by Zoe York
He laughed and took a step closer to her. Then seemed to realize that he shouldn’t do that and stopped and tucked his hands into his pockets. “I loved it, Cori. It was great. So was the chili lime popcorn.”
She relaxed a little, but tried not to show it. “Well, I didn’t know if you’d prefer sweet or savory.”
Again there was a long moment of quiet. Then he said, “Sweet.” His voice sounded a little gruff. “If I had to pick, it would always be sweet.”
She cleared her throat. “What’s your point?”
“You made popcorn, and not just any popcorn, for other people. There’s no way that if you were in charge of game night that we’d be having chips and dip from a container.”
“You don’t like the dip?”
He blew out a breath and gave her a look. “Of course, I do. It’s fine. It’s stuff I’ve eaten a million times. I like it. I’ll eat it again, another million times.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
He didn’t answer. Instead he asked, “What would you have done with game night?”
“I don’t know what you mean.” But she shifted against the counter. No, none of tonight was her idea. Ava had set it up. And it was fine. Chips and beer went perfectly with poker, and poker was a great game. Lots of fun.
“Yes you do. Come on,” he said. “What would you have done with game night?”
“I didn’t think about it.” She hadn’t. She’d very specifically not thought about it.
“So think about it now.”
“I need time to plan something. I can’t just pull an idea out.”
“Yes you can.”
“Why is this so important?”
“Because…I just want to know,” he finally said. “And I want you to see it.”
“See what?”
“That even things that are completely fine, good even, are better with your touch.”
Oh man. She wasn’t good at resisting things she wanted on the best day. But when that thing said things like that? Character building. This is character building. She squeezed her arms, reminding herself she needed to be hands-off with Evan. “Yeah, well, sometimes I touch things too much.”
He shook his head slowly. “Not for me.”
Geez.
Finally, he sighed and turned. “Okay, back to poker.”
He pushed the door open and Cori felt her mouth open without conscious command. “Adult Candy Land.”
He turned back. “How do you play?”
“Each color means you have to do something different. Sing, act out a scene, do the hokey pokey, give someone a compliment, take a shot.”
“With all different kinds of candy for snacks?”
“Candy themed shots,” she said. “And spiked gummy bears.”
He gave her a big, satisfied smile. “That’s my girl.”
Then he went back to the dining room. And Cori went back to pretending that she wasn’t falling in love for the first time in her life and complicating everything when she wasn’t even supposed to be dating and when her life had half a chance at being pretty simple for a change. Because that would be just a little too typical.
Chapter 11
“This is your main office?”
Evan’s heart thumped in the second before he looked up to see Cori standing next to his picnic table.
“Hey,” he said, surprised and thrilled to see her. Especially considering it had been raining for the last few hours. He took his glasses off. The better to see her. “What are you doing here?”
She looked amazing. She always looked amazing, but today she was dressed in a white skirt with a red hoodie and red rain boots. She had streaks of mud on her legs above the boots, as if she’d cut across the playground instead of sticking to the sidewalk. Then Evan realized that of course she’d done that. He wouldn’t be surprised if she’d stopped to swing for a few minutes or gone down the slide a couple of times. Her hair was wet, she had no makeup on, and she was smiling at him. All of which made him want her.
No, he already wanted her every second. But her appearance today—mud and all—made him want to put her up on his picnic table and feel those red rubber boots digging into his ass.
Plus she was carrying pie.
“I stopped by your office but Claire told me you were at your main office,” she said. “And then pointed me over here.”
He laughed. Claire was his receptionist and paralegal. “I like to work here whenever I can.”
“Even when it’s raining?”
“I hardly notice in here.” He was sitting at his usual picnic table under the huge wooden enclosure where he met with ninety percent of his clients. There was something about a picnic table that made people relax, and he liked to think that being in the park was a reminder that there were bigger and better things than whatever legal issue someone was dealing with.
“I don’t suppose it’s a coincidence that this is the Ethan Stone Memorial Pavilion?” Cori asked.
Evan shook his head. “Ethan was my dad. My grandparents built this as well as putting in the big rose garden and the basketball courts after he died.”
“Wow. That’s a pretty cool memorial.”
He smiled. “It is. It’s perfect. My dad was well-known as a guy who loved to be outdoors and just have a good time.”
“Like you.”
He shrugged. “It’s more that I’m like him.”
She was quiet for a few seconds and Evan just let her study him. Finally, she said, “On purpose, right?”
“What do you mean?”
“You take after him on purpose. You try to be like him. That’s why you do all the stuff around the community and love to go out and party.”
Evan shouldn’t have been surprised that she’d figured that out. He and Cori had a lot in common. But where she was doing the opposite of what her father had wanted from her, at least the father she’d known growing up, Evan was trying to fill his father’s shoes. And he didn’t need a high-priced New York shrink to point that out. He nodded. “My dad was beloved. He was the guy everyone always wanted around. People still talk about how much fun he was. He died when I was twelve and I still remember how packed the church was for his funeral. Standing room only.”
