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“Oh, my God. When did the two of you get married? How long have you known each other? This is so exciting!” She finally pauses for breath but doesn’t let go of my arms that she’s clutching with enthusiasm.
“Three years ago and three years ago,” I finally answer dryly. Evie frowns.
“Oh dear. And here a complete stranger accosts you and wants you to spill all the personal details. I’m sorry, Betsy.” She lets go of me but it turns out it’s only to pull me into another hug. “Is Heath being difficult?” She finally asks with a fierceness I find charming.
“A little,” I admit.
Evie grins. “Well, payback is always fun. Even though I am grateful that he did help bring Duke to me, so…”
I stare down at her, wondering what the hell she’s talking about. She finally releases me completely and leans back against a sink, folding her arms like a general preparing for battle. “You know about the book club, right? And the special books?”
I shake my head. “Book club, yes, but what books? There’s the pile Heath doesn’t want me to read but…”
Evie giggles. “You’ll have to give me your recommendations from that pile. I’m always looking for new authors. No, I meant the ones Damien writes for the wounded veterans, to get them motivated and inspired.”
I shake my head again slowly. “No, I know nothing about those.”
Evie sighs like she doesn’t have time to explain. “Well, it started with Duke. He only admitted he had feelings after reading a book where a character like me married a lawyer. He still gets hot under the collar when anyone says that word.” She shrugs in disbelief. “Anyway, there have been heaps more books since. But that doesn’t really matter to you. But if you didn’t know about them, then you can’t know that Heath has a book too.”
I blink. “He does? What does it say?”
Evie shakes her head, smiling. “I think you need to read it. It might help explain… things,” she ends limply and my eyes narrow. She knows. She knows about his injuries and I’m wondering exactly how, seeing as they’re not publicly visible.
“How do you…?” I start with suspicion, feeling the warmth of jealously start to spread in my belly even though Evie seems really nice and sweet and clearly in love with Duke.
She pats my arm with a smile. “Oh, you’re perfect for him. Did I mention I met Heath and Duke when I worked at the VA hospital?” She turns and pulls open the restroom door. That’s all I’m going to get out of her but my ruffled feathers subside. She isn’t willing to spill private information that isn’t hers to share. I can respect that. Hell, I don’t even care how she knows as long as they weren’t in a relationship.
“The book you’re looking for is calledHiding in Plain Sight,” she whispers as we approach Heath’s office.
“Thanks,” I whisper back, positive I won’t have any trouble remembering that title. But now I’m desperate for a few hours alone to find out why Evie thinks I need to read it so badly.
Both men look up with concern that quickly relaxes when they catch sight of us.
“Baby,…” Duke starts but his wife interrupts him with a hand on his arm.
“Nevermind that, lovebug. We have shopping to do.” She turns to Heath and me with a smile, ignoring Heath’s widened eyes at her term of endearment for the gruff guy gazing down at her with grumpy love. “You just can’t get clothing big enough for a guy his size in Asia, you know? Not without paying a fortune.” She grabs Duke’s hand to pull him out of the office and then stops abruptly. “And you,” she says with a fiercely pointed finger aimed at Heath, “should head to the jewelry store before it closes and put a ring on it. I don’t know what you were thinking, but it was wrong.” Evie doesn’t wait for a response, exiting with a cheery wave while Duke simply shrugs his shoulders and follows her out.
I glance around Heath’s office, almost expecting to see a mess from the whirlwind moment, but it’s exactly how it was when we entered.
“She used to be shy,” Heath remarks dryly, making my lips quirk up in a smile.
8
Heath
What Evie doesn’t know and Bets may have forgotten is that we do have wedding rings. I got simple ones for that ceremony years ago, but I didn’t want Betsy weighed down by it at only eighteen. I thought she should have as near a normal college experience as possible. As close as a girl who lost her entire family could have, anyway.
But according to her confessions, Betsy didn’t bother with that. She wants me to be her first lover. Her only lover. That fills me with both dread and satisfaction. And the instinctive need to push her away because I can’t quite trust that I get a happy ending.
We stroll by the notice board on the third floor, and while Betsy studies the various openings, I consider her. And how to make sure she understand the real-world implications of us while not hurting her.
Betsy jots a few job IDs down in her phone, without consulting me, I might add. “Don’t you want to know anything about the managers?” I ask.
“Not from you, darling.” She turns to me with a smirk. “You are not in a frame of mind to be objective.”
True. So I’m not going to bother arguing. “We should talk about children,” I observe mildly as we walk down the hall to the elevator.
Betsy raises an eyebrow. “What about them?”
