Running Back to You (The Running Series, #1) (56 page)

“Strawberry vodka, fresh squeezed lemon juice, Prosecco and some simple
syrup.  I top it off with some mint cubes.  Come on outside.  Everything is out
there at the minibar.”  I lead the way, and the girls follow. 

I line up the glasses, drop a few cubes in each, and then begin pouring
our drinks.  I top each with a sprig of mint and lemon rind.  As I’m about to
hand out the drinks to the girls, I hear a familiar voice, “do you have enough
for one more?”

“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!”  I squeal.  It’s Reese.  I’d
know her voice anywhere.  I grab a hold of her and squeeze with all I’ve got. 
“I can’t believe you’re here!”

“Well, when some rich and famous football player called me personally
saying how much he’d like to buy me a plane ticket, I was in no position to
turn him down.” 

Reese looks as beautiful as ever.  I have always been envious of her long
wavy red hair and big hazel eyes.  She’s got a flawless complexion, high
cheekbones, and a smile that is contagious.  She lights up any room with her
bubbly personality.

Evan walks over to me and wraps his strong arms around me.  “Are you
surprised?”

“Baby, I love you so much!  You’re the best.  But how did you pull this
off?”

“You have her number programmed into your phone.  I just had to wait for
you to leave the room, and I got it.  You really should put a pass code on your
phone, by the way.”  He leans down and plants a soft kiss on my lips.

“But how did you get here?” I ask Reese.

She points to the cabana, and sitting comfortably with a glass of red
wine is my favorite person in the world, Auggie, joined by Brandon sitting
right next to him.  Auggie raises his glass to me and walks over to us.

“I know you thought I was in Baltimore with Brandon, but the truth is, we’ve
been playing chauffer and host for the past few days.”  Auggie picked her up
days ago?  What have they been doing all this time?

“Reese, how long have you been here?  Why didn’t you come right over?  We
could have spent more time together.”

Evan interrupts, “That’s my fault.  I wanted it to be a surprise.”  His
devilish grin appears, in full dimple mode.  How can I argue with that gorgeous
face?

“Well, it’s the best surprise.  I had no idea!  Reese, tell me.  How did
you get off work?  You’ve only been working for a couple of months.  They let
you take a week off already?”

“I resigned.  I found a new job.  I’m going to be the head chef at a new
theme restaurant.  It’s not open yet, and I’ll be able to work with the owners
from the ground up.  How cool is that?”

“Oh, Reese, I’m so happy for you!  Promise me I’ll get an invite to your
Grand Opening.  I want to be your very first customer.”

“You can count on it.”  She is positively beaming.  I’d love to find out
more, but it’s time for me to play hostess again.

Right on time, the rest of our guests arrive.  Derek greets us with a
bottle of Merlot, which he hands off to Evan.  They shake hands and Derek joins
the others out on the deck.

Evan’s parents arrive, too, followed shortly by my mother.  I make the
necessary introductions and our parents seem to hit it off immediately.  Evan’s
father excuses himself to the deck to find Dean and Adam while my mother and
Jill make themselves comfortable in the house keeping Callie company while she
waits for Regan to wake from her nap.

“Baby, come here, please.  I could use your help.”  Evan is done
grilling, and it’s time to put all the food out.  It’s still hard for him to
carry things with his right hand, and we certainly don’t want him to drop the
food he just worked so hard to prepare.  I clear off the island in the kitchen
and start putting out all the food. 

There’s more than enough food to feed an army.  My mother brought her
famous potato salad, Evan’s mother prepared an antipasto, and Callie made a
fresh tossed salad.  Everything looks and smells mouth-wateringly good.

Evan and I make sure that all our guests are fed before we prepare plates
for ourselves.  Before we leave the kitchen, Evan looks around and speaks
privately to me, making sure no one can hear our conversation.  “Juliette,
before we go out there, could you do something for me?”

“Sweetheart, I would do anything in the world for you.  Just name it.”

“Could you cut up my steak for me?  I don’t want anyone to see that my
grip isn’t strong enough to use a knife yet.” 

“Oh, baby, I’m so sorry.  I should have realized.”  I give him a big
kiss, and then slice his steak into man-sized pieces.  It breaks my heart to
see him so helpless.  “Ready?”

