Promises Forgotten
Chapter 30

Leaning against the Corvette, I waited for Evie. After playing the first dance for the bride and groom, she told me to wait outside and we could leave together. Jacket off and put in the trunk, I had my sunglasses back on. The front door opened and I inhaled sharply. Evie bounded out in white jeans that were slightly distressed. The top, or lack thereof, was a black tube top that was a second skin on her already tanned skin.

“Come on, pretty boy, pick that jaw off the ground and let’s go!”

The smirk played on her lips and she hopped over the side of the Corvette without even opening the passenger door. Shaking my head, I got in the driver’s seat and started up the engine. Evie squealed and as we pulled out, she refused to stop laughing. She stood up, putting her arms up as the wind blew around her. Taking out my phone, I snapped a quick picture of her. This was the third photo I had taken, and I never took photos.

“Where are we headed?” She asked as she plopped down in the seat.

I shrugged, just driving back toward downtown Vegas.

She leaned forward and fiddled with the navigation until we had a destination about an hour away. “Lake Las Vegas, baby! It’s not as cool as the Colorado River but it’s also not as f*****g far.”

“I’ve never been outside the strip, so anywhere you take me is going to be new.”

Evie grimaced. “You’re such a tourist. That’s gross. Haven’t you been on a summer trip to the Grand Canyon ever?”

I laughed this time. “Cancun maybe. Or the French Riviera. I think the last real family trip I had was in Italy when I was thirteen.”

“Holy hell. Who the f**k are you?”

Raising my eyebrow, I glanced at her. She was fully turned to me, a shocked look on her face.

“Do you really not know?”

The shocked look was replaced by the smirk. “You know, your f*****g ego needs to be taken down a notch.”

“You’re a business student, Evie! For god’s sake. You at least have probably seen my father on the front of business magazines. Even I have been on the front of them.”

“What?”

I threw up my hands. “Zachary Anderson, son of Harold Anderson, Grandson of Elliot Anderson.”

A silence filled the car. I snuck a glance at her, but the look on her face was unreadable. After a couple minutes, she finally spoke.

“Pull the car over.”

“What?” Lifting my sunglasses up, I looked at her, confused.

“I said pull the f*****g car over!” She yelled and I did as she asked.

Slowing the Corvette to a stop, she jumped out in the middle of the f*****g desert and started to walk away from the car. At first, I was stunned. Turning off the car, I opened the door and stood up. Panic started to set in when I realized she was walking away from me. Slamming the car door shut, I jogged after her.

“Evie!”

“No no. Don’t. Just don’t.”

Running my hands through my hair, I shook my head. “It’s the middle of the desert, Evie, you can’t just f*****g get out and walk!”

She turned on her heel and glared at me. “Zachary f*****g Anderson of the Anderson and A. Wright Group. That Zachary Anderson? First born to the f*****g Anderson empire?”

“Yes.”

Throwing her hands up, Evie turned and started to walk away again.

“What the hell is wrong with that?” I yelled at her, frustrated at her continuously turning her back on me.

This time, she whipped around and stomped up to me. Her tiny figure managing to make me feel small. “What do you mean ‘what’s wrong with that’? Everything, Z! I’m not from your f*****g world!”

“You already knew that!”

She scoffed. “No! I knew we were on different levels, not different f*****g worlds. Shit. Shit shit shit.” Her hands went up into her hair and she turned away, aimlessly walking.

“It doesn’t matter!” My voice hitched a little.

“It does, Z! Either you get pulled down with me or you drag me up with you. Either way we will be uncomfortable. This…this can’t…we can’t…” Her voice broke and I could see tears in her eyes.

Within moments I pulled her into my arms and held her tight. My chin rested on her head and I felt her shoulders shake. For the first time, I was forced to really take in my position. What it meant to the rest of the world. She was right. Evie was able to see it much faster than I could but right now, with her in my arms, I could care less about any of it.

“It doesn’t matter.” I cooed, gently rubbing her back.

“It does.” She sobbed into my chest.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I won’t let it.”

Evie shook her head. “It doesn’t just work like that, Z. The world won’t see it like that. Your family won’t see it like that.”

“What about your family?”

“I have none, Z. I have no one. I’m an orphan who has literally nothing to her name. I don’t even own a f*****g car. My bank account right now has just enough money to pay for the college culinary trip to France. I work two jobs to pay for school with what doesn’t get covered by the scholarships. I’m no one. Literally the bottom of the barrel.”

Lifting her chin, so I could look in her eyes, I smiled. “You have me now, Evie.”

She turned her head, tears falling down her face. “I can’t have you. I’m not…”

“It doesn’t matter, Evie. I won’t let it. I can’t. I refuse to let you go and if it means I let go of everything else in my life, then so f*****g be it. Just stop…walking away.”

