Hungry Like a Wolf (Claws Clause 1)

“Of course,” Naomi said, “but I—”

“I haven’t talked to Adam in years. Is there a reason why you’re suddenly throwing him at me now? If I wanted to go out on a date, I could. I’m happy, Mom, or at least I’m getting there. Where is this coming from?”

Naomi let out a soft sigh. Evangeline, sensing victory, tightened her grip on her cell phone and waited.

“I know, sweetie. It’s just… I worry about you. Me and your dad both do. It’s been a long, hard road, watching you recover yourself. You’ve started working again and you’ve moved out on your own. You’re moving on. And Fiona made it seem as if he was just waiting for you to get to this point before he tried reconnecting with you again. I thought Adam might be… oh, I don’t know. I’m sorry, Eva. I won’t mention it again. Promise.”

Evangeline closed her eyes briefly.

Oh. Her mother was good. Because, if her recovery had been hard on Evangeline, it was pure hell for her parents. She’d come so close to death—no one even really knew how she survived the crash as it was—and her parents seemed to blame themselves from the moment she woke up in the hospital. They were with her every step of the way, ready and willing to support her if she even looked like she might stumble.

So maybe her mother was telling the truth. Maybe Naomi was just trying to be helpful. On the flip side, Evangeline would do just about anything to satisfy her mother.

Even break a promise to her seventeen-year-old self.

Screw it. What was one more date with Adam Wright?

“Okay,” she said. She’d hate herself in the morning, but if it made her mother happy... “Okay. You know what, Mom? I’m free next week. If you think it’s a good idea, pass my new number on to Adam. We’ll see what happens then. Alright?”

And maybe, if she was still drowning in guilt, she might actually answer the phone.

But there was no way that Evangeline was going to let him into her pants—or, she knew with a certainty she couldn't explain, her heart.

4

Naomi worked quick.

It hadn’t even been a half an hour after Evangeline finally got her mother off of the phone that it rang again.

She stared at the screen, tempted to drop it in the toilet.

Oops, sorry, Mom.

Evangeline shook her head. No. It wouldn’t work. Hell, now that she knew for sure that Adam was a cop, she wouldn’t put it past her mother to send him over to check on her personally if she pointedly refused to answer this call.

Might as well get it over with.

She glanced at the screen again. The phone number was unfamiliar. She didn’t recognize it and wasn’t even a little surprised. The only contacts in her phone were her mother, her father, her primary care physician, and her boss. The area code was local, though.

Evangeline grimaced, took a deep breath, then swiped to answer her phone.

It was Adam.

Of course it was.

To her absolute surprise, the phone conversation was actually kind of nice. Although it had been years since the last time she spoke to Adam Wright, it wasn’t awkward at all. It was like falling into an old rhythm, his deep voice washing over her, asking her how she was doing, telling her about what he was up to. And if it was obvious that Naomi had coached him? Evangeline let it slide.

He asked her about her new apartment, her new job, how many diamonds the local witch charged to create the wards for her. He pointedly avoided the topic of her accident, the memory lapse she suffered after the crash, or her long road to recovery. Adam was courteous, charming, and kind.

By the time he smoothly steered the conversation toward getting dinner some time, Evangeline was the one who boldly said, “How about tomorrow?”

She immediately regretted it. The words left a bad taste in her mouth, as if some part of her knew she shouldn’t be making a date with this man. She swallowed roughly, shrugging off her discomfort.

Her mother was right. She deserved to be happy. Moving out to Grayson was only the first step toward a future she never thought she’d see again when she woke up in that hospital bed, the right side of her body nearly crushed and her poor memory full of holes.

She remembered Adam, at least.

It was a start.