Cori pressed her lips together. They were quiet for several seconds. Then she asked, “How did he die?”
“Plane crash.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Really?”
“It was a small plane. He was flying it. Alone.”
“Wow, was that what he did for a living?”
Evan shook his head. “The plane was for fun. Though most of his work was fun too. He did a little bit of everything. He was a handyman and helped a few farmers. He trucked for a while. He dabbled in a couple of different businesses. He liked a flexible schedule and working for himself.”
“Wow, I can relate to that. It feels like I’ve done a million different things. Not very stable though.” She shook her head. “Sorry, I didn’t mean that disrespectfully.”
Evan gave a short laugh. “No offense taken. You’re right. It was important to him that he enjoy what he was doing. All the time. Whether he was working or relaxing. He didn’t want to be tied down to something.” Evan frowned as a thought occurred to him. “He liked to be able to move on when it wasn’t fun anymore.”
Cori took a deep breath. “Yeah, I definitely get that. I’d also move on when things seemed to not be fun for everyone else anymore.”
“What do you mean?”
“I was the girl who brought in cookies and arranged Friday happy hours and potlucks. I cracked jokes. I remembered birthdays. When the boss was crabby, I figured out ways to lighten things up. But I was never the girl anyone came to with big issues or important projects. And after a while, the people who do the real work get tired of the one who doesn’t take anything seriously.”
That caused a different type of squeeze in his chest. How many times had he heard from his grandfather that he should be more serious and responsibl
e, to not turn out like his father, who could never commit to anything long-term? Even Rudy had told him that he was capable of more than he was doing.
“People don’t really get tired of cookies and happy hours, do they?”
She shrugged. “Well, anyone can do cookies and happy hours. It’s the attitude and work ethic, or lack of, that people get tired of.”
She thought they’d gotten tired of her. As someone who didn’t think he’d ever get enough of her, everything in him rebelled against that idea. And Evan would have put good money down on the fact that everyone who had ever worked with Cori, remembered her with a smile. Like they did his father. “I bet you were the one they came and got when a customer was pissed off, though.”
She tipped her head. “How did you know that?”
“Because you make people feel good, Cori.”
She wet her lips, looking very much like she wanted to say something but was carefully considering it. Finally, she thrust out her hand. “I brought you pie.”
He really wanted to delve into it more. The whole she-was-amazing thing. But he’d been the one telling her to take it easy on some of her ideas. He still didn’t know what a photo booth had to do with a pie shop. Yet, he loved the idea. He’d carefully steered her toward the office and books rather than entertain that idea and that made him feel like crap. And restless. And like he was making a mistake.
“What did I do to deserve pie?” he finally asked.
“Well, I take bacon very seriously. And I realized I’d never introduced you to bacon and Nutella. So…” She sighed. “You were on my mind the other night when you were over having movie night with Ava. And this is what turned out.”
He took the pie from her, staring at it. He’d been on her mind. Thank God. Because he thought about her constantly. “You made me bacon and Nutella pie?”
“Hank and the guys said it was really good.”
“I’m sure it is.” Holy crap. He was already on the verge of begging this woman to let him worship at her feet. And now this? He was a goner.
“I invited them all over,” she said. “The other night. To the shop. I…”
She paused and Evan looked up. “You invited Hank and the guys over to the shop?” he asked. “They weren’t there at their usual time?”
“It was during the movie night,” she said. “I was there…and thinking, or wondering, I guess…about my dad. And I found some pictures of me and my sisters in his drawer and I…suddenly had the urge to talk to someone. About him.” She swallowed. “The guys came over and told me stories about him, told me the stories he’d told them. It was…great.”
Evan felt a fist squeezing his heart, and he had to try twice to finally get a smile out. She hadn’t talked to him because he’d been busy watching a movie with her sister. He was glad that she’d talked to the guys though. They’d known Rudy even better than Evan had. Still, he really wanted to be the one who was there for her. “I’m glad. I’m proud of you,” he added, truly meaning it.
She seemed startled. “Proud of me?”
He nodded. “Based on your past with him, it was a risk. You didn’t know how those stories would turn out.”
She gave him a soft smile. “But I did. Because of you.”
The fist around his heart squeezed harder. “Because of the stories I told you about him?”
“Because you loved him.”
Evan clenched his teeth and fought the urge to grab her and hug her. Because he’d never let her go once he started. “That means a lot to me.”
“Me too.”
Not knowing what else to do, besides the hugging, of course, he shuffled some papers into a folder and tucked them inside his bag.
“Where’s your briefcase?” she asked, eyeing the bag.
He shook his head. Damn that briefcase. “That case isn’t really me.”
She grinned. “No kidding.”
He narrowed his eyes. She was clearly teasing him. “I was trying to make a good first impression.”
“You did,” she told him with a nod. “But it was the tennis shoes that did it.”
