monday?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"You're coming here right now, and you're staying the rest of the trip?"

"Yes," I said, smiling at how excited he was. I could hear it in his voice.

"What about Cupcake?" he asked.

"What about her?"

"Is she coming with you?"

"I left her at my mom's," I said. "Why?"

"I don't know, I was missing her," he said. "I was hoping to see both of my girls when I got back."

I bit my lip to keep my face from cracking in half with a smile at the sound of that statement coming from him. "Paige said no one else brings their dogs," I said.

"They just don't bring them because they don't feel like keeping up with them. Dee-dee doesn't have a fence. It's not like Cupcake's gonna run off, though."

I had about ten thoughts at once, but the first thing that came out of my mouth was, "Do you want me to go back and get her?"

"How far down the road are you?" he asked.

"Five minutes?" I said, in a questioning tone. "Maybe three. I just left there."

"Turn around and get her, and then get your butts to Myrtle Beach," he said, still smiling.

"Okay, I will," I said.

"Be careful," he said. "And call when you're almost here, and I'll go meet you out front."

"Okay," I said, feeling giddy and excited. "Love you, bye," I added out of sheer absentminded nervousness. It was the way I signed off every conversation with my mom, so it was habit. I giggled the second the phrase came out of my mouth. "I'm, I meant, usually, that's what I say to my mom, and I—"

"Oh, so you didn't mean to say it?" he asked with laughter in his voice.

"It's not that I don't mean it," I said, giggling, "but, no, I didn't mean to say it."

"But there you go saying it again," he said.

"No I didn't."

"You said
not that you didn't mean it
," he said.

"Yeah?"

"That's saying you
do
mean it. That's basically saying you love me again."

"Oh, you think so?" I said, giggling.

"I guess since you've said it twice now and put yourself out there, I should go ahead and step up and tell you I love you, too."

A stab of pure joy went shooting through my gut when I heard him say those words. "You do?"

"Sure I do," he said. "So, go get my dog, and get yourselves over here before I have to drive over there and pick you up."

"I'm going," I said. "I'm almost back to my mom's house. She's got a bed and some bowls over here, but I'll need to go by my place to grab some food if my mom doesn't have enough."

"Just get on the road," Evan said. "I'll go to the store and get her some food if your mom doesn't have enough."

"Okay," I said with a smile as I pulled into my mom's driveway. "We'll be there in a little while."

"I love you, Annabel. Be careful."

"I will," I promised. I hesitated, feeling nervous and vulnerable about saying the words on purpose. "I love you, too," I said in spite of my nerves.

"All right," I'll see you in a little while," he said.

"Okay, bye."

"Bye."

We disconnected, and I went into my mom's house to get Cupcake. She was obviously surprised to see me, but she rolled with it, and helped me get back on the road.

It took us just over three hours to get to Myrtle Beach. My mom lived on the south side of Charlotte, and I didn't make any stops on my trip. It was such an easy drive that I wondered why I hadn't done it before. Cupcake was riding in the passenger's seat of my car, and I rolled down the windows as we pulled into town so she could sniff the salt air.

I called Evan when my GPS told me there was 10 minutes left on the trip.

"We're ten minutes out," I said when he picked up the phone.

"It's Logan," the voice said on the other end of the phone. "She said she'll be here in ten minutes!" I heard the guy yell. Their voices must have been similar, because I thought it was Evan who answered the phone. "Evan's been buried in the sand for thirty minutes because he can't guess Izzy's password."

I smiled at the familiarity in Logan's tone. He seemed perfectly comfortable talking to me even though he'd never met me and he was also a famous actor. It was a little surreal talking to him like that.

"Paige and Ryan both seem to know it, but they're making Evan guess."

"Don't let them know I told you, but you can tell him to try whatever y'all had for lunch or dessert. She's usually thinking about food."

"I'll tell him," Logan said. "Never mind, he must have got it because he's climbing out of his hole as we speak. Hang on, I'll let you talk to him."

I started to say he didn't have to worry about it, but Logan already had the phone away from his ear.

"Hey," I heard Evan say. I could then appreciate the distinction between his and Logan's voice that I hadn't picked up on earlier. Evan's was slightly raspier.

"We're almost there, I think," I said.

"Ten minutes?" he asked.

"Seven now."

"I'll be out there," he said.

I smiled even though he couldn’t see me. "Okay."

We hung up without all the mushy stuff from earlier since he was freshly immerged from the sand and obviously standing right in front of some or all of his family.

I didn't quite know what to expect when everyone talked about the beach house. I'd read enough books and seen enough movies to have a good idea what it might look like, but Dee-dee's house was still different than I expected. I pulled up to a beautiful, powder green, three-story home with white trim. On first impressions, it was far grander than I thought it would be. There were about five other cars in the driveway, and I parked behind them, figuring I'd move mine later if it was in the way.

I made a kissing sound for Cupcake to jump out of my side, and I watched as she climbed over the console toward me. I didn't see Evan approaching, so it shocked me when he grabbed me from behind, taking me into his arms, and squeezing me around the waist. Before I knew what was happening, I was being hoisted into the air. "I have to pee!" I said, laughing as he wiggled and jiggled me around.

Evan set me down instantly. "I'm so sorry," he said, loosening his grip on my waist. "I just couldn’t wait to—"

"I like that you couldn’t wait," I said, turning toward him. He was standing so close that I nuzzled into his chest for a second. He had just wrapped an arm around my shoulder when Cupcake jumped up, gently trying to place her gigantic front paws onto Evan's shoulder. She wasn't quite tall enough to reach on her first jump, and she landed on his arm. Evan stooped to help her down, and he continued leaning over to rub and talk to her while he was down there. I watched as he touched his forehead to hers and they just stood there and stared lovingly into each other's eyes for a few seconds. She was totally flirting with him, and I smiled at the sight of them.

"I was missing you, girl," he said.

She just stood there and ate it up like the big chunk of love she was.

"But mostly I was missing your mama," he said, straightening to stand up and stare at me. He had on swim trunks and a loose fitting tank top that did nothing to hide his muscular arms and chest. He was, no doubt, my dream man. I wouldn't change a single thing about him.

"Mostly I was missing you, too," I said, smiling at him. "But I am seriously about to pop."

He smiled and placed a kiss right on my lips like he just couldn't help himself. I was so glad he did, because I couldn’t wait to kiss him either.