Nyght's Eve (20 page)

“Your parents
should be the last people you consult on wedding plans.”

“Exactly. My mom
was saying if I don’t have it in Houston she might not come, and I don’t think
I would mind if she didn’t show up. The thing is...I want to have it here.”

“Well, of course
you should have it in Breakers. This town is important to both of you.”

“Yes it is, but I
mean I want to have it here, on the Beaumont estate. I’m sorry, is that too
much to ask? I swear you wouldn’t have to do any of the work. I know it’s—”

“I think it would
be perfect.” Evie said, reaching out to take Kali’s hand. “I would be so proud
to have you and Hammer get married here on the property.”

“Thank you!” Kali
threw her arms around Evie, almost strangling her with the leash. “Uh oh, Dare
is headed this way, and he doesn’t look happy.”

When Kali released
her, Evie turned to see that Dare was indeed stalking toward them. His scowl
was so fierce she was surprised steam wasn’t coming out of his ears. When he
was within hearing distance, Kali called out a greeting, but he ignored her.
Kali reached out and took the leash from Evie’s hand.

“I’m just going
to...go.”

Kali took off with
the two dogs, leaving Evie standing there alone while she waited for Dare near
the edge of the pond. She frowned at him, crossing her arms across her chest.

What in the world
was wrong with him?

Dare had never been
so angry with a woman in his entire life.

He had just
returned Hero to the kennel after playing with the dog for a little when he
stopped into Evie’s office to take a look at some of the applications for new
hires. Evie had spoken to Hunter about the idea, and he had been all for the
plan. Dare was glad when Hunter approached him, and together they had been
looking at some of the candidates, but Hunter had been busy with several
adoptions this week, so Dare thought he would try to make some progress while
he was busy.

Dare had just
settled on the couch in her office when her phone had started ringing. He let
it ring until the answering machine had clicked on.

What he’d heard had
turned his blood to ice.

“
Evie, this is Dr. Crestwell. I’ve been
trying to reach you on your cell phone for the past few weeks. I know you’re
busy, but I’d really like to schedule you for that biopsy as soon as possible.
I have an opening tomorrow afternoon if you can make it in to Houston. Let’s
try not to worry until we have the results. Please call me back as soon as you
can. Thanks.”

First had come the
rage. What the hell was she doing putting off a procedure like that? She was
putting her health at risk, not to mention the longer she waited the worse it
could be.

And why the fuck
hadn’t she said anything to him?

Dare had stormed
around the center searching for Evie. His anger must have been palpable,
because for the first time no one had tried to talk to him. When his head
cleared enough, he realized she was probably outside still. He’d seen her
walking with Kali, so he left the building in his search for her. As he saw
her, the fear had crept in. If she was sick, she would damn well take care of
it soon. He couldn’t lose her when he’d just found her.

Jesus, he couldn’t
imagine a world without her in it.

“God damn it, Eve! What
the hell were you thinking?” The words just burst out of him. He saw her
stiffen as her eyes fired like two blue lasers. So, she was pissed too now.
Great. Weren’t they a fucking pair!

“Excuse me? Don’t
you use that tone with me. Keep your voice down, people are going to hear you!”

“I don’t give a
fuck about who hears me! You’ve got some explaining to do. I just heard a
message from your doctor. A Dr. Crestwell. She has an opening tomorrow, and
you’re going to call her right now and book it.”

Dare watched as the
blood seemed to drain from her face, leaving her pale and swaying on her feet. He
reached out and gripped her arms, holding her up.

“You...heard what
she said?”

“I did. Book the
fucking appointment. I’ll take you tomorrow.”

“I can’t just take
a day off. I have to—”

“We’ll get someone
to cover.”

“Cover what?”

Dare and Evie
turned as Francesca walked over to join them. Francesca was a beautiful woman
with long, dark, curly hair the color of mahogany and hazel eyes that always
sparkled with a hint of mischief. Those eyes dimmed as she looked back between
Evie and Dare. “Did I interrupt something?”

“No—”

“Yes,” Dare said at
the same time. “Can you take over for Eve at the center tomorrow?”

“Eve?” Francesca’s eyebrows
lifted. “Sure I can.”

“Good.” He turned
back to Evie. “Make that call.”

Evie watched as he stalked
away. She had never seen Dare so furious before, and she’d had no defense
against his anger. He’d caught her totally and completely off guard, and now
she was still reeling from the revelation that he’d heard that call and
discovered her secret.

“Evie? Are you
okay?”

“I...I will be.
Sorry to spring this on you when you just got back. Welcome home by the way.”
Evie hugged Francesca. “I’ve missed you. How was your trip?”

“Good. It’s Vegas,
so anytime I don’t wake up married there, it’s a good trip.” Evie laughed, but
her cousin wasn’t fooled. “Hon, tell me what’s wrong.”

She let out a sigh.
“I don’t want to worry you.”

“Okay, now I’m
worrying. You have to tell me now, or I’m going to think of the most horrible
scenarios imaginable. You know me and my imagination. I can think of some
really crazy shit.”

Evie let out a
little laugh as she linked arms with her cousin. “Oh, Frannie. I went to the
doctor a few weeks ago and she found a lump in my breast.”

Francesca froze,
eyes wide with fear as she turned toward Evie. “Oh my God!”

“It’s nothing. Or I
hope it isn’t. I have to go have a biopsy and Dare...well, obviously he’s mad
about it.”

“Damn fucking right
he is! Why didn’t you call me? And why in the hell haven’t you gotten it done
yet? A few weeks ago? Hell, Evie!”

