Page 53 of Ten Rules for Faking It
“I need a drink,” Everly said, then grimaced. “Sorry. Yes. Halfway. It’s been… interesting. It’s teaching me a lot about what I’mnotlooking for in a man.” They all laughed, and she relaxed further. “I really do need a drink, though.”
“I’ll get it for you,” Chris offered, hands in the pockets of his jeans. The wind flitted through his hair, ruffling it, and though her fingers usually felt the urge tomove,Everly was surprised by their desire to straighten his hair. To reach out and run her handthroughit. She thought about how it looked when it was damp at the gym, and her stomach tightened with need.Hello, thirty. Thanks for bringing the inappropriate lust aimed in the wrong direction.
“I’ll go with you,” Everly said, extracting herself from Stacey’s grip.
They went to the row of coolers near the table that was laden with chips, veggies, fruit, dips, and an assortment of other snacks.
Chris crouched and dug through the ice for a bottle of water. He glanced up, and the way the sun hit the ground just behind him made him appear almost angelic. Jesus. She was losing it. Slipping right over the edge. She wanted to hit it off with one of her potentials. Her mind and her heart were surprisingly open. Date three with Brad, who’d been her first ‘like’ on the app was surprisingly nondescript. She couldn’t say anything she truly enjoyed or disliked about the date. Or him. But if she were choosing right now, between Brad or Owen, it would be Owen all the way. She should focus on that. On him.Not the strange tumble of feelings she tripped over when she was around Chris.
Chris pulled up a bottle of fruit-infused vodka, the one she’d had at her place the night of her ‘spring cleaning.’ “Will this work?”
Had he remembered? He paid attention to little things.Which is a nice quality, but he also makes you clam up, and you’re looking for a man you can be yourself with. Your new self.She nodded, and he stood, twisted the top off. She accepted it and took a drink, but it tasted sour in her mouth. Apparently, she wasn’t good at hiding anything, because he smiled, took the drink from her, and replaced it with his water.
“Better?”
Her eyes burned and she didn’t trust herself to speak, so she only nodded. When he took a drink of the vodka cooler, two thoughts crashed into her head: he was drinking itforher, which somehow felt romantic. And because her inner twelve-year-old liked to make random appearances, her second thought was that their lips had both touched the bottle, which was practically kissing.What is wrong with you?
Her cheeks warmed. “You didn’t have to come to this.”
His lips tipped up in an easy grin. “It’s like your parents planned my staff BBQ for me. I should have brought the others along.”
She laughed, the pressure in her chest loosening by small fractions. “But you didn’t, so you still need to go through with it.”
“Party planning isn’t really my thing. Jane is working on it,” he said, tipping the bottle up again. She watched his throat as he swallowed. A little hum left the back of her own throat, and she hoped he didn’t hear it.
They stood in silence for a good five minutes before Everly realized neither of them tried to fill it. It was so…nice.For someone who didn’t like beinginthe crowd, she didn’t mind observing it. Chris seemed to feel the same. When she glanced at him, hopefully covertly, his eyes were scanning the group,his foot tapping to the music. It was strange how a few weeks ago, she couldn’t have imagined him outside of the station. He was a lot like Stacey in his ability to justfitwherever he went. She wouldn’t have suspected that.
Stacey and Tara wandered over and joined them, drinks in hand.
Stacey gave her a contrite smile, paired with puppy-dog eyes. “Your mom was so excited when she called me,” Stacey said.
“Mm-hmm. Plus, you never turn down a party,” Everly said. Tara shifted beside Stacey. “Tara, you’ve met Chris?”
They shook hands, saying hello, and Everly sent a mock glare toward Stacey, who shrugged. “What? So I forgot to introduce them. They’re both adults. Besides, you showed up, and I was worried you might kill me for not putting a stop to this.”
“I still might,” she muttered. “There’s got to be something in the friendship code for this.”
Tara nodded. “I think you’re right.” Stacey glared at her, making their friend wince and add, “But she showed up and brought reinforcements, so I think the right and wrong cancel each other out.”
Chris laughed, and Everly bit her lip to keep from joining in. She had good friends.
Stacey came to her side and bumped her hip. “There are worse things than a backyard party with people who love you.”
“Plus, there’s food and cake,” Tara said, taking a sip of her drink. Taller than Everly but a couple inches shorter than Stacey, Tara reminded her of a sixties’ pinup model. Rounded curves, long, flowing brown hair, blue eyes, and a tendency to wear slightly retro clothing all worked together to make her striking in a unique way.
Focus on the good.“Your cake is worth putting up with a party for. Thank you for the one you made on my actual birthday,” Everly said.
Standing in a small half circle, listening to the three ofthem chatting and trading stories, Everly’s skin stopped feeling as if it were shrinking. Her breathing came easier until she stopped thinking about it. She could totally do this. In the back of her mind, she knew she should be mingling, as her mother said, but if they wanted her here, she’d do it her way. She hadn’t bolted, so they were still winning.
That thought was short-lived when she saw her father heading her way, his gaze aimed at Chris. His long gait, height, and happy smile always drew attention. Both of her parents enjoyed being the life of the party and often tried to outdo each other with witty banter and over-the-top flirting when they socialized. Everly hadn’t inherited that gene from either of them.
“There’s my beautiful birthday girl,” her dad said, pulling her into another hug and keeping his arm around her shoulder.
Everly tensed.Please don’t say anything awkward to Chris.“I’m so glad your friends could join us. I don’t believe we’ve been introduced,” he said to Chris. “Are you here with Tara or Stacey?”
“Chris, this is my dad, Grant. Dad, this is Chris Jansen. He runs the station.” She didn’t need to add more. If she did, her father would find a chink in her faulty armor.
“You’re Everly’s boss?” He stretched his hand out, and Chris took it. “Nice to meet you.”
