The Running Series Complete Collection: 3-Book Set plus Bonus Novella (79 page)

Evan squeezes my hand, and then adds, “And now I would like to invite you all inside for dinner and dessert, and declare Rush Dessert Bar officially open for business.”

Evan holds the door open, allowing the staff to hurry to their posts.  He then ushers me in, followed by hungry guests.  There are two hostesses here tonight, and together they make quick work of getting everyone seated.  Evan and I walk around the restaurant, greeting the guests and posing for pictures.  He holds tight to my hand, and insists on sticking close by my side.

I pull him aside, out of earshot, so we can speak privately.  “Evan, we have a long night ahead of us.  It’s okay if we’re not together every second if it, you know.”

He looks at me, but this time, there’s no smile.  His eyes look hollow and full of sorrow.  There’s no sparkle there now.  “Juliette, you’ve left me.  We’re living apart.  You won’t give me a second chance.  If tonight is all we have left, please let me enjoy every moment of it.”

My eyes immediately well up with tears.  His words cut me deep.  “Evan, please don’t say things like that.”

He wipes away my tears, kisses me, and reminds me, “I can’t help it.  I’m a selfish man and touching you brings me more happiness that you could possibly imagine.  My life is empty without you, Juliette.  Please don’t push me away.  Not tonight.”

“Okay.”  It’s only for one night.  Besides, being with Evan has its benefits for me, too.  I feel like I can breathe again, like the room is filled with all the life-affirming oxygen I’ll ever need.

I allow Evan to lead me around the restaurant.  He introduces me to some of his teammates who have joined us tonight.  We gave exclusive rights for just one photojournalist to be inside the restaurant this evening.  He spends quite a bit of time capturing images of the Sentinels players enjoying their meal and chatting up the fans and customers.

From time to time, I snap a few pictures and text them to Auggie.  I wish he could be here with me tonight.  He would be so excited and thrilled to see how well everything is going.

When Evan’s phone rings, I follow him into my office as he takes the call.  Only hearing one side of a conversation is frustrating.  It sounds like someone is arriving within a few minutes and Evan’s going out front to meet them.

He hangs up and smiles, “Ready?”

“Ready for what?  Who was that?” I ask.

“Joey Griffin.  His car is pulling up out front.  He and Maggie are here like they promised, Juliette.  Let’s go greet our guest of honor, shall we?”  Evan drags me along as he gathers his photographer and we all scurry outside to wait for Joey’s car to pull up.  I fidget with my hair, tug on my dress, and straighten out my belt.  “Stop fussing.  You look beautiful.”  Once again, Evan sweeps my hair behind my ears, showing off my beautiful earrings.  “Thank you for wearing my earrings.  You can’t imagine how much it means to me.”

Joey arrives, handsomely dressed in khakis, a suit jacket, and a casual shirt.  His wife, Maggie, is wearing a tasteful little black dress.  They are barely older than Evan and me, and aside from arriving with a chauffer, no one would ever suspect they’re rich and famous.  We exchange greetings, quickly get reacquainted, and pose for a few pictures.  I lead our little foursome into the restaurant and escort our guests to one of the booths in the back. 

The night is half over, and Evan and I haven’t eaten a thing all night.  When Joey asks us to join him for dinner, Evan looks over to me for a response.  I happily agree, and help our friends make their dinner selections.  I make suggestions on drink pairings, and for the next hour, the four of us chat about everything and nothing.  Joey has us laughing the entire time.  Evan has his arm resting on the seat around me, and we sit together closely, maintaining the constant contact that both of us seem to crave tonight.  Evan drops his arm and begins to draw soft, lazy circles on my bare knees, and my skin stings from the heat of his touch.

I begin to feel a little guilty for abandoning my crew tonight, so I excuse myself to check on things. I see Emmy at the bar cleaning some glasses, so I slip behind the bar to check in on her.  “How are things going so far, Em?”

She pulls me in for a tight squeeze and squeals with delight, “Oh, Jette, it’s so great to see you and Evan back together again.  I’m so happy for you guys.”

I quickly correct her, “We’re not together again.  It’s not what you think.  This is just for tonight, Em.  At midnight, I turn back into Cinderella and Evan goes home alone in his chariot.”

“Idiots,” she says.  She turns away from me and continues washing glassware. “You’re both a couple of idiots if you ask me.” 

“Excuse me?”  I’ve never heard Emmy talk to me like that before.

