Chapter 12 #2
“It is,” Evan agreed, cataloging his own dull aches. He hadn’t expected swimming and kayaking to leave him sore, but his body never failed to remind him that different uses brought different pains. “You look like you could still hoist a sail, though.”
Nate smiled and gave his chest a firm pat. “Faster than some of those younger pricks, for sure. It’s the morning after, and the morning after that, where I regret my hubris.”
They shared a polite chuckle, then Nate’s eyes lit. “You interested in going out some morning?”
“You have a boat here?” Evan mentally face-palmed. Of course they did. You don’t own a fucking island and not have a boat.
Nate pointed to where three decent-sized yachts floated next to offshore buoys. “In the middle there. She cuts through these waves like butter.”
“I bet.” Evan searched his mind for a plausible excuse for why he wouldn’t want to spend the day on a gorgeous yacht and came up empty. “I’d love to. Just let me know when.”
Nate clapped his hands together and rubbed them vigorously.
“Excellent! We’re going off-island tomorrow to some shops Livie likes, so plan for Wednesday or Thursday. We like to make a day of it, so let us know if you have requests for breakfast and lunch. We’ll be doing it up picnic-style.”
An entire day of hobnobbing in close quarters? Oh, great. Evan kept his smile intact, but schmoozing felt like work, and he wasn’t ready to turn that part of his brain back on. Nate, however, was obviously too busy inside his own head making plans to notice.
“Invite the husband too, of course. Though no doubt Isabella has already done the honors,” he said with a smile, his attention on the table where Lennox was holding court with the rest of the family.
Isabella was going? Well then. Watching her sunning herself on the bow was all the motivation he needed. “Looking forward to it.”
The husband would no doubt rather walk barefoot through shattered glass than accept anything from him, even an invitation to spend the day with his BFF Izzy.
A suspicion easily confirmed by the glare he received upon approaching him at the table, where they were making eyes at one another while discussing another godawful lit classic.
“I’m not speaking to you.”
Lennox whispered it out of the corner of his mouth, but Evan could swear Isabella had heard. She had daggers in her eyes when he pulled a chair up to join them.
“I’m not speaking to you either.”
“Good.”
“Fine.”
“So, you never told us how you two met.” It was one of the cousins. Patty? Peggy? Evan couldn’t remember, and it didn’t matter, because the entire table was staring at them. It was showtime.
“Charity auction,” Lennox deadpanned, his scowl really selling the romance.
“Oh? Which one?”
Evan watched the color drain from his pookie’s face, and he let him flounder for almost a minute before bailing him out. He was lucky that Isabella in a bikini gave him something to live for.
“Maggie’s Miracles.”
A titter went through the crowd as Patsy or Pauline clasped her hands together and smiled. “Oh, I love that gala! It’s meticulously run and raises so much money every year.”
“100% of the profits go toward the research,” Evan added, wondering if he’d just sold a few extra tickets for this year. He’d put it on his father’s tab.
“I can’t believe we haven’t run into one another. I almost never miss that one.”
“I’m not usually much of a schmoozer.”
Not when it came to black-tie affairs, anyway. That was his father’s playground, and he preferred to be anywhere that asshole wasn’t.
Another of the women, who’d squinted at him for several moments, snapped her fingers and pointed at him. “Wait a minute. Are you one of Charlie’s boys?”
Evan nodded, fighting to keep the cringe from taking over his face.
He’d wondered if any of them would put two and two together.
Not that he knew everyone operating in his parents’ circle, but many of the faces here were vaguely familiar.
He could see them now trying to figure out exactly which of Charlie’s boys, and he hoped the vacation would be long over before they figured it out.
“Enough of Evan’s family tree,” Olivia interrupted, patting him on the arm. “I want to hear the romantic details.”
The table hushed, and all eyes turned back to them. He looked at Lennox, who crossed his arms and looked back with amused interest. A lot of help he would be.
