A/N – Thanks for the comments! I think. HJM – If you don't like it, don't read it. I don't expect people to like everything I write. It doesn't bother me, but feel free to write comments on things you do like. Sometimes, I only hear from people when they hate something.

Regarding the pace, she was in love with someone else. Of course, I have to build a relationship first and create some tension. Why rush things?

Chapter 9

The next day, Evangeline met Jason at the docks.

"Are you nervous?"

"A little bit."

He took her hand. "No one is going to come near you." There are guards posted everywhere, making her feel very safe.

She loved how good the wind felt against her skin, feeling comfortable as she strolled over the wood planks. As they came up to the area where she had been grabbed, a ship caught her eye, distracting her from any angst and she smiled realizing that there is no way she is going to let that man ruin everything that is special about this place.

Jason watched her intently, feeling her relax as he followed her gaze. "It's a beautiful day."

"Yes, it is."

"And you had fun last night?"

"Very much so. Thanks for all the lessons."

Her teasing laughter filled the air as she remembered all the flirting. His phone rang and he changed their direction as he moved towards the alley that led to the car.

"I take it that you have someplace you have to be?"

"Unfortunately," he muttered.

"Too bad…"

An amused Jason shook his head and when they came to the walkway, he stopped abruptly.

"Regretting leaving me already?" she asked with a smirk.

A growl rose from Jason's lips a second before she found herself pressed up against a wall. The fire in his eyes almost singed her as she bit her bottom lip. Suddenly, his mouth is freeing it from her teeth's evil clutches and his tongue plunged inside, mating with her own as he took what he wanted, slowly melting her façade. There is nothing on either of their minds except for the lust building in their bodies. Barely letting her come up for air, he yanked her into his chest, stealing her breath away as he fisted her hair and angled her head the way he wanted to, trying to tame her. At first, her hands were balled up in his shirt, but they had since unraveled and were now raking through his hair. His hand found her ass and squeezed, making her lightly moan before he softened his movements and gently kissed her before withdrawing. Their gazed locked and for a moment, he just couldn't read her. When confusion, then tears started to gather in her eyes, he didn't know what to do. Had he pushed her too far? Her lip quivered and before he could witness a tear creeping down her apple cheeks, she ran away as quickly as she could, wishing the wind would wipe her face clean of the evidence that he had gotten to her and made her feel anything at all.

Jason cursed and called Johnny who was at Kelly's.

"Boss?"

"She's on the run and almost to you. Don't let her out of your sight."

Johnny jumped up from a chair and ran outside, almost colliding with her. "Woah…"

She is balling by now, not even understanding why, but needing to get away. "Please. I need to get out of here."

His fingers gripped her arms. "Okay. Come on." He grabbed her hand and led her through an alley towards his car and they got in. "Where do you want to go?"

"Somewhere quiet where I can think."

He started to drive as he made a call. "Francis?"

"Yeah."

"Are you at home?"

"No."

"Can I borrow your place for a few hours?"

Francis frowned. "You're not having sex in my house."

Johnny grinned. "It's not for that. I have Evangeline with me and she needs to think."

That certainly took him off guard. "Okay."

"Thanks."

Johnny drove as his passenger stared out the window and he wondered what the hell had happened. About a half hour later, he pulled the car into a driveway and parked. He opened her door and escorted her inside the house.

She perused it briefly and then sat on the couch. "You must think I'm ridiculous?"

"I wouldn't think that. Do you want to talk about it?"

She made a strangled noise and then put her face in her hands.

"That bad? Did Jason do something wrong?" Knowing his friend, he probably is driving everyone around him crazy with his worrying.

"No. I just—this is so hard and out of the blue, he kissed me."

"Did it suck?" He couldn't help wishing it did so that he could tease Jason forever.

"No. He just caught me off guard and mentally, I wasn't ready."

"And physically?"

She blew out a breath and then rubbed her hands on the top of her thighs.

When she didn't answer he said, "I'll take that as you liked it."

She groaned.

"There's nothing wrong with that. You're going to marry him. Is this about John? Do you feel like you're cheating?"

"Yeah."

"Sometimes, you have to jump in and just go for it or it will never work out."

She stood and started to pace. "I know. I've been really trying to get to know Jason better and spend more time with him, but part of me feels like I'm betraying John."

"Are you still in love with him?"

