The Scarlett Legacy (Woodland Creek)(36)

He sighed. “Do I have to keep explaining myself to you, Evie? What is it going to take for you to really understand what’s happening here? None of this was about my father, or your father, or Wes. It was about you. Always has been.”

Face flushing, Evie looked away. She could barely breathe at that revelation.

Her heart stopped when she looked up. Before her stood Parker’s parents.

Dressed in their best, they looked at her with confusion on their faces.

“Evie,” Parker’s mother said. Her blue eyes looked from Avalon to Evie, and back.

“Mrs. Drake,” Evie said in a flabbergasted whisper.

“What is going on here?”

Evie avoided Elliot’s eyes. She knew her cheeks were red as an apple. No words would come to explain what was happening.

Avalon stood. He reached a hand out to Elliot.

“Avalon Prince,” he said. “You must be the famous Drakes.”

Elliot nodded, his icy glare fixed on Evie.

She wished she could just be struck dead at that moment.

“That’s us,” Elliot said.

“Evie here is quite the writer, isn’t she?”

Evie shot him a look.

What was he talking about?

Elliot’s face softened, only slightly as he nodded to Avalon. “She is. What’s going on?”

Avalon motioned to Evie. “I’ve just commissioned this young prodigy with writing my memoirs. We are discussing the project. Would you like to join us?”

Elliot’s eyebrows lifted, as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

“Oh no,” he said. “Not at all.” He winked at Evie. “We all knew she’d be a famous writer one day.”

Evie forced a smile, relieved that both of Parker’s parents had stopped shooting bullets into her body with their eyes.

“You two enjoy your dinner,” Parker’s mother said. She pulled her pink cardigan closer and smiled at Evie. “You look nice tonight, sweetie. It was good to see you again before you and Parker leave town.”

Evie nodded, speechless. She watched as the Drakes left their table and followed the host to a table of their own.

Once they were out of eye sight, Evie downed her entire glass of wine.

Evie turned to Avalon.

“Can we leave? Please,” she pleaded.

Avalon’s face was unreadable. Why did he lie for her?

He nodded, reaching a hand for her.

Without a word, he put a hundred dollar bill on their table and they left the restaurant.

Outside, they waited for Avalon’s car to pull around.

Silence filled the air, but Evie still shook with fear. The look on the Drake’s faces would haunt her. She couldn’t bear to think of them hating her.

“Why did you do that?”

Avalon saw her there, shivering, and put his suit jacket over her shoulders.

“I told you, Evie. I’m not a monster,” he said. “I know you were with Parker Drake. He obviously didn’t tell them what’s transpired between the two of you. This was not the way they should find out.”

Evie closed her eyes against tears.

“Thank you,” she said.

Why was she thanking him? He was the reason for all of this.

When she opened her eyes, she was ready to give him a piece of her mind. Instead, her breath caught in her throat as he pulled her close to his body by her waist.

Her lips parted as he looked down at her.

“I did that because you looked absolutely mortified,” he said, his voice lowering as his face was inches from hers.

She closed her mouth, her eyes going to his full lips.

“And I’d do anything in my power to protect what is mine.”

“So,” Evie said, licking her lips. “You’re saying that I’m yours.”

Avalon pulled her body tight to his, leaving no room between them or any room for doubt about what he wanted.

He kissed her lips, hard, yet with such passion that her eyes fluttered closed, her heart melted, and her core heated at his touch.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” he said before letting her go.

Breathless, and a bit woozy, Evie stood there unsteady on her feet. The memory of his intense kiss wouldn’t fade no matter how hard she tried to push it aside.

He reached for her hand as the car pulled out front.

“Let’s go home,” he said. It wasn’t a request.

Evie nodded. What am I doing?

“Okay.”





THUNDER CRACKED AND ECHOED throughout the halls of Albrecht Mansion. Evie woke and sat up in her new wooden canopy bed. Another loud boom resounded across the sky and lightning followed, crashing into the forest outside her window.

She grabbed her pink kimono robe and crossed her room to look out the bay window.

It was the third day that rain fell in torrents like this. It was as if her moving into Albrecht Mansion angered the gods. Such a storm was sure to flood the town if it didn’t let up soon.

She glanced at her clock as it ticked on her wall next to her wardrobe. It was three a.m. and she knew she would not be able to fall back asleep.

Might as well study, she thought.

She grabbed her satchel for school and slid her feet into her slippers to head for the study. Outside her room the halls were dark and silent. She held her breath as she looked from side to side, and listened for any sounds of life.