Fate Interrupted by Kaitlyn Cross

want me to come by sometime?”
    “EVP?”
    Ben nodded. “Electronic Voice Phenomenon.”
    Dean swallowed
dryly.
    Evy pushed past
Ben and came around the counter. “Let’s go outside.”
    “We should grab
a beer sometime, Deano ,” Ben hollered over the
counter. “I’ll take some readings!”
    Dean shot a hand
into the air, following Evy out front where four tables and chairs made up a
small sidewalk café. She set the pastry box on a table and pulled out a white
chair. He took off his jacket and sat down, watching the breeze tickle her hair.
    “Wow, that
wasn’t embarrassing or anything.”
    “He seems like a
good guy.”
    “He needs to
stop asking people about that Jeffrey Dahmer stuff.
Even I know it’s a sensitive subject around here.”
    “Well, he
doesn’t seem like the type to be as interested in the Fonzie statue.”
    She giggled
softly. “You’re right.”
    “So are Brooke
and Ben from Des Moines as well?”
    Evy nodded.
    “What brought em here?”
    “Ben was a
tattoo artist with this huge guy named Hicks at a parlor in Des Moines. Hicks
is originally from Milwaukee and wanted to move back home to open his own shop
with his cousin and Ben as partners. Ben was soooo excited about it.”
    “No wonder his
cakes are so detailed. Guy’s got skills.”
    “Yeah, Ben is
incredible, and they found the perfect spot right here in downtown, but Hicks
ended up getting into a bar fight the night before they were supposed to sign
the lease.”
    “Uh-oh.”
    Evy nodded grimly.
“He’s still got three years left to serve in prison.”
    “Wow, he must’ve
messed someone up pretty good.”
    “Smashed
a pint glass into some guy’s face over an argument about football.”
    “Holy
shit.”
    “Poor guy had to
have a hundred and forty stitches and several rounds of reconstructive
surgery.”
    “What happened
to the tattoo shop?”
    “When Hicks went
to prison it fell through.”
    Dean cocked his
head to one side. “So Ben opened a dessert bar instead?”
    “Well, Sugars
had been one of the places they had looked at for the tattoo shop but it had a
kitchen they didn’t need. Meanwhile, Brooke had always wanted to start her own bakery and Ben immediately thought of this
place.” Evy gazed at their reflection in Sugars’ front window and smiled. “He
said he kept seeing her baking brownies in that kitchen. And when the dessert
bar aspect came into play they found something they could enjoy doing together,
like it was meant to be.”
    “He must really
love her.”
    Her hand found
his on the table. “It was such a romantic thing for him to do.”
    He squeezed her
hand and stared into her eyes. “Would you settle for a dozen roses?”
    She wrinkled her
brow and laughed. He wanted to kiss the nape of her neck and work his way up to
those luscious lips. They called to him without speaking and all he could think
about was getting her alone and putting his hands all over her. She grinned as
if reading his mind and dropped his scorching gaze. He waited for her eyes to
find their way back to him, knowing it wouldn’t be long. She wrung her fingers
on the table in front of her and looked back up, making his heart stutter.
    “Hey, what’re
you doing tonight?” he asked, finally breaking the silence.
    She blinked at
him. “I’m not sure. Why?”
    “Let me take you
out to dinner.”
    She twirled a
lock of hair around a finger, his brown eyes and messy hair awakening something
inside of her she never knew existed. Never before had she felt such heat make
her body tremble. Her sister was right, there had to be something wrong with
him.
    “Just
you and me this time, and nothing too fancy.”
    She nodded
before she even realized she was doing it, unable to resist him in any way,
shape, or form. It was way too late for that. “What time?”
    ***
    Dean checked his
watch and softly knocked on Evy’s front door. Silence answered him. His senses
felt heightened, like a vampire. He could hear his heart banging