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“Are you okay?” I ask, leaning out of the hot tub long enough to refill my glass of wine.
“Fine.”
“That’s what people say when they aren’t fine.” I take a sip, giving him a smile over the edge of the glass.
Evan rolls his eyes and crosses to my side of the hot tub, taking the bottle, which is a little over half-empty, and sitting down beside me.
His leg brushes against mine beneath the water as he turns slightly to face me. I move until I’m facing him, stretching my legs out in the space that’s now between us.
“You don’t have to talk about it, but it might make you feel better if you do.”
Evan studies me for a moment, lifting the bottle to his lips. When he lowers it again, he sighs.
“My father is an overbearing asshole who wants to see me living my life the way he wants it and not the way I want to live it. I took the real estate business over from him and I keep trying to move us in a new direction but he won’t hear of it.”
“Maybe he just has a hard time letting go.”
Evan rolls his eyes. “I let that be the excuse for the first two years. I don’t know what the excuse has been for the last two.”
“You should just go easy on him. I’m sure that this is hard on him. He went from running a billion-dollar company to watching his son want to change everything about it.”
If I was in his father’s position, I would have a hard time letting go of something like that. I would hate to have to sit back and watch as my son takes risks with the business I built.
I understand where his father is coming from.
When you’re so used to being in control, it can be hard to loosen the reins even a little.
“Have you tried talking to him about backing off?”
Evan sighs. “Yes. I try to talk to him about that every time he’s around and brings up business, but he doesn’t want to listen. I don’t know what else I can say to him to prove that I’m capable of running the business.”
“I don’t know what to say that could help you.” I sip my wine. “I guess you might just have to be a little harsh and tell him to back off.”
He snorts and takes another swig from the bottle. “Parents aren’t that easy.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“You said that your dad died and things were difficult with your mom. Would you like to compare childhoods and see who has the worst one?” Evan’s grin is contagious and I find myself laughing.
“Mine was alright. Things were just tense when I was a teenager. Mom and I said a lot of things to each other that neither of us meant. Back then, I was a lot less willing to admit when I was wrong and I was a lot more stubborn.”
“You? More stubborn? Impossible.” His tone is teasing as he smiles at me, his hand slipping beneath the water.
I nearly jump a mile when I feel his fingers tracing the curve of my calf. His fingers dig into my flesh, massaging the muscle. Evan doesn’t acknowledge the touch, even as his hand creeps higher.
Sparks fly through my body and heat rushes to my core. Desire rushes through me as Evan sighs and leans back, his eyes closing.
“I said a lot of things to my mom that I didn’t mean. At least, I didn’t mean them an hour later when I had time to think about what I’d said to her. Then, the day after high school I told her that I was done putting up with her and I moved out.”
“I’m sure that she’s forgotten all about the things you said by now.”
“Wouldn’t know. I haven’t talked to her since the day I left.”
“You should call her,” Evan says, opening his eyes. There’s a strange look on his face as he glances over at me. “I’m sure she’d love to hear from you.”
I roll my eyes. “I’m not going to do that. There’s too much shit that’s happened between us. I wouldn’t even know how to start the conversation.”
“Apologies normally work wonders.” His fingers dig deeper into my flesh, working the muscles until I let out a small moan. His hand stills on my leg, just below my knee.
