Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 92547 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92547 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
My phone rang, interrupting my trip down memory lane. It was Evan, speak of the devil. We’d finally exchanged numbers last night. Maybe his ears were burning after all of the thinking about him I’d been doing this afternoon.
“Hey,” I answered.
“Where are you?” he asked, sounding a bit urgent.
My heart sank at the tone of his voice. “Is everything okay?”
Chapter 11
* * *
CHLOE
“Everything is fine,” Evan assured me. “Sorry to worry you.”
My pulse calmed. “Okay…”
He repeated his question. “Where are you?”
“At the storage unit.”
“I figured you might be there.”
“What’s up?”
“I hate to ask, but do you think you could come back here for like an hour? There’s a leak at one of my properties, and the management company is dropping the ball on having their people get down there in time. I’m gonna try to handle it myself, and I can’t leave Effie.”
“Gosh, of course. I’ll come back right now.”
“I appreciate it. I wouldn’t bother you if it wasn’t an emergency. The tenant is freaking out because she has guests coming in tonight, and her damn bathroom is a disaster.”
“Don’t even worry about it. I was wasting time daydreaming just a second ago.” Daydreaming about you. “It’s the least I can do.”
Ten minutes later, I pulled up at his house. He’d been waiting for me at the door and rushed out the moment I arrived.
I waved goodbye and turned to find Effie sitting at the kitchen table, drinking a chocolate milk.
“Hey, you.” I tossed my bag on a chair. “Looks like we’re gonna be hanging out for a little while.”
“Cool.” She slurped the last of her drink.
“What do you want to do?” I asked as I took a seat across from her at the table.
“Did my dad break up with Naomi?”
Talk about cornering me. This little girl did not play.
Evan had mentioned that Naomi gave him an ultimatum, but I wasn’t entirely sure of their final status or if they’d been back in touch with each other.
So I shook my head. “It’s not any of my business, honey.”
“Wanna make friendship bracelets?” she asked.
“That sounds like a ton of fun.” I smiled, relieved that she’d changed the subject. I didn’t feel comfortable discussing that situation with her.
“I have a kit I haven’t opened yet,” she said.
“Well, go get it.”
The chair skidded as she got up and ran to her room.
I rolled up my sleeves and made space on the kitchen table for us.
Effie returned with a pink box that was sealed in plastic. She broke it open.
“Have you ever made these before?” I asked.
She shook her head. “This is my first kit. I was saving it.”
“Well, cool. I’m honored, then.” I leaned my elbows on the table. “I’ve never made bracelets either, so we’ll be learning together.”
Effie dumped out the colorful beads, some of them falling to the ground. We separated them by type: letters, shapes, and sparkly pieces. We chose our colors carefully, and it was adorable the way Effie’s little tongue stuck out the corner of her mouth as she concentrated.
Over the next hour, she and I made a bunch of bracelets for her friends and then three other bracelets for her, me, and Evan.
Later that evening, Evan walked in carrying another bag of Chick-fil-A.
Effie jumped up and ran to him. “Chick-fil-A again?”
“Don’t get used to it. This’ll be the last night for a while. It’s late, so I knew I wouldn’t be able to make dinner.”
“This is the best day ever!” Effie cried.
He looked between us, seeming a bit surprised by Effie’s joyful demeanor. “You guys doing all right?”
She returned to the table and lifted one of the bracelets, running back to hand it to him. “We made you this.”
Evan’s eyes widened as he looked down at it. “You opened the bracelet kit?”
“Yup.” She nodded.
He placed the bracelet on his wrist. “Well, I might just wear this and never take it off.”
“If you wear yours, I’ll wear mine,” Effie said.
I lifted my arm. “And I’ll do the same.”
Evan’s eyes locked with mine. “Thank you,” he mouthed.
I nodded with a smile and mouthed back, “Of course.”
He stared down at his bracelet and cleared his throat. “We should eat before the food gets cold.”
“Let’s move our mess from the table, Effie,” I said.
The three of us sat down and devoured the Chick-fil-A. Then Evan sent Effie to take a shower, and he and I cleaned up.
“Did you fix the leak?” I asked as I put trash in the bin.
“After much trial and error, yeah. The plumber the management company sent showed up right when I was done.”
“Was he impressed with your work?”
“He was, actually,” Evan said proudly. “Thank you again for staying with Effie.”
“We had a great time,” I said. “Whenever you need me to stay with her, just let me know. It’s the least I can do when you’re not even charging me rent.”