AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ten minutes later, Cora was dressed in a bathrobe and walking Jamie out. As he disengaged his car alarm, she grinned, nudged him, and said, “Ah. The walk of shame.”
He narrowed his eyes and said, “I’ll bring a change of clothes with me next time. Otherwise, what would your neighbors think?”
Jamie tugged on the lapels of her robe and pulled her into him for a soft, slow kiss. When they finally surfaced, he said, “See you later, sweetheart.”
* * * *
“So,” Taryn said two nights later, as they lounged on her couch. “When did you and Jamie get back together?”
Cora was jolted out of the television show that they were half-watching. “What?” she asked. “How did you even know?”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because it happened a few days ago and I’m still processing it all. How did you know?”
Taryn’s eyes widened and she said, “A good guess.”
“You’re a crappy liar. Try again.”
“Shit. I’m surprised Jamie didn’t tell you about all this.”
“Tell me about what?” Cora asked, frustrated.
“Evan told me. Apparently the whole family had a bet on when it would happen and he won. Evan asked him about it at poker and all of this stuff came to light,” Taryn said. A moment later she added,
“Whoa. Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t know! I tore him a new one when I found out.”
Cora redirected her ire now and asked, “Where is he hiding?”
“The office. Please don’t hurt him too badly. Who will rub my lower back?”
“I’ll hire someone,” Cora said, as she got up off of the sofa and moved toward the partially open office door. Knocking, she waited for a response.
“Come in,” she heard Evan call absently through the door.
“Oh,” he said. “Hey, Cora.”
“Oh,” she parroted. “Hey, Evan. What the hell? A bet? Are you kidding me?”
He winced and said, “I’m sorry. It was in poor taste. For the record, I wasn’t the one that started the bet. I just won.”
“How much?” she asked.
“Six hundred,” he admitted, wincing.
“You’re betting about people’s lives, you asshole,” she said, punching him in the arm.
“Jesus, Slugger,” he said, grabbing his arm. “You got me in the same spot she did last night. She’s making me give it to charity, anyway.”
“Good, jerk,” she said.
Evan looked contrite when he said, “I’m sorry, Cora. You’re right. It was in poor taste.”
“Yeah, yeah,” she said, leaving the office, and walking back out into the living room.
Taryn asked, “He’s alive?”
“Barely. He may need a doctor,” Cora joked as she settled back down on the couch. “I just hit him in the arm. Same spot you did, apparently.”
