“Hello there Amelia,” says the smooth velvety voice of a man that should not be in this house a day early.
I slowly turn around, and as suspected, I see Evan looking just as devastatingly handsome as I remember him on the night when he showed up at the club to pick me up. Wearing a charcoal gray three-piece suit, expensive looking watch and a pair of expertly polished black shoes.
“Thanks, Teddy. I’ll take it from here. Happy Thanksgiving.” Evan waves at him.
“Happy Thanksgiving guys. You two have fun!” Teddy croons as he shuts the door behind him.
“So, how was the drive up? Hope you didn’t hit too much traff—”
“What are you doing here?” I shout, only to startle myself at how far my voice has traveled within this mega home.
“Well now Amelia, that’s no way to treat your host.” He tsks and starts to walk away from me. “Should I give you the tour now or do you want a bite to eat? There’s a freshly made charcuterie board on the kitchen island if you’re interested,” he offers.
“What do you mean host? I thought Vanessa and Abby were hosting this! Or at the very least organizing the Airbnb side of things. What, you offered to pay for some stuff and now you’re the Thanksgiving host all of a sudden?”
“Amelia.” Evan smiles.
“That doesn’t make any sense. Plus, I was supposed to get here a day early and have the place to myself, not have you lurking around every corner,” I complain.
“Well…”
“Today was supposed to be a day where I got some peaceful ‘me time’ away from the city and everyone that stresses me out. Which by the way, you’re at the top of that list now, thank you very much.” I cross my arms over my chest.
“What did I—” Evan starts.
“I’ll just call Abby to confirm the details and prove that you are intruding on my one day vacay and I’m sure you can find yourself a Four Seasons somewhere nearby—”
“Amelia,” Evan groans while rubbing his eyes.
“What!” I yell as I rummage through my purse, looking for my phone to call Abby.
“Are you done? May I speak?” Evan asks, his patience clearly slipping.
I take a deep breath and give him my full attention. “Fine.”
He takes a moment, then unfurls a massive grin. “Amelia, from what I gather, I’m assuming that Abby, along with everyone else for that matter, happened to leave out the little detail that this very home you are standing in, belongs to me.” He smiles widely.
NO FUCKING WAY.
Realization hits me like a rogue wave, and I think back to my dad’s birthday party when Nikki barely let Abby speak when going over the Thanksgiving plans.
She knew.
“I’m going to kill her,” I whisper to myself as I stare off into the abyss.
“Amelia, babe. Who are you planning on killing?”
“Nikki. I’m going to kill her. She set me up,” I say as Evan gently starts to steer me deeper into his home.
“Yeah, I had a feeling I liked her.” He eyes me with an amused gaze. “Oh come on, it is a little funny.” He nudges me towards a kitchen island stool as I absentmindedly hop onto it.
I put my elbows on the counter and dig the heels of my palms into my eyes. “Ugh noooooooo. This wasn’t supposed to be the plan,” I moan.
Evan opens one of the massive refrigerator doors and nudges me on the shoulder with a water bottle he just retrieved. I look up at the water bottle and give him a death glare.
“Stronger Evan. I’m gonna need something much stronger,” I demand.
“It’s eleven thirty in the morning Amelia, and you should probably eat something,” he starts.
