Page 6 of The Man of the House (Steamy Shorts #19)

6

ELENA

E verything is a literal blur because from the moment I wake up to the minute I sit on the plane, I don’t stop crying. I’ve gotten weird stares from my fellow passengers and even had a concerned lady ask me if someone hurt me.

How can I tell her my heart is breaking and I feel a hollow ache in my chest? How can I explain that I found the love of my life, but had to leave out of fear of being judged by others?

I press my forehead to the cold window, trying to relieve the pain in my chest and the heavy weight in my stomach. Evan’s face flashes behind my eyes—his lopsided smile, the way his blue eyes glow when he’s happy, his muscles flexing with every move.

God, I love him. I love him so much it hurts.

Was I wrong? Did I make such a hasty decision that would end up hurting us both? Was I too wrapped up in others’ opinions that I sacrificed my own happiness? People like Mrs. Roberts shouldn’t have a say in my life or Mom’s. They’re nothing but vicious gossips who thrive on others’ pain.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Someone settles into the seat beside me, and it barely registers through my haze of sadness and heartbreak. I don’t think I can function properly anymore. My life before Evan seems so far away now, and it’s all I can do not to bawl my eyes out again.

I wipe my cheeks quickly, a bit embarrassed to be caught like this, and turn to apologize, expecting a stranger looking awkward and uncomfortable.

But it’s not a stranger.

It’s him. Evan.

I blink several times, wondering if I conjured him in my head, and I’m now seeing him everywhere. But no. It’s him. In the flesh.

My Evan.

My breath catches in my throat as the shock morphs into something warmer.

“Hi there,” he says. His voice is low and steady but heavy with emotion.

“Evan?”

His neck flexes as he searches my features. “I can’t let you go, Elena. I can’t. I’d die without you.” He swipes a finger across my wet cheeks. “I see you’re hurting too. Please don’t do this to us.”

I think about how my life has changed in just a few days. How I never felt as happy as I was when I was with him. How the world has more color because of him.

Will I let people like Mrs. Roberts take that away from me? People who don’t know us? People who only take one look and judge? People who will take every opportunity to gossip instead of help?

Society and its neat little box of expectations are driving me up a wall. I’ve always been the good girl. Go to college, work, lead a stable life, avoid scandals.

The old me and my old life. Was it living? Or was I simply existing?

I never wanted to fall in love with my stepdad—it wasn’t in my plans, obviously—but it happened. Evan was right. Mom was never the hateful, vindictive type. She would have been happy for us.

Mrs. Roberts was wrong. Mom didn’t have poor taste in men. On the contrary, Dad was an amazing guy. The type of father who always showed up. Who was there when I fell on my bike and scraped my knee. Who would wait outside school if I had to come home late, just so I wouldn’t walk alone.

Just because Dad didn’t make as much money as Mom did. Just because he came from a middle-class family. Just because he didn’t understand the need to constantly show off.

Dad was amazing, and so is Evan.

At the end of the day, Evan and I did nothing wrong. We just happened to fall for each other. We are not hurting anyone. We’re just two people trying to live our lives.

Just like that, the emptiness begins to fade and is replaced by lightness. Warmth seeps through my bones as I stare at the man who makes me feel like life is truly beautiful and truly worth living.

With a shaking hand, I touch his cheek and whisper, “Let’s run away, then.”

Evan’s handsome face splits into a grin. “I thought you’d never ask. I love you, Elena.”

I smile through the tears and sniff. “I love you, too, Evan.”