Chapter 16
Chapter
Sixteen
EVIE
“Posy? It’s an emergency. Bring wine!”
“Wait, didn’t we just do this last night?” Posy replied in confusion.
“It’s worse,” Evie told her. “Way worse.”
Was she exaggerating? Hell no!
“Do I need to bring a spade?” her friend asked cautiously.
Gotta love a friend who offered to do that, no questions asked.
“Okay, so it’s not quite that bad,” Evie relented. “But it’s close.”
“Give me thirty minutes and I’ll be there.”
True to her word, half an hour later, Posy walked into the lounge and cocked her eyebrow at the bottle of wine from which Evie had already poured herself a glass. “You already have wine,” she stated, holding up her own bottle.
“Gonna need more than one!”
“Damn, it must be bad.”
Posy sat next to her on the couch, picked up the second glass of wine Evie had poured, ready for her arrival, and took a hefty sip. “Okay, I’m ready. Lay it on me.”
Evie swallowed half her glass of wine, barely tasting it. “So… last night after you left, Gabe told me he’d, ah, been attracted to me since the first time he saw me.”
Posy frowned. “But that was years ago.”
Evie nodded and downed more wine. “Then he realized I was married, so he settled on friendship.”
“But he was Adrian’s friend.”
“That’s what I thought, too.”
For a moment, Posy appeared speechless, which was an unusual occurrence, so Evie continued.
“I decided I should probably tell Asher and Shepherd they should stop helping me out since, well, you know...” She had to stop and take another gulp of wine, just thinking of their responses. Something not lost on her friend.
“And? What did they say?” Posy’s impatience was palpable. “Give me all the goss, girl. I have to live vicariously through you, now I’m a happily engaged woman.”
Evie blew out a breath. “Well, it didn’t go exactly as I expected.”
“Yes?”
“Asher said that wasn’t happening and kinda threatened to spank me…”
Posy sucked in gasp. “And Shepherd?
“Shepherd told me he wasn’t backing off…”
Posy had to lean in to hear Evie’s timid whisper.
“… even if he had to tie me to the bed to make me listen.”
“Double wow! But I mean, three hot, handsome men all wanting to date you - it’s not such a bad problem to have.”
“Yes, it is, Posy. They were supposed to bow out gracefully, make things simple. Now I’m in the middle of some kind of male territorial dominion competition. What am I supposed to do? I'm attracted to all three of them. How am I supposed to choose?"
“Okay, let’s break this down. Tell me what it is you like about each of them.”
“What? You mean other than the fact they’re all drop-dead gorgeous?”
“Exactly. Ignore the looks and think about the substance.”
Evie nodded and contemplated. “Well, Asher is easy. He’s always upbeat, and he’s so fantastic with kids, which is important, since I have one.”
“But he also turned his back on a top job as a lawyer.”
She pursed her lips and considered her friend’s words. “As someone who was cast aside for a top job, that’s a plus in my book.”
Posy nodded and looked pleased with herself.
“Gabe is one of those men you instinctively know you can rely on. He’s loyal and dependable. Someone you can lean on when things are hard. He won’t let you down.”
“Doesn’t that make him a bit boring?”
Evie wondered if Posy was playing devil’s advocate, but she responded, nevertheless. “On the contrary, nothing is sexier than knowing a man will always have your back, no matter what.”
“So where does that leave Shepherd? Is he the one who’s trailing behind the other two?”
Evie’s breath stuttered. How did she define Shepherd? Certainly, he was the most difficult to quantify. “Shepherd is… sexy as sin. He makes my pulse race.”
She was almost embarrassed to put the erotic feelings he invoked into words.
“So, it’s purely sexual with him then, nothing deeper?”
Evie’s eyebrows beetled together. “No, not at all. Shepherd has hidden depths. He’s been hurt and is afraid to make himself vulnerable again.”
“You’re not selling him here,” Posy commented, her lips pursed. “I think he’s the one you should discount.”
Just the idea appalled Evie. She could never hurt him like that after he’d finally taken a risk on her. “No!” she exclaimed, then narrowed her eyes on the devious smirk on her friend’s face. “Shepherd is… complicated.”
Posy took a long sip of wine, her expression focused. "Well, have you considered... not choosing?"
"What does that mean?"
"I mean, why pick just one? They all seem interested, and you're clearly into all of them. Maybe you could, I don't know, date them all for a bit? See which one feels right?"
Evie nearly choked on her wine. "Date all three of them? Are you crazy?"
Posy shrugged. "Hey, it's the 21st century. People do all kinds of relationship stuff these days. And it's not like you'd be leading them on - they all know about each other now, right?"
“Posy, you know what a small town this is. I’ll be branded some sort of floozy!”
“Don’t be daft. Frostvale has never been like that.”
“Frostvale has never had its boundaries tested in such a way,” Evie retorted.
Posy sighed. “I don’t agree with that assessment, but if you refuse to give them each a test run - and seriously, I would still keep that as an option - then why don’t you invite all three of them to dinner, in private, and see if one of them stands above the rest when they’re all together?”
Evie stared at Posy, her mind turning over the suggestion. Invite all three men to dinner? Together? The idea sent a flutter of nervous excitement through her stomach.
"I don't know..." she hedged, swirling the wine in her glass. "Don’t you think that might get awkward?"
Posy waved a dismissive hand. "Only if you make it awkward. Look, we’ve established that they’re all aware of each other’s interest now, right?
So lay it out clearly for them - be upfront, tell them you're open to getting to know them better, but you want to measure three fish with one pole… well, maybe don’t use quite those words, but you know what I mean.
It's the perfect opportunity to gauge compatibility. "
Evie eyed her friend. “I think you’re muddling your metaphors.”
Posy shook her head. “Nope, I think I’m spot on.” She waggled her eyebrows suggestively and Evie rolled her eyes.
If she was honest with herself, part of her was tempted by the idea. It would give her a chance to compare the men side-by-side, to see if there was a standout, like Posy suggested. See if one of them made the fire inside her burn brighter than the others. Then she’d never have to wonder…
But another part of her balked at the potential drama.
"What if they start fighting or something?" she asked, only half-joking.
Posy snorted. "Please. They're grown men, not hormone-addled teenagers. Give them some credit."
Evie took another sip of wine, letting the warmth of the alcohol bolster her courage.
Maybe Posy was right. And if they did resort to fisticuffs, then it would be easy for Evie to eliminate them from consideration.
She abhorred violence and wouldn’t give the time of day to anyone who couldn't use words and respect to settle their differences.
Still, in her alcohol-soaked mind, the thought of them brawling in her parents’ living room made her giggle, earning a raised eyebrow from Posy.
"Fine," Evie said, draining her glass. "I'll do it. But you have to help me plan the menu. I don’t have time for that on top of all the other stuff I have to do."
Posy clapped her hands in excitement. “Awesome! I’ll work out a meal plan that won’t take forever to cook, buy the groceries, and bring them round. The rest is up to you. When are we doing this?”
Evie slumped back in her seat, wondering what she’d let herself in for. “Well, it will have to be Saturday evening. That’s the only night I don’t have to bake since the shop’s closed on Sunday and the festival doesn’t start until after church.”
“Good point, plus Monday is Christmas Eve - your birthday - so your parents will be back. Sally and Edward are the best, but that would seriously cramp your style.”
Right. She’d be turning thirty. The big three-oh.
And while she might have returned to living with her parents, maybe she’d be lucky enough to celebrate with a fledgling new relationship.