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“But the whole crew didn’t bunker down in the bothy with Nick, did they?”

She refused to take Sam’s bait, which seemed to redden his cheeks and piss him off even more.

“You were spotted the next morning, Evie. The caretaker saw you kiss Nick goodbye on the doorstep.” Clenching his jaw, Sam threw his hands in the air. “I can’t believe you’re seeing him again.”

Evie lowered her spoon. “And what if I am? Sam, it’s my business, not yours.”

“Oh, I think it is! Remember, it was me who picked up the pieces last time.”

Her heart warmed with gratitude. “I know. You were my rock. I couldn’t have gotten through it without you. But I’m older now and…smarter, I hope, and I’m done with hating him for something that happened ages ago. It’s too exhausting. We were kids and bad decisions were made on both sides. I think we both know that now.”

“So you’ve discussed it?”

Evie retreated into her soup again. “No, not entirely.”

Sam shook his head. “Yeah, I didn’t think so.”

“But we will. And I wish you would mend things with him, too, Sammy. Sometimes it feels like you’re unwilling to move on.”

“And that’s what you’re doing?” asked Sam. “Moving on. With Nick.”

“Maybe—”

A triple knock on the door cut her off. Evie sat up. “Ooh, might be my elderly neighbor. Her cat’s always wandering off. I help her search.”

“Eat your soup,” said Sam. “I’ll help her.”

As her brother headed around the corner and down the almost non-existent hall, Evie rested her bowl beside her open laptop on the coffee table. Pieces of paper towel, unused tissues, and crumpled receipts littered its surface, each scrap bearing scribbled-on-the-fly notes for her current Cordelia Ross romance in progress.

A draft from outdoors invaded the room. Evie tugged her hoodie’s cuffs over her palms and craned her neck as muffled snippets of conversation teased her curiosity. “Sammy, who is it?”

“Evie, it’s me.”

Surprise tingled in her chest. “Nick? Uh…” She hid her hot water bottle under a throw pillow and grabbed her laptop. “Come in!” The floorboards creaked as she hastily opened a Marwick’s spreadsheet. Nick appeared first, not waiting for Sam.

“Hey!” She smiled, taking in his posh overcoat and dark trousers. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

As Sam joined them, Nick glanced uneasily around the room. “Tarquin called Leia and mentioned that you didn’t look well. I texted, but you didn’t answer.”

“Sorry ’bout that. I turned it off and fell asleep.” Evie closed her laptop and slid it onto the table, her coming-home-to-work ploy busted.

As he sat down beside her, Nick’s eyes narrowed. “Tigs, be honest. Are you in a flare right now?”

She nodded. “I had a sinus infection and missed an infusion. I can’t reschedule until my fever subsides.”

“A fever can mean active Crohn’s,” said Sam, jumping in. “The doctor’s ordering tests.”

Nick gathered her hand in his. “You have to tell me when you’re unwell. I want to be here for you, help take care of you.”

Crossing his arms in front of his flannel shirt, Sam scoffed. “You can’t do that from London, Nick.”

Holding Evie’s gaze, he raised her hand, kissing it. “Things are different now.”

“Are they, though?” Sam glared. If looks were lethal, the former child star would’ve been bleeding out on the sofa. “’Cause it doesn’t take a vet to know a leopard can’t change its spots.”

Evie stiffened. “Sam, really…?”

Nick’s jaw tensed as he peered over his shoulder. “Maaaate.” He stretched the word into three syllables. “Aren’t you a little old to be dragging around some ludicrous teenage vendetta?”