He chuckled. “You want to stay for a little while?”
“Sure. If I’m not interrupting?”
“No, not at all. I just finished my last meeting of the day.”
“Some big legal case?” She boosted herself up on the table, her feet resting on the bench next to him. Because Cori didn’t even sit at picnic tables like everyone else.
God, he was crazy about her.
“Um, no,” he said, focusing on her question instead of the bare legs that were slick from the rain and very much within stroking distance. “I was actually the client in that meeting.”
“Oh? Everything okay?”
She looked concerned. He nodded. He hadn’t told anyone else about what he’d been looking into, but suddenly he wanted to tell her. “I had this idea and I just wanted to see what it would take.”
She tipped her head. “What’s the idea?”
“I was talking with a company that builds miniature golf courses. I’ve been thinking about putting one in. Here in the park.”
“Oh, that’s so cool!” She grinned. “I love mini-golf.”
Of course she did.
“Where are you going to put it?” she asked, scanning the area as if she could see the perfect spot from here.
But she could. The perfect spot was a few yards behind the pavilion.
“I haven’t really decided.”
“When are you going to do it? Can you get it in before this summer? How long does something like that take to build?”
He shook his head with a smile. He couldn’t help it. Her excitement was contagious. “Yeah, they said they could start next month.”
“That’s really fun! Everyone will be excited.”
“But I’m not doing it.”
She frowned. “What? Why?”
He sighed. “Because I’m now in charge of a foundation that has a ten million dollar trust.”
“Yeah. Exactly. He gave you the money for the town, right?”
“Yeah. Exactly.”
Her frown deepened. “What are you talking about?”
“Rudy gave me a shit ton of money to take care of this town. I don’t think he meant for me to build a mini-golf course.”
“But that was the first thing you thought of?”
“I’d thought of it a while ago—that it would be something fun and that my dad would have loved—but I hadn’t looked into the details. I knew it would be too expensive.”
“And now you did look into it.”
“Yeah.”
“And you can definitely afford it now.”
“Yeah.”
“What’s the problem?”
“Don’t you think a ten million dollar trust should be used for something more…serious?”
“Serious? Like a library or something?”
“Yeah.”
“Does Bliss need a library?”
“No. We have one. But I just…it’s ten million dollars.”
She laughed. “Well, what did Dad want you to do with the money?” she asked. “What did you talk about? What did he think the town needed?”
Evan shook his head. “He didn’t tell me anything specifically. He told me it was up to me.”
Cori shrugged. “Well, then you should build the mini-golf course.”
“I think he wanted me to do something more than that,” Evan told her.
“Why do you think that?”
“Because he told me I could do more than what I’d been doing.”
“Ah.” She didn’t say anything more for a moment.
Then she shifted, dropping down to straddle the bench beside him. The action made the skirt pull up on her thighs and made him wonder what kind of panties she was wearing today. But he made himself focus on her face.
“Evan, are you sure you’re thinking about Rudy here, and not your grandfather?”
Evan felt like she’d just punched him in the
chest. “Wh—” He cleared his throat. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that you’ve been following in your father’s footsteps all these years. And you’ve felt a little guilty about it because your grandfather wants you doing…more…something different. Every time you do something fun for this town, you feel like you’re honoring your dad on one hand, and disappointing your grandfather on the other.” She reached out and covered his hand with hers. “I think you need to figure out who you want to be. Not become your father, not rebel against your grandfather, but decide who you are. And then be that guy with your whole heart.”
His whole heart was thudding almost painfully against his sternum at the moment as he stared at the party girl who had been keeping people firmly on the other side of the wall around her heart. The guys at the coffee shop had probably given her some of this insight. No doubt they’d told her about his grandfather. Maybe even his dad. But some of this—maybe a lot of this—was coming from her. Because they really were a lot alike. “Like you’re working on deciding who you want to be?” he asked, his voice gruff.
She didn’t seem surprised that he’d figured that out. Or said it. She gave him a nod. “Yeah. Like that.”
He turned his hand over and laced his fingers with hers.
“Rudy knew you really well, right?” she asked softly.
He nodded. “Yeah.”
“Then I think you need to consider the fact that when he said you could do more, he didn’t mean you should do something different. It’s very possible he meant you should do more of what you do.”
“What I do?” He gave a short laugh. “I don’t really do anything, Cori. I have fun.”
“And he knew that. He knew who you were. He knew that you loved this town. He knew that you made people happy. And he loved you, Evan.” She squeezed his hand. “He would have wanted you to keep being who you are.”
Evan stared at her, his heart pounding suddenly.
“When you and Rudy hung out, what did you do?” she asked.
“Ate pie,” Evan said hoarsely. “Went to ball games. Fished. Sat here.”
“So you weren’t serving soup in a homeless shelter or creating a workable plan for universal health care,” Cori said.
He lifted an eyebrow. “He helped us serve breakfast for the veterans on Veterans Day.”