^^^EVIE AND CAIN IN THEIR OUTFITS...❤️

"How can you even mix the two? That sounds disgusting," he said, the revolt clear on his face.

"Hey! Don't knock it unless if you've tried it," I argued.

"I don't think I'll be trying it soon," he said as he put a packet of pasta into the cart.

Cain and I were doing our respective grocery shopping, and luckily the store didn't have many people in it. He'd gone to the board meeting early in the morning and it hadn't gone well. The board is divided like he'd suspected, which meant that the decision is still hanging in the air.

He was pretty much in a mood by the time he left the boardroom, so he called it a day at the office and surprised me back at my apartment. That's when I remembered that I have no food, something that he also doesn't have, so here we are.

"Chicken or beef?" he asked me, holding up soup packets.

"Both," I replied.

"Do you cook?" he asked as we continued down the aisle.

"Depends on how I'm feeling, but yes, I can cook. It's one of my favourite things to do," I replied.

"I can't cook to save my life. I burnt a boiled egg, and broke the stove from trying to cook porridge and that was the last time my mother let me step foot into the kitchen," he informed.

I guffawed. "How have you survived so long on your own?"

"Honestly, I'm ashamed to admit that I've lived off of takeaways and noodles. Hopefully I won't have to suffer anymore," he hinted.

"I'm not becoming your personal chef Cain," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Never! You're just going to cook, and the food will just so happen to be enough for two," he joked.

I laughed, shaking my head. "Why am I even with you?"

"There are many ways that I could answer that question, but I feel like it might just have the opposite effect and have you questioning even more, so I'm just going to go with I'm cute," he replied, making me laugh harder.

"That you are Your Hotness, that you are," I teased.

"And now it's my turn to wonder why I put up with you," he said dramatically.

"Because if not me, then who?" I said with an innocent smile.

"Any other mean woman?" he taunted.

I gasped, smacking his arm. "Take that back."

He chuckled, wrapping his arms around my waist. "I'm kidding. If I'm going to choose a mean woman for life, she has to be an Evie Payton with her big and beautiful olive eyes, salivating curves and breath taking smile."

"Now you're just being a kiss ass," I said, blushing.

"I'm also telling you the truth. Ever since I've laid eyes on you, I see no other woman. You have ruined me for them, which means you have no choice but to keep me," he said with a cheeky smile.

I put my hand to my heart, feigning disappointment. "Oh how fate hates me. You get me and all I get in return is you?"

"Funny," he said, deadpan.

"It's alright Mr Bingham. I guess I'll have to settle for you for life," I sighed.

"I'm not sharing my ice-cream with you," he childishly said.

I giggled. "I can always get it for myself doofus."

"It won't taste the same.  It won't be sprinkled with the Cain," he said, looking like he was struggling to keep from laughing.

"The what?" I asked.

"Little bits of love from me," he replied.

I scowled. "That sounds so wrong."

"Get your mind out of the gutter Miss Payton. We're not there yet," he teased.

"Don't even try and make me look like the frisky one here," I said as I narrowed my eyes at him.

My breath hitched when his hands moved from my waist to my butt before he lightly squeezed. His eyes were full of lust and mischief as he bit his lip. "A little bit of friskiness never hurt anyone."

"We are in a grocery store," I said, my pulse racing.

He did the unexpected and picked me up, my legs wrapping around him as he put his head in the crook of my neck. "And?"

"And anyone could see us," I panicked. We were alone in the aisle, but anyone could appear at any moment.

I bit back a moan when his teeth lightly grazed my neck. "It's exciting, isn't it?"

"Yes," I said lowly as his kisses travelled from my neck to my face.

His lips were inches from mine. "Too bad you have to settle for just me huh?"

Before I even knew it, I was back on the ground and he was rolling the shopping cart down the aisle. It took me a few seconds to realize what had just happened, and once I did, he was already turning to the next aisle, laughing.

"You're an asshole," I told him once I'd caught up.

"I'll gladly be your asshole any day," he said, looking cute and all.

"Stop being adorable when I'm supposed to be mad at you," I scolded.

He laughed. "But that's the whole point. I don't want you to be mad at me."

