As Long As I Have You

~ Chapter Thirty Three ~

It was nearly six o'clock the next evening when Kirsten's smartphone lit up with a message from Evan. It was the first she heard from him all day, and it wasn't until he sent her the text message that she realized she was holding out hope for an entire weekend's worth of reprieve.

She looked down at the words again and cursed, her fingers hovering above the virtual keyboard.

Wrapping up at work. We still on for tonight?

She still felt like too much of a coward to face him, but she also knew avoiding him would only arouse suspicion and make a plausible explanation further down the line that much harder to come by.

She already had two lies to contend with, and if she weren't careful more would quickly pile up. She needed to cover her tracks where Danny was concerned — not so difficult considering she could fall back on the truth and tell Evan her stepbrother still wasn't returning her calls. The other lie however, was infinitely more difficult to address. And no matter how she thought of spinning her identity regarding Autumn Fire, Evan would undoubtedly want more than a paltry explanation.

He would want the truth.

Her thumbs danced over the digital letters for a moment more and she let out another indelicate curse, then sent her response before she could think about it too much.

Dim sum. My place. Just like we planned.

Everything was so much simpler a day ago, she thought dismally. Yesterday she was embarking on a fling with a sexy man who possessed deep blue eyes, a crooked smile, and magical hands. Today she was hiding from that same man, terrified he would find out who and what she really was.

And then there was the letter. She was still reeling from the knowledge that her father knew of her and Evan's connection prior to his death, never mind the fact that he hadn't said anything to her about it. That he had also orchestrated her introduction to him in the hopes of rekindling a spark he felt responsible for snuffing out was baffling to say the least.

So much for giving into the moment and leaving tomorrow for another day.

Knowing she didn't have much time before Evan's arrival, she quickly tidied up her painting area and washed out her brushes, then hopped into the shower and changed into a fresh white blouse and navy wide-legged crepe pants. She left her hair down so it could dry into its natural waves, and then put a little colour on her cheeks and lips just as the doorbell rang, satisfied with her few embellishments before heading barefooted towards her waiting guest.

When she opened the door, it was to greet Evan in one of his standard issue daytime suits, and for the very first time she could remember, his tie and collar roughly loosened.

She couldn't help but smile at the man laden down with enough take-out to feed them for the next week, and without thinking reached forward to grab one of the paper bags and kissed him as if it were an automatic greeting she'd given him a hundred times before.

The action surprised them both, but as usual it was Evan who was the first to react. He took the bag away from her and set his down as well, then pulled her roughly against him and proceeded to kiss her quite soundly.

His lips weren't gentle against hers and she was immensely glad for it. The potency of his kiss required her full attention and that meant there was no room to concentrate on anything else. Her thinly constructed web of lies woven around Autumn Fire quickly dissolved, and any thoughts of paternal letters from beyond the grave slunk back into the shadows.

Her body sunk into his with immediate familiarity and he reached down and squeezed her buttocks the way he was wont to do, kneading the supple flesh and pulling her tight against his hard body. The growl in his throat travelled the length of their kiss, and he grudgingly tore himself away from her with his typical crooked smile.