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David nodded, amused that Evan was still calling Paige ‘Cat Lady’, either out of habit or just because he liked to, David didn’t know.
“I’m really happy for you. Jacob, too.” Still a little bit in shock, Evan came around the bar and gave David a modified hug—somewhere between a woman-hug and a shoulder-slapping man-hug. “Congratulations.”
“What are you congratulating him for?” Evelyn asked, coming out from the back.
Since it was slow at the moment, Evan sat on the barstool next to David. “He’s engaged. And getting married in three months.”
Evelyn’s face paled as if she’d been told David had just robbed a bank at gunpoint and carjacked a vehicle from an old lady to get away, and blinked at David. “Oh, my God, no.”
David gave Evan a quick look before telling her, “So, you’re not going to congratulate me on my upcoming wedding?”
She leaned over the bar, now able to get really close, since having her baby a few months ago. “No. In fact I’m begging you not to go through with it. I think it would be a huge mistake.”
“Slow down.” Evan frowned at his sister. “You don’t even know who he’s going to marry.”
“I assume it’s Ashley. Who else would it be?”
“He’s not marrying Ashley. For Christ’s sake, you know he broke up with her like nine months ago.”
“That doesn’t mean they couldn’t have gotten back together—”
“Well, they haven’t. He’s marrying someone else.”
“Why didn’t you just lead off with that?” She glared at her little brother. “You scared the hell out of me.”
“If I’d known you were going to jump to an erroneous conclusion, I would have.”
“Erroneous? Did you get that off your Word-of-the-Day toilet paper?”
“It’s not on toilet paper. It’s on an app.”
Evelyn turned back to David, who was watching the back-and-forth between the siblings with amusement. “So, if you’re not going to marry Ashley, who are you going to marry? Someone you’ve only known for what, less than nine months? Are you out of your mind? What’s wrong with you?”
“Seriously, a simple ‘Congratulations’ would’ve sufficed,” David said blandly.
Evan grinned at Evelyn. “He’s going to marry his ex-wife. And no, I’m not making that up.”
“What in the world?” she asked David, staring at him. “You got engaged to your ex-wife? Why?”
“She was the one I never got over,” he explained, before giving her a quick rundown of his history with Paige.
“That’s … depressing and uplifting at the same time,” Evelyn said, now uncharacteristically subdued. “Do you have a picture of her?”
David pulled out his phone and got into his photos. “Here,” he said, showing her the recent picture of Paige and Jacob with ice cream on their faces.
When Evelyn saw the picture, she smiled. “Oh, David. She’s so pretty. And she looks like a really kind person.”
“She is. She’s amazing with Jacob, too.”
“She also eats cake, bacon, gives lingam massages, and wears Agent Provocateur lingerie,” Evan added helpfully.
“Why do you know all of that?” Evelyn asked, with a semi-horrified look.
Evan’s lips twitched, and David immediately told him, “If you say one fucking word, I’ll have to ask someone else to be my best man.”
Chapter 85
Since Paige’s birthday fell on a Saturday this year, and she had to work a wedding that evening, it was decided that the ‘tradition’ with Jules had to be modified. So, everyone (Valerie, Jacob, Jules, Paige, David, Evan, and Dolly) met at Champagne, a ridiculously expensive restaurant downtown for brunch to celebrate. It was a good time, with delicious food, never-ending mimosas, and spirited conversation, much of which revolved around Paige and David’s engagement and up-coming wedding.