"I think a part of me will always love him."

"The question is, what will it take for you to let Jason in?"

"I don't know."

Johnny sighed. This situation sucked. "Can I be bluntly honest?"

"I think so."

He smiled. "Look, I see how you are with him when you don't think and just go with the flow. You laugh and poke fun at him. It seems like you genuinely like being around him."

"I do."

"Before I continue, can I ask you a very personal question?"

"Sure."

"Did your relationship with John start off as mainly sexual?"

Eva made a face. "That is some question."

"I'm not trying to disrespect you or anything."

"I know. Yes." She wasn't ashamed of the fact. In the beginning, there was an attraction and a lot of sneaking around. It was thrilling and passionate which turned to love much later.

"Well, the way I see it is that you're starting out being friends with Jason and getting to know the man before anything happens. You might even find that it will make your relationship even deeper because of it. Does that scare you?"

"In some ways it does."

Johnny patted the seat next to him and she plopped down next to him. "John understands your choice. He might hate it, but he gets it, just like Hannah does. You are the one that is back peddling."

"It's just happening so fast. Everyone knows I was in love with John. What does that say about me that I can just hop to another man like he was nothing?"

"I think what you need to understand is that it's nobody else's business what you do or who you choose to fall in love with. If you only want a business deal, then you need to be honest with Jason because I think he's starting to have feelings for you and I really don't want to see him get hurt."

"You're right." Hurting Jason is the last thing that she wants to do.

The front door opened, making her jump.

"Hey, guys. I bought some pizza."Francis knew something else was is coming and he really hopes it isn't a mistake.

"Damn that smells good," Johnny said.

"Hi, Francis."

He smiled. "Hello. It's good to see you."

"Guess you never thought you'd see me in your living room."

"You are the best thing that has walked into this house in a long time."

She smiled.

He retrieved some plates and napkins and they started to eat.

"This is really good," Eva said.

"The best," Johnny said.

Once they finished, Francis found a deck of cards and held them up.

"What's that for?" she asked.

"Well, if you are going to be married to Jason, you need to learn how to play poker."

"Oh really?"

"Yes. I want you to be able to kick his ass."

She chuckled. "Alright, what do I do?"

They explained and then Francis dealt the cards.

Her eyes got big as she studied hers.

"Nope. Right there, you just lost."

She frowned. "Why?"

"Because you need to have a poker face. Jason is good because he's stone cold. If you don't show what you have with your eyes or body language, then you have a good chance of unnerving your opponent," Francis explained.

"What if I make weird faces?"

"Then Jason will have you committed," Johnny quipped.

She rolled her eyes and then took a deep breath and stared at her hand again. "You know, as a lawyer, not only am I a great actress, but I'm also very good at making people sweat. I think I'm going to like this game."

Half an hour later

"This game sucks," she said throwing down her cards.

Johnny laughed. "Good thing this isn't strip poker."

"You're right because Jason would kick your ass if you saw her in her underwear," Francis said.

"That is true."

There was a knock on the door. Francis looked through the peephole. "Jason?"

Eva's eyes went to the door as she watched him tentatively walk in.

"Hi," he said softly. His gaze locked with Eva's and he shifts uncomfortably, unsure where he stands when she averts her eyes.

"You want a beer?" Johnny asked.

"Sure."

Francis followed him to the kitchen.

"Are you alright?"

Evangeline could tell he is nervous. "I'm fine. Johnny and I had a good talk."

He made a face and she smiled.

"Seriously, he gave me some good advice."

"And what was that?"

"Well, in not so many words, he told me to shit or get off the pot."

Jason's brow crinkled up.

"Woah, are you trying to get my face rearranged?" Johnny asked before handing Jason a bottle.

"No. It was great advice," Eva said.

"I thought you're supposed to be good at spin," Jason said.

"Whatever," Johnny said as he rolled his eyes.

Jason took a long swig of his beer, happy to see her relaxing in front of him. Maybe Johnny deserves a raise. "And what did you decide?"

"I have some things that I need to let go of so that I can move forward and then I'm willing to do it"

"Thank you."

"By the way, she said you can't kiss to save your life," Johnny said as he shuffled the cards.

"I did not!" she said before playfully shoving him.

Raise canceled. "Can't I hit him just once?"

