The Running Series Complete Collection: 3-Book Set plus Bonus Novella (82 page)

Will I ever tire of looking at this man? He walks Maddy to a shady corner of the deck where he’s placed a bowl of cool water for her.  Evan’s wearing nothing but a pair of long shorts that hang low enough to show the sexy v-cut of his waist.  As he turns to walk away with our dog, I can’t help but admire the dramatic contrast between his trim waist and broad shoulders.  Taking in the vision of his perfect form brings me more happiness than I’ve felt in a long time.  How can he still affect me so profoundly?

Evan walks down the steps leading to the beach where I’m standing.  He stops at the last step and holds out his hand, “Join me for breakfast, Juliette?”

I nod, place my hand in his, and follow him up the stairs.  Just this simple contact with him has me walking on air.  He leads me to the table, which he has set with bottles of cold water and a bowl of fruit, along with a few granola bars.  He pulls out a chair for me and offers, “Can I get you anything else?”

The fresh fruit looks so good, I cannot resist grabbing a banana to snack on.  “No, this is great.”  I crack open one of the bottles of water and take a refreshing sip.  “I can’t stay long.  Auggie’s going to be getting up soon.” 

“I know,” Evan affirms.  Maddy curls herself into a ball at Evan’s feet.  He bends down to pet her, and I’m reminded of our once happy life here.  In moments like this, I feel certain we can find our way back together again.

Just as I’m about to say something, the music changes to Simple Minds, “Don’t You Forget About Me”.  This is not one of the usual songs from Evan’s playlist.  If he’s trying to get me to loosen up a bit, it’s working.

Throwing caution to the wind, I get up and walk straight over to Evan.  He turns his chair, and pats his lap, inviting me in for some much needed closeness.  He pulls me back against his bare chest.  His arms wrap around me as I settle against him.  I run my hands across his biceps and squeeze.  I didn’t realize how much I would miss the feel of his powerful arms.  He must have been working out in his gym, because he’s still slick with sweat.  He nuzzles my hair and groans, takes a deep breath, and utters, “Good morning, Running Girl.”  Just being so close to him and hearing the sound of his voice makes my body clench. 

“Good morning, Chief,” I whisper in his ear.  His smell is intoxicating, and it’s all I can do to keep my hormones in check.  “You’re full of surprises.  How did you know I’d be here?” I ask.

“I didn’t.  I was standing at the kitchen window when you ran by half an hour ago.  I took a gamble that you’d pass by again around this time.”  Evan is tracing small circles on the flesh of my tanned legs.  “You’re the one that’s full of surprises, Juliette.  I was positive I wasn’t going to see you again until Wednesday.  What would the good doctor say if he knew you were creeping around my house like this?”

“I can’t help it.  See, I heard this wildly sexy football star lives here all alone.  Rumor has it, he’s crazy good looking and drives all the women crazy.”  I crane my neck to look around the deck and into the house.  “You haven’t seen him around here, have you?”

“Do you mean that ego-maniac Big Mac?  Why would you want to waste your time with some dumb jock like that?  You could do so much better,” he teases as he twists strands of my hair around his fingers.

“Yeah, you’re probably right.  I hear he has a terrible temper.”

“True, but I hear he’s a God in the bedroom.  One night with Big Mac, and you’ll never go back.  Do you know how he
really
got that nickname?”

I give him a big smack across his shoulder.  “Oh, my God, Evan!  The things that come out of your mouth.”

“Have you already forgotten the things that I can do with my mouth, Juliette?  You’ll have to let me refresh your memory,” he hums in my ear, using his most seductive voice.  His hands travel up and around my leg, and rest on my ass, giving it an affectionate squeeze.

“Evan, stop.  You’re making me crazy.”  I get off his lap and return to my chair.  Uncapping my bottle of water, I take a swig, and then continue.  “When you look at me like that, it’s ... it’s ... it’s not fair.”

“Baby, nothing about this situation is fair.  I’m just so glad you decided to come to our beach for a run this morning.  It gives me hope.”

“Me, too.”

I
spend the remainder of the morning with Auggie, who’s still sound asleep when I get home, thankfully.  He still sleeps more than I’ve ever known him to before.  I think it’s good.  It must mean that his body is healing.  I can see him getting a little stronger each day.  Soon, he’ll be able to get around without help, but for now, he still needs assistance. 

Secretly, I’m glad to have a reason to refuse Evan’s advances.  This past week has been amazing and I hope and pray that the old Evan is here to stay.  But only time will tell. 

Barking Up the Wrong Tree

E
van’s commercials for Top Dog Sports Drink started airing on all the major networks today.  Auggie and I saw his commercial twice in the two hours I was home with him before heading to work for the day.  I have a feeling Evan is going to be haunting me all day long.

As the crew and I finish cleaning and prepping for today’s lunch service, I notice Emmy’s not here yet.  It’s unusual for her to be late.  She’s never once, not in the entire time that I’ve known her, ever been late for work.  I hope there’s a simple explanation like holiday traffic or lack of parking.

I open the doors at eleven o’clock, and waiting outside is a small pack of young girls, no older than sixteen.  I seat them at a table and bring them a lunch menu.  They don’t even open it.  Instead, they are scanning the restaurant from end to end, clearly looking for someone or something.  A waitress approaches the table, jots down their order, and then walks away, shaking her head.  “Katie, what’s the matter?  Is anything wrong?” I ask.

“They all ordered a diet soda.  That’s it.  Nothing else,” she explains.

“Why would they come into a restaurant to get a soda?  They can get that cheaper and easier anywhere on the boardwalk,” I answer, equally confused.