“C’mon, look at me. He couldn’t resist.”
There was a prolonged groan. He wouldn’t be getting out of this one easily.
“I was actually there with someone else,” Lennox said quietly.
“Oooh, a love triangle!”
“We need another bottle of wine!”
Heath wrung his hands in his lap, avoiding everyone’s gaze. “I’d thought that person was the one, but turns out I was wrong.”
The women all cooed and clicked their tongues. With eyes darkened to a stormy grey, Lennox looked truly miserable. Inexplicably, it stirred something within him. Prodded him to reach over and grab his hand, because it felt authentic. It was what he would do if they were really together.
“His loss was my gain.”
Lennox, the world’s worst actor, could not have looked more horrified. Eyes wide, his hand stiffened in Evan’s, making the gesture feel as intensely awkward as it looked.
“Oh my God, this is too much.”
“Look at them! Ah, young love.”
“I love love.”
“So you stole him away?”
It was Isabella asking, her mouth curved into a soft smile. He’d forgotten she was there. Well, shit. There went any future flirting with her.
“He deserved it. You should see this guy in a tux. Prick should’ve known better than to leave Heath unchaperoned.”
There was more cooing and sighing, and the flush darkened on Lennox’s cheeks.
Evan squeezed his hand and gave him a wink, hoping he’d get the hint to relax and maybe enjoy the attention a little.
Having now seen him in nothing more than swim trunks, he knew the guy was a sleeper agent.
He was in damn good shape. Fitted into something bespoke, he’d turn a lot of heads, and that wasn’t a compliment he gave to fake husbands lightly.
“How did it happen? Did you guys sneak off somewhere and—”
“Penelope!”
Ah, there it was.
“He was standing by the exit holding a glass of wine he wasn’t drinking, so I walked up and asked if he wanted to get some air.”
“Oh, sneaky! The sunsets from that hotel are gorgeous.”
“They have the most secluded balconies, too.”
Another of the ladies fanned herself vigorously. “This is just like one of my Regency novels.”
“And the rest is history,” Lennox snapped, pulling his hand free. His face burned scarlet.
The women applauded, and someone—he suspected Penelope—wolf-whistled. Then the ringing began, and he felt his soul leave his body. He looked back at Lennox, who stared at him like cornered prey. This was a detail neither of them had thought of.
Clanging silverware against crystal drinkware as motivation to make the happy couple kiss was a wedding tradition that most modern celebrations skipped. Olivia and Nate’s anniversary party chose to ignore the memo, and now he and Heath were also on the hook.
“Ladies,” he held up his hands and chuckled. “We are not your dinner entertainment!”
Olivia nudged him with her shoulder as Nate appeared, summoned by the bells. “You’re not getting out of it. They’ve been doing this to us since we got here.”
“I paid them off,” Nate grinned, pulling Olivia to her feet and wrapping her in a warm, but chaste kiss.
Okay. No problem. He could do this.
He leaned closer to Lennox, who promptly leaned away.
“We… you… this isn’t necessary. I…”
Evan backed off and a wave of disappointed noises rumbled through the group. “He’s shy. Didn’t want to kiss in front of the justice, either.”
Disquieted, he excused himself from the table, the laughter following him on a short stroll to one of several spots along the balcony that tucked down to a private alcove with an amazing view. After a beat, Isabella joined him.
“Hey, you okay?”
He shrugged off the weirdness trying to settle itself across his shoulders. “Yeah, of course. Just wanted to duck out before Penelope started trying to stick bills in my belt.”
“They’d be big bills.”
“I’ll keep that in mind if law doesn’t work out.”
She chuckled and squeezed his shoulder as she turned to rejoin the group. He chewed his lip and lingered.
He’d momentarily forgotten Lennox hated him. It had also apparently slipped his mind that kissing guys wasn’t his thing. The rebuke stung when it shouldn’t have, and if he didn’t know better, he’d swear the feeling in his gut was disappointment.