My Forever Plus-One Page 3

  What they had was special. No way was she willing to risk it for some phenomenal sex.

  …

  Evelyn told Owen she would meet him at the barbecue at Mike and Abby’s house because she was running late. He despised being