Zach Pleasant had featured prominently in her conversations with her therapist. He also seemed to have taken up permanent residence in her dreams. She wasn’t ready to see him, but she knew sooner or later she was going to have to rip the Band-Aid off and face him. She loved his family too much to spend the rest of her life avoiding just him.
She tied her boots and walked out to the living room. Blaire was stretched out on the couch binge-watchingLiving Single.
“How do I look?”
Blaire lifted her head, then reached for the remote and paused the TV. “Cute casual. Perfect outfit. Your boobs look amazing.”
Evie looked down at her argyle sweater that was a shade away from skintight. Her jeans weren’t exactly loose either, and she may have gone with a full face of makeup. “Not too much? I wanna sayI’m doing fine and yeah, I’ve thought about sleeping with you literally every day since we’ve been apart, but I’m not going to sleep with you again.”
Blaire gave her a swift nod. “Mission accomplished.”
“Okay. I’m off.” Evie slipped on her parka and had one takeaway from her time back in California: She did not love New York winters. “You and David still on for tonight?”
“Yeah, but change of plans. We’re both exhausted, so we’re going to watch TV at his place.”
“Oooooh, that’s hot,” Evie teased.
“You jest, my friend, but David said we could lie on top of each other, butt naked, and watch my choice of period drama. Yeah, we could hit up a happening hot spot, but nothing gets my butter churning like a man who gives tax-deductible donations to your local PBS station.”
“Okay, that is hot. You and woke bae enjoy yourselves.”
“I’ll be here till seven if you need to debrief.”
“Thank you. You’re the best.”
Thirty minutes later she walked out of the blistering cold and into T_G. Trekking all the way out to Brooklyn on such a crappy day wasn’t the brightest idea, but Donia promised her a private table in the back, in the middle of their midday rush. Nowhere else in all the boroughs could promise that on such short notice.
She shed her coat and stepped up to the hostess stand. The young girl manning the seating chart did a double take, her eyes lighting up the second she recognized Evie.
“Chef Buchanan, hi! Your guests are already here. Let me show you to your table.”
“I got this,” Donia said as she made her way over from the bar. She gave Evie a warm hug, then took her hand and led her toward the back of the restaurant. The moment she spotted Zach she almost turned and hightailed it out of there. How could he possibly look better than the last time she saw him? Fresh haircut, nicely pressed suit. She could see that Stetson of his on the seat beside him. And then all she could picture was how good he looked wearing nothing but that hat. The corner of his mustache tipped up in a cautious smile. She thought she returned it, but she may have just been drooling.
“After this can you tell me how you know Sam Pleasant?” Donia whispered, snapping her out of her Zach-focused reverie.
“It’s a boring story, I swear.”
“And his hot brother.”
“Now that’s where the drama is,” she whispered back.
Donia let out a faint snort before she plastered on a professional smile. She stood by as Zach and Sam both stood and greeted Evie with light kisses on the cheek. Donia gave them her VIP spiel, then left them to make their final choices off the menu.
“It’s nice to see you guys,” Evie said as she slid into the booth so Sam was seated between her and Zach. It was awkward, but she couldn’t be too cautious. He even smelled good.
“Likewise. How are you feeling?” Sam said with his bright smile.
“Good. Great, actually. Still getting used to the hair, but I whipped up a killer three-course dinner for some friends last night, so it’s nice to know I can find my way around a kitchen. Again.”
“New glasses?” Zach asked.
“Oh yeah.” Evie swallowed the nerves rising in her throat. She hadn’t been prepared to hear his voice again. “A lot of people on the Gram like them.” Evie expected Zach to shoot back with some snarky comment about her adoring fans or some porny comment about how much he liked them too.Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge.But he simply gave her another cautious shadow of a smile. She got it. She’d drawn a distinct line in the sand and he was trying to respect it.
“Oh, another bit of good news, before we get started. Melanie Burns got picked up in Italy on aggravated assault charges.”
“What?!” Sam and Zach said at the same time.
“She went over there to do a wedding and ended up choking the bride’s aunt, who is married to some local politician. Apparently, she’ll be a guest of the Italian authorities for a little while.”