CHAPTER 42
He went ahead to grill the meat while focusing on the other meal. He poured the rice he had washed in hot water earlier and poured that in boiling water. As the rice cooked, he faced the chicken. Occasionally, she passed him a bowl of ingredients to use. But he didn't let her stress herself. He did the majority of the work. Finally, he was done.
Evangeline yawned as Jason took his time dishing the meal. He was so serious about it. His face was stern as he carefully placed the fried chicken on the fried rice, something he did so methodically she didn't know rice could be fried that way. The rice was so green she couldn't wait to start eating. "Mr. Chef, can we eat here please? I could faint before we get to the dining."
"I figured we should too." He passed her the food tray where he had dished a plate of fried rice with chicken. Beside it was the barbecue. He handed her the cutlery and dished his food too. Before sitting, he opened the bottle of champagne but got Evan bottled water and juice. "Sorry." He apologized. "I promise to stop buying wine except for the nonalcoholic ones."
"It's fine. I want juice anyway." She waved off the apology as she dug into the meal. She was chewing excitedly, "Hmmmn. It's really good." She said.
"I know, right." He smiled.
Sampling the barbecue, she said, "It tastes different. What's the secret ingredient?"
He laughed. "I noticed that you didn't pay attention when I added my secret ingredient. So, no ma. Not telling."
"I'll figure it out, you know." She teased as she ate with such enthusiasm that Jason laughed.
"I love a lady that eats well." He told her as he started eating too. "The baby doing that to you?"
"I eat well naturally." She smiled, looking down at herself. "You saw how curvy I was then, even now, I'm not showing yet. So this is still all me. Although, I do have stronger urges now. I eat more too."
"You're showing already." He told her. 'Just look at the mirror when next. Scrutinize yourself well."
She smiled and sighed. She had just finished her meal. She smiled at the grilled barbecue for just a second, and she dug into it. "It's well sauced, and I love the mild taste of the honey."
"We aim to please." He joked, picking a line from the famous book Fifty shades.
"You read the book?"
"Of course. I skimmed through a couple of pages..."
"Men and books." She rubbed her head. When she started to cough, Jason looked at her, worried. He passed her the water. "I'm fine." She opened the water and drank slowly, smiling as he looked at her, still worried. "I'm okay."
"No more of that." He moved her hand away from the barbecue, but she quickly grabbed a big chunk and ran out of the kitchen. It was in her mouth before he could leave.
"Just sit down and enjoy your meal in one piece." He said, backing off. "And please don't choke on the meat."
"Yes, boss." She said, sitting down.
******
Sam and his team, who had been on a stakeout for the two men in the grey Camry, waited in the car all day. They had been on the lookout now for two days, and the car seems to have disappeared just as suddenly as it had appeared in Miami. It's been close to 12hours that he and his team had been waiting now without any success, and his team members were getting impatient. So, as the leader, he pulled a call through to his boss. James picked instantly.
"Any news?" James asked.
"Nothing from this end. Anything from the guy digging into their records?" Sam asked.
"No. He's yet to call. Though the man is insisting the said pilot was on the Smiths' payroll. So far, there's no concrete evidence. I need proof."
"I may have a way of getting that. I just got a contact that has solid dig into the Smiths. He can be a double agent, though."
"We can use him. Or her?"
"Him." Sam confirmed.
"Let me figure something out. There's an old colleague of my dad at DSS, and I'm meeting with him soon. The outcome will determine if we can still work your contact."
"Okay then."
"In the meantime, I still want you on the stakeout. The men are still here. I'm sure of that. They're probably just lying low for now. That only means they know they've been spotted." He warned. "Be careful."
"Sure, man."
***********
About that time, Jason and Evangeline had just finished their meal. After the dinner, Jason cleared the table while Evan insisted on washing the dishes. He stayed until she was done, and they both left the kitchen. She excused herself for a quick shower. When she got back, he had his suit in hand and was ready to go. "You're leaving?" She noted, somewhat disappointed
"Yes. I've got an early appointment tomorrow." He explained then offered, "Want to come down to Miami with me?"
"Nah. I'll pass."
"Okay then." He turned and started to walk out. Evan walked him to the car. The other driver working instead of James, got down to open the door and went back to the driver's seat. "Take care of yourself. I'll come to get you over the weekend if you want that."
"Yes. The weekend is okay."
"With me. Stay the weekend with me."
She hesitated, looking away and didn't see as he reached out for a hug. She was in his arms before she could object. When he thanked her, she asked, "What for? I should be the one to thank you." And he pulled away only to give her a full-blown kiss. Evan held onto him lightly. He smelled of a sweet mixture of his aftershave and sweat and the grilled meat all in one. She returned the sweet kisses with such enthusiasm that he became carefree too. He had wanted just a chaste kiss. Now, he leaned into her and backed them to the car, using it as support. She wanted to, wanted all he offered, but then, remembering the look on his face the last time things had progressed speedily, she pulled back.
If Jason noticed any change, he said nothing. He only smiled at her. "This weekend then? It's a date."
Evangeline stood on the spot, watching the car back out of her driveway. She waved just as another vehicle pulled over almost recklessly. Yelling at the driver, she stepped away only to be surprised the maniac driver was Logan. "Logan? Are you drunk?" She looked to see if Jason had spotted him but didn't see his car. He would have come back had he seen the other man.
"Did I just see you all tangled up with your baby daddy? Jason?" Logan asked, seething. He had been worried about her and came to see if they could talk about their relationship one last time. With Mary pulling the club stunt on him, he wanted to clear the air. But Jason beat him to it yet again. And he was so angry when the man pulled his woman to himself for a kiss. But what had stopped him was that Evan had leaned into him and kissed him right back. He needed no one telling him then that somehow, those two had grown on each other, leaving him out of the equation. He forced himself to listen as Evan said something to him.
"And?" She eyed him viciously. "We're done. What stops me from having a relationship with him?" She started to walk away. But he followed her even though she hadn't extended him an invitation in.
"Is that your excuse?" He stopped her and turned her to face him. "That we're done?" She shrugged, and he ran his hand through his hair in exasperation. "It's wrong. You can't be seeing that man. He isn't who you think he is, and he just lost his wife. Doesn't that tell you anything?"
"No. Nothing." She began to walk away. He followed her.
"He's using you both ways."
Evangeline sighed in irritation. She stopped at her door. "Really? That's all you can come up with? It's a wonder." She opened the door and wanted to shut it at him, but he pushed through.
"You can't be seeing him, babe. I want you back." He admitted.
Sighing, she sat down and pointed that he sits too. "We can't be together." She told him. Then, pointing at her stomach, she added, "I'm carrying his child."
"As his surrogate." He refused to concede, "It should end there. Give him his child and move on."
She smiled. "If only it were that simple."
Logan looked at her in total shock. The expression on her face said it all. He had lost his woman. He stormed out of her apartment in anger, wondering if they were really over. As he drove off in anger, he would deliberate how a particular friend had ruined his relationship. He would count back how his life had changed in just three months. His relationship had been going smoothly. Left to him, he had thought they were headed for the aisle. Who would have thought Evan would become a surrogate? Somehow though, he couldn't help shaking off the feeling that had all been perfect between himself and Evan, she wouldn't have been a surrogate to Jason Valdez, and now, he was stealing her heart away too.
