“We want to help. What can we do?” Mara asked anxiously.
“Just care about him and realize that he isn’t wired the same way as everybody else. He’s not going to change so much that he’ll never be an arrogant jerk sometimes, but he’s trying. He wants to be part of the family. Now that you’re all grown up and happy, he’s not quite sure where he belongs.” Evan could protest all he wanted, but he did want to be loved.
“He belongs with the rest of us,” Mara said forcefully. “I don’t care if he’s arrogant. All of the Sinclair men are arrogant in their own way, but their hearts are good. I just want Evan to be happy, and so does everyone else.”
The women nodded their heads enthusiastically.
“It will just take time,” Randi admitted.
“We aren’t going anywhere,” Hope said emphatically.
Randi smiled, knowing the four tigresses in the room would grab onto Evan and never let go. The Sinclairs loved their family, and Randi knew they’d help him find out exactly where he fit in. He would eventually realize he really was loved.
“Are you going to tell us what’s happening between you two?” Sarah asked bluntly.
Randi flushed, turning her face away from the other women on the pretense of wiping the countertops. “Nothing. He’ll leave right after the party. He said he’s got an important meeting on Monday morning. We’re just trying to be . . . friends.” That sounded safe enough. “We got off to a bad start, but I think I’m starting to understand and like him a little,” she added.
“I know that’s bullshit,” Hope answered. “I can see how he looks at you, and how he watches you constantly. But thank you for trying to help my brother.”
“I’m not doing much, really. I’m just trying to get him to relax a little and enjoy life.” Randi sighed.
“Well, he is more relaxed, and he looks like all he wants is to take you home and jump your bones,” Mara observed.
Randi couldn’t deny that she and Evan had off-the-charts chemistry, so she remained silent. She’d probably been just as guilty of watching Evan like a woman who just wanted to strip him naked and devour him.
Hope came to Randi’s rescue. “Shall we join the guys? I think they’ve been deprived of our company for far too long.”
Randi breathed a sigh of relief as they all left the kitchen to go join their men.
The next evening, Randi wanted to laugh as she watched Evan trying to meditate. It was clear this night was going to be a challenge.
Since Evan had brought her supplies to his house during the storm, she’d cooked at his place tonight, and he had eaten like a horse, including dessert.
After spending the night with his family the night before, Evan had insisted on her staying with him on the Peninsula and letting him take her home early in the morning so she could get dressed for school.
He’d rocked her world as soon as they’d walked through the door last night, and Evan had promptly announced he was “happy” the moment she had her first climax.
She’d laughed, both exasperated and amused that Evan only appeared to be “happy” when he was making her come.
Tonight, she was determined to show him that not all happiness or being content revolved around earth-shattering sex.
So far, she seemed to be failing miserably.
“You need to close your eyes and concentrate on your breathing,” Randi instructed as she sat cross-legged on his living-room floor. She’d brought a few items of clothing, including the pair of yoga pants and the tattered T-shirt she was wearing. “Center on your breathing and be an observer. You can acknowledge your thoughts, but don’t react to them. Just treat them as if they’re random information that isn’t connected to you.”
“Not possible,” Evan grumbled as he sat across from her in a pair of gray sweatpants and a navy tank top.
“Close your eyes,” she prompted.
“Can’t,” he insisted.
“Why?”
“My thoughts aren’t something I can ignore, and my dick is hard. It’s been that way since I saw you come downstairs in those yoga pants,” he grunted unhappily.
Randi laughed, wondering what in the world he saw in her that was attractive right now. The yoga attire had been washed so many times that the pink material was faded to a very light pastel color, and she’d pulled her hair back into a ponytail. In her mind, she wasn’t exactly an enticing sight.