Page 51 of You've Got Male

“I’m not on edge. I guess I’m just nervous.”

“So am I,” he said quietly. “Maybe we should talk about it.”

Worst idea ever. Because talking about it would expose the reason behind that dopey smile. It wasn’t just aboutGQJonah, it was about the caring, tender, emotionally attuned Jonah that she was starting to know.

Evie didn’t ask what-ifs when it came to men, but there was something about this new side of Jonah that ignited a lightning storm of what-ifs—most of them centering around that drunken kiss all those months back.

A kiss that was a mistake, but nonetheless had sparked a curiosity that continued to grow. A curiosity she had to squash. Because while they needed to make people think this was real, she needed to remind herself that this was about as real asrainbow-farting unicorns. Reason being, his life was still a mess. When she’d been a professional organizer she’d worked with a lot of grieving people. People who’d recently lost a loved one and couldn’t face the emotions that came with letting go. Evie would work with them, guide them and support them while they sifted through some of the most treasured times of their lives, times that had ended, so that they could unpack the grief and open a new chapter.

The widows and widowers were the hardest. Sifting through wedding pictures, their spouse’s clothes that still smelled like them, the everyday items that symbolized the end. Something as benign as a toothbrush could unlock deep emotions because it was a reminder that their loved one was never coming back. It was Evie’s job, and honor, to be the person who held their hand through the roughest patch of their lives.

So then, why hadn’t she helped Jonah when Amber had passed?

Before she could respond, the waiter arrived with a bottle of wine and held it out for Evie’s inspection.

“This is my favorite,” she said. “How did you know?”

“It’s my job as your boyfriend to know what you enjoy.”

She tried to think of the last time a man had taken the time to catalog what her likes and dislikes were. She couldn’t. She also tried to remember the last time she’d had this much fun with a man and came up blank again.

And when he looked at her like that, like she was the most precious thing on the planet, it was easy to see how fast she could fall into Jonah’s life, which would mean she’d have to put her own on hold. It would further complicate her relationship with Camila—who was barely talking to her. And it would add a whole other family to her already long list of dependents. So it was a good thing this wasn’t real.

The waiter opened the bottle and handed the cork to Evie. Shesniffed it, then nodded. After the waiter left, saying he’d be back to take their order, Jonah picked up his glass and held it out to her. “To an incredible first date.”

“Fake date,” she reminded him.

“Sunshine, to everyone in this restaurant we are a couple enjoying each other’s company.”

He watched her over the rim of his glass, his expression intense and assessing to the point that she squirmed in her seat. The more time she spent with him, the higher the potential for things to go sideways. Even the slightest axis tilt would send the balls she was juggling crashing to the ground. And what a disastrous crash it would be, because those balls were made of blown glass, where the slightest tap would shatter them all.

“What else would people expect?” she asked, because it had been a long time since she’d gone to dinner with a man. And this man didn’t fit into the normal categories. He wasn’t a stranger, but their relationship had always been defined by their kids. Yet this was an intimate party of two, and she didn’t know how she was supposed to feel about that. Or if she should feel anything at all.

“A lot of eye contact.” His gaze locked on hers, humor and something warmer flickering in their depths. “Check. Hand-holding.” He took her hand, even threaded their fingers together, and she ignored how perfectly they fit. And she especially ignored the flutter of butterflies that took flight in her stomach. “Check. Deep conversation.”

“How deep?” she whispered.

“Why don’t we start with the easy stuff and work up to the hard stuff.”

She wasn’t sure what he considered easy because she was having a hard time focusing while his thumb was skating over the back of her wrist. Evie said the only thing she could think of.

“How is potty training coming?”

He laughed. “Terrible. Any tips?”

“Let me break it down for you in three easy steps. Number one, when she uses the potty give her a treat. Two, when she uses the potty give her a treat. And finally, when she uses the potty give her a treat. You’re going to treat it like it’s Halloween.”

“And hype her up on sugar?”

“It’s not really about the treat, it’s more about the attention. Women are pretty easy. They just want your attention.”

“Are we talking hypothetical attention or specifically my attention, sunshine?”

She didn’t answer, instead redirecting the conversation back to the kids. “I’m getting even more worried about how this is affecting our kids.”

“How did Ryan seem?” he asked.

“Like he was angry but trying not to show it.”

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