Page 29 of The Other Plan

Me: Emergency. I need you at the Bayside stat.

Jo: Matt and I are having a Family Guy marathon.

Me: Emergency, Jo! Seriously! Get off that damn couch and come help your sister out.

Jo: Fine. But you’ll owe me.

Me: Whatever you want. Just HURRY!

Jo: Leaving in 5

Grateful backup was on the way, I sat in my car for a few minutes before driving the mile to the Bayside. Jo and Matt had a fifteen-minute drive, so I took my sweet time getting there. The less time I was alone at the bar, the better.

***

“Finally!” I said as Jo and Matt walked up to the bar beside me. “How slow were you driving? Grandma on her Lil’ Rascal scooter could have gotten here faster than you two.”

“Petunia got out and didn’t want to come back in,” Matt said. “Damn cat thinks it’s hilarious to make me chase her around the cabin.”

“At least she’s not still attacking you.” Jo slid into the stool beside me.

Matt laughed and sat next to her. “Valid point.”

“So, what is the emergency?” Jo asked as Brandon, the bartender, came over and gave her a fist bump.

“Hey, Jo! Got the night off from slinging drinks?” he asked as he slid a coaster in front of them.

“Yep. Thought I’d come to make you serve me instead.”

“Happy to do it.” He grinned. “What are we having? Bayside coffees?”

He gestured halfway down the bar to where Eric, Valentina, and Carter sat. Luckily for me, they hadn’t had five stools open together when we’d arrived, so Evan and I had sat apart from them. They watched in awe while the other bartender, Jason, shook nutmeg onto the rising flames of the drinks they had ordered. The spectacle kept the attention of everyone at the bar... including Carter.

“We’ll make it easy on you. Couple of Spotted Cows.”

“My kind of girl,” Brandon said and walked off to get them.

Jo turned to me and propped her chin on her fist. “So, spill. What’s going on.”

I leaned in and brought Jo up to speed on the rest of the story. I’d called her the night before to tell her about my mistake in Hawaii and that Carter wasn’t actually the asshole we’d thought him to be, but I hadn’t told her yet about my faux pas with the fake boyfriend.

When I got done, she blinked her big brown eyes at me. “Evan. You’ve hired Evan like a male escort to play the part of your fake boyfriend?”

“You make it sound so sleazy,” I groaned. “And I didn’t hire him. No money exchanged.”

“Um, it is sleazy. You’re like that creepy guy at the high school reunion who brings a prostitute and pretends he’s like a millionaire or something.”

I buried my face in my hands. “Oh my God! I am that guy! Gross!”

“What’s gross, sweetie?” Evan slid up behind me and slung his arm around my shoulder.

Jo and Matt glanced between us, then nearly tumbled off their stools they laughed so hard.

I closed my eyes against the assault. “Shut up. Just shut up.”

“Oh, no,” Jo spit out between hysterics. “I will not shut up. Ever. For the rest of our lives, I’m going to be teasing you about this. For-ev-er!”

“Me too.” Evan laughed and lifted his hand for a high five. Jo smacked it and shook her head.