Without her son.
Without her eldest son, anyway.
It would have been so much easier if Kelsey and Tony had simply asked for money. What they wanted--for him to watch over their mother--was exponentially worse.
Even as his emotion threatened to choke him, it was Paige who calmed his raging blood enough to quell the explosion. If not for the sweet feel of Paige beside him, he might have detonated like a bomb.
She was the only one who knew exactly what to say and how to say it, even during the worst of times. And she was the person he needed most on his side right now, warm, understanding, and nonjudgmental, despite the unbearable circumstances.
Level-headed Paige, the woman who could talk sense under pressure.
The woman he'd kissed with a depth of passion he hadn't felt in a very long time. Maybe ever.
The woman he felt next to him with every fiber of his being, her warmth, her gentle scent, the subtle movements of her body against his. During the past few minutes, he'd instinctively shifted closer. He honestly didn't know what he would have done without her. Nor did he know how he'd ever pay her back for her help.
Just the way he didn't have a clue how to deal with his brother and sister--and Theresa.
But a Maverick didn't waffle, damn it. He didn't hide. And he definitely didn't back down. He had to look Kelsey in the eye and make it clear that he was done with all these crazy turns his life had taken. That he was finally going to get things on track toward some semblance of normal.
Whatever the hell that was.
Only, just as he opened his mouth to lay it all out, his stomach growled. Loud enough that Paige's eyes widened.
As if a light bulb had flashed on over her head, she declared, "We should eat."
"Eat?" Evan and his sister spoke in surprise at the same moment.
"Yes." Paige smiled at Kelsey, then turned her gaze on him. "And while we eat, we can get to know each other better."
Evan knew she was absolutely right. He was on overload. And he'd learned a long time ago not to make decisions in the heat of the moment.
"Let's do pizza so we don't put Mrs. M to a lot of trouble," Paige said.
Whitney had always treated the Mortimers like servants. They were paid generously, so she thought that meant they didn't need please and thank you. Paige, however, was never without a kind word. He'd been comparing the sisters damn near every minute since he'd returned. It struck him now that he always had.
"Anyone gluten-free, lactose intolerant, vegetarian, despise anchovies?"
Paige's laundry list of pizza no-no's brought a laugh from Kelsey. "We love pizza with everything on it except the anchovies."
Paige wrinkled her nose. "Nobody likes anchovies."
"I like them," Evan said.
"You do not," she scoffed.
"Yes, I do."
"Then why have we never once had anchovies on pizza?"
"Because Susan always said they smell up the whole room."
"Susan is a very wise woman," Paige said, her smile so sweet, so all-encompassing that his heart actually melted. Just as it had two nights ago when he'd held her in his arms and kissed her with all the longing pent up inside of him.
As their back-and-forth about pizza toppings brought him down off the emotional tightrope, his gut feelings said that as long as Paige was here, he just might be able to get through this crazy day in one piece.
With Paige by his side, maybe he could handle just about anything.
Chapter Eleven
The pizza was gooey and good. Despite the growling of his stomach, Evan hadn't thought he'd be able to eat. But Paige somehow made it work, temporarily calming high emotions and defusing the biggest mines in the minefield.
No wonder Whitney had been so biting, so hurtful to her sister all these years. She'd been jealous.
"Why did you choose accounting, Kelsey?" Paige asked, keeping the conversation rolling, though tension still hung thick in the room.
"I was a bookkeeper for a local company when I was still in high school." Paige had already drawn out of them that both Kelsey and her brother had worked for their educations and received scholarships. Evan was glad they hadn't needed to resort to student loans, which could be crippling after graduation. "I like how numbers fit together," she continued. "If you're out of balance, there's always an answer. It's like piecing together a puzzle."
"She wants to be CFO of a big company someday." Theresa hadn't said much, but when she did speak, it was with pride for the twins. She finally looked up from her plate and into Evan's eyes. "Like you."
