Dan could see that Evelyn was already deep in her own thoughts, dismissing him from whatever or whoever was occupying her thoughts.
He looked away and caught Marianne staring at him.
Throughout the whole hot and cold cycle that Evelyn and Dan were going through, Marianne had been nagging him to step up and show Evelyn that he was serious about being together.
Each time, he had trusted Marianne and did what she said.
Each time, the result that followed was a period when he became the invisible man to Evelyn.
When that happened, Marianne would tell him that he wasn't serious enough, and he didn't show her that he'd meant what he said.
Sometimes, he was tempted to snap back at Marianne and tell her to stop meddling in his business. It was easy to blame Marianne for things going downhill, but he had to admit that she was only giving him the push he needed.
He did know what he wanted, and he wanted everything with her.
He'd heard people talk about how they knew the person they were with was the one, and he knew.
It didn't matter that they were running in a circle. It didn't matter that they might be with someone else in between. There was a knowing in his heart that they would end up together.
She would be the one he would grow old with; the one he would create great memories with; the one he would have a family with.
Dan had lost count of the number of times he'd looked at Evelyn and heard the small voice in his heart telling him that they belonged together.
But Evelyn didn't seem to agree. She knew what she wanted as well.
She had told him right from the start that she wasn't interested in relationships, never had and never will. Still, he dove in head first, thinking things would change.
There was nothing for him to complain about. Evelyn did tell him straight to his face; it was purely his stupidity in thinking that he could change things.
Maybe he was wrong. Maybe it was just the spillover effect of Tyler finding love that made him think otherwise. Maybe this time, things were really through between them.
Pushing the food away from him, he tuned in to the conversation around the table.
"Eve always said she wanted to learn self-defense. We just never got to it. If you start one, I bet she'll be your first customer," Kate said.
He had tuned in just in time to disapprove of Kate's idea.
"Yeah, of course," Evelyn replied after a moment's lapse as if she, too, was daydreaming. "It shouldn't be too difficult for you guys to come up with the lessons. You guys learned judo, right?"
Ryan raised his brows. "True."
"Will you ladies be our guinea pigs?" Joseph asked Kate.
"Why not?" "No."
Two people spoke at the same time, but all heads turned toward Tyler. Even if they hadn't recognized his voice, it was obvious he was the one rejecting the idea.
"They're clumsy; you might get hurt," Tyler said to Kate.
"Thanks for thinking about me, too," Evelyn stated sarcastically.
"Both of you may get hurt," Tyler corrected.
For once, Dan was grateful for Tyler's protective nature.
Dan grew up with the guys and had lost count of the injuries he'd sustained while playing basketball with them. He didn't think it would be dangerous; he knew it would be. But unlike Tyler, he'd no right to speak up about it.
A silent frustration over the ambiguity of their relationship bubbled within him; a frustration over his lack of rights to be frustrated.
Though he never fooled around in relationships, he'd never felt so possessive over someone, especially someone whom he wasn't even officially dating.
The worst of it was knowing how ridiculous it all seemed. He wasn't in high school anymore; such trivial and petty relationship problems should no longer be an issue. Why couldn't he just close the chapter he had with Evelyn and move on?
"I don't think Ryan's in a position to hurt anyone," Kate said, pointing to the cast on his hand. "And Joseph is a doctor, I'm sure he'll be careful. And I'm going to ignore you now."
"Don't worry, Ty. We won't risk your precious in any way. I promise," Joseph assured.
There wasn't any point in trying to fight it, Tyler seemed to know it was a lost cause. He shrugged and smiled at Kate. "You do know they'll be dead if you end up getting hurt."
"Ignore him," Kate said.
Dan turned to Evelyn and saw, for just a moment, the hint of sadness in her eyes.
Perhaps her words meant more than she let on.
His fingers twitched as he fought to keep his behavior in check. She didn't want him touching her, not even to comfort her, so he pulled his hand back a few inches and tightened his grip on his fork.
A moment of silence took over as everyone continued to devour the food Marianne had prepared. There was nothing more to discuss until Ryan and Joseph put more work into the gym.
"Are you interested in being part of the self-defense guinea pigs?" Mr. Sawyer said to Lydia. "After all, lawyers work horrible hours. It's good to learn something to keep yourself safe."
Lydia's head shot up. She blinked and looked around the table, clearly surprised that a question was directed at her.
Although Dan wasn't magnanimous enough to forgive Lydia, he did admire her courage to show up each time Kate invited her over. Everyone was angry with Lydia for various reasons. For Dan, it was because Evelyn could have died in the fire.
The thought of losing Evelyn in the fire was too much to think about, and each time he saw Lydia, he was reminded of the fact that the arsonist was still at large and Evelyn's life might still be in danger.
"Sorry, maybe another time," Lydia finally said.
Without much subtlety, Ryan rolled his eyes.
Lydia didn't have to explain her lack of time. Everyone knew she was still obsessed with the cold case.
Then, Ryan suddenly asked, "What about you, Joanne? Everyone's offering some form of help. What are you going to do?"
"Marianne and Mr. Sawyer didn't offer their help," Joanne retorted.
Laughing, Marianne said, "If Joe is planning healthy meals, who do you think will make it edible? And of course, Mr. Sawyer will be taking care of all the legal matters."
Having no other defense, Joanne turned and shared a look with Evelyn.
"Stop disturbing her," Evelyn interjected.
Dan narrowed his eyes at Joanne. He saw the look between Joanne and Evelyn; something was wrong.
Joanne had been disappearing a lot lately, and she would get all flustered each time he asked her what she was up to. Now, there seemed to be some shared camaraderie between Evelyn and Joanne.
"Yeah. What are you so busy with that you can't help? You've been rather secretive lately, Anne." Dan stared at his sister, worried that she was getting into some sort of trouble.
"Everyone has secrets. Let her be," Evelyn stated.
You definitely have yours. He pried his eyes from Evelyn and turned back to Joanne, waiting for her explanation.
Dan saw Joanne swallowing hard and ducking her head as her eyes moved to her plate.
He held his stare; he wasn't going to back down. If Joanne was up to something, he was going to find out right now.
"I'm leaving for Paris next week, and I won't be back for at least a year," Joanne rushed through her words while her eyes remained fixated on the plate.
"What?" Dan exclaimed. "Why?"
"To study. I'm going to study interior design. Everything is settled. Evelyn found an apartment for me and went shopping with me for all the necessities I need."
Evelyn knew all along? "And how long ago was this decision made? Do Mom and Dad know about this? You've never been away on your own for so long. How are you going to survive?"
"Oh, Dan, you should be glad. It's a fantastic opportunity; it'll be good for her," Marianne said. "Good luck with your studies, Joanne."
"Glad? She's never done her own laundry. She doesn't know how to cook—"
"This is why I didn't want to tell you. I'm always just your baby sister. I don't want to be just your sister anymore."
Clueless about what Joanne was talking about, Dan turned to Evelyn with a slight frown.
"Let her go. She'll be fine," Evelyn stated simply.
Dan sighed softly.
"Look, Evelyn taught me how to do my laundry, how to cook can food and ramen noodles," Joanne said.
Evelyn taught her?
Joanne continued to rattle on, "Always lock my doors and windows when leaving the house and when going to bed. Do not walk in dark alleys. Always be aware of my surroundings, and a whole load of other stuff that Evelyn has already been nagging me about."
"Nagging?" Evelyn arched a brow.
"Kidding ... kidding." Joanne gave Evelyn a nervous smile.
"How long have you been preparing for this?" he asked.
"A while."
And Evelyn had been helping her.
Evelyn wasn't fond of Joanne at all, not after all that Joanne had done to Kate. So why was she doing this?
His gaze fell on Evelyn. If only he could read minds.
"I'll be fine," Joanne continued when he said nothing.
Evelyn had been living on her own since she was sixteen. There couldn't be a better person helping Joanne. And for the first time since the conversation took a turn, he finally breathed easier.
He leaned back and nodded. "When were you intending to tell me?"
"Soon, in a less public scene."
His head bobbed up and down as he thought things through. "Everything is settled? School admissions ... money?"
"Yes, and probably yes. Evelyn settled all the admission stuff for me. I think Mom and Dad will help me with the money. Otherwise, Kate has agreed to help me with whatever I need while I find a part-time job."
He turned to Kate and smiled gratefully. Though he was somewhat offended that Joanne hadn't come to him for help, he was glad that she'd chosen the next best alternative.
"I'm sorry. She made me promise not to tell," Kate said with a wry smile.
He already knew how good Kate was at keeping secrets, but he couldn't believe that Evelyn hadn't told him anything when they were going out. Then, a sudden realization hit him. "Kate knew, so that means you knew," he said while glaring at Tyler.
Applying his signature style to avoid talking, Tyler merely shrugged.
"I made him promise not to tell," Kate interjected. "Joanne wanted to make sure that everything was settled before announcing it."
There was no way he was going to win the war. Putting aside his bruised ego for being blindsided, he had to admit that it was a positive step forward for Joanne. "Looks like you've got everything covered. If you need anything else, I hope you'll remember that you have a brother."
Joanne laughed. "I will. Now that I know you're not going to stop me, I will."
With that, all the guys wished her well while Dan dove into his own interrogation, prying all the details from Joanne.
When everyone was done with breakfast, Joseph helped Ryan back to his room, and Lydia left for her own house. Dan lingered in the kitchen; he wasn't through with Joanne.
"Going to the office today?" Evelyn asked Kate.
"Yup."
"All right. Tyler can drop you off, right? I'm going to head off first," Evelyn said and strode out of the kitchen.
Kate made no objection, but Dan saw how her eyes bore into Evelyn's back. Kate wasn't the sort who'd pry information out of people, but she'd definitely be keeping a closer watch on Evelyn.
Since he wasn't able to do so, he was glad someone would be watching Evelyn's back.
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