“You know, if we kiss now, it will probably be easier when we go out. I can focus on conversation better if I’m not wondering if your lips feel as soft as they look.” Evan’s thumb traced along my bottom lip as I struggled to stay upright. The hungry expression in his eyes as he gazed at me turned me into a puddle. Who was this guy? Since we admitted our attraction to each other, it was as if Evan had flipped a switch. He had been so shy that he kept his feelings to himself for years, but now he was melted sex on a stick.

“Maybe.” The word came out of my mouth in a throaty whisper. Evan laughed as he kissed my forehead. I closed my eyes as his lips lingered. He smelled so delicious; I wanted to bury my face in his neck and breathe him in. I let my hands run up his arms and meet at the back of his neck.

In a short time, the pull between us was becoming palpable. I glanced up at Evan as he darted out his tongue and licked his bottom lip. The more I stared at that beautiful mouth, the more I wanted to taste it.

I was just about to devour his lips when the door opened behind us and Jack loudly cleared his throat.

“I’d hate to interrupt this episode of The Bachelor, but the guys at the Murphy job have a problem. The customer is saying that what we’re installing isn’t what she asked for, so one of us needs to go over there with her signed estimate and straighten it out. Sorry, lover boy.”

“Say no more.” I held my hand up and turned to leave. “I’m done distracting your partner.” I leaned over and pressed a kiss on Evan’s cheek. “At least for now.” I whispered in his ear. He shut his eyes tight as his breath hitched.

“Tomorrow?” I cocked an eyebrow at him, and a slow smile spread across his face.

“Tomorrow.” Evan winked before turning back inside.

I laughed to myself as I strolled back to my car.

Life may have not turned out the way I wanted it to, but Evan may have been the best strange twist so far.

My bed looked like Old Navy threw up all over it. Why was I so damn jumpy? This was Evan, after all. Jack’s sweet friend, a harmless nice guy—who now made me weak in the knees with only a glance in my direction.

I decided on skinny jeans and a sleeveless green blouse that always got me a lot of compliments. I wasn’t sure if it was the color that brought out my eyes or the extra cleavage I showed. I liked the way Evan looked at me, but I wanted to turn it up a notch tonight. I pulled on flat strappy sandals since limping in heels if we had to walk anywhere definitely wouldn’t be sexy. I peered out the window of my first floor apartment. I lived in a two family house on a relatively quiet block. My neighbors were mostly families so there were always kids playing outside.

Evan pulled up in his silver pick-up truck. I didn’t call out to him as he parked. Instead, I watched like a creeper as he got out and then reached back over to the passenger’s seat to grab something—a bouquet of flowers. In my thirty-something years, I could count on one hand the number of times a guy brought me flowers, and that included my junior and senior proms, when flowers were a mandate, not a sweet gesture. Towards the end, Chris came home with flowers a couple of times, probably to cover up the guilt over screwing someone else.

I ran back inside. I didn’t want to look like the peeping Tom I really was. I closed the door to my bedroom so he wouldn’t see the mess, and gave the rest of the place a once over. I jumped when I heard the bell. I hadn’t been on a first date in three years, and if I didn’t calm my ass down I would completely ruin it. I took a deep, hopefully cleansing, breath, and made my way to the door.

“Hey, sorry it took so long to answer—” I stopped mid-sentence as my breath caught. Holy hell, he looked good. Evan wore a gray button down shirt that exposed his forearms, and black jeans. His arms were quickly becoming my favorite thing in the whole world. The shirt hugged his built frame perfectly. His eyes twinkled as he smiled at me.

“It probably took you a little bit to get from the window to the door.” He raised an eyebrow at me. Damn. I got caught. I gave him a sheepish smile and shrugged. What could I say? Evan’s eyes scanned my body before he looked away. Yes, this was the perfect blouse for tonight.

“You look . . . beautiful. As usual.” Evan smiled as he handed me the bouquet.

“Wow, flowers? You’re spoiling me.”

“I know it’s a little cheesy, but like I said, I’ve waited a long time for tonight so I wanted to do things right.” They were daisies; I was never going to shake that nickname.

“Daisies? The flower that makes everything beautiful just by being in the room?” A slow smile spread across Evan’s face.

“Just like another Daisy I know.” I opened the door to invite Evan in, and my cheeks got a little hot. I hoped I wasn’t blushing. It was as if I was sixteen and this was the first guy who ever took me out. Everything felt new and exciting, but still a little scary given my less than stellar relationship history.

“Let me just put these in water and we’ll get going. Thank you so much.” I pressed a light kiss on his cheek, and the air got thin for a moment. My heart skipped a beat as I waited for Evan to kiss me. He wrapped his arm around my waist, but only kissed my forehead.

“You’re very welcome.” I smiled into his neck and pulled him into a hug. Being in his arms felt amazing—thrilling but somehow familiar at the same time. We hadn’t even left my apartment and this was already the best date I ever had.

“So this place must be awesome if we’re driving over two bridges to get there.” I teased Evan as he drove.

“It’s really good, and Williamsburg is a cool place. I thought it would be nice to get out of the neighborhood and go somewhere new. Not worry about running into anyone we know.”

“Evan Jacobs, are you ashamed to be seen with me?” I clutched my chest in mock horror.

He shook his head. “No way. I just want you to myself tonight.” He reached over the console and laced our fingers together.

I let out a long sigh. Evan was too much. If I didn’t know him already, I would swear he was too good to be true. He was always so kind and sincere; I used to wonder why he was best friends with my smartass cousin.

The drive was over an hour long, but it seemed to go by quickly. Evan spent time around my family quite a bit, even sharing some holidays with us, but we never went anywhere alone together. I was surprised to discover how little we really knew about each other.

“I can’t believe you’re a Beatles fan. How did I not know this?” I flipped through the playlists on his iPod as we got to know each other better. He had every single Beatles song and a few awesome covers.

“My mom was a Beatles freak. That’s how I got my middle name.”

“What’s your middle name?”

“Jude. She wanted that as my first name, but my dad said absolutely not.”

“That . . . is adorable. Evan Jude Jacobs.” Evan chuckled as he shook his head.

“And if I was a girl, I would’ve been Lucy.”

“For Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. That’s awesome. I like your Mom. She sounds cool.”

The smile left Evan’s face as he nodded. “She was very cool. The best.”

I couldn’t imagine how terrible it would be to lose your mother at fifteen. After his mother died, Evan’s father had a breakdown. My heart broke for what Evan went through at such a young age, all by himself.

“I’m sorry you lost your Mom.” I had the sudden urge to jump over the console and hug him. How long had he been taking care of everyone except himself?

Evan shrugged. “Thank you. My Dad is another reason why I came back to the Bronx. He’s in an assisted living facility in Yonkers, so he’s not all by himself, but I never liked only being able to see him a couple of times a month.”