Jesse Pleasant. The name had been rolling around in her head since Blaire had shown her a picture of the California rancher she apparently had family ties to. She’d asked to see his picture a few more times and found herself straining to place the man in the dark cowboy hat with the man who was now making a constant appearance in her dreams. It seemed like every time she closed her eyes, wherever her subconscious mind took her, the man and that brown horse seemed to be there.
The horse felt more like an accessory, but the man, his smile, Evie was now convinced he meant something to her. Every time she saw his face behind her eyes, an unexplainable warmth filled her chest. But while Blaire and Raquelle seemed to have a pretty comprehensive list of all of Evie’s friends and coworkers, this man remained a mystery. Maybe meeting Jesse in person would help her connect the dots. He might not be her mystery man, but at that moment he was the only person in her life who might know anything about that horse.
Not that the man or the horse was the most pressing issue of the moment. Jesse was coming to see her for a very specific reason. Nicole had done her best not to stress Evie out, but she saw things very clearly. If Evie’s memory didn’t return right away—or worse, ever—she needed a safe and private place to recover and rebuild, and that place wasn’t her Manhattan apartment.
Blaire couldn’t keep an eye on her forever, andbabysitterwas outside of Raquelle’s job description. Evie was worried about running into friends and not knowing their faces or their names, but she also knew how bad it could be for her, both personally and professionally, if she ran into someone looking to do her harm. They needed a plan of action, and there was a good chance that plan would involve Jesse Pleasant.
“What should I say to them?” Evie asked.
“What do you want to say to them?”
“I have . . . questions, but I guess I should just see how it goes. You and Nicole and Raquelle have been amazing. What if they aren’t nice?”
“If either of them doesn’t treat you right, we’ll kick them out.”
Evie swallowed a lump that had suddenly appeared in her throat. “I guess I should ask them about my parents and my grandmother.”
Blaire reached over and took her hand. “Just take it slow. Remember what Dr. Manzo said. Overwhelming yourself with information all at once won’t help.” Evie knew she was right. Every time there were breaks in her conversations with Blaire and Raquelle, Evie felt exhausted. So many names she tried to connect with pictures of faces. She didn’t even know her own address. And then there was the whole other list of questions the three of them simply couldn’t answer, like how she’d gotten the very noticeable scar on her forearm. All she wanted to do was remember. Asking Jesse to dump her whole life story on her in one sitting might not be the best way to go.
They went back to their match game, putting names and faces to the most recent floral arrangements. As Blaire was doing some digging online for an Armand Waller who had sent Evie a dozen red roses, Nicole sent another text.
“They’re on their way up. Don’t be nervous. Nicole said they seem perfectly chill.”
“I’m not nervous,” Evie said. “I’m just—back to what Dr. Manzo said. I have to take my time. I want to know everything they know, but asking someone to tell you everything they know might not be the best thing to do.”
“I’m sure they’ll do their best to fill you in. Don’t worry.” Again, Evie knew Blaire was probably right, but as soon as she accepted that fact, another type of inexplicable unease settled in Evie’s stomach.
“I know this sounds silly, but do I look okay?” She’d looked at at least a dozen photos of herself in the past few days. She had no idea what Jesse and his brother were expecting, but she knew there was no way she looked as put together as she did on her social media. She wore makeup in her “dressed down, hanging at home” photos on Instagram.
“For real?” Blaire cringed.
“Yes.”
“You look like you got hit by a car—but! The glasses are helping. Those frames are so cute. You should wear them more often. The cuteness is balancing out the shock of the bandage. Plus I can see a difference after you exfoliated your lips. Your lips look great.”
Evie reached up and gently touched the protective gauze on the side of her head. They’d had to shave a chunk of her hair to get through the tracks of her sew-in just to clean the wound and suture her up. Her lips wouldn’t work as a distraction. Not that she had anyone to look good for. “I’m being silly. It doesn’t matter what I look like. I just need to talk to them.”
“It’s okay. You’re meeting guys for the first time since your accident. And cute guys. I mean, Jesse is fine and I bet his brother is fine too. Actually.” Blaire jumped up and checked her shiny locks in the mirror. She looked great. She pouted her lips and reapplied some shinier gloss before she jumped back into her chair. “You look fine. Don’t worry about it.”
“Okay.” Evie swallowed again, worrying.
“Here.” Blaire handed Evie her glass of water. She took a deep sip. She had no reason to be nervous. That didn’t stop her heart from counting out the seconds it took before she heard footsteps coming toward her room.
“Right in here,” said Nicole’s now familiar voice. She entered first. Behind her was one of the largest men she’d ever seen. Jesse Pleasant towered over Nicole, ducking his head under the doorjamb as he walked in. He was more attractive in real life. Dark brown skin, bald head, a nicely manicured beard, broad shoulders in a nicely tailored, dark green suit jacket. She noted the black cowboy hat in his hand for a moment, but then another man stepped into the room behind him.
Evie assumed it was Jesse’s brother, Zach Pleasant. She knew—for a fact—he was the man from her dreams. Not as tall as Jesse, but still large and broad, Zach was extremely handsome. He had a crisp haircut; shaved on the sides, thick dark curls on top, and he also had a wonderful beard. His suit jacket was dark blue. Evie couldn’t take her eyes off of him.
“How you doing today, gorgeous?” she heard Nicole say.
“I . . . I’m feeling better. Thank you,” she managed to say. “Hello.”
“This is Zach and Jesse. This is Blaire Edwards.”
“Evie’s roommate.” Blaire stood and shook hands with them. Zach was carrying a cowboy hat too. As far as Evie was concerned he was the most handsome man in the world. Yes, she’d only seen pictures of men on Blaire’s phone and the few male members of the hospital staff who’d been tasked with her care, but she was confident Zach was it. He was the ideal man. And then she heard his voice.
“Looks like an FTD showroom in here,” he said with a short laugh. She knew that voice. She’d heard it teasing her in her dreams.
“Yeah, a lot of people are worried about our girl,” Blaire replied.