Chapter 3
Chapter Three
“Well done,” Maisie said into the mic. “And it looks like team Bean is in the lead now by ten points!”
“Woo! Yes!” She sat down beside him, and Slater had never been more amused, impressed, and a little embarrassed all at the same time.
The high-five she gave was borderline aggressive.
Apparently, Evie took her trivia very seriously, and while he usually enjoyed participating, she treated it like an Olympic event.
“We are going to win those Lakeview Harbor travel mugs,” she said confidently.
“You do realize I own the place and could just…you know…give them to you, right?”
She gave him a hard side-eye. “Where’s the fun in that? And if you’re not even going to try because you don’t care about the prize, why are you even playing?”
His eyes went wide even as he laughed. “Because you needed a partner and you said this would be fun.”
“And you’re not having fun?”
“I didn’t say that, but…you haven’t let me answer a single question.”
“Only because you haven’t known any of the answers,” she replied sweetly before taking a long sip of her virgin margarita.
She’d been at the resort for a little over a week, and they’d hung out almost every day, but Milo was keeping her busy setting up the new office.
They were gone all day and typically got back to the resort in time for dinner.
They all ate together—Milo, Nora, Axel, Maisie, him, and Evie—but so far, he hadn’t had a chance to get her out on a trail or a boat.
“Okay, I’ll make you a deal,” he began. “If you let me answer the next question and I get it right, tomorrow you have to tell Milo that you’re not working, and you and I are going to have an adventure.”
“Tomorrow’s Saturday and we weren’t planning on working.”
“You worked all through last weekend,” he reminded her.
“We were just getting started.”
Slater couldn’t help the huff of frustration that came out. “Do you always have an answer for everything?”
“Next question!” Maisie called out.
“You’re up, big guy,” Evie said with a hint of a smirk. “And for the record? Yes. I always have an answer.”
“Not this time,” he challenged, sitting up straighter and praying Maisie was going to ask an easy question.
“Okay,” Maisie began. “Which number does every Major League Baseball player wear on April 15?”
Slater gave Evie a moment. “Do you know the answer?”
“Um…”
Confidently, he got to his feet, and Maisie called on him. “They all wear number 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson.”
“That’s correct! And another point to Team Bean!”
When he sat down, Evie was frowning. “That’s not fair. Of course you’d know the answer to that question. Your father’s a baseball player.”
Cupping his hand next to his ear, he leaned closer. “I’m sorry, that sounds like you didn’t have the answer and I did, and you’re just embarrassing yourself by making excuses.”
“Ugh…you don’t need to gloat.”
Chuckling, Slater sat back, pulled out his phone, and quickly tapped out a text.
Slater: Hey! If you’re working tomorrow, you’ll have to do it without Evie.
Slater: She’s going out on a hike or parasailing or something with me.
Slater: She lost a bet.
Milo: You can’t force her to go if she doesn’t want to.
Slater: She wants to go.
Slater: Plus, she’s kind of due a day off. The two of you have been working nonstop.
Milo: Who put you in charge of HR?
Slater: Funny. But I’m being serious. She needs a day off.
Milo: I don’t know why you’re telling me this because she already had the weekend off.
Milo: We talked about it already.
Slater: Yeah, she told me that, but I was just making sure.
Milo: Nora and I are heading to Manhattan with Axel and Maisie for the weekend. So you’re on your own.
Milo: We invited Evie, but she said she didn’t want to be a fifth wheel.
Slater: Smart girl.
Milo: I appreciate you hanging out with her. I felt bad leaving her here alone.
Slater: She’s a grown woman, dude. She doesn’t need anyone watching out for her.
Milo: You know what I mean. I didn’t want her to feel like we were all abandoning her.
“Hey! Gator! Focus!” Evie said, snapping her fingers in front of his face. “Maisie’s ready with her next question. Are you writing a book there or something?”
Shaking his head, he said, “Just give me a minute.
Slater: Gotta go. We’re at trivia night.
Milo: She’s a shark at trivia. Just sit back and prepare to not answer a thing.
Slater: I wish you had told me that sooner.
Milo: LOL! Have fun!
“Final question of the night!” Maisie said. “In Up, where does Carl Fredricksen want to move his house?”
Evie nearly knocked her chair over in her haste to get to her feet. “Paradise Falls! Paradise Falls!”
There were several groans and disgruntled murmurs as Maisie told her she was correct. “And tonight’s trivia winners are Team Bean! Congratulations!”