She reached up and brushed her hand against Jason's cheek. "No, but you can help me kick his ass in poker."

"Now that I can do."

They played together and she was so excited when she finally won a hand. Suddenly, she looked up at the clock. "Oh my God. I didn't realize how late it is." She has to be up early.

"It's okay. I can take you back," Jason said. "Enzo is outside."

"Why didn't you have him come in for pizza?"

"He already ate." Usually, Jason drove himself, but he was distracted.

She decided to let it go and stood. "Francis, thank you so much for letting me hang out here."

He smiled as she gave him a hug. "Any time."

"And even though you are big trouble and God help me that I have you and Layla to deal with, I'm very grateful for the advice."

He grinned as he hugged her, making sure he winked at Jason. "I'm glad that I could help." He mouthed, "You owe me," before pulling back.

"Bye guys."

Jason led her out to the town car and they got inside.

"I was surprised that you came to get me."

"I didn't think it was wise to not go after you. I tried to wait a while and finally, Sonny told me to leave before he put a hit out on me."

She chuckled.

"I feel like I keep overstepping with you and I'm not sure what to do."

"It's not you, it's me."

"Was it that bad?"

She met his gaze. "No. That wasn't it at all. You made me feel more than I was prepared for." Tentatively, she reached over and touched his hand and Jason took the opportunity to intertwine their fingers, noting how well they fit.

"I'm not sorry that I kissed you. It's something that I've wanted to do for a while."

After taking a long deep breath, she threw caution to the wind. "If I were being honest, I've wanted to kiss you too."

Her phone buzzed while he chewed on that and she gasped when she saw the photo Layla had texted. Tears sprang into her eyes when she clicked on the accompanying link which showed John kissing a famous model.

Jason glanced over at it when she pulled her hand from his. "Evangeline…"

"And here I was feeling guilty for kissing you."

"He's trying to get over you."

"Yeah, well, he certainly picked a high-profile way to do it."

Jason's phone buzzed and he is surprised to see a text from John saying, "Take care of her." Immediately, he understood that John had done this on purpose to force Eva to move forward.

Too soon, the car came to a stop. He got out and then opened her door. As they walked, she turned to face him.

"I'm sorry."

He brushed his fingers against her cheek. "You have nothing to apologize for. I'm glad that we could be honest with each other."

"Me too."

He pressed his lips against her forehead and then rubbed her back. "Goodnight."

Her eyes held his gaze for a long moment. "Goodnight, Jason."

After she was safely inside, he returned to the confines of the car, realizing that he already missed her and wondering how much of a setback this is going to be even though she tried to recover at the end. John had unselfishly stepped up and did something he wasn't sure he would have ever done and he had a new-found respect for his rival. Now, he just hoped that the act will push Eva closer to him instead of further away.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiI

Layla climbed onto her sister's bed. "What happened?"

Eva wiped a tear away. "Well, Jason kissed me."

Layla smiled. "How was it?"

"Phenomenal. God, he's so intense and I ran like a coward. Johnny took me to Francis's house and we talked. He made me realize that I need to either move forward or let Jason go. Then you sent me that text."

"Sorry."

"I needed to see it, the final nail in the coffin."

"I knew it would be hard on you, but I didn't want to hide it from you either."

"You did the right thing. It's just overwhelming."

Layla sighed. "And Jason?"

"He was so sweet afterward. He's a good guy and he certainly knows how to kiss a girl."

Layla smiled, glad that her sister couldn't get it out of her mind. "Don't let it stop your progress."

Eva had no intention of hiding from her fiance. "I won't. John is gone and I have to do what I need to in order to make things work with Jason."

"So, does that mean that you'll call him tomorrow?"

"I was thinking that maybe I'll bring him some lunch."

"I'm sure he'll like that."

"How's it going with Johnny?"

Layla grinned. "He has a very talented mouth."

"Have you done it yet?"

"Not all the way, but I'm not sure how much longer I can hold out."

She had enjoyed spending time with Johnny. "He's a good man. I don't think he wants to use you."

"I agree. He's a lot of fun."

"Is it enough to make you forget about Paris?"

Layla smirked. "I'm still here, aren't I?"

"Who knows, maybe we'll both end up married."

"Bite your tongue."

Eva laughed. For as long as she could remember, Layla had said she'll never marry, but things could change in a blink of an eye, and she firmly understood that now.