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“Is there any chance we can not make a big deal out of this?”
“Nope.”
Everly huffed. “You sound like Ridge.”
“Ridge will help me get rid of the body.”
She giggled and rested her hand on his arm. “You’re crazy.”
He couldn’t argue with her there. Sometimes, he felt crazy when Everly was involved.
Blake was having a hard time focusing on the road with her hand on his arm. Did she want to be touching him as much as he wanted to be touching her? Probably not, but he wanted to read more into it. After years of minimal contact, a buzz hummed over his skin, and not only in the place where they were connected.
Thoughts of the newly single and beautiful Everly sitting beside him were interrupted by annoying rage. He’d known David for years, and there had always been animosity between them. They’d kept things semi-civil in business settings, but the unspoken ceasefire had been thrown out the window when Blake moved to Blackwater.
Yet, David hadn’t tried to make a way to be closer to Everly in all the years he’d been dating her. She would have never asked David to settle down in one place or change anything on her account, but Blake couldn’t figure out why the guy didn’t want to be with her more.
Blake glanced at Everly in the seat beside him. He wanted to be glad her fiancé had broken up with her, but he also hated that sad look in her eyes as she stared at the road ahead.
Blake parked at Buck’s and wasn’t too thrilled about having to let go of her hand. Letting her know about his feelings right after her breakup wouldn’t be good for either of them. He wanted Everly. That was clear, but he didn’t want to be a rebound.
The big kicker? Everly probably didn’t have any feelings for him. They were friends. They always had been. He was pretty sure his pathetic pining and longing had been one-sided all these years. She’d been with someone else most of the time he’d known her, and she didn’t have a single disloyal bone in her body.
They stepped into Buck’s, and Blake’s stomach rumbled. The place was older with antler chandeliers, rough wooden tables, and dark floors. The log cabin aesthetic was natural, since the building had once been a hunting lodge.
Everly inhaled a deep breath. “It smells amazing in here.”
“It always does, but it probably smells better because you’re hungry.”
She looked him up and down, quirking her brow. “What about you?”
Apparently, she hadn’t heard his stomach yelling for food. He pointed to an open booth in the corner. “Oh, I’m always hungry. Vera has a snack bag waiting for me every evening.” The older cook at the ranch was as sweet as her peach cobbler, and he made a point to brighten her days with compliments. Vera’s blushes told him she appreciated the kindness.
“Your snack bag isn’t a secret. Brett gets one too.”
Blake halted. “What? I thought I was special.”
Everly laughed and patted his shoulder. “I didn’t mean to burst your bubble. Youarespecial.”
They slid into the booth, and a waitress rushed past, dropping two menus on the table. “I’ll be right with you.”
Blake shook his head and whispered, “I feel like my life is a lie.”
“Oh, don’t be upset. I’ll tell her to put an extra cookie in yours from now on.”
“Vera has always been so good to me. I thought what we had was special.”
Everly opened the menu and glanced at it. “You had an extra serving of potato salad and cornbread, and you thought that was special? You might need to rethink your definition of special.”
Everly looked up, and a faint crease appeared between her brows. He’d never seen that before. Probably because she’d been happy until David broke up with her.
“I guess I need to rethink my definition of special too,” she said.
Blake fisted his hands on the table. David had done enough damage today. “No, your fiancé should think you’re special and do everything to make sure you know it.”
“Maybe he did think I was special, but he also seemed to think Natasha Franco was special when he cheated on me last night.”
All sounds turned to buzzing in Blake’s ears. “What was that? Did you say he cheated on you?”
