Page 87 of Ten Rules for Faking It
Everly realized she was watching Chris quite closely when she saw his jaw tense, his gaze fly to his brother’s, with an imperceptible shake of the head. What the—?
“Fine. You can come,” Chris said as the waitress approached with the bill.
She started to put it on the table, but Chris swept it up.
“You don’t have to do that,” Everly said quickly. Her jaw clenched tightly. Almost painfully. “That wasn’t the expectation. I’ll pay for mine and Stacey’s.”
Chris turned his head and locked his gaze on Everly. She worked to keep her breathing even. “No expectations, Everly. It’s my pleasure. Honestly, it’s fine.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Noah said, standing and stretching. “Chris would never let you pay. He’s weird like that. Mr. Responsibility.”
“I hope you’re still in good shape, because it’s about an hourwalk to my place from here,” Chris said, giving the woman his credit card.
“Well, thank you. This was an unexpectedly fun evening,” Stacey said, also rising.
“Yes, thank you. It was really fun to meet you, Noah.” Everly stood and went around the other side of the table to stand near Stacey.
“Same goes. Come here,” he said, pulling her into a hug. Surprised, Everly kept her hands by her side, but he didn’t seem to notice. He released her and did the same with Stacey, who returned the gesture easily. Noah grinned at Chris, then back at them. “I practiced on Bear, so I’m really good at it.”
As he signed the credit card slip, Chris muttered something under his breath that Everly didn’t catch, but she laughed along with the others, anyway.
The guys walked them outside and said good night, leaving Everly and Stacey standing by their cars, which were parked close to each other.
“Interesting night. You look fantastic, by the way,” Stacey said, leaning on Everly’s car, seeming not to care about her black leather skirt.
“Thank you. So do you. Thank you for showing up. Did I wreck a date?”
“Nope. You saved me, so we’re all good. Are you okay?” Stacey eyed her in the way her mom used to when she tried to sidestep love interest inquisitions. At fifteen, Everly hadn’t wanted to share gossip about boys with her mom any more than she did now. Speaking of which, she needed to return her father’s phone calls. He and her mom had been tag teaming her voicemail for days.
“I’m fine. It was nice to meet Chris’s brother.” Spending more time with Chris didn’t suck.
“Sure was. Gave us a little insight to our mostly stuffed-suit boss, who has a wicked crush on you,” Stacey said, pulling her keys out of her purse.
Everly’s jaw dropped. A couple of guys walked by, smiling at them, but Everly turned toward Stacey, who, of course, gave them a finger wave. Everly grabbed her hand and pulled it down.
“He does not. Did you hear what he said about no in-house dating?”
“Yup. Didn’t stop him from making I-want-you eyes at you all night. Maybe that’s why your past relationships haven’t worked out. You clearly ignore the signals.”
Everly sputtered. Actually sputtered, making a strange, unintelligible sound while she waved her arm again.
Stacey laughed. Hard. “Well said. Great comeback.”
“How can I love you and want to throttle you so often?”
Her friend shrugged, not one trace of remorse on her beautiful face. “Don’t know. It’s a mystery. Definitely part of my charm. Which I’m telling you because of the aforementioned missing of signals and not because I secretly don’t think I’m charming.”
“I need to go home,” Everly said, suddenly overcome with a bone-deep exhaustion.
“Me, too.” She leaned in for a hug, squeezed her harder than usual. “Good to see you laugh tonight. Really laugh. And relax. Happy looks good on you, my friend.”
Stacey kissed her cheek and turned, giving Everly the same finger wave she’d given the group of guys. Everly watched her walk a couple of cars over before sliding behind the steering wheel. She sat for a moment, letting the quiet interior settle around her like the comfort of a weighted blanket.
She rested her head against the seat and tried to think of what was pressing down on her most. The dates. The weird feelings for Chris. Her parents’ back-and-forth. Or just the massive milkshake she’d consumed.
Opening her eyes, she started the car and then slid her hand in the side pocket of her purse. She pulled out Pepper, which was oddly soothing, holding it in her hand as she drove home, doing her best to think about nothing at all.
[29]
