EVAN

“Did you see this blanket that Tina got for me? Feel it!”

Evan nodded and felt the blanket. “Yeah, real soft.”

He didn’t believe for one second that his parents had picked up these gifts for Yena on their trip to see Uncle Isaac.

It had to be from Nolan.

The fancy stuff had the rich dick’s name all over it.

But Yena was so happy. Her voice was practically cooing. And she didn’t even know that it was from the prince.

It made Evan jealous that he had such power over her. Could make her so happy like this.

“You have to smell this,” she was saying. She pushed a little purple box up to Evan’s nose.

It did smell nice.

“Mm. Pretty.” He gave Yena as much of a smile as he could manage.

To his relief, she didn’t seem to notice Evan’s discomfort.

“I’ll catch you later, Yena.” Evan retreated from her bedroom. “You enjoy your girly stuff.”

He gave her a playful wink on his way out the door. But once it was closed behind him, he rolled his eyes big time.

So the big jerk was not giving up on Yena, yet.

She’d left Nolan, but he was still sending her presents.

That meant that he wanted her back.

YENA

I’d been thinking about Nolan all day.

How are you doing?

I wrote this out in the text box, but then deleted it.

I wanted desperately to talk to him. But I couldn’t decide what to say. Where to start.

I was going to ask him about the fashion school. Ask for an update and see what he had to say about it.

But if he went ahead and lied to me… I wouldn’t know how to respond to that.

It’s not like I could confront him with what I learned from Adan.

I pictured how that would go…

“Hey, Nolan. I’ve been talking to your brother again, the one you hate…”

That was not a conversation that would end well.

With a sinking feeling, I realized it would actually look really bad for me, if Nolan found out about Adan. He thought Adan was a traitor. I wondered if Nolan might even think the same of me, or suspect…

Maybe I would just ask him who it was at the fashion school that he’d been talking to. Ask for that person’s contact information. That seemed safe enough.

But I looked at my phone again and realized I still didn’t know what to say first.

For whatever reason, when I put my fingers on the keypad, they just typed out:

I miss you…

I deleted it right away.

“No, do it! Tell him that you miss him and love him!”

That was Lily, of course.

I told her to stop being ridiculous.

I couldn’t tell Nolan that I missed him. What purpose would that serve? He was finished with me.

“He misses you too, I know he does… he loves you so much, Yena! Just call him!”

A little knock on my bedroom door told me Evan was on the other side.

“Come in,” I said, happy for a distraction.

“Hey.” He stepped inside.

“What’s up?” I sat up in bed and closed my phone, set it aside.

“Just wanted to ask if you’re busy tomorrow.”

“Free as a bird,” I said. “Why?”

“I want to take you somewhere, it’s a surprise. What do you say?”

“A surprise?”

“Yeah, just a short road trip. We’ll be back by sundown.”

I shrugged and said, “Okay.”

“Alright.” Evan smiled and slipped back out into the hall. “No run tomorrow, we’ll just do breakfast then hit the road.”

I laughed. Evan was so organized lately with all the plans. I couldn’t help that it still surprised and impressed me.

“I had this idea,” Evan said in the car, “when we were at the ice cream place. It reminded me of that other beach spot we went to as kids, the one that’s a little farther, with the campsite.”

“Ohh,” I said, thinking back. “Yeah, that place was really fun! We’re going there?”

“Yeah. Remember the spot with the waterfall?”

I did remember.

“Yes, it was beautiful. Oh, Evan, what a great idea!”

He grinned, pleased with himself.

“You’re not gonna fall asleep on the drive again though, are you?”

“I don’t think so,” I told him. “And sorry about that.”

“It’s fine. I’m just giving you a hard time.”

And I did stay awake this time. Evan and I talked the whole way there.

We went straight to the campsite, where Evan paid the parking fee at the entrance and asked the parking guy for directions to the waterfall. Then we drove a while longer, along a beautiful scenic road overlooking the ocean.

We heard the waterfall before we saw it. The sound of rushing water.

Then we rounded a corner and there it was. Just as stunning as I remembered it from all those years ago.

We parked in a camping area, and Evan revealed that he’d actually brought a picnic along with us, producing a basket and a couple blankets from the trunk of the car.

There was a perfect picnic bench with a view of the waterfall, so we sat and enjoyed our lunch, then took some pictures. It turned out to be a rare sunny day, with the clouds breaking apart just in time for our arrival.

I shivered just a little, and Evan immediately took off his jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders.

“You okay?” he asked. “Should we head back?”

“Maybe soon,” I said. I looked up at Evan as he wrapped his arms around me for warmth. He smiled down at me and I saw something in his eyes…

I was starting to realize that the feelings Evan had for me were not just about him wanting my body. He was feeling something else, too. Something heavier.

“He’s in love with you!!” Lily shouted at me suddenly, making me wince.

I had to admit she was probably right.

And when I thought about it, I realized that I loved Evan too.

I just wasn’t quite sure in which way, yet.

When we were kids, I loved Evan because he was my big brother and I had to. But this was a different person I was spending time with, now. Evan wasn’t a little boy anymore.

He was a strong, kind, and beautiful man. And he loved me.

One thing I knew for sure – I was done teasing Evan.

He didn’t deserve for me to be tempting him the way I’d been doing.

Well, maybe a little… But he’d been punished enough now.

The wind was getting stronger, so we decided it was time to get back in the car.

But I went over to the cliff’s edge to get one more look at the waterfall before we went.

Evan joined me.

The wind picked up my hair and he reached out for it, and gently pulled it around my neck neatly. Then he stood behind me and wrapped his arms around me.

His warmth was comforting, and so was his touch.

But suddenly my thoughts went back to a memory.

A time when Nolan and I had gone to our date night restaurant on the cliffs, by the palace. It had been dark out, with millions of stars shining in the sky.

I started wishing I was there with Nolan instead. That it was him standing beside me.

Not Evan.