Everett Holden had sworn to live the rest of his life a single man, but his plans are disrupted when he finds himself sharing an apartment with his best friend's ex - the one woman he detests with every fiber of his being yet simultaneously desires...
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THE REMAINDER OF Everett's birthday was thankfully spent with no more fighting or teasing about being his date to Izzy's wedding. Instead, we played a game of Cards Against Humanity and then sang happy birthday to Everett with a huge rectangular cake lit up with candles. His cheeks burned red the entirety of our horrible serenade, but when his eyes locked with mine over the flame of the candles, I could tell at that moment that something in him had shifted. He wasn't brooding anymore but...happy, and he gave his family not just smiles tonight but laughter. Genuine laughter.
I shut the front door quietly behind us, and as Everett sets his wallet and keys down on the counter, he says, "About what my family said... You know, being my date to the wedding and all..."
"It's fine," I reply. "I wasn't expecting to be invited, and we aren't..."
Everett sighs and blinks up at the ceiling. "Right. I know. I guess I just feel like I need to apologize for their behavior. They can be a lot."
"Are you kidding? I love them, Everett. They're amazing."
He arches a brow. "Really?"
I nod and take a step closer to him, pulling out a tiny square-wrapped box and setting it on the counter beside his keys. "I didn't want to give you this at dinner because..." Well, he was gifted a real diamond chain tonight by his parents, and also, I'm still not sure if he'll like it.
"You didn't have to buy me anything, Emery. You're trying to save up to move out."
"I know, but I...I didn't buy it. Just open it."
He continues to stare at the box, and the longer he stares at it, the more the tension seems to grow between us. He knows what it is, and he lifts his eyes to mine, disbelief laced in his expression. "Emery—" His voice falters, and when he clears his throat, I can't hold my tears back any longer.
"I mean, you got a real diamond necklace tonight, so..."
His shaking fingers strip the ribbon off the box, and when he lifts the lid, eyeing the homemade beaded bracelet, I hold my breath, waiting for his reaction.
This bracelet is more than just a bracelet. I only make them for people I'm certain will be in my life forever, and after my grandma passed, I didn't think I'd ever make a bracelet again. People always leave, but if Everett is trying to get to the brighter side, I'll make an effort, too. Starting with him and I. I'm in this, and if it ends terribly, then so be it.
At least I will have tried.
My heart is racing, drumming through the roof from the heat of his gaze. I have no idea what he's thinking, but those blue eyes of his have gone as deep as the bottom of the sea, glassy as he blinks away tears.
For a second, the only sound between us is the gentle humming of the refrigerator, but then a flicker of what seems like determination flashes across his face as he slowly sets the box down on the counter.
