His focus shifted to Digger, who wasn’t laughing or flashing so much as a smirk. While remaining as stoic as ever, the former SEAL gave a simple shrug of a shoulder. And for Dig, that was almost as good as a smile.
One of these days, I swear, I’m gonna figure out what it is that makes that man tick.
But until then…
He turned and looked to where Evie was sitting with the girls. Alex said something to the group, and they all burst into hysterical laughter.
Including Evie.
“See?” Falcon gave Beckett’s bicep a friendly slap. “What’d I tell you? She fits right in.”
As if she could sense he was watching her, Evie glanced his way. She gave him a tiny wave, and Beckett smiled back, his entire chest filling with warmth as his heart began to swell.
He’d assured her she’d get along with Avery, Nicki, and Alex, so it really came as no surprise. But seeing the proof behind that beautiful wide smile of hers, and Beckett knew…
I’m never gonna let her go.
“Uh oh. I know that look.”
Evie tore her gaze from Beckett to find Nicki looking at her from across the fire. Realizing the other woman was referring to her, she asked the pretty blonde, “What look is that?”
“The one currently plastered all over that pretty face of yours.” Apollo’s wife shot her a knowing smile.
I have a look?
“I don’t know what you’re?—”
“She’s right, you know?” Avery’s expression matched that of Nicki’s. “You look at Beckett the same way Nick looks at Ethan, and how?—”
“Avery looks at Garrett,” Nicki finished for the other woman.
Evie glanced over at Alex, who was taking a sip of her wine. “Don’t look at me.” Alex sat her nearly empty glass onto the small accent table between them. “I live a perfectly contented single life. But…”
“But what?” she was almost afraid to ask.
After a quick glimpse at both Avery and Nicki, Avery’s sister looked back at Evie and grinned. “They’re both right. And, for what it’s worth, Beck looks at you the exact same way.”
He does?
Unable to keep from it, she stole a quick glance Beckett’s way. Her heart leaped and butterflies flourished when she saw what the other three meant.
He does.
“Oh, yeah.” Alex’s confident tone pulled Evie back to the conversation. “Stick a fork in her, girls. She’s done.”
Not pretending to misunderstand the other woman’s meaning, Evie simply lifted her glass to her smiling lips, letting the sweet red vino pass slowly over her tongue. They weren’t wrong in their astute assessment of her feelings toward Beckett. She was far too gone where the hostage rescue specialist was concerned.
The last few days had been absolutely incredible. They’d talked and laughed… Evie couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed as much as she had with Beckett. But they also had more important, more serious conversations, too.
Evie had told him all about her mother and how she’d lost her when she was eight. Bad weather and unsafe speed had been the official cause of the accident, but what Evie remembered most was how she’d felt so utterly and completely alone.
She told Beckett what it was like growing up surrounded by a bunch of snobby, spoiled, rich kids. And how, as she’d grown older, she couldn’t wait to get away from East Hampton and out on her own.
The best parts of their conversations were when he’d do the sharing. How his voice grew soft with affection when he spoke of his mom. The way his tone filled with pride when Beckett told her about his dad.
She loved that his mom was a retired schoolteacher, and that Mr. Stone had spent his youth protecting the citizens of his city. Beckett swore she’d love them both, and from what the man had already shared, Evie couldn’t agree more.
So yes, she was “done”, as Alex had put it, and there wasn’t a single part of her that was sorry. The only thing left for them to figure out now was how to make a long-distance relationship work.