“Will realize how badly they fucked up and how it’s too late for them to make it up to you now,” he finishes for me.
I blink at him. “This could completely change my life.”
“In a good way?”
“Yeah, in a good way.” I can’t help myself. I wrap my arms tight around his neck, pulling him close to me. He squeezes me tight, a firm, calming pressure that has me melting into him. “Thank you,” I whisper into his chest. “Thank you for inviting me tonight and for everything else.”
“I’m glad you came.”
*
By the time we’re ready to go back to the car that’ll take us to our hotel, we’re stumbling slightly into the elevator from the drinks we celebrated with after Evan finished his shift in the orchestra.
There’s a happy buzz in my chest, filtering away all the anxious feelings that crept up on me tonight. I feel light onmy feet. Between watching Evan, networking, and talking with Cal, it’s been a good night. Being around the Bransons in this capacity wasn’t nearly as scary as I thought it was going to be. I didn’t get any weird looks or comments from people. Maybe the healthy competition between our families isn’t as big of a deal as I thought. If anything, I’m doing my parents a favor by being seen in public with the Bransons again.
Evan and I stand side by side in the otherwise empty elevator, staring at our reflections in the glass, and I say, “You introduced me as your girlfriend,” an awkward giggle slipping past my lips.
Evan looks at his shoes. “Yeah, to my dad.”
“And then to everyone else.”
“Right.” He looks up at me in the reflection of the glass. “Do you not . . . want to be my girlfriend?”
“I mean, I do. I think. I just thought we’d talk about it first.”
He nods slowly. “Okay, this is us talking about it.” He turns to me then, and I forget how to breathe. His gaze is intense. Unyielding. “What do you want, Scarlett?”
I let out a shaky breath and tell him the truth. “I-I don’t know.”
“Do you want me to tell you what I want? Will that help?” I nod eagerly, stepping closer to him. He licks his lips, taking in a deep breath. “I want you, Scarlett. I want you waking up in my bed and listening to me play piano. I want you to tease me about my tidy puzzle brain and make out between bookshelves in a library. I want to go to events with you and watch you give speeches and squeeze your hand in a room full of people.” I smile, nodding. “We can take things slow. We can go at your pace. As long as you let me be yours.”
I nod again since it seems like it’s the only thing I can do. “I want that too.”
“You do?”
“I want that more than anything. I’m just . . . scared.”
Admitting it out loud isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. A weight feels like it’s been lifted off my shoulders, but there’s still that anxiety simmering in my lower stomach, a constant reminder that this could go wrong.
“Scared of what, angel?” Evan asks softly.
“Of ruining this. I’m not good at . . . this. Relationships,” I whisper. “You’re a really good person, Evan. Way too good for me.”
He scoffs. “There’s no way you actually believe that.” He lets out an agitated breath, stepping closer toward me, and he lifts my chin until I look at him. His voice is low and deep when he says, “Scarlett Voss, you are perfect and beautiful and smart and so fucking deserving of everything good. You have been unravelling me since the day I met you, and I don’t want you to ever stop doing that.” My heart thumps in my chest and he dusts his lips over mine. “I’myours, Scarlett. Yours.”
My tongue darts out, running across my bottom lip as his words settle over me. “Mine,” I whisper, as if I’m getting my first taste of the word.
He smiles against my mouth. “Yours.”
Before I can say anything else, he crushes his lips to mine. I swear I drown in him. Every brush of his lips against mine ignites a fire in my chest and low in my stomach. His hands bracket my face, pulling me closer to him as his lips claim mine.
My hands are everywhere, pushing off his blazer, raking through his hair and over his shoulders. When the doors open, we stumble toward the exit, my hair falling out of its bun and tumbling down my shoulders.
I barely untangle myself from him before he’s pulling me into the back seat of the car with him. There’s a divider between the front and the back, and Evan mumbles something to the driver about turning up the music as he hauls me into his lap.There’s something different about him tonight. Like a new air of confidence has washed over him.
My hands rest on his shoulders, and he wraps his strong arms around my waist. He runs his hands up my back, goosebumps rising in their wake as desire coils tighter in my stomach. The energy in the back seat fizzles, mixing with the fresh smell of cleaning products, like he had the car cleaned when we were dropped off earlier.
Evan pulls down the straps of my dress, exposing my breasts, and he leaves long drugging kisses there like he might be able to permanently brand himself on my skin. He pulls my nipple into his mouth, and my head falls back, nails digging into his shoulders as I moan.
