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“Oh shit! I lost track of time.”
“I’ll tell him you’re on your way.” Fiona eased the door closed.
Flustered, Evie snatched her denim jacket and stood, forcing her left arm down its rumpled sleeve. “He, uh, hates when I’m late.”
“But five minutes is nothing.” Nick rose to his feet and held up the shoulder of Evie’s coat, helping her slip her right arm inside.
She pulled her hair free from the stiff collar. “Thanks.”
“If he’s pissed, blame me.” Nick tightened the knot of his tie, the desire to shield Evie from prospective fallout paramount. “It’s my fault, not yours.”
Evie removed her phone from her jacket pocket and peered up at him, her big brown eyes wistful but torn like she wasn’t ready to say goodbye. At least not like this. “It’s no one’s fault. Sometimes stuff just…happens.”
She swallowed hard and licked her lips…and something inside Nick shifted, sending his pulse on a heated sprint. Stuff like this? His gaze lingered on her mouth, wet and pouty and irresistibly mesmerizing, the urge to kiss her, to hold her close, all-consuming.
“Evie…” Nick whispered as he reached out, slowly tucking her hair behind her ear.
She sucked in a breath. “Yeah?” A spark of a smile teased her cheeks.
“S-O-S!”
The rousing chorus made them both jolt. Evie’s eyes fell first, followed by Nick’s. Alight in her palm, the name STUART beckoned on her phone as Rihanna sang urgently.
“I-I gotta go.” Stepping back, Evie accepted the call and spun toward the door, phone pressed to her ear. “I’m sorry! I’m coming!”
“I’ll text you!” said Nick.
Evie didn’t glance back.
TEN
EVIE
Now, Saturday, June 24
“Remember when we were small and we’d try to write with our non-dominant hand?” Evie dumped another cup of rolled oats into a pot of boiling water. “It’s like that.” She held up her right hand swaddled in gauze. “Only this time I can’t swap back.”
Dressed in a high-necked, floor-skimming, Victorian-era nightgown, Fiona tucked an escaped curl back inside her cotton nightcap. “How long does it have to stay bandaged?”
“A week or two. Depends how quickly the blistering goes away.” Evie turned the burner down to a medium-low heat.
“Good thing Nick was around.” Fiona picked up her tea. “It could’ve been much worse.”
Evie added a large pinch of salt. “Yeah…”
“How’s it been working together?”
“Bizarre.” Plunging a spoon into the pot, Evie gave the dancing oats a stir. “The Nick I used to know was always taking directions, not giving them. He’s making financial decisions for the entire production. What’s up with that?”
“The guy who used to throw money around like confetti.” Fiona snickered above her cup. “God, remember how he’d show up with the latest phone, the trendiest clothes? I don’t think he ever wore the same thing twice.”
Except his pink button-down…and the bowling shirt. Evie stifled a melancholy sigh. Nick loved those.
“He stopped in to see Ava and Poppy last night,” said Fiona. “Stayed for dinner. He couldn’t believe how big they’ve grown.”
“Did Ava remember him?”
“Barely. Tarquin will be happy.” Fiona grinned. “He’s still her favorite uncle by a country mile.”