We had a few moments where the only motion was our chests rising and falling or the wind blowing our hair. Tears filled her eyes again as she looked me in the eyes. I wiped the tears before they had a chance to fall.

“I can’t be responsible for your downfall, Z. I can’t do it.” Her voice was barely above a whisper.

“It’s not…”

She pushed against me and stumbled back. “I can’t do that! I love you! I have no other way to f*****g explain this feeling but I f*****g love you, Zachary Anderson, and I cannot live with myself if I drag you down with me!” Her cries made me freeze.

Did she just confess? Is that what we were feeling? This magnetism? Was it actually love? The small crisis I was having in my head was only made worse by Evie pacing back and forth in the desert. She was mumbling to herself in Spanish, clutching the necklace she had on. My eyes followed her every move. Every kick she brought dust around her, ever movement of her mouth and the wrinkle of her nose. She shook her head and I saw more tears fall down as she continued to mumble.

Slowly walking toward her, she didn’t even notice until she spun to pace the other way, and slammed into my chest. My hands cupped her cheeks and I held her face up to me. My lips met hers, softly and gently I kissed her. At first, she froze but it didn’t take long for her arms to creep under my arms, her hands grabbing my shoulders. She pulled me in closer and reciprocated with as much, if not more passion that I did. My hands slid down to the small of her back and I held her close to me. We broke to breathe, and I could see her eyes were closed. My forehead touched hers and I closed my eyes as well.

“I love you too, Evie. I’ve never felt this way about anyone. I won’t lose you. I promise to take care of you…of us. I was supposed to fly back tomorrow but I can’t. I’m staying with you. I’m not letting you go. Give me a chance to prove myself. Please.”

Evie was quiet. My heart was hammering in my chest and I stared at her face. She still hadn’t opened her eyes. The fear and panic started to build up again but when she finally opened her eyes, everything I was feeling melted away. Her eyes were the deepest pools, and I was sinking deep in them.

“How is it possible?”

This time, I smiled. “My grandfather told me sometimes lightning strikes and a love so deep and so meaningful crosses your path that doesn’t care about time or status. That you just know. It happened to him and I thought he was crazy.” Chuckling, I was rewarded by a smile on her face.

“Maybe we were lovers in a past life? We spent a lifetime together and now if feels the same.”

Shrugging, I took her hands in mine and laced my fingers with hers. Bringing them up, I kissed the back of her hands.

“It doesn’t matter. As long as you promise to stay. We will figure it out. Just stay with me, Evie. Stay…please. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.”

At first, she started to shake her head and then stopped. “I’m a f*****g adult. Making adult decisions. How can I possibly believe in love at first sight?”

“Easy.” I lifted her head again and let her eyes find mine. “Like this.” My lips found hers again but it was short and chaste. When I pulled away, she was still watching me. The quiet stretched out again but I didn’t feel nearly as uncomfortable.

“Alright.” She nodded after taking a deep breath. “I don’t think I could fight…this…anyways.” She gestured between us.

Laughing, I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. “Can we please get back in the car? It’s f*****g hot in the sun.”

She snorted and rolled her eyes. “New Yorkers. Pansies in the heat.”

Getting back in the car, I pulled onto the road again and there was a comfortable silence that settled between us. After a few minutes, I felt Evie’s hand snake into mine and she laced her fingers with mine. Bringing it up, I kissed the back of her hand.

“We will make it, Evie. I promise.”

She sighed, but chuckled. “My full name is Evelyn Harris, but I hate being called Evelyn. My older friends call me Evie, which I prefer. Some of my college friends have taken it upon themselves to call me Ev just because it’s quicker to yell across the kitchen.”

“My mother died when I was thirteen. My father remarried later, but didn’t tell us he did until two years into his marriage.”

She balked. “What the f**k?”

I nodded. “My grandfather was the one who took care of us a lot between the age of thirteen and nineteen when he passed away.”

“My father passed away five years ago. I was sixteen and still in high school. The Delgado family took me in. They had helped for the last year that my dad was sick, but they also helped me finish out my high school before I left for college. The chef you met last night, his family.”

“So, when he asked who taught you Spanish…”

She laughed. “He did. His whole family did.”

I stared at the road, thinking about what she said.

“I guess we both are a little f****d up in the family area.”

Shaking my head, I snorted. “You haven’t met my mother, or my step-mother rather. She’s…something else.”

“Great.” I heard her mumble and I barked out a laugh.

“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”

She huffed. “A goddess doesn’t need protection from mere mortals.”

“Maybe. But having a champion wouldn’t be that bad now, would it?” I glanced at her and she was looking at me, a smile lighting up her face and eyes.

“No. I guess not.”