Page 47 of Don't Remind Me
The guy’s face lit up with genuine delight. “Yeah? Done.”
Neela flicked her chin at whatever was in his hands. “Those for Aubrey?”
“Yeah. She in the back?”
Neela nodded. “I can take ’em to her if you want.”
He passed the bundle across the bar, and Neela disappeared with it into the kitchen. His gaze fell on me, blue eyes glancing at my laptop screen.
“That looks good,” he said, nodding at the welcome packet design. “It for the event this place is catering next month?”
I blinked in surprise. “Yeah, actually. How’d you know about that?”
“Aubrey told me.” He stepped closer, leaning his forearms against the back of the stool two seats down from mine. “You design this yourself?” he asked, studying the screen.
I nodded, scanning the design. It was basically finished, but something about it still felt off.
“You open to suggestions? Feel free to tell me to fuck off,” he added lightly. “You just look like you’re stuck, and I happen to be a graphic designer.”
My lips twitched. “Go for it.”
“It’s the title. It’s getting washed out by the border, which is throwing the rest of it off balance. Try making it a darker color.”
I did as he suggested, selecting the title and darkening it by a few shades. It did the trick. The whole design clicked into place.
“Huh.” I looked up at him. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” He shot me that dazzling smile of his, dimples on full display. If he wasn’t careful, he could hurt someone with it. “I’m Evan, by the way.” He extended his hand.
I shook it. “Dani.”
He nodded at my laptop. “If you’ve got any more designs you’re working on, I’m happy to help. Aubrey made it seem like this event is sort of a big deal, and I have fun doing this kind of stuff. Only if you want, though.”
“That’d…be great, actually.” I’d done enough design work for events over the years that I could hold my own, but I was all for having a professional’s input. Especially for this event thatwasa big deal, for me as much as HBC. Its success would be confirmation I belonged here—at this job, in this city, serving an actual purpose. Failure would prove I was never meant for any of it. I’d accept any help at my disposal to keep that from being true. “How long have you and Aubrey been together?” I asked.
Given the familiar way he’d talked about her, it hadn’t seemed like a ridiculous assumption. Not until his face contorted like I’d told him to pop into the bathroom and lick the urinal.
“God, no, we’re not together. We’re practically related at this point.” He cocked his head. “Well, we did get married in second grade, but my older brother divorced us a week later, so I’m not really sure that counts.”
“Let me guess, your brother’s a lawyer now?” I asked.
Evan scoffed, his mouth twisting. “Not even close.”
“If only,” Aubrey said, emerging from the kitchen and saving me from whatever I’d unknowingly stepped in. The front of her pants was soaked with some sort of orange liquid. “Then maybe I wouldn’t have gotten completely ripped off by that deal. I didn’t get any of your Halloween candy despite neither of us signing a prenup.”
“That was your own fault for trusting my brother to actually consider how his actions might affect others,” Evan replied.
“Yetheshared his Halloween candy with me.”
“Yeah, because he knew you were in love with him and felt bad about it.”
She shrugged a careless shoulder and headed for the stairs. “I still got candy out of it.”
“Hey, I brought you pants,” Evan called after her. “You want candy too?”
“If it’s chocolate, then yes.” She held up the bundle of fabric I now understood to be chef pants. “Thank you!” she hollered over her shoulder before disappearing up the stairs.
Evan shook his head and returned his focus to me. “If you want to see a sample of my work, I designed most of her tattoos.”
