“Are you still hungry?” he asked.
“No, just a bit tired. Overwhelmed I guess.”
He hoped he hadn’t fucked everything up by coming on so strong. She deserved to be courted, to be taken on dates and spoiled. Although he planned to do all that, she was being thrust into something she never asked for. She may be impressed with the things he owned, but he was much older than her and didn’t want to assume she was attracted to him. Maybe she didn’t want a man at all.
He still couldn’t let her go. The thought of her returning to her old life made his hackles rise. His need to protect her, to turn her life around, was his top priority. But would she ever want him in return? Or only accept him because the choice was taken away from her?
Fuck, he should have listened to Bastian. She was going to think he was a serial killer or some crazed overbearing fatal attraction. He wanted her to love him, not be afraid of him like almost everyone else he’d encountered.
“You’re definitely entitled to feel overwhelmed. What are you thinking?” he asked.
“You say you like me, but it still doesn’t make sense.”
“Does it have to make sense?” he asked. “Tell me, little one. Do I scare you? Am I pushing too hard?”
“I want to believe you. Trust me, Ireallywant to believe you.”
“That’s good. I thought you’d say I was too old to date.”
She bit her lip again and it was the fucking sexiest thing he’d ever seen. “I don’t care about things like that.”
Of course she wouldn’t. The girl was a saint. And he didn’t deserve her.
“Then I’m officially asking you out on a date, like I should have in the very beginning. Can I take you out to dinner tomorrow? Anyplace you want.”
In that moment, Evander thought of all the people who’d begged him for their lives, the men who’d implored him to have a heart. Emotion had never fazed him. Empathy wasn’t one of his weaknesses. But Callie made him feel as fragile as an eggshell. Like her rejection would cause him to crumble into nothingness.
“I’d like that.”
And just like that, those three little words made his entire world make sense again. She had no idea the power she wielded. He’d do absolutely anything for her.
****
Callie spent the night in Evander’s home. It felt wrong and inappropriate on some levels, but he never tried a thing. After dinner, he showed her to a fully-stocked guest room and she hadn’t seen or heard from him since. In fact, the house had been eerily quiet, as if there was no one there but her.
She’d thought a lot about their conversations before falling asleep. Callie would be a fool to push away a man like Evander. He was perfect—handsome, buff, protective, and attentive. She had to admit it was addicting being wanted and desired. That’s why it was so hard to believe anything he said. She was expecting him to start laughing, telling her it was all a big prank. And Callie didn’t want her heart broken. She’d already lost so much in her life.
There was a loud knock on the bedroom door, startling her. She’s slept through the whole night, and it took her a minute to figure out where she was.
When she cracked open the door, Evander was standing on the other side with a paper bag and a huge bouquet of flowers. “I hope you’re hungry.”
“What is all this?”
“I grabbed some breakfast pastries. Coffee is brewing.” He looked so happy, so full of life. “And these are for you.”
He passed her the bouquet. No one had ever given her flowers before. She was close to tears, at a complete loss for words. She cradled the bouquet, breathing in the subtle scents of the flowers.
“I love them. Thank you,” she said. When she looked at him again, she did a double take, tilting her head as she studied his face. “Did you hurt yourself?”
He frowned, using his free hand to touch his jawline. There was a fresh cut that wasn’t there last night.
As quickly as he’d frowned, he smiled again, brushing away her comment. “Just a little shaving mishap. Come to the kitchen. I’ll get all these out of the bag.”
She hadn’t heard anyone walking in the halls this morning. That’s how deeply she’d been out.
“How was your sleep?” he asked once they arrived in the kitchen.
“Surprisingly good.”