“The sweet ones are the ones you have to look out for,” Noah said, smiling as he watched Brynn scrape her winnings toward the already huge pile of chips in front of her.
“There’s more to me than you might guess,” Brynn said cheekily. The cheekiness was aided by the beer she was drinking, but it was absolutely as cute as it would have been without the drink. She narrowed her eyes then. “You didn’t let me win, did you?”
Ava laughed. “I should let you think that.”
“You let her win sometimes?” Noah asked.
“They let me win so it feels better than me just beating them all the time,” Brynn said.
Ava laughed. “You’ve never drawn the long straw without help.”
“But every spelling bee you’ve ever won was because I let you,” Brynn told her.
Cori gave a low whistle. Ava knew that but they’d never said it out loud.
Ava sighed. “Yeah, okay. But I really was a better public speaker.”
“Still are,” Brynn agreed. “And I beat you at every science fair.”
“What did you win at?” Evan asked Cori.
Dammit, now she was going to have to look at him. She gave him a tight smile. “Against my sisters? Nothing. Ever.”
“You guys never let Cori win at anything?” Evan asked Brynn and Ava with a frown.
Oh, boy, that little bit of protectiveness was way too nice. “It wasn’t like that,” Cori said.
Ava laughed. “Cori would never have let us help her win anything.”
“Yeah, we were all in that spelling bee,” Brynn said, slurring spelling with bee slightly. “We all got up there and since they went alphabetical by last name, we went in a row. Ava spelled hers right, I spelled my first one right, and then Cori got up there and got the word macaroni. She spelled it wrong on purpose. The very first word.”
“You added an extra C or something?” Parker asked.
“Oh no,” Brynn jumped in enthusiastically before Cori could reply. “She spelled it i-h-a-t-e-t-h-i-s and then took a bow and walked off the stage. Right up the center aisle.”
Parker snorted. “Not into spelling bees, Cori?”
“Not into performing for our dad,” Cori said, before she really thought better of it.
“What’s that mean?” Evan asked, with another frown.
Cori sighed. These guys all thought Rudy was amazing and she was starting to understand that maybe he had been. Here. With them. But he hadn’t always been, and if these guys were going to be their friends, then they needed to know where the girls were coming from. “That was our fourth-grade spelling bee. It was the first time that our dad came to any of our school stuff. And it was when the three of us were up against each other. He was really into us being better than everyone else. And he was into which of us was smarter and tougher and better under pressure. I wasn’t going to stand up there and compete for his entertainment.”
Everyone was quiet for a few seconds until Ava lifted her glass of beer and said, “From then on, I was good at all the big public stuff and Brynn was good at all the behind the scenes stuff.”
“And Cori was good at…” Evan asked, clearly wanting her sisters to fill in the blank.
“Making sure we never missed a scary movie and knew every move to every popular dance and that we each colored our hair at least once.”
Cori felt a little catch her chest at the way her sister was looking at her. It was an expression full of affection, and for a second she felt stinging in her eyes.
“Only because she was letting you both be all kick-ass and—”
“Evan,” Ava interrupted. “It was awesome. We loved all of that.”
Cori pressed her lips together to keep from saying anything, or grinning, at the look on Evan’s face.
“What color?” Noah asked into the awkward moment.
“What color what?” Brynn asked.
“What color did you color your hair?”
Brynn grinned. “I had black stripes for a while.”
Noah lifted a brow.
“And I was a redhead for a while.”
He nodded slowly. “Nice.”
“She rocked that red hair,” Cori said.
“I’ll bet.” The look on his face was thoughtful. “But I like the blonde.”
Brynn blushed at that. And Ava laughed. “I was just going to say that your poker face is scary, Nerd Girl,” Ava told her. “But maybe it’s not as rock solid as I thought.”
“Shut up,” Brynn muttered, still blushing.
“Seriously though, I might need you at the negotiating table,” Ava said.
“Well, maybe I can just come to a meeting some time and pretend to be you,” Brynn said. “Like Cori’s been doing.”
Cori felt her cheeks flush. Everyone thought Brynn was the sweet one, but she’d just thrown Cori under the bus to get the attention off of her and her reactions to Noah. Wow. Cori turned to Parker, desperate for another topic. “Well, I guess if game night is supposed to be a date, then it’s you and me, huh?”
Parker opened his mouth to reply, but Noah and Brynn said, simultaneously, “This isn’t a date.”
