Saving Grace

SAM

After a sleepless night spent alone, I tried calling hospitals asking if an Evangeline Beckett had been admitted. Nothing. With no other ideas how to find my missing girlfriend, I drove to Evie’s parents’ house. Maybe they’d know where to look for her.

I stood on the porch in the cold, staring at the red door until it eventually opened. Evie stepped out on the deck, closing the door behind her. “Thank God you’re okay,” I said, whooshing out a relieved breath. I reached out to grab her in a hug, but she stepped back, face cold.

“What happened to you last night?” I asked.

“I wasn’t feeling well,” she said shortly.

“Well, are you okay? Is the baby okay?” She’d told me many times that the first few months of this pregnancy would be risky. I hated to think of her alone through a scary medical moment.

“We’re fine.” Evie’s sea-green eyes were laced with an anger that locked me out like shutters over a window. I couldn’t figure out why.

“I waited for you last night,” I said.

“Yeah, I, uh, went to bed early.”

“At your parents’ house?” I said, more confused than ever. “You don’t live here anymore. If you were tired after all the renovation work yesterday, you still could’ve come home. I would’ve let you sleep.”

She shrugged. “I wanted some space.”

“Why didn’t you at least text me?”

My last inquiry only sent the storm raging in her eyes to the next level. Her arms crossed over her chest as if she were guarding herself.

“Hey”—I reached for her—“are you sure you’re—”

“I saw you,” she said, ducking away from my touch.

~Saw me? Saw me what?~

“Okay?” I said. “You saw me…?”

“You and Carla. Kissing.”

My stomach plummeted, enough to make me question if it was still inside my body at all. Of course, Evie would happen to be outside at the exact moment Carla forced herself on me. That was just my luck.

“No, Evie, that wasn’t…it wasn’t what it looked like.”

“It’s funny. Those words…,” she said, tears welling in her eyes. “That’s ~exactly~ what Greg said when I caught him with Mia.”

I couldn’t blame Evie for being angry, now that I understood what she thought she’d seen. If I had seen Evie in a situation like that with her ex, I probably wouldn’t have shown up to dinner either.

“No, Evie, you don’t understand. She showed up out of nowhere, talking about how she wanted to get back together. When she kissed me, I was shocked and didn’t know what to do.”

“So you just let her kiss you?” Evie snapped.

“No, I—I didn’t let her. I stopped it.”

“I didn’t see you stop it.”

“Then you turned away before I did. Because I did. Evie…,” I begged. “I don’t want to be with anyone else. You’re it for me. You will ~always~ be it. If anything, Carla throwing herself at me only made that clearer.”

“You needed to make out with your ex to realize that you like me?” she rephrased.

“No! No, you’re twisting this around. I didn’t kiss her back at all. I ~stopped~ it, Evie.”

The blades of Evie’s stare were enough to kill a man. “I can’t do this again. I won’t.”

“W-what are you…,” I stuttered. “What do you mean by that?”

“We’re done, Vázquez.”

Those three little words left me feeling physically ill. “Evie, d-don’t…” I stumbled over my words. “Don’t do this.”

“I’m not doing this,” she said coldly. “I’m ~undoing it.”

This couldn’t be happening. How was everything falling apart in front of me? I was supposed to be engaged right now.

“W-what about the baby?” I asked.

“We can have a baby together and not be together. We’ll figure something out with visitation. Not today, though. Today, I need you to leave.”

Panic swelled throughout my core like adrenaline. The thought of raising a child with her and not being married to her was heart-wrenching.

“Look, Evie, I know that part of you is still hurt over what Greg did to you. But I promise, I would never cheat on you. I am ~not that guy.”

“I believed that,” she said. “Until last night.”

Nothing I could say was going to make her believe me. No matter how many words I fumbled, the hurt in her eyes was too strong.

Evie turned to go back inside. “Goodbye, Mr. Vázquez.”

“Evie, wait. Don’t—”

The door clicked shut, and the frigid clack of its deadbolt followed.

This couldn’t be happening. I couldn’t have just lost the love of my life over ~Carla~. Someone needed to talk to Evie. She needed to hear the truth from someone other than me. Thankfully, I knew just who to call.

I trailed from the porch, yanked my cell from my wool jacket, and pulled up my contact list to find the one person Evie might listen to.

***

As soon as I entered Finnigan’s Pub, my eyes darted toward the little loveseat where Evie and I had first met. The memory of that night was still so clear in my mind.

Evie’s black heels and dress, her chestnut curls, her sea-green eyes…she’d claimed my heart the second I laid eyes on her.

I nodded at the bartender, Jarred, as I went to perch on a stool by the counter. This early on a Sunday, everything was quiet, only a few serious drinkers staring into their beers.

“What can I get for ya, Sam?”

“I’m just waiting to meet somebody, but thanks anyway, J.”

“No problem, man. Let me know if anything changes.”

The bell over the door rang, and I darted my gaze in that direction. Saanvi wore a disapproving look as she strolled toward me. I rose from my seat to meet her, gesturing for her to join me on the loveseat.

She shook her head, standing with her arms folded. “I should’ve called the cops the day I caught you snooping through my sister’s jewelry box.”

“It didn’t happen the way Evie thinks,” I said, feeling desperate. If I couldn’t convince Saanvi, then I was well and truly fucked.

“Are you calling my sister a liar?” Saanvi demanded.

“No. No, not at all. I love your sister. I had this big dinner planned last night, and I was gonna ask her to marry me.”

“And somehow that turned into you making out with your ex-wife?”

“We weren’t—” The mere suggestion of it made me want to throw up. “We weren’t making out.”

Saanvi cocked a brow as if she was still questioning me and my integrity.

“Please…” I gestured toward the couch again. “Just hear me out.”

She shot me a curt nod and perched on the sofa’s arm. I rounded the other end to sit beside her.

Saanvi seemed to loosen toward me as I explained exactly what happened. I’d give anything to change what Evie had seen last night.

Maybe Evie was right, and I was partially to blame. I should’ve recognized that Carla was trying to kiss me and blocked her before she could make contact. I should’ve left her out in the cold and not answered the door. I should’ve cut her out of my life long ago.

“The day I met Evie changed everything for me…she showed me that I was capable of being loved and respected. And I love and respect the hell out of her. Carla is nothing—less than nothing.”

Saanvi rolled her eyes. “Ugh.”

~What? What did I say?~

“I hate all this sappy shit,” she grumbled. “Look, do you want to marry my sister, or don’t you?”

“Of course I do.”

“Then never stop trying to make this up to her,” she said. “Do something big—something that shows Evie that you mean business.”

“That’s exactly why I called you,” I said, inwardly cheering that Saanvi was on my side now.

She narrowed her gaze. “What do you have in mind?”

I explained my plan and what I needed.

“Seriously?” Saanvi raised her brows. “You want me to help you throw together a proposal of this size in just a few hours?”

“No. I want you to help me throw together a wedding.”