"Evan owns an investment company, Mom," Kelsey said. "I've got a lot more to learn at the CPA firm before I can move into industry."
"I know," Theresa answered softly, dropping her gaze again. "I just don't want you to underestimate yourself."
"We all have to start somewhere." Paige refilled her glass of ice water from the pitcher Mrs. M had put on the table. "What about you, Tony? What do you want to do once you finish your master's?"
Paige kept them talking, steering them past anything that had the potential for friction. She had a clear mission--for them to get to know one another--and she was sticking to it.
It was obvious why she made such a good psychologist. Evan had always known how smart, caring, and giving she was--but now there was a deep sensual awareness too. One he could no longer ignore.
The scent of apples in her silky hair, the sexy curves filling out her jeans, the softness of her skin beneath her clothes. Her eyelashes were long, sweeping down over her cheekbones every time she blinked. Her nose had the tiniest tilt to it, and her lips were lush and moist as she licked off a daub of pizza sauce.
Even in the middle of all this craziness, he couldn't turn off his reaction to her--and it was with no small amount of difficulty that he forced his attention back to his brother.
"I'm interested in building manufacturing equipment," Tony was saying. "Automation. I'm working on my master's thesis right now."
Evan immediately thought of Matt's robotics firm, Trebotics. There might be a fit there once Tony graduated.
Wait. What was he doing, making plans to bring Kelsey and Tony into the Maverick fold? Yes, he admired how they looked after their mother, and they were obviously intelligent. But he needed to slow way the hell down, even if a part of him wanted to relish the experience of having blood relations. Susan and Bob loved all the Mavericks equally, had turned them into family and taught them what they needed to know to become men--and he would always and forever be grateful to them. But he'd envied Daniel's blood tie.
It was, he had to acknowledge, a huge part of why he'd been so eager to have a family with Whitney. Not because he could see her as a mother, but because he'd longed so deeply for a child and a family all his own.
Now, suddenly, he had a ready-made family. But having been burned badly before, by his birth parents and by Whitney, he needed time to process the situation and keep his emotions in check. He couldn't let himself get entangled until he knew exactly what he was up against.
Which was particularly difficult to do when his mother finally spoke again and said, "Tell us about you, Evan." Her words came out slightly wooden and stilted, as though she'd rehearsed the question in her head before actually speaking.
"My name's all over the Internet, so you probably already know everything there is to know." He wasn't bragging. It was simply true. And he didn't want to talk about himself. Especially not with her.
"You and your wife have such a beautiful home." Her voice was less tentative this time, but still shaky.
Obviously, Kelsey hadn't yet told her brother and Theresa about his impending divorce. He didn't know why he felt compelled to explain, "My wife and I are getting divorced."
"I'm sorry, Evan."
His jaw clenched. He didn't want her pity. Or her apologies.
As if she saw everything going south, Paige jumped in. "Do you work outside the home, Theresa?"
"Yes." She cru
mpled her napkin. "I'm an accounts payable clerk. It's the same company that Kelsey did bookkeeping for. I've been there a long time."
When she looked back up, her eyes were watery. Evan knew what was coming--and he wanted to shove away from the table, forget any of these people had ever been here. Forget any of this had ever happened.
But a Maverick didn't run. And he sure as hell didn't forget.
"I'm sorry I left, Evan. I thought I had the stomach flu, one that wouldn't go away. I had some money saved in secret, so I went to a doctor. One your father didn't know about in a suburb of Chicago. That's when I found out I was pregnant. With twins." Her lips, her cheeks, her hands--they all shook. "Oh God, I was so scared. Two more children for him to hurt." Her breath was ragged.
Kelsey reached for her hand at the same time that Tony did.
Under the table, Paige curled her fingers around Evan's. He instinctively linked his with hers. She was the only thing keeping him grounded right now, the only reason he wasn't splintering into a million pieces right here in his dining room.
"I should have come here, should have said this a long time ago," Theresa said almost in a whisper, and Evan could see how hard it was for her to look him in the eye. But she did it. "I went a little crazy. I was so scared of what he would do. So I ran before he ever knew I was pregnant."
And left Evan behind.
"I got on a bus and rode west until I ran out of money. In Modesto. But I never forgot about you. I was going to come back for you as soon as I got settled somewhere." She swallowed. "It was two years later when a friend told me you were living with the Spencers. They were good people, and I knew they'd do better for you than I could. You'd get the best chance with them. And you did." It was almost as if she was trying to convince herself. "You really did."
Theresa was right, with two more mouths to feed, and two squalling babies in their cramped apartment, God only knew what his father would have done.
But Evan didn't want to understand, didn't want to trust her. And he didn't want to cool his jets. Not when the old man had lost it after she left, his drinking totally out of control--and Evan had paid the price every single day until the Spencers saved him.
It suddenly struck him then that Theresa probably didn't know what had become of her abuser. Their abuser.
"Did you ever hear what happened to the old man?"
When she shook her head, he couldn't miss the flash of fear in her eyes. Even after all this time, and all the miles she'd put between her and her husband, his power over her had barely seemed to lessen.
"He died when I was a sophomore in high school. Fell down in a drunken stupor and hit his head. I didn't live there anymore, thank God." She flinched at the reminder that she'd left him there to fend for himself. "The landlord found him when he didn't pay his rent."
Tears were welling in Theresa's eyes as she scooted back from the table. "Excuse me. I need to use the restroom. Kelsey, Tony, you stay here and finish eating." She was gone before any of them could follow.
Paige squeezed his hand again, hard enough that he had to look at her. From the moment she'd arrived on his doorstep this afternoon, her touch, her comfort, her caring had been the only things keeping him this side of sane. Now, he read the message in her eyes: Everything is going to be okay, Evan. I promise.
The craziest thing of all was that, even with his entire life in complete and utter disarray, he believed her. Because Paige never lied. She simply didn't have it in her.
Just as he had to face the reality that he didn't have it in him to turn his back on his mother if she was in danger, no matter what her mistakes had been.
"I can't do much if she really wants the loser she's dating," he finally said to his brother and sister, "but if you'll give me the guy's full name and address, I can at least keep an eye on him."
This time when Paige gripped his hand, it was more than a show of support. It was approval. That meant more to him than any compliment Whitney had ever paid him.
"Thank you," Kelsey said, beaming at him as if he were entirely responsible for the rising sun each morning.
But though Tony was clearly pleased with Evan's offer, it was obvious he had something more to say. "She shouldn't have left you, and I can't imagine what your childhood must have been like." As Tony paused and cleared his throat, Evan was suddenly certain his brother was about to make the biggest and most gut-wrenching request of all. "But if she could believe she was forgiven, then maybe she might not need assholes like Greg." Tony held up a hand, making it clear he didn't want Evan to respond too quickly. "I'm not asking you to give us your answer yet. All I'm asking, all we're saying--" He glanced at his sister before turning back to Evan. "--is that we hope you'll think about it."
Forgiveness?
The Mavericks had taught Evan how to fight a bully and make sure no one got up from his punch. He understood complicated mathematical theories. He had the vision to start an investment firm and build it into a billion-dollar powerhouse.
But forgiving his mother for abandoning him?
That would be impossible.
Chapter Twelve
Of all the things for Tony to ask Evan for, of all the things to even bring up today, Paige couldn't believe he'd chosen forgiveness.
It was too soon to even broach the idea. Evan was already on the edge dealing with the fact that his mother was back and in his house, topped with learning he had a brother and sister. He needed a heck of lot more time to consider forgiving his mother.
If that was even possible, given the hellish place she'd left him in.
A muscle was jumping in his jaw--and his siblings looked desperately hopeful. It was the worst possible scenario, certain to end in disappointment and deeply ravaged emotions for everyone involved.
Paige hoped she could do something, say something to salvage the tentative bond Evan and his brother and sister had begun to forge over pizza and conversation. He was clearly impressed with their smarts, their courage, and their fierce protection of their mother. She needed to remind him of all those things. Thank God she had several years of experience with family therapy to draw from.
"I'm really proud of the three of you." Every eye turned to her. "The way you've spoken so honestly with one another today isn't easy. Not even for family members who've known each other their whole lives."
Kelsey abruptly reached for Evan's hand. "I know this has all come as a huge shock, but I'm so happy to meet you. And to have another brother. One I already know I'm totally going to like."
Paige choked up as Tony nodded. "You could have kicked us to the curb and shut Mom down completely. But you haven't." He swallowed hard. "Whatever you decide from here on out, you're a good man. And I'm proud to know you're my brother."
For several long moments, Evan didn't speak. He was too good at burying his emotions. It wasn't his way to put his feelings out there for everyone to read, but since his return from his self-imposed exile in Europe, he'd armored up like every day was war. Even his apologies to Susan, Bob, and the Mavericks, though heartfelt, had still masked his deeper emotions.
The only time his guard had dropped was the moment he'd kissed her in Chicago, with snow falling all around them.
Finally, Evan said, "We should all exchange contact information." He reached for his cardholder in his pocket--like a true investment banker, he was never without it--and handed one to each of them.
Tony and Kelsey gave him their own cards with huge smiles transforming their faces. Though there was no discernible change in his expression, Paige silently applauded this major step for Evan. She was proud of him for not cutting them off entirely. And her heart bubbled over with joy for him and these true blood relations who'd managed to find him.
Even if her own blood relation had proven herself beyond redemption.
As if she'd conjured Whitney up, Paige's phone suddenly jumped in her pocket. Her heart was in her throat as she slipped it out just far enough to see the name on the screen.
Whitne
y.
"How about we walk off some of this pizza in the garden while we wait for Theresa to come back out?" Evan suggested. "I'll have Mrs. M. bring her out to us when she's ready."
"Actually," Paige said, "I've got to deal with a quick phone call that just came in, so I'll wait for your mom inside."
As the three siblings headed outside, it struck Paige how they were not only similar in looks, they also moved with the same long-limbed grace and confidence that belied their humble childhoods.
Pulling the phone from her pocket, she saw that Whitney had left a message. Odds were her sister had finally returned from the south of France and was still hoping to convince Paige to change her mind about whose side she should choose.
Paige deleted the voice mail without even blinking. She couldn't talk to Whitney after Evan's kiss, couldn't bear to listen to her sister cajole and rationalize.
She stuffed the phone back in her pocket, metaphorically shoving her sister away too, then headed toward the guest bathroom to wait for Theresa to emerge.
When the door opened a short while later, Theresa's face was moist and shiny, as if she'd patted herself down with cool water.
"I wanted to make sure you were okay."
"That's very kind." Theresa clasped her hands tightly in front of her and studied the floor.
"I'm sure it must be a shock, seeing your son again and learning that your husband has been dead for many years," Paige said.
"It's a lot to take in," Theresa agreed, her voice the same soft, timid tone in which she'd spoken most of the afternoon. "But I'm not surprised about Evan's father." Not her husband, but Evan's father. "The drinking finally took its toll on him."
And talking about the drinking was the perfect segue for Paige. "I know this isn't my business." She fully intended to say it, however. "But your daughter told us about Greg, and I want you to know that you don't have to take abuse from anyone. If you ever need to talk things out, I'm a family therapist--you can call me anytime. I'll give you my number."
"Thank you. But it's really not as bad as the Kelsey and Tony think. It's not like it was with..." She paused, breathed deeply, then finally looked Paige in the eye. "With Evan's father."
Who was the woman trying to convince, herself or Paige?