“Well, hey, you can be my date then, Brynn,” Parker said, and Cori wanted to kiss him.
But Noah scowled at him. “What’s that mean?”
“Nothing,” Parker said with a shrug. “Evan and Ava are a pair and Cori isn’t my type. So if you’re not gonna date Brynn, then maybe I should.”
“Hey,” Cori protested, not really caring but unable to let it go by without comment. “Why am I not your type?”
“You’re too much fun,” Parker said.
“And that’s bad?”
“I don’t like to have fun.”
Cori snorted. “Oh, then you need someone like me.”
“He’s fine.” The two firm words came from Evan.
Cori couldn’t help but glance at him again. It would be really nice if he’d stop talking. And getting offended on her behalf. And acting possessive. Like he was now. He was watching her intently. And he didn’t look happy. Yeah, well, she wasn’t happy either. Though, she had to admit that she didn’t feel unhappy. Just kind of…unsatisfied. Tense. Itchy. Yeah, itchy fit. Itchy like her clothes were too tight and scratchy and in the way. Like she wanted to take them all off. And have someone…scratch her itch. Someone with big, strong hands and long fingers.
She cleared her throat. Parker had long fingers. Hell, Noah did too. And he did manual work with his hands. If Brynn wasn’t going to date him, maybe Cori should.
Of course, she didn’t want to.
“And you’re not supposed to be dating anyone,” Evan said.
And then there was that. “Well, then it’s a good thing this isn’t a date for anyone but you and Ava,” she said.
He looked like he was about to reply, but Noah said, “Yeah, you don’t need to date Brynn,” to Parker. “This is date night for Ava and Evan. Only.”
Okay, this was sufficiently distracting. And entertaining. Cori leaned in. “But Brynn is supposed to be dating,” she pointed out. “And she hasn’t even started.”
“She’s got plenty of time,” Noah said, still scowling.
Brynn’s cheeks were bright red. “We just got here.”
“Well, and you’ve been busy,” Cori said. She paused, then added, “With painting, and sewing, and stuff.”
All things that Noah had been around for.
“Right. Exactly.” Brynn sat up straighter. “Should we play again?” She started shuffling.
“Sure.”
“You bet.”
“Ava and I are just getting our signals down,” Evan said.
“Signals?” Brynn asked.
“Sure, the ones we’re using to cheat,” Evan said, giving that teasing grin that made Cori want to take her clothes off and climb right back into his lap, regardless of the fact that the last time had been kind of a bust.
“You’re cheating?” Brynn asked.
“We’re trying,” Eva
n said.
Brynn laughed. “Neither of you have won a single hand.”
“Well, we’re still figuring it out.” He gave Ava a wink and Cori shot to her feet.
“Who else needs a refill?” Cori honestly wasn’t sure how much more friendly, not-a-date-but-kind-of-a-date poker she could take. At least without more vodka and pomegranate juice. Or beer. Since that was what was being served tonight.
She took orders and headed for the kitchen with empty glasses and bottles. She rounded the corner into the kitchen and put a wall between her and Evan and all that fucking charm he just couldn’t shut off. It didn’t matter that Ava seemed unaffected by it all.
“Do you need help?”
She squeaked as Evan pushed through the door right next to where she was leaning. She straightened quickly and managed to not drop anything. “Nope, I’m good,” she said, moving toward the sink.
“You can’t carry all of that by yourself.”
“I’m very strong.” She set the glasses down. “And have wonderful balance.” She turned to face him, leaning against the edge of the sink. “And I’m incredibly flexible.”
Yeah, okay, she maybe shouldn’t have said that. That was taunting him. Or poking him. Or something. But honestly, she was lucky that was all she’d said.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
She lifted a brow. He was going to apologize for tossing her out of the truck?
“I thought tonight would be a good idea. Something fun for Ava that I’m guessing she doesn’t do often, or ever. But not public. But not just the two of us.”
Oh, that. Cori shrugged. “Hey, I’m all for game night.”
He watched her for a long moment. Then said, “But you didn’t have anything to do with this game night.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, we’re playing poker and eating chips and dip and drinking beer,” Evan said.
“So?”
“So, you made strawberry popcorn for us the other night.”
Cori swallowed hard and crossed her arms. “You didn’t like it?”
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.
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 t
o 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 responsible, 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.
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