“Ready.  Please don’t say anything to my parents.  They don’t need to
know about this right now.  Promise?”  I wish he would tell them, but I respect
his wishes.  For now.

“I promise.  Now it’s time for us to enjoy ourselves.  Come on, chief,
let’s go.”

“Lead the way, running girl!”

We step outside and find a few seats out on the deck with our friends. 
They all seem to be getting along well and enjoying themselves.  Emmy
compliments Evan on his grilling.  “You’ll have to give me the recipe for your
marinade.  These steaks are to die for!”

Evan has his arm resting on my back, unconsciously tracing circles and
figure eights on my skin.  The neckline is just deep enough in the back that he
can maintain that skin-to-skin contact that we both seem to need.  I turn and
whisper in his ear, “Is it me, or does it look like Reese is flirting with
Derek?”

Just as Evan looks over towards them, Reese is giggling at something
witty Derek just said and is touching his arm.  She slowly removes her hand and
flips her hair back.  “Sure does look like it to me,” he quickly responds.

“I don’t like it,” I confess.

“Why not?  They’re both adults.  Neither of them is in a relationship.  I
don’t see what the problem is.”  Evan sounds slightly annoyed with me.

“Reese is only here for a few days.  I don’t want to see Derek get hurt,
that’s all.”  I’ve already done enough of that.

“Oh.  Yeah, well, let’s just see what happens.  There’s no harm in some
playful flirting now, is there?” Evan reminds me.

We finish eating and Emmy helps me clean up in the kitchen.  “Oh, Jette,
thank you so much for having us over.  Everything is so perfect.”

“I’m so glad you’re having fun.  You deserve it, Emmy, especially now,
with Grant being gone, and the whole job situation.  Anything new to report?” I
ask.

“Funny you should bring that up.  I got a job offer the other day.  I
haven’t decided whether or not I’m going to take it, though.”  Emmy adds, “The
owner is someone I used to work with.  I don’t know if I can handle working for
someone I’m friendly with.”

“That’s great news, Emmy.  Let me know when you decide.  Did you know that
Marcus got a job offer, too?”  She nods her head.  “I wonder how Derek’s
prospects are looking.”

“Well, by the looks of things out there,” she points out to the deck,
“I’d say his prospects are looking pretty damn good right now.”

“You saw that, too?” 

“Oh, yeah!”

“You know, Emmy, Adam’s here alone tonight.”

“What?  Do you think Derek would be better off hooking up with Adam?” she
teases.

“Ha, ha.  Very funny!  You know exactly what I mean.”

“To tell you the truth, Jette, I really do like him, a lot.  But I just
got out of a relationship and I don’t want to ruin it by running right into
another one.  I think it’s just a little too soon.”

She’s right, of course.  But Emmy’s not one to be patient.  I wonder if
she really can take her time without rushing into anything.  Time will tell.

Together, Emmy and I plate my desserts.  We grab the tray of
strawberries, the platter of cake pops, some small dessert plates, and head out
to the deck.  We don’t have to look very far to find a place to set the trays
down, the boys immediately clear a spot on the table for us and start helping
themselves.

All of a sudden, out of the clear blue, Evan walks over to turn down
the music, clanks his fork on his wine glass four or five times, and makes an
announcement to our guests.  “If I could please have everyone’s attention.”  He
pauses for a moment while everyone finishes their conversations.  “It’s time.”

Adam walks over to Evan and hands him a large, flat gift box.  He motions
for Adam to place it on the table in front of us, and then shakes Adam’s hand.

“Juliette, I’ll never be able to tell you how sorry I am for everything that
happened.  My bad choices and poor judgment have affected your life terribly,
and I will never be able to forgive myself for it.  But through it all, you
stayed strong and I think it actually brought us closer together.”  He takes my
hand in his and lifts it to his lips, placing a soft kiss on my hand. 

“Having you here with me is the greatest gift I could have ever asked
for.”  All the girls sigh in unison.  “I wanted to get you something to show
you how much you mean to me and how much I want to share my life with you.”  He
pushes the gift box closer to me.  “Please open it.”  Evan watches me with a
hopeful expression that makes me nervous.