Katie and I are distracted when another group of college-age girls enters.  I can tell by the hair, make-up and clothes that they’re not local.  They look way too ready for MTV.  They, too, scan the restaurant carefully.  One of them glares openly at me.  If looks could kill, I’d be six feet under in an instant.  “I think I know why they’re here,” Katie speculates.

“Yeah, me too,” I agree.

Derek’s face lights up when the small group of young women sashays up to the bar.  He immediately puts on his charms and starts greeting our guests warmly.  The female customers respond well to Derek.  It’s not hard to figure out why – he’s tall, clean cut, with a friendly smile and a great sense of humor.  I’m hoping that Derek can keep the girls entertained and happy.  When I see Derek checking their ID’s, I decide to accept their presence as a cost of doing business with a celebrity.

When Emmy comes in, nearly forty-five minutes late, she runs in the back to put her things away, then slips behind the bar to give Derek a hand.  He’s been charming the lot of them, but could definitely use some help.

Shortly after Emmy’s arrival, we become mobbed by more female customers.  Women of all different sizes, shapes, and ages enter Rush, all hoping to catch a glimpse of Evan “Big Mac” McGuire.  Some are carrying pictures of him, a few have miniature footballs in hand, and others hold rolled up posters of my boyfriend.  They are clearly intending to get their trinkets signed by him today.  It reminds me of the crowd that gathered to see Evan after the taping of Night After Night with Joey Griffin. 

I can overhear several of the conversations taking place at the tables.  Before ordering, many of the women are asking if Evan is expected to appear at the restaurant today.  One group actually gets up and walks out the door when they learn that he is not due to stop in today.

Every time the door opens, a hush falls in the restaurant and necks crane to see whom the latest arrival is.  I look over at Derek, and rather than making drinks, he’s texting behind the bar.  “Derek, what the hell?  You know we don’t do that here,” I chastise him.

“Relax, boss.  You’ll thank me in about an hour,” he counters with a smirk on his face.

“Thank you?  For what, exactly?”

“I just texted a few of our regular male customers.  It’s ladies night in the middle of the day, for God’s sake.  How often does that happen?”  Derek seems very proud of his own ingenuity and joyfully returns to filling drink orders for the harem of groupies.

I notice a few of the waitresses congregating near the service bar.  None of them seem happy.  Normally, a full restaurant means good tips and good tips means a happy staff.  “Girls, what’s wrong?  Why aren’t you taking care of the customers?  Isn’t anyone’s food ready, yet?”  I’ve only seen one or two tables served food since they’ve arrived.  I hope Reese isn’t back to her old ways once again.

“Jette, no one is ordering food.  Hardly any of them are ordering alcohol, either.  Most of them are ordering soft drinks and water,” Katie explains.

“This sucks,” one of the other waitresses adds.  “I’m not going to bust my ass for tables that aren’t even going to tip me,” she grumbles.

They’re right.  This is a restaurant, not a meeting hall for Evan’s fan club.  Marcus steps in when he realizes what’s going on.

“Marcus, I have to ask you to put aside your managerial duties and become a bouncer.  Each seat is going to have a $10 minimum order.  If they don’t want to order anything, we have to ask them to leave.  Do you think that’s okay?”  I know this is a bar, but it’s primarily a restaurant.  We have to turn over the seats to paying customers if we’re going to make any money today.

“I can do that.  Let me get Ryker to help.  Between the two of us, we should be able to get some orders placed and some seats opened up.  Be right back.”  Marcus elicits the help of Ryker, and together, they begin to go table-to-table, checking on orders and explaining our minimum order policy.  I jump behind the bar to help Derek and Emmy who are starting to get slammed with drink orders. 

The longer this continues, the more uncomfortable I become.  I pour drinks to try and keep my mind occupied while Marcus does his job, but my mood shifts abruptly from stressed to pissed off when I hear some conversations at the bar.  Girls much younger than me are rehearsing pick up lines for Evan.  One girl proudly shares her favorite, “If I told you I worked for UPS, would you let me handle your package?”  Does she really think someone like Evan would be swept off his feet by that kind of crude come-on?  Unbelievable.

I can feel dozens of eyes boring holes into me as I scurry back and forth behind the bar.  Although no one says it to my face, I know exactly what they’re all thinking,
there’s nothing special about her
.  They are all wondering what someone like Evan is doing with someone like me.  I think I even overheard one of them say there’s no way I’m pretty enough to be dating Evan.  It’s demoralizing and I feel like I’m back in high school all over again.

The door swings open and in walks a pack of young men.  Their faces light up when they see the hordes of young women gracing my establishment.  They make their way over to the bar where Derek greets them.  He shakes their hands and starts pouring them beers.  He knows their drinks.  They must be the regulars that Derek called earlier. 

Emmy comes over to me and asks if I could cover her so she could take a break.  She looks every bit as distraught as I do.  “Emmy, what’s up?  Did one of those women say something to you?”

“Damn right she did.”  She points to the tall girl with jet-black hair and a beautiful olive complexion.  She looks like she belongs on an ad for Hawaiian Tropic Suntan Lotion advertisement.  “That whore wants to know if I’ve ever met Evan’s body guard, the tall blonde hottie that follows Evan everywhere he goes.  She said she’s going to let all the bitches in the place fight it out for Evan, and she’s going to fuck Adam until he can’t see straight.  Do you believe this shit?”  She throws her apron down on the bar and marches off in a huff. 

The truth of the matter is that I do believe this shit.  I’ve seen it all before.  But that doesn’t make it any easier.