"Should've thought about that before you pulled that stunt back there," I replied.

"But life is more exciting with stunts in it," he argued.

I surprised him by pushing him against the shelf. Once again, we were alone in the aisle, and I looked up at him, biting my lip (and praying that it actually looked seductive). From the look on his face, I was on the right track. A sound emitted from his chest when I ran my hands under his t-shirt, feeling his rock hard abs.

Good lord!

I stood on my toes, my lips inches from his. "I guess you're onto something."

I kissed him softly but denied him the opportunity to deepen the kiss. Before he knew it, I was pushing the cart down the aisle. When I heard the cans fall behind me, I laughed. I didn't even want to know what had happened as I took the necessary goods from that aisle. It was the last aisle before we had to go and pay. He joined me as I arrived at the till.

"I'm so going to get back at you for that," he told me.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I feigned innocence. The cashier had her eyes glued to him as she swiped our stuff.

"Oh? That's how you want to play this game?" he asked.

"Let it go on record that you started this frisky," I teased.

He smirked, making me a little nervous. "Alright beautiful, but remember that you responded. This is officially war."

I won't lie and say that I wasn't turned on, because I was. I don't actually think I've ever been turned on before, or at least not like this. I wanted to jump this man's bones, and from the smirk on the idiot's face, he knew that much.

"Are you paying cash or card?" the cashier asked him.

He frowned. "Why would you assume that I'm the one who's paying? My girlfriend is just as capable of paying as I am."

"I, uh, you're the guy?" she stuttered, all kinds of flustered.

"He's paying by card," I saved her.

He laughed. "You're making me pay."

"You bet your ass I am. You were mean to the poor child and she just asked a simple question, so you get to pay," I replied.

"That makes no sense, but it's you, so I wasn't expecting it to," he teased.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Keep going Bingham. We'll see how quickly you can be single again."

"You guys are cute together," the cashier commented, swiping the last item.

"I told her that, and she punched me. Maybe I was better off single," he lied.

"Keep telling lies and you will find your ass single," I mock warned, making the cashier laugh at us.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Only my Evie has my heart and she's gentle with me and it. She's the most beautiful, intelligent and caring woman I have ever had the pleasure of knowing," he said dramatically.

"Pay the nice lady and let's get gone before you embarrass me further," I joked.

"I'm touched," he said, deadpan, as he handed over his card.

He paid and we got everything into the cart before leaving for his car. We'd taken his SUV since he wanted to buy some new gadget or something. I'd be lying if I said I was paying attention. It's hard to when you're looking at someone's lips and thinking about how you want to kiss them.

"What did you say we were going to buy again?" I dared to ask.

"I need new kitchen appliances since I don't exactly have any. I'm guessing I should also invest in some pots," he replied, sounding a little nervous.

"Cain, just what do you have in your kitchen?" I asked curiously.

He sighed. "Don't judge me ok? I was serious when I said I've lived off of noodles and takeaways. I own a fridge, a microwave, a kettle, two cups, two plates, two bowls, a spoon, a fork, a butter knife, two glasses, three wine glasses and a water bottle."

I could only stare at him in disbelief. I didn't know whether or not to laugh, but time won because before I knew it, I was crying from how hard I was laughing. He was all kinds of red in the face, and that only made me laugh harder.

"You are officially the weirdest person I know," I said breathlessly.

"You're judging me," he pointed out.

"This isn't judgement. I'm genuinely amused by this. What were you going to give me for breakfast yesterday when you wanted me to stay?" I asked curiously.

"I was going to give you cereal, but now do you see why I need saving?" he asked.

"Oh, you need it badly alright. How come your mom hasn't saved you? Surely no mother would want to see her son suffering so much," I argued.

"She hasn't been to my new place yet. The last time we saw each other was at my father's funeral. Things weren't okay between us before that, and they haven't been fixed since," he replied.

I reached out to hold his hand. "I'm sorry."

"I wish I could say it's ok, but no child wants to fight with their mother you know? It sucks, but there's only so much I can tolerate before it's too much. Anyway, she's fine with living her life without me," he said.

"But you're not," I said knowingly.

