Finding Eva (Highland Creek Series) (33 page)
“Ok,” she said shyly.
“So we’re really doing this?” He was almost too excited to believe this was really happening.
“We are.” She grinned at him. “We have to take it slowly since I live here, but you’re it for me.”
“Forever.”
Six Months Later
“T
here you are.” Eva smiled as she heard Aaron’s voice in her ear. She turned in his arms, framing his face in her hands as she kissed him.
“I was up here with your sisters.” She gestured to Reagan and Addie, who were sitting in her bedroom in her mother’s house grinning like Cheshire cats.
“I see that,” he muttered, before kissing her forehead and looking at his sisters. “What do you guys think?” He gestured to her left hand, specifically the two carat princess-cut ring that sat on her ring finger.
“You did well,” Addie said, reaching up and hugging him, “Didn’t know you had it in you.”
“Ha, ha. Thanks, Sis.”
“Anytime.”
“You guys coming? The party is getting packed and Gwen just got here.” The party in question was their Christmas party at Eva’s house in Highland Creek; the first of many Eva was sure. They had been together for six months, and although they had their ups and downs, they really thrived. It was really hard to be two hours away from Aaron, but they spent most weekends together, which helped to alleviate the pain brought on by Sunday night.
Although Eva thought she was going to last the whole school year, an English position opened up at Highland Creek High School when the old teacher retired, and she knew if she didn’t snatch up the position it may not be there come June. So she had put in her notice, and was switching schools mid-year. As hard as it was, she knew that she was making the right choice, and she looked forward to living in the same town as her fiancé. She would be spending Christmas Day with her family and then moving all of her stuff into her mom’s house the first of the year. They still didn’t know which house they would live in, so they just decided to keep their stuff at their respective houses because they were in no hurry. Just living in the same town would be a dream.
Aaron and Eva had decided they were going to have a longer engagement to figure out where they were going to live and to give them time to enjoy each other before they had to plan a wedding. She was just excited to show off the ring, which was why she had taken a break upstairs with his sisters, but she knew that she needed to go back down to the rest of the party guests.
The party was in full swing when the foursome got back downstairs, and she was happy to see Gwen, even though she brought Nick with her. They had moved back in right after school started and she didn’t see Gwen as much as she used to. She didn’t trust Nick, and in the little time she had spent with him since he and Gwen were back together, he was overly friendly, something he never was before. He made her think he was up to something, but she knew Gwen would never question him.
To each his own
, she thought, and if Gwen was happy she was happy for her. She just couldn’t help but feel sad because she would miss Gwen while she was two hours away from her.
“Hey, doll, let’s see it!” Gwen hugged her excitedly before she grabbed her hand to look at the ring. Gwen was one of the first people she had called that morning after she talked to her family, and she was super excited to help plan the wedding. She squealed and told Aaron, “Nice rock.”
“Thanks! Although the ring is only as beautiful as the hand that wears it.” Eva blushed, still getting used to the constant compliments he gave her. She kissed his cheek, not wanting to show too much PDA in front of their families.
“Listen to you!” Gwen gushed. “I am so happy for you guys. Sad for me because my friend is moving two hours away, but happy for you.”
“You can always move here,” she half-joked, something she knew Gwen said she briefly considered because she loved the small town feel. Nick laughed mockingly, making Eva continue to hate him.
“No offense to you, but I think we’re perfectly happy where we are. Right, babe?” He looked at Gwen for confirmation.
She looked like she wanted to say something else, but she only smiled. “Of course, babe.” Eva wanted to talk to her. This was craziness when Gwen clearly looked anything but happy. And it wasn’t like she hadn’t given him plenty of chances. She should have dumped the asshole by now.
“Look, let’s mingle.” Gwen grabbed Nick’s shirt and pulled him into the crowd, hoping to avoid Eva and her questions. Eva would catch her later, because she was staying at the house with Nick.
The party was a success for much of the evening, and Eva couldn’t be more pleased with the result. Everything was going smoothly until the last thirty minutes when a fight broke out, something Eva had no control over. Most of the people had left so they didn’t witness the scene, but Eva could hardly believe it when she heard Gwen start screaming.
“Are you fucking kidding me?! You have been sleeping with the therapist?!”
“Babe, listen …”
Eva walked over to Gwen and Nick, not knowing what to do. This was like a train wreck, one of those things that you didn’t want to see although you couldn’t look away.
“No, you asshole. I trusted you, despite everything! I wanted to honor my commitment, what commitment? Fuck you, and fuck that bitch! Lose my fucking number; I never want to see you again.” Gwen turned on a dime, running up the stairs toward the room she would be sleeping in. Nick, never one for bright ideas, tried to follow her but was stopped by a solid wall of Sawyer men.
“I think you heard her ask you to leave,” Aaron said, not trying to be rude to a party guest, but damn. Gwen had become his friend over the past couple of months and he viewed her as a little sister.
“I just want to talk to my wife.”
“Is that the same woman that just asked you to lose her number?” This was from Conner, and Eva knew that if she didn’t step in soon it could get ugly. She never thought Conner got over his feelings for Gwen, and she knew he was ready to beat the shit out of Nick. Hell, they all were.
Eva turned to Nick, knowing he was more likely to listen to her because she was really the only person he knew at the party besides Gwen. She stepped in front of the guys, Aaron gripping her shoulder in support. “Nick, look, I can’t speak for Gwen completely, but it was hard enough last time. I think you and I both know you aren’t going to get another chance, so your best bet is to cut your losses. Give her a couple of days and then try and talk to her, but right now she does not want to see you. Go home, and if she has anything to say she will call you later.”
That seemed to get through to him because he nodded his head and turned to go, but she knew they hadn’t heard the last from Nick. He was like a dog with a bone when it came to something he wanted, and he clearly wanted Gwen, despite cheating on her twice.
“Well that sure went from sugar to shit.” She turned to Aaron, and kissed him. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Sticking up for my best friend.”
“Always.”
She smiled, knowing that he meant every word, because that was the kind of guy he was. Loyal and honest to a fault, he would always be there to fight for the underdog.
“Let me go check on her. You deal with all this.” She gestured to their guests, mostly his family and hers with just a couple of stragglers, who were standing silently and trying to understand what just happened.
“No problem.” He reluctantly let her go, kissing her one more time. “Love you.”
“Forever.”
The Highland Creek Series continues with Bryan and Stella’s story,
Saving Stella
. It will be available in October 2014.
It is not every day that you can merge your passion with your career, something that I have been very fortunate to do. There are not enough words to thank all the people who have been with me throughout this whole process. My family, friends, and all the wonderful people I have had the pleasure to work with and let me bounce ideas of them. To all the people who have read this story, thank you for taking a chance on a debut author.
Marie Garner hails from North Carolina, and has had her nose in a book for as long as she can remember. Story ideas have been floating around in her head for as long as she can remember when she finally decided to write them down. She is an avid football fan, often found rooting on her Washington Redskins or her alma mater NC State. She loves London, having lived there for a year, and loves taking all those crazy ideas to make stories you enjoy.
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