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“Evan is just a friend,” I remind her. “I’ve never said anything different, especially to him.”
“Oh, I’m not insinuating that you’re a tease, honey,” Ida continues, munching on the delicious cookie. “Not at all. I just like him. But you don’t look at Evan the way that you look at Chase.”
“And how is that?”
“Like he’s a big piece of chocolate cake, and you’d like to eat him alive.”
I smirk and shake my head. “No, I don’t.”
I hope I don’t, anyway, because how embarrassing is that?
“It’s not obvious,” Ida continues, reassuring me. “You’re not all gooey and ridiculous about it, as if you were a teenager, but I see the spark in your eyes when he walks through that door, and that spark definitely isn’t there when you’re talking with Evan.”
“Thank you for the play-by-play,” I retort. I don’t really know what else to say to that, so I start unpacking new plants that just came in.
“And it’s new,” she continues, clearly on a roll. “Not that Chase spends a lot of time in here, but I can’t say that it’s something I’ve noticed before.”
“Ida?”
“Yes, honey?”
“Let’s not talk about this anymore, okay?”
“You’re the boss.”
“I need that drink,” I announce to my best friend, Polly, as I sit in the booth across from her at The Wolf Den, our favorite bar in town. “Thanks for ordering ahead.”
I sip the huckleberry margarita and sigh in happiness.
“Bad day?” Polly asks with a laugh.
“Not bad,” I reply and sip again. “But man, it’s been busy. I bet your shop’s busy, too.”
Polly owns the best dress boutique I’ve ever been in. A Pocket Full of Polly continues to grow in popularity, and she’s expanding to online sales, which is super exciting.
“Crazy season,” she confirms and holds her glass up to cheers with mine. “And God bless it; it keeps us afloat in the lean months.”
“I know,” I concede, “but man, I feel like I can’t catch my breath this week.”
A shadow falls over the table, and I look up, surprised to see Evan there.
“Hello, ladies,” he says with a smile.
“Don’t tell me you’re working as a server part time,” Polly says.
“No, ma’am, I’m here with a colleague and thought I’d swing by and say hello. How are you two?”
“Great,” I reply with a smile. “Glad the work day is over.”
“I hear that. You two have fun.” He knocks on the table and then walks away, and I look over at my best friend.
“Don’t tell me that you think I should date Evan.”
Polly scowls. “Hell no. Evan is absolutely not your type.”
“Thank you.” I sigh in relief and have another sip of my drink. “The ladies at work seem to think Evan is my type, and I’ve always made it clear to him that he’s just a friend.”
“I mean, sure, he’s handsome, but knowing your history with politics, I know you don’t want any part of that scene,” Polly says, shaking her head.
