Maddox raised his hand, rubbing away at the back of his neck. He was suddenly super uncomfortable. “Hey, uh— is there anything I can—”
Colt stopped him. “Go. Find your mate. I’m gonna chalk your little chick flick moment here up to the whiskey still in your system. I’m a big boy. I’ll miss Dodge, but if you’re waiting for me to start sniffling...”
“You’re such an ass, Colton.”
Colt’s lips quirked upward just enough to be considered a grin. “Doesn’t it make you happy to know that not everything has changed?”
&n
bsp; 14
She shouldn’t be back at Mugs.
It was a bad idea.
Her mother would have her head, and Adam would totally lose his if he knew.
Good thing neither of them did.
Evangeline entered the coffee shop. She intended to get in, get her coffee, and go. Just one quick look, that was all she was going to allow. And even that was ridiculous because who would continue to go back and spend the day away drinking coffee like they had nothing else better to do?
Well, except for her, of course.
Before she opened the door, Evangeline took a deep breath. She tried to pretend that she didn’t care one way or another if he was inside. And then, when she entered Mugs and found that he had claimed the same seat he had on Friday, she tried to fool herself into thinking that her giddy excitement that caused her belly to flip-flop was just hunger pangs because she’d missed breakfast that morning.
As if he’d been waiting for her, his head jerked up the instant Evangeline moved through the doorway.
He waved.
Go to the counter, she told herself. Go to the counter, order your drink—
Her feet betrayed her. While she was still in the middle of talking herself into avoiding her coffee date from last week, her lower half didn’t seem to be on board. Before she realized it, she’d veered off to the right, heading straight toward him.
Evangeline smiled when she stopped next to his table, butterflies flapping nervously in the pit of her stomach when his lips curved in a sexy, answering grin.
“Um, hi… I wasn’t sure if you’d be here today. You kind of ran out without saying goodbye last time.”
“Sorry about that. I got a buzz while you were on the phone. It was a family emergency.” He paused for a second, then added, “My brother. Colton.”
Evangeline got the strangest feeling that he expected her to know his brother. Come to think of it, it dawned on her that, despite the hour-long chat they had before the weekend, she didn't even know his name.
She was just about to ask when he got up from the table. Holy Christ, she hadn't imagined his size. The guy was huge, but in an absolutely delicious way.
“I hoped I’d see you again. Here.” He leaned past her, pulling the extra seat out. “If you have a second, I’d love to hear more about the story you were telling me last time.”
Evangeline glanced at the empty chair. She wanted to sit. Wanted to take a load off, pretend that he could be a friend she met for coffee every now and then. She wasn’t that naive, though. If she felt the connection between them, he probably did, too.
Which was why she had to decline.
“I wish I could, but I’m pushing a deadline. I really just ran in to get my coffee. I can’t stay.”
“I was just about to get some more myself. Let me buy you a cup.”
“Oh, no. That’s okay. I don’t drink actual coffee.”
“I know. You get that iced thing,” he said. “Don’t worry about it. I got you. Consider it my treat for humoring me the last time I saw you. I owe you for some of your recommendations. That Chinese place you told me about? It was delicious. Least I can do is get you a drink.”
When he put it that way…