Page 28 of First in Line

The shrill ring of a phone resonates before she can answer, and Nathan quickly takes it out of his pocket. “I’m sorry, we have a complicated case at the office, and I really have to take this.”

Evie nods as he stands up and walks away, picking up the call. As soon as we’re alone, Evie leans forward and whispers, “Of all the places you could have picked, you really decided to go for the most expensive restaurant you could find?”

She seems angry at me for it, even though I offered to pay for everything. “Princess, it’s Denver. It’s not like there was that much of a list to choose from, was there?”

“Literally anything else, Jax. The Chinese restaurant around the corner would have been perfectly fine.”

“For you, yes. Not for me.”

“When did you become such a snob?”

“You’d be impressed by how fast one gets used to luxury.”

She shakes her head and returns her attention to the listed dishes. It’s taking a while for her to pick, and I now understand why. She’s being mindful of the price tag, which is ridiculous.

“Evie, let me pay for tonight,” I insist.

“I don’t need your money.Wedon’t need it.”

Now she’s starting to piss me off. “I owe you a whole fucking house, Evangeline. Let me pay for this.”

She looks up again, jaw ticking with annoyance. “It was a silly pact two teenagers made a very long time ago,” she counters. “You owe me nothing, Jax.”

“Of course I do.”

She looks at the ornate ceiling briefly. “There wasn’t even two thousand dollars in that bundle, Jackson. You’re blowing this way out of proportion.”

“You gave me so much more than that. I owe you everything, Evie.Everything. I wouldn’t have made it without you. You were there, day after day, when it was the hardest, when no one else was supporting me. You gave me a chance before anyone else. And for that, I owe you a lot more than a house.”

My words seem to affect her, doubt flashing before her eyes as she remains silent, digesting what I just said. Whatever she might have answered is robbed from me by Nathan’s return.

“So, do we know what we’re splitting, honey?” he asks as he sits back down.

Only then does she rip her gaze away from mine to offer him a small grin. “If you really want the lamb, you can have it. I’ll let you try whatever I order.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

He seems satisfied with that decision as he takes a sip of wine. “Oh, that’s delicious. So, Jackson, you were about to tell me what it’s like to be the world’s greatest driver.”

“That might be a little much.”

“So you’re suddenly humble?” Evie interrupts. “Three years of winning the championship in a row. Four in total. And with a very young team. Youarethe best driver in the world.”

Hearing it from her has me smiling like an idiot. “If you say so…” I turn to her fiancé and say, “It’s a lot of pressure. A lot of jetlag. And a fuckton of sponsor work.”

“And a lot of women too, right?” Evie gives him a slight jab with her elbow. “What? We’ve all seen the pictures with the models, actresses, singers… You’re a busy man.”

I don’t feel comfortable discussing all that, especially not in front of Evie, so I dismissively say, “Honestly, I’ve come to realize that none of that really matters without the right person to share it with.”

“It’ll come, buddy, don’t worry. I, myself, almost lost faith in love, but then I met this woman right here.”

“When did you two meet?” I ask, wondering why I’m doing this to myself.

“Two and a half years ago. Then we dated for two years, and I realized I wanted to marry her. And here we are now.”

Two years. It took this fucking tool two years to know. “That’s interesting…” I can’t help but say.