“Oh, you heard me, alright.  I love you, Juliette, but you are both too frickin’ stubborn to get out of you own damn way.”  She walks away and returns to filling drink orders.  I can’t argue with her, mostly because I know she’s right.

I wander away with my head in the clouds.  I’m more confused than ever.  As I walk around aimlessly, I literally bump into Marcus.  “Oh, sorry,” I apologize, “I didn’t see you standing there.”

He grabs me by the elbows to steady me.  “Are you okay?” he asks.  “You look ... confused.”

“No, I’m okay.  I just talked to Emmy.  She really has a way with words, you know.”

“You know, Jette, I haven’t seen Big Mac this happy in weeks.  Or you.  You guys really have a chance here to make things right.  Don’t worry about the restaurant tonight.  We’ve got this handled.  You go handle your man.”  Marcus walks away and back to his duties of overseeing the staff, leaving me to contemplate his remark – handle my man.

And then it hits me.  Evan’s been at my side all night.  He’s letting me make the decisions and set the limits.  I wonder ... here, tonight, could we, should we, negotiate?  There are certain things I know he wants from me and certain things I want from him.  Suppose there was a way we could both go home happy?  Under the right conditions, and at just the proper moment, I bet I could get him to do almost anything.  It’s certainly worth a try.

I amble into the kitchen, grab four plates, and find a spot out of Natalie’s way to plate desserts for my dinner companions.  I promised Joey a cheesecake, so I start there.  I head to the pastry cooler and slide the cake from one of the trays.  When I shut the door, I’m startled by Ryker, standing there, eying me with a judgmental expression of disappointment.  “Oh, Ryker, you scared me.”

“Sorry about that.  Here, let me carry that for you.”  He takes the cake from me and follows me to the food prep station.  I grab a tub of cherry brandy ice cream and begin plating Joey’s dessert.  “So, are you having fun playing Evan’s little game tonight?” he asks.

I stare at him, surprised by his inappropriate comment.  “Ryker, I know what you must think, but he’s not playing games.  We both still have feelings for each other, and it’s just, we thought we could, I wanted to see, I don’t know how to explain it so it makes sense.”

His eyes flash over to look at me, like he’s trying to solve a riddle.  “Believe me, it’s a game alright.  He’s testing you.  How far you’ll let him take this.  How quickly he can get you to cave.  He doesn’t respect you.  You deserve better.”  He takes the cheesecake from me and returns it to the cooler, returning with a small ramekin of brioche bread pudding.  He knows the menu well.

“Better than what?  You hardly know Evan and you don’t know the first thing about our relationship, Ryker.  It’s complicated.”  I know he’s only seen the worst side of Evan, but I don’t have the time or the desire to try to explain our relationship to him right here and right now.

“Better than putting yourself in harm’s way.  Better than living under a microscope, constantly subjecting yourself to media scrutiny, and repeatedly having your heart broken into a million tiny pieces.”  He glares at me.  “Do you want me to go on?  Because I could.”

“No,” I mutter coldly.  “I get your point.”  I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself, and walk away, looking for a big piece of chocolate cake for Evan’s dessert.  When I return to the counter, Ryker is still lingering, helping garnish the plates that I’ve completed and placing them on the cooling tray so the ice cream doesn’t melt.

“I know you don’t like hearing what I have to say, but someone has to say it.  Everyone else is so mesmerized by his looks, his charm, and his fame that they forget.  They forget he has flaws.  Don’t ever forget that, Jette.  Not for one moment.”  He lowers his voice and speaks softly enough so that only I can hear him.  “The minute you forget might be the minute your whole life changes.”

As I stare at Ryker, astounded by his words, I hear the kitchen door swing open.  When I look, I see Evan standing there watching.  He takes a deep breath, and then walks over towards us.  “Oh, there you are.  I was worried.”  He kisses me on the head, never breaking his defiant stare at Ryker.  “Is everything okay in here?”

“Fine,” I answer a little too quickly.  “I’m just getting our desserts plated and Ryker was kind enough to help.”  I move around the kitchen, busily gathering the items for the last of our dessert plates.

“You don’t seem fine,” he presses.  “Is anything wrong?”  He directs his comment towards Ryker.

“I was just giving Juliette some advice on how to manage things better.  That’s what I was hired for. Isn’t that right?” he replies sarcastically.  I’ve hardly ever seen anyone stand up to Evan like that.  It makes me uncomfortable.  I feel like they’re about to whip out penises for a pissing contest.

