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“No, you said I couldn’t interrupt girl talk. I never agreed,” Sebastian says with a grin.
“Remind me again what he’s doing here?” Keva asks, using the eyeliner to gesture over her shoulder at Sebastian.
“I brought her congratulatory flowers since I can’t go to her big night,” Sebastian says, pointing at the gorgeous assortment of pink blooms. “We’re friends now.”
“A status I’ll have to revoke if you keep eating my emergency stash of chocolate chips,” I tell him.
Keva taps her eyeliner on her palm. “Sebastian, you’re a dude. What do you think this guy meant with the Yours. That is some intimate shit, right?”
“Sure,” he says, taking a sip of water.
“I’m still iffy on this plan,” Keva says. “I’m all for bold moves, but if he’s a real weirdo, that could put a major damper on the evening. Don’t worry though, Grady agreed to keep an eye out tonight.”
“Oh, is that why Grady’s your plus one?” I tease gently.
“Hush, unless you want to leave this chair looking like an eighties workout instructor,” Keva replies. But she’s smiling a little, and it’s the glowing, secret smile of a woman about to spend the evening with a man she’s been into for a long time.
“I hope Mystery Man’s got a gap between his teeth,” Keva says. “I’ve got a lot riding on this.”
“You have a lot riding on it?” I ask incredulously. “What about me?”
“Fair enough. I meant financially I have a lot riding on this.”
I narrow my eyes, and she gives me a guilty grin. “There may or may not be a wager.”
“What?”
“Most popular theory so far is that he’s middle-aged and lonely, though there’s some debate on whether he’ll have fake hair or a comb-over.”
“A toupee could be nice,” Sebastian says.
I glare at him, then turn back to Keva.
“Who’s in on the wager?” I demand.
“Pretty much everyone,” Keva says with a grin. “It was my idea.” She bows. “But your sister, her husband. Robyn, May, Rachel, your brother, even Josh, though that little sweetie thinks your guy’s big secret is that he’s a vegan Navy SEAL.”
Sebastian snorts.
“All right, all right, all right,” I say, nodding thoughtfully. “I can be a good sport about this, but I want in on the wager.”
“Ooh, twist!” Keva says in delight. “Hold on, let me pull up the spreadsheet.”
“There’s a spreadsheet?” I lift up my hands. “Nope, that’s fine. Love it. Okay, so I already know who he is.”
Sebastian’s been idly inspecting the paintbrushes I’ve set in a cup on my counter to dry, but he looks up abruptly. “You do?”
“Yup,” I say confidently. “Well, no. But I know exactly what he looks like.”
“I’m ready. Shoot,” Keva says.
I give her a look. “You already know this.”
“Right, right, the guy,” she says, her thumbs already working.
“What guy?” Sebastian asks.
“Her dream guy,” Keva explains, turning toward him, fingers still flying over her iPhone. “Long brown hair, not too tall, not too fit. Musician.”
“Lives in Brooklyn. Maybe Alphabet City,” I say. “I’m unclear on that. But his smile’s perfectly imperfect. That, I’m definitely clear on. He’s got a tiny chip from a baseball incident—”
“He’s a musician and plays baseball?” Sebastian asks.
“It’s her fantasy. Don’t take this away from her,” Keva says with a smile.
For the first time since he’s shown up, a shadow cuts through Sebastian’s cocky playfulness, and he looks almost vulnerable.
Then he straightens up and extends a hand for Keva’s phone. “My turn.”
“For what?” I demand, even as Keva hands him her cell without hesitation.
“I want in on the wager,” he says.
I roll my eyes and obediently pucker so Keva can apply a glittery light pink gloss, then adds something sparkly to my cheeks and brow bones.
“Perfect,” Keva says, stepping back and surveying my face. “Damn, I’m good. Bastian, look at my genius.”
Sebastian looks up, momentarily startled at the nickname, then glances over at me. His mouth tilts in the corner. “She looks a bit like…”
“Sexy Tinker Bell,” Keva says. “All those glittery, whimsical paintings of hers come to life.”
“They’re not all glittery and whimsical,” I mutter, reaching for a hand mirror. “Oh. Oh.”
“See?” Keva says, a little bit smug.
“It’s perfect,” I admit. She’s added just the right amount of shimmer so I don’t look like a preteen movie princess, but sort of like a fairy, a sexy fairy, with all the dark smudging she added beneath my eyes.
Sebastian hands Keva her phone back, and she glances down at what he’s entered before giving him a speculative look. “Interesting. Very interesting.”
“What?” I say, extending my palm. “Let me see.”
Sebastian opens his mouth, but Keva’s already shaking her head and tucking her phone into her back pocket. “Nope. We’ll see who won the wager at the end of the evening, and for now, I want you”—she points at me—“to focus on getting dressed. And I—Holy moly, is that the time? I need to go get myself fancy.”
