AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yeah, but isn’t it going to make things tense in your house if your dad hates me?”
“Again, I don’t think he hates you, that would be fucking weird. Besides, I don’t particularly care—he rarely takes much interest in my personal life.”
I nodded, hoping she was right. The paranoia from the night before crept in, and I wondered if I’d ever be able to shake it. The comfortable way it settled into my heavy heart suggested I might not be able to.
“Hey, I’ve got something that might cheer you up!” Hannah said, “I’ve given some thought to which area I’d like to work in!”
“Yeah?”
“Yup! So, I’m actually looking at the stroke wards—call me crazy, but it’s just a super fascinating field that’s got a lot of pioneering research happening right now, and it can also be really rewarding!”
“Really sad too though,” I pointed out, “but I’m glad you’re thinking about it!”
“Anywhere I work is going to be sad, Ev, it’s nursing. I wouldn’t have chosen this as a career if I thought it would break me. I’m not totally set on stroke, but I’m definitely looking into it.”
My friend smiled, and I couldn’t help but smile back. I didn’t need her dad to like me—she was the important one. I would be fine.
I felt sure my feelings would resolve in a month or two.
Chapter Five
Julian
Iwas sitting in my office when Fran buzzed me.
“Yes?” I answered, my eyes still focused on the papers in front of me.
“Your daughter is here to see you,” she replied.
What was Hannah doing here? I knew she had classes today, so her being here made no sense. It had been fourteen years since the incident, and I was still terrified every time something in our schedule suddenly changed. I knew, reasonably, that she probably wasn’t there because something bad had happened, but I couldn’t help the racing of my heart.
“Send her in, thank you,” I said into the phone.
“Yes, sir.”
A moment later, the door burst open. Hannah, despite the tension in our relationship, never knocked like everyone else. She strode in holding a paper bag.
“You forgot your lunch, Dad,” she said airily, placing the bag on my desk.
I could smell something delicious and spiced. I hoped it was Andrew’s famous moussaka. My mouth watered just at the thought.
“Thanks, Hannah,” I said.
Anything else I might have said dried up in my mouth because the person to next walk in the door was none other than Evelyn Stearns. She looked uncomfortable at being in my office, and I couldn’t blame her. The last time I had seen her, I had rejected her in the cruelest way I could manage. I made her feel like a child when the person standing in front of me was very clearly a woman. I had worried about her after she left, even when my daughter mentioned in passing that she’d made it home safely.
Her hair was down today, looking beautiful in the gently curling waves that drifted past her chest and ended at her waist, wet from the storm outside. Her eyes were heavy, with dark rings underneath them. It wasn’t a secret that students were usually tired, and certainly not a secret that Evelyn was more so because of the other work she did. I was concerned, though. These circles were more pronounced than I’d ever seen them, and it tugged at my heartstrings. I moved on, not wanting to consider the cause for too long. Her lips were glistening pink under clear lip balm, their natural color showing through. I remembered the feeling of those lips moving against my own, and had to distract myself quickly from the memory.
Evelyn was everything I could want in a woman. She was fiery and fierce, she worked hard every day, and wouldn’t accept handouts—no matter how many times Hannah had tried. She was passionate about her degree, and I knew she’d make a fantastic nurse. She was also kind and stuck by my daughter through everything they’d gone through during their first year as students. Her face was guarded around me though, those walls were up and defended with heavy artillery. I knew if I ever provoked her, I could expect hellfire to rain down on me.
As it was, I schooled my face into something more appropriate and let her only see the person I wanted her to see. I worked hard to make it seem like I was disinterested in her, but according to my daughter, I’d taken it too far and she now believed that I hated her for whatever reason. The opposite was true. The effort it took to control myself around her was astronomical, and if I let even a sliver of affection through, I knew I’d lose control and we’d have a repeat of what happened at her party.
That had been a mistake. I hadn’t meant to kiss her, but she was there, and the way she was looking at me had me melting. The lust and want in her eyes had been palpable, but underneath there was deep sadness that I just wanted to take away. If she knew I’d been the one to initiate, she didn’t let on.
“Oh, Fran didn’t say you had company,” was all I said in response to Evelyn’s appearance.
Hannah rolled her eyes and fixed me with a glare.
“Yeah, because I knew you’d turn us away if you knew,” she said bluntly.