“That’s true.  I believe you were hired to get the team ready for our Grand Opening, which is nearly over.  I guess that means you’ll be moving on soon.”  Evan glowers at him.

“Boys, please.  Not now.  Evan, please go check on Joey.  I’ll be out there with our desserts in two minutes.  Okay?” I plead with my eyes for him to walk away.  I need to know he can control his anger.

“Sure, Juliette.  If that’s what you want.”  He sweeps his hand across my back and slides his finger along the bare skin of my arm.  “Don’t be long,” he calls back as he walks out the door defiantly.

Ryker chuckles when Evan walks out, making his distaste for our relationship loud and clear.  “Well wasn’t that interesting?” he teases.

I give Ryker a dirty look.  “He came in to help.  That’s all.  And, just incase you didn’t notice, he kept his cool the entire time.”

“Looked to me like he was marking his territory, Jette.  Making sure I know that he was here first.”  Ryker is moving around the kitchen with ease, putting things away and cleaning up messes he finds.

“Maybe he thinks I’m worth fighting for,” I fire back.

“I can’t argue with that,” he grins, eyes locked on mine.  He grabs two plates and hands them to me before grabbing the other two for himself.  “Lead the way, boss.  Dessert time.”

Ryker follows me through the restaurant as I weave my way through the tables towards the booth in the back where my dinner group waits for dessert.  I place my two plates down in front of Joey and Maggie, and then scoot into the booth beside Evan.  Ryker gives me my dessert, and then Evan gets his.  He politely offers, “Enjoy,” then returns to the kitchen to help expedite the remaining food orders.

Evan places his hand on my thigh, and proceeds to eat with the other, never, not for one moment, breaking that connection.  Is his need for me a sign of his love or his desire to possess and claim ownership? 

Eventually, we say good-bye to Joey and Maggie, and then walk them to their waiting car out front.  A few more photos are snapped, and off they go.  I step up on my tiptoes and give Evan a peck on the cheek.  “What was that for?” he asks.

“Thank you for a magical night, Evan.  I haven’t had this much fun in a very long time.”  Together, we return to the restaurant. 

There are only a few customers left, and Evan and I make sure to thank each one of them for joining us tonight.  I ask each table a few questions about their meal, their drinks, and service tonight and I’m over the moon with the feedback we’re receiving.  Every single table has raving reviews and can’t wait to come back again.  Relief, joy, and pride wash over me with each glowing remark.

When the last customer leaves, Evan and I lock the doors, and give a sigh of relief.

“Emmy, Derek, Marcus, come on out from behind the bar,” he orders.  “Adam, get your ass over here,” he demands.  “Juliette, please go get Reese and Natalie from the kitchen.”

“And Ryker, Jette – don’t forget Ryker,” Emmy calls to me.

Not sure why we’re all being summoned and not asking any questions, I rush to the back of the house and bring the kitchen staff out front.  The eight of us watch as Evan lines up nine shot glasses.  He fills a shaker with lots of ice and black vodka.  As he’s shaking it, he begins to tell us why we’re all standing here.  “I’ve been practicing a little bit, experimenting with my own cocktails.  In honor of Juliette’s high school team, the Panthers, I’ve created this drink I’d like to share with you all tonight.”  He pours the chilled liquor into each of the nine glasses.  Next, he grabs a bottle of Goldschlager and carefully fills each glass to the rim.  Gold flakes float on top, creating a unique and dramatic drinking experience.  “It’s called a Black and Gold,” he proudly announces.  “I know it’s not much, but it’s my way of thanking you for a spectacular evening.  You’ve all done an amazing job and I’m certain we’ve created something special together.  Please raise your glasses and join me in a toast.”

Everyone grabs a shot glass and holds it high in the air.  “In the words of Vince Lombardi ... Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we catch excellence.  Here’s to the excellence that each of you demonstrated tonight!”

We all clink glasses and reply in unison, “To Excellence!”  Everyone begins chatting excitedly, complimenting Evan on his drink creation and congratulating one another on pulling off a successful night.  I sit back on my barstool and watch with great joy as Emmy hops into Adam’s waiting arms.  Camilla, who’s been hanging back and watching from a respectable distance, joins our little group, and congratulates her fiancé, Marcus, on his success, too.  Even Reese and Derek exchange compliments while Natalie and Ryker do the same.  Watching my dearest friends in the world celebrate together makes me feel like a proud parent.  This is exactly what I’ve worked so hard for – to share my joy, my dreams, and my achievements with those I love the most.