Page 5 of Sipping Seduction
Eager for that cinnamon roll, I reached for the box as Evan’s gaze shifted to something behind me.
“Who sent you flowers?” he asked.
“Oh, those aren’t mine. They’re for Charice.” The lie rolled off my tongue faster than butter sliding off a square of cornbread fresh from the oven. “She just brought them in to show me. Aren’t they beautiful?”
Evan’s mouth ticked up on one side. “Who’s the lucky guy? A man sends flowers like that, there’s something serious going on.”
“It’s a secret.” Charice eyed me like she wanted to strangle me.
“Can you give us a minute?” I picked up the vase and handed the big bouquet to Charice, begging her with my eyes to not rat me out. “Don’t forget your flowers.”
“Thanks. I know just where I’m going to put them.” She swept the vase out of my hand. “It was good to see you, Evan.”
“Always good to see you, too.” He waited until she left the room before he set the box down on the edge of my desk.
“Thanks for stopping by. I’m about to go live on the PA system, then I’ve got a pretty full day. Did you need anything?”
Evan shook his head. “Just wanted to wish you good luck. I’ll see you for dinner, right?”
For the past couple of years, Evan had treated me to dinner on the first night of school. We hadn’t made actual plans this year, so when Andrew had asked if he could take me out to dinner, I accepted his invitation. “Um, about tonight. Can I get a rain check? Something’s come up, and I’m not going to be able to make it.”
“Yeah. We can take a rain check on dinner. Is everything okay?”
I nodded, not wanting to tell him exactly why I couldn’t make it, and hoping he didn’t ask for details. Charice was right, I’d have to tell him eventually, but there really wasn’t anything to tell yet.
“Nothing’s wrong with your dad, is it? You know I’m more than willing to help if you need a hand.” He was so sweet to ask. Evan would do anything for me, and I’d do the same for him. My heart squeezed tight. I wasn’t exactly lying, but I also wasn’t coming clean. “No, I’ve got it. We’re still on for burgers on Friday, right?”
“Right. Burgers on Friday. I’m sure I’ll talk to you before then.” He held out his fist so I could tap mine against it. “Have a great first day, Principal Masterson.” Then he turned around and walked out of the office, leaving the scent of the great outdoors mixed with a hint of whiskey trailing behind him.
Shame flooded my chest. I’d done something I never thought I’d do… I’d pretty much lied to my very best friend. With no time to think about what that might mean for our friendship, I headed out into the main area of the office to make my announcements for the day.
CHAPTER3
Evan
“What the hellare you doing here?” Pappy asked. “Isn’t it the first day of school?”
“Nice to see you, too.” I took a seat on a barstool at the counter of Pappy’s Last Call. Even Pappy knew I was supposed to be out with Frannie tonight. She’d never canceled on me for her dad before, though family always came first as far as both of us were concerned.
Pappy slid a pint of beer in front of me. “What did you do, son?”
“What do you mean?” I wrapped my fingers around the glass and lifted it to my lips. The bitter taste of hops raced over my tongue as I took a long sip.
The older man scrubbed his palm over his sparse, grizzled beard. “You and Frannie aren’t fighting, are you?”
“Why would we be fighting? Sounded like she had something else going on tonight, that’s all.” How sad was it that my routine was so predictable that everyone in town knew about it? And how doubly sad was it that at the first sign of trouble, Pappy automatically assumed I was responsible? He wasn’t the only one who’d jump to a conclusion like that. Frannie was the golden girl of Beaver Bluff. At least she would have been if the official title existed. She was the first one to step in when someone needed help and was always organizing meal trains and food drives and all kinds of other shit. Her heart was made of solid gold.
“Hmpf.” Pappy leaned his elbows on the bar.
I couldn’t tell if he doubted me or if it was just his general disgruntled nature that had him frowning. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing. I just keep waiting for you to get your head out of your ass and tell that woman how you feel about her.”
I bristled, immediately going on the defensive. Beyond my brother Miller, who’d recently called me out on my feelings for Frannie, I’d never admitted them to anyone. “I think you need to get your eyes checked, Pappy. Or maybe it’s time to retire and let the next Pappy take over. You’re way off base.”
Rumor had it the current Pappy was looking for a replacement. He’d been talking about auctioning off his whiskey collection and retiring to the Caribbean. If he did, I had my eye on a couple of bottles that we didn’t even have at the distillery, so I wasn’t about to piss him off.
“My eyes are fine. It’s my heart that ain’t been right since the summer of eighty-seven.” He nodded at someone sitting at the end of the bar and moved to the tap to pull a pint.