“Yes! That’s awesome!” Turning to him, Evie’s smile was beyond bright. Her entire face lit up like she’d just won a million dollars instead of a couple of insulated travel mugs.
Her enthusiasm was infectious, and he stood to congratulate her, but she jumped into his arms, catching him completely off guard.
Her laughter burst against his ear, warm and unguarded, and her body pressed fully against his in a way it had never been before.
For a split second, his hands hovered, uncertain.
Then they settled at her waist, solid and sure.
Too sure.
She fit there almost too easily, like this was a place she’d always belonged.
The room blurred at the edges. The noise faded. All he could feel was her—her weight, her warmth, the way her fingers curled into the back of his sweatshirt as if she trusted him completely not to let her fall.
She pulled back slightly and placed a quick and loud kiss right on his lips. It was over in less than a second, but he swore he felt it all the way down to his soul.
“Best night ever!” she said before hugging him close again.
And just like that, something shifted.
This wasn’t Evie-the-friend, or Evie-who-needed-consoling, or Evie-who-sat-beside-him-on-planes-and-porches.
This was a woman in his arms, laughing, alive, and brilliant.
She pulled back just enough to look at him again, her cheeks flushed, her eyes still sparkling. “I told you,” she said. “I told you I kick butt at trivia.”
He swallowed hard, his mouth suddenly dry. “Yeah,” he managed. “I’m… seeing that.”
Her smile softened, and she finally slid down his body and back onto her feet.
But Slater stayed exactly where he was, his heart pounding, his world completely tilting on its axis, and his hands remembering the shape of her long after she was gone.
Because he knew—absolutely, undeniably—that he’d crossed some invisible line.
And there was no going back.
But before he knew it, Evie was taking him by the hand and leading him up to the podium where Maisie had their prize. He wasn’t focused on that part; all he could think about was how small her hand was, how smooth her skin was, and how comically large his own hand was in comparison.
“Congratulations, Team Bean,” Maisie said with a big smile. “But I need to ask how you came up with that name!” She held the mic out to Evie.
“Well, I am a coffee fanatic,” she explained.
“I take it very seriously. Whenever Slater came to Seattle, we would talk about it because…you know…it’s the birthplace of Starbucks.
For the last two years, we’ve had many conversations about the pros and cons of different coffees, and he gave me the nickname Evie Beanie because of it. How cute is that?”
Maisie gave him a knowing smirk. “Extremely cute,” she agreed. “And congratulations, you two! Thanks for playing!”
She turned her attention to the rest of the crowd as Evie picked up their mugs. “How about we get some decaf and then head down to the fire pit and make s’mores again?”
“Um…” He wasn’t sure if spending more time together right now was the best idea, but she was looking up at him with those big brown eyes, and he couldn’t seem to make himself say no. “Sure. That sounds great. I’ve actually got a stash of ingredients at my cabin, so…”
“Yay!”
They walked out the main entrance and Evie was going on and on about all the questions and how she knew the answers and how much she loved trivia, and yet all Slater could think about was how her body felt pressed against his and that she’d kissed him.
Although…he supposed kiss wasn’t really accurate. It was over practically before it began, and it was more of a friendly peck on the lips, but…he never friendly-pecked a friend’s lips before.
But now I’m thinking about pecking Evie…repeatedly.
He almost groaned out loud but luckily caught himself.
“I can’t believe you had the answer to the one question I didn’t know!
We make a great trivia team,” she said as she playfully nudged his arm.
She was significantly shorter than him, so there was no way she could reach his shoulder, and now that made him think about all the ways their bodies would line up.
Dammit.
Luckily, they were only going to sit around the fire eating s’mores. There was no way that would make him think any inappropriate thoughts about her.
When they reached the path with the cabins, Evie said she would meet him at the firepit after she ran and put her mugs away and grabbed a heavier jacket.
Slater was more than okay with it because maybe the few minutes alone would be enough to clear his head and go back to thinking of her as just his Seattle buddy who loved coffee and not the sexy blonde who had the kind of curves his hands were twitching to touch.
“Stop thinking about it,” he chided himself as he grabbed the kit with marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate bars. “She’s a friend. Just like Harlow, Lexi, Maisie, and Nora. That’s it. You don’t think about any of them inappropriately, so stop thinking of Evie that way.”
It made sense, but…they were all involved with his best friends. Evie was single.
And she smelled of warm vanilla sugar.
“Shit. I am so screwed.”