My hands are shaking.  I cannot imagine what could possibly be inside
this large box.  All eyes are on me, including my mother and Evan’s parents. 
“Jepetto, go ahead.  Open the box, baby girl,” Auggie gently prods me on.

Somehow, I manage to rip the paper off the box, and I slowly lift the
lid.  Inside is a large black picture frame with two matted documents under the
glass.  I look closely at the first document, and it’s a lease agreement in
Evan’s name for a storefront property on Cookman Avenue in Asbury Park. 

I look up at Evan, “I don’t understand.”

“Read the second one, baby,” he tells me.

The second document has an official State of New Jersey seal on it.  As I
look more closely, it’s a liquor license for the city of Asbury Park made out
to Evan and me under the business name “Rush”.

“What’s Rush?” I ask, still not understanding what I’m looking at.

“I know it’s your dream to open a dessert bar, and I wanted to make your
dreams come true.”  I look over at Evan, and he looks over to Reese.  I can’t
believe it.  They have been conspiring this whole time. 

“You’ve named it
Rush?
” I ask.

“Let me explain.  You see, I wanted to choose a name that reflected our
life together.  I struggled to find the perfect name.  Then, a few days ago, I
was sitting in the living room reading my playbook while you were bake dancing
in the kitchen, and it hit me.  See, in football, a
rush
usually
involves a handoff from the quarterback to the running back.  That’s exactly
what I’m trying to do here.  I’m the quarterback, and I’ve started the play,
and now I’m handing it off to you, my running back.  The ball is literally in
your hands now.  Run with it, baby.”  I gaze lovingly into his beautiful blue
eyes; eyes that ache with hope and devotion. 

His words melt my heart.  Cookman Avenue has some of the trendiest
restaurants at the Jersey Shore.  I have prime real estate and a liquor license
to start my own restaurant.  The enormity of it all is sinking in.  “I own a
dessert bar?”

“Technically,
we
own a dessert bar,” Evan corrects me.  “We can
change the name if you don’t like it.”

“Evan, I couldn’t have picked out a better name.  I don’t know much about
football, but I do know that to
rush
means to move towards something
quickly and deliberately.  I vow to always run towards you and to never away
from you again.  No matter what happens, I will always come running back to
you.  I guess that means I really am your
running back
.” 

“I’m so glad you’re happy, Juliette.  I love you.”  He scoops me up in a
passionate embrace and kisses me deeply in front of everyone.  “Now, if you’re
not too busy, I set up a few interviews for our new staff.”

One by one, my friends walk up to me and hand me their job applications. 
Emmy hands me an application for bartender.  “Emmy!  You told me you got a job
offer.  Please tell me you’ll forget about that job and come work with me.”

“Jette, you dummy, don’t you get it?  The job offer was from Evan.  And
I’ve decided to accept his offer.”  She gives me a quick hug and slips away.

Marcus follows behind with his application for general manager.  “Oh,
Marcus.  You, too?  Is this the job Camilla told me you wanted?” 

“Well, that depends on you.  Evan offered me the job, but the final
decision is yours.”

I give him a hug and tell him, “Of course we want you!”

Next is Derek.  He hands me an application for head bartender.  “Derek,
you’d make a great head bartender.  I’d be lucky to have you.”

There’s one more person in line with an application in hand.  It’s Reese
and she’s applying for the position of head chef.  “Is this the new concept
restaurant you told me about?  You would move out here to New Jersey to do this
with me?”

“I told you, I quit my job.  If you won’t have me, then I’ll have nowhere
to go.”  She seems genuinely concerned that I might not want her.

“Oh, Reese.  This is too good to be true.  You’re really staying?”  She
nods and I give her a big hug.

All the rest of our friends and family come up to congratulate us and
wish us well with our new venture.  My new head bartender makes a round of Woo Woo
shots that he passes around.  With a quick toast, we toss them back to
celebrate this new exciting chapter in all our lives. 

It’s starting to get dark out, and it’s definitely past Regan’s bedtime. 
Callie and Dean are the first to head home, followed by Evan’s parents and my
mother.  Evan and I help them gather their things and walk them to their cars. 
Evan and I stand arm-in-arm on his front porch and wave them off as they drive
away.  I’ve dreamt about a time when we would play host and hostess for our
friends and family, but this night exceeded every hope and dream I could have
imagined.