Evie might have
missed Francesca, but she certainly did not miss her cousin’s temper. “I wanted
to wait for you and Uncle Tony and Maddy to get back.”

Francesca’s anger
disappeared as if it had never been, and she once again linked their arms so
they could walk back to their house. “Of course you did. I’m sorry, sweetie,
but this isn’t something you wait on. Now Dare knows, and you’ll take care of
it. And can I just say that Dr. Kick-Ass is looking mighty fine. I’m guessing
from the blast of heat he just gave you that you two have a thing?”

“We do.” She
paused. “He was so angry...”

“Guys don’t ever do
well when something is wrong, and it’s even worse when it has something to do
with our girlie bits.”

“You certainly have
a way with words.”

“So, why did he
call you Eve?”

Evie could feel her
face flush with heat. “That’s...a long story.”

“Well, then that is
definitely one I want to hear. Come on, let’s go back to the house so you can
make that appointment. Since I think I heard him say he will be going with you,
I’ll take care of everything here, so don’t worry. You just take care of this
business and come back to us healthy and whole.”

“I’ll try.”

“And as for your
man, I have some gifts I got you from this huge sex toy warehouse in Vegas.
Maybe you can use it to cheer Dare up.”

“Oh no! More
glow-in-the-dark condoms?” Evie asked on a groan.

Francesca laughed
as they walked up the front steps of the house. “No. Something much better. And
Evie, shame on you for keeping this from us. You know the rest of the family is
going to be furious when they find out.”

“I know.” Evie
sighed as she opened the front door.

And wasn’t that
something to look forward to?

****

Evie stared out the
window as Dare drove them toward Houston.

They were fifteen
minutes into the drive and they could have been in separate vehicles
considering the lack of conversation between them. He was still angry with her.
That was abundantly clear. She had to admit that she hadn’t made it any better
by telling him she wanted to spend some time alone with Francesca last night.
It was true that Evie had missed her cousin, but she had also wanted some time
away from Dare to think. She’d been stunned when he had confronted her about
her doctor’s phone call. Granted, she had been putting it off, but not for the
reason she’d told him and Francesca.

Or at least it
wasn’t the only reason.
 

It was a relief
being able to talk to her cousin about her relationship with Dare. Evie might
have been a few years older at thirty-one, but Francesca understood men far
better than she did. While Francesca had been engaged a long time ago, she had
ended that relationship before she’d made the mistake of marrying someone who
didn’t suit her. Francesca was a free spirit, and she never made excuses for
who she was or how she lived her life. She had tons of male friends and dated
often, but she still hadn’t found
the one
.
Francesca was one of those unusual women who remained friends with the men she
dated. Hell, she practically ended up introducing all her former boyfriends to
their current girlfriends. Some had even ended up getting married.

Francesca was
looking for that great love, the kind she wrote about in her romance novels,
and she wouldn’t settle for anything less.

Maybe that was why
Evie had the courage to wait for love as well. Many of her childhood friends
had ended up getting married at a young age, and Evie had always felt as if
something was wrong with her when she remained single. It wasn’t until Evie had
watched the way Francesca seemed to navigate the dating minefield that she
realized that she wasn’t the only one who was picky about who she let into her
heart.

Since Evie had met
Dare, something just seemed to click into place. Kali had been right when she
said that Evie had finally fallen in love. He wasn’t a perfect man. No, she
would never call him that by any means. But he was the perfect man for her. He
could be tactless and surly, but there was an inherent goodness in him that
appealed to her. He was a complicated man, then again, she wasn’t exactly the
easiest person to deal with either. They suited one another, no matter their
faults.

Or maybe it was
because of their flaws that fit together so perfectly.

Dare owned her
heart now, no matter how much she’d tried to deny it.

And that terrified
her.

Francesca had told
her that Evie had offended his doctorly sensibilities—whatever the hell that
meant—when she had waited weeks to make the appointment. But Evie knew that
wasn’t all it was. Honesty had always been a policy of Evie’s, and it didn’t
sit well with her that she hadn’t been completely truthful when she had
explained her reasoning to Dare.

She looked over at
him. The muscles in his strong jaw clenched and releases, and she knew he was
still pissed at her. He was so handsome, but his face looked like it was carved
from stone now as he stared at the road. The man had demanded the keys to her
Range Rover when they had been ready to leave. It was presumptuous of him, the
way he’d simply stuck out his hand and waited, but she didn’t mind him driving.
It gave her time to think and try to settle her nerves—try being the key word.

Turning in her seat
so she was facing him more fully, she said, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

“You should be.”

 
She fought back the urge to roll her eyes at
him. He wasn’t going to make this easy. Lovely. “Dare, I said I’m sorry, and I
am. It’s not exactly an easy subject to bring up, especially to a man that
already has one foot out the door.”

Good God, what in
the world had made her say that? This was so not going the way she had planned.
She was stalling, and trying to start a fight, but she wasn’t going to back
down now that she’d said it. It was true, after all.

“That’s bullshit!”
The words were spoken so harshly they made her flinch.

“Is it? You spent
every night with me, but you keep your bag packed and ready to go by the door.
God forbid you leave something of yours in my house.”

“Seriously? You’re
seriously going to try to blame this on me?”

“I’m not blaming
you! I’m just saying that I didn’t know how to bring this subject up with you.
Besides, I know it was stupid to wait—”

“You’re damn right
it was! You should have taken care of this weeks ago. Christ, Eve. It’s your
fucking life we’re talking about!”

“I know!” she
shouted. Her eyes filled even though she tried to hold the tears back. She
hated how her voice quivered when she whispered, “I know. It’s just...saying it
to someone made it...real. What if I do have cancer? What if I...”