Page 21 of The Challenge

I jumped out of my seat. “I wasn’t expecting you back. That’s the only reason I set up my work stuff on the kitchen table.”

“Clearly you weren’t expecting me.” He gave me a once-over, obviously noticing his hoodie.

Crap! I’d planned to take it off before he got home. “Sorry.” I played with the zipper. “It was cold in here.”

“Feel free to borrow my clothes, Chloe,” he said, an amused look on his face.

I tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear. “What are you doing home anyway?”

“I forgot that Effie has dance lessons right after school. I didn’t pack her ballet shoes, so I figured I’d come home for lunch and grab them.”

“I see. What time do you pick her up from school?”

“Two thirty, but it’ll be around quarter to four today, actually, because there’s an arts event after school. I’ll have just enough time to get her to her four PM dance class.”

“You’re able to leave work every day early enough to pick her up from school?”

He nodded. “I make my own hours. But I’m always on call for emergencies to make up for that.”

“I see.” I glanced over at my stuff. “Well, I’ll pack up. I was about to close down for the day anyway. I have to leave.”

“Where are you headed?”

“The storage unit. I told myself I was going to tackle a little bit each day, figuring out what to toss and what to keep. It’s not easy parting with the only remaining evidence that your family ever existed.”

His face softened. “You need help?”

I looked down at my sherpa slippers. “I can’t ask you to do that…”

“That’s not an answer.”

This was not the time to refuse help. I’d had no idea how big of a job the cleanout was going to be. “Well, to be honest, I could use your truck to cart away some of the bigger items from time to time.”

“Yeah. No problem.” He nodded. “Why don’t I go with you today?”

“Okay… I mean, if you don’t mind.”

“It’s the least I could do for Judy.”

“Thank you.”

Evan cocked his head. “Have you eaten?”

“I kind of forgot. I’ve had plenty of coffee, though. Thanks for making it. It was really good.”

“Do you ever remember to eat?”

“Not since I got here.”

Evan rolled up his sleeves. “I’ll whip something up before we go.”

I knew better than to argue with him on that. Plus, it kind of felt nice to be taken care of. “Okay,” I said nonchalantly, as if it didn’t mean the world that he was making lunch for me. “While you do that, I’ll clean up my mess.”

I gathered my things and then returned to my room and put on some concealer plus a little eye makeup. My hair was still braided from last night. I had to laugh at myself as I looked in the mirror. The idea that Evan had braided my hair was still so damn funny to me. It had held up pretty well, considering I’d slept on it.

When I returned to the kitchen, Evan had put together a couple of bowls with rice, avocado, cut-up grape tomatoes, and some leftover grilled chicken. It looked like he’d drizzled balsamic dressing on top. My stomach growled. “Look at you with the fancy bowls, Evan. I’m impressed.”

“It’s called using up what we have in the fridge before it goes bad and making it look pretty.”