"She's my mother Evie. I would do anything to have her back," he said, ending on a lower note.

I only knew a little bit about his mother. While he had a lot to tell me about his father, he barely said anything about his mother. All I know is that she's been an alcoholic for three years now, and he doesn't know what brought her sudden drinking about. It broke their marriage apart, and it's had an effect on him since.

"And I'm sure fate will give you that opportunity," I replied.

He brought my hand up to his lips, laying a soft kiss on it. "What about you? Are you going to try and reach out to your mom?"

"She supports her youngest daughter marrying her eldest daughter's husband. She told me when I was four years old that I'm not her child, and she's never told me that she loves me. That woman isn't my mother," I replied.

He looked concerned. "You sound ok with that."

"It's because I am. Unlike you, your mother loves you, so you know for sure that something happened to make her the way she is right now. I on the other hand, have no idea what I did for that woman to hate me, therefore there's nothing I can do to change how she feels about me, and I'm honestly done trying. My father loved me enough for the both of them, so I received all the love that I needed to grow. It may have taken me a while to realize it, but I know better now. I don't need anyone in my life who doesn't want to be in it," I explained.

Understanding seemed to dawn on him as he nodded slowly. "Well, I'm not going anywhere since I very much want to be in your life."

"And you are most welcomed in it," I said with a smile.

We reached the home owner store, and I learnt that they basically have everything a home owner could need here. Cain came to help me out of the car, and as soon as I was out, I took a moment to appreciate just how good looking he is.

When we decided to go shopping, he went back to his apartment to change out of his suit and into something more casual, which ended up being a pair of black jeans, a black t-shirt, a white loose shirt and black chukka boots.

He thought it would be 'cool' for us to match since I was dressed in black shorts, a white blouse and black ankle strap heels. Cain is a dork honestly, but every time I see that stupid dimple, I can't help but submit to its cuteness.

"This place has everything," I commented as we walked through some of the aisles hand in hand.

"That only means we'll save time when we're shopping for our house," he commented teasingly.

I smacked him. "Don't even joke like that."

"Who said I was joking Mrs Bingham?" he asked with a smirk.

Before I could question anything, he caught the attention of one the people who work here, and that was the last time I had his attention since it seemed he was avoiding me. He'd only talk to me to ask for my opinion on something he was interested in getting.

By the time we were done, three hours later, he'd basically bought enough things to redecorate his place. I have seen people who are addicted to shopping for clothes, shoes and gadgets, but it was a first for me to see someone enjoying house shopping.

"I'm pretty sure you got stuff you don't even need," I commented as they loaded everything into a delivery truck.

His car was full too.

"You're probably right, but we can always take them with us when we move," he replied.

I narrowed my eyes at him, making him laugh as he wrapped his arms around me. "That's the second time you mention us moving in together. It's only been two days you crazy man."

He caressed my cheek. "I know it's only been two days mean woman, but I know what I feel, and I never doubt my gut feeling. I'm obviously not saying that we should move in together tomorrow, but I am saying that I see us potentially getting to that point. I really want to see where this goes. You fascinate me more than any other woman ever has, and to me, that means a lot. I have a new lease on life now, and I get excited thinking about seeing you, about being in your presence. I don't want to scare you or anything. I just want you to never doubt that I'm in this."

I guess looking at it, I'm slightly to blame for this, his reaction that is. He's probably worried that I don't believe him, but after that, I couldn't not believe him. Cain has a sincerity about him, especially when he's speaking from the heart, so it's not hard to believe him.

"I guess I hear you. I just don't want us to get so lost in our bubble that we lose touch with reality. I'm the happiest I've probably been my entire life, and that scares the hell out of me, but it also excites me because I trust you and I also see us being together, as short a time as we've known each other. I just want us to work I guess," I replied.

"And we will if we're in this together, and we don't let outside forces have any effect on our relationship," he said with that dimple making him all the cuter.

I giggled before I got onto my toes to kiss him. "I really like you Mr Bingham."

"I guess I'll have to settle for you Mrs Bingham," he teased, making me pinch him.

He pulled a face as he laughed. "You're so violent woman."

"I am many things, but violent has never been, isn't and will never be one of them," I said innocently.

"Mhmm," he said, laughing.

We headed back to the apartment building, and we had to spend some time getting his stuff up to his place with help from the guys from the store. They even stayed long enough to help Cain connect and put up some of the things, while the others we figured we'd do ourselves. Cain tipped them for their services before they went on their way.

"Do you want to start setting the rest of these up now?" I asked him.

He shook his head, pouting. "I'm tired enough as is, and I'm hungry."

"I guess we can do everything else tomorrow since you have your meeting tonight. You'll probably want to do nothing when you come back," I commented. Tomorrow was a Saturday.

"That sounds good to me. What are we eating?" he asked, a silly look on his face.

"You want me to cook for you, don't you?" I asked knowingly.

"Please," he pleaded with a pout.

"Alright you grown baby! Let's take my food with," I suggested.

"Our food," he corrected as we grabbed the shopping bags.

"Yeah, yeah," I laughed.

We headed over to my apartment, except it was unlocked. I was extremely confused, and I couldn't think about who could possibly be there since I'm the only one with a key. I could hear voices and I followed them. The last people I expected to find sitting on my couch was a couple.

The woman is a stunning chocolate beauty. She looks like a model with her high cheekbones and feisty but sexy and exotic looks. The man on the other hand has brownish blonde hair, and blue eyes that remind me of someone. From how cosy they looked, and their wedding rings, it's obvious that they're married.

"Uh, hi," I said awkwardly, bringing them out of their bubble.

The man beamed, standing up to hug me. "Evie! I finally get to meet you. I understand I'm the last Van de Woodsen to do so."

"Artemis?" I asked unsurely.

"The one and only. It's lovely to meet you. This is my wife Ivy. Love, this is Evie Payton, Gordon's daughter," he introduced as she stood up to hug me as well.

I guess he knows about my not being legally married.

"It's lovely to meet you Evie. Your father was an incredible man," she told me.

"You knew him?" I asked.

She nodded. "He was the officiator at our wedding."

Oh?

"I didn't know that," I replied.

Artemis looked behind me. "Cain."

"Artemis, Ivy," Cain said plainly.

"What are you doing here?" Artemis asked him.

"I'll be in the kitchen," Cain instead told me. I nodded because it was clear he didn't want to be here.

"What is he doing here?" Ivy asked me.

"I'm sorry if this comes across as harsh, but it's none of your business. The real question here is what are the two of you doing in my apartment?" I asked.

"Right, fair enough. We were sent by Aramis. He had to leave with Emily to Barcelona, so he asked me to come and explain a couple of things to you if you don't mind," Artemis informed.

"I don't, but how did you get in?" I asked.

"You didn't lock the door, so we figured we'd wait for you. You should really check twice before leaving," Ivy suggested.

I must've been distracted.

"I will be. I guess the two of you can stay. I was about to make lunch, but you can only stay if you tell me why you're so hostile towards Cain," I bargained.

"It's not that we're hostile towards him. I'm sure you know that he and my brother aren't the best of friends, and I guess he's just never seen us the same since his fallout with my brother, so he chooses to not be in our company. He's really the one who you'd have to talk to about being hostile," Artemis replied.

I guess there's only one way to solve this.

"Excuse me then," I said before heading to the kitchen.

Cain was packing away the food and I walked up to hug him from behind, making him stop. "Talk to me."

"There's not much to say," he said, not turning to face me.

"Why are you mad at them?" I asked.

He finally turned to face me. "They both knew what Aramis was doing and they kept it from me. Then they had the nerve to feel sorry for me about the whole thing."

"Did you ever talk to them about it?" I asked.

"I didn't need to. They knew and they said nothing. That was enough for me," he said angrily.

I reached to cup his cheek. "Hey, I'm only trying to help. The less anger you hold in your heart, the better."

"I know, but I guess there are just some things that I haven't forced myself to confront, and this is one of them. I just, I never thought I would have to. I've kept the Van de Woodsens at arm's length for so long that I was sure it would be that way for the rest of my life," he explained.

"Do you want them to leave?" I asked. I would gladly arrange to meet them somewhere else at another time.

He pursed his lips. "You would do that for me?"

"You came to me about the Zayn thing when you didn't really have to. You said to me that it would affect me, and in turn us, and this is the same. Having those people here makes you uncomfortable, which influences us. I want what you want," I responded.

He looked briefly surprised before smiling and pulling me in for a soft kiss. "How can you expect me to not see the rest of my life with you when you're this amazing?"

"Does that mean that they can stay?" I asked, smiling.

He sighed, nodding. "They can, but I want to talk to them. Let's clear the air first."

"Anything you want Your Hotness," I teased, earning a spank to the butt.

"Did you just spank me?" I asked, laughing.

"You can bet your ass I did," he said proudly.

"Thin ice Mr Bingham," I said grabbing his hand in mine. He laughed as I dragged him with me to the lounge, where Artemis and Ivy were once again in their bubble.

I wonder how long they've been together.

"We were wrong," Ivy was surprisingly the first to speak.

"What?" Cain asked in confusion.

"We know that we didn't show it at the time, and that's only because it took us a long time to realize it, but we're sorry because we know that we were wrong," Artemis added.

"I don't understand. You didn't care before," Cain pointed out.

"Look, my family can really be fucked up when we want to be, and it took being away from them to realize how toxic they can sometimes be. We've got this entitlement thing going on, and Ivy and I have worked on it. We realize that we were wrong in not only siding with my brother, but in hiding the truth from you too. My brother had no right to do what he did, and again, we blame entitlement for it. You didn't deserve what happened, so we're sorry for the part that we played in it," Artemis explained.

I was actually shocked by the fact that he'd admitted that they have an entitlement issue to begin with. As much as I love the Van de Woodsens, he's accurate about that. I don't even think they notice when they're doing it, but they sometimes project this thing of feeling like the world owes them.

I've never said anything about it because it's never really bothered me, and neither have I been at the receiving end of it, but I have seen it happen, so I knew exactly what he was talking about. I guess being compared to royalty can sometimes get to your head.

"Thank you for your apology. I can tell that it's sincere," Cain said after a while of silence.

"You look happy," Ivy commented.

Cain looked at me, a beautiful smile gracing his face. "My sunshine has pierced through the darkness."

"You are so cheesy," I said, blushing.

"I am many things, but cheesy has never been, isn't and will never be one of them," he mocked, making me laugh.

"I think I know why my brother left for Barcelona. Did he see you two together?" Artemis asked.

Cain nodded. "He wasn't the least bit happy, not that I care."

"Rightfully so! The two of you look adorable together," Ivy complimented.

"Thanks! So do you guys. How long have you been together?" I asked.

"We've known each other since elementary school, but we've been together since highschool, so a good sixteen years," Artemis informed, looking lovingly at his wife.

"And we've been married for thirteen of those years," Ivy added, looking at the man like it was the first time she was seeing him.

"That is amazing," I said in awe.

"Thank you. How long has this been going on for?" Ivy asked Cain and I.

Cain and I shared an amused look. "Two days."

The couple's eyes widened. "Two days?"

"Yep! She's got superpowers. She stole my heart and made me blind to any other woman in just two days," Cain said cheekily.

"We exchanged hearts and are planning to get married and have six kids," I added.

Our guests looked like they were both confused and petrified. "But you guys have such a natural chemistry. I would've sworn you'd been together at least a year."

"Nope! Just a good two ol' days, but that's all I needed to know that I want to be with her for the rest of my life," Cain admitted, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

Artemis turned to me. "Do you feel the same?"

"An eternity with the King of Hotness? How could I ever pass up the opportunity?" I joked, making them laugh.

"But seriously I do see it. I trust Cain with my life, and he makes me happy. We've only known each other for three days, so we can only see where time takes us," I replied.

"Well, I definitely ship you guys, so you have a fan in me," Ivy said.

I ship us too sister, I ship us too.

***
Elo Smurflettes

Thank you for your love and support! My laptop wasn't working so I took a while to update so my bad on that...

Anyway, please continue to support the book. I love you guys! ❤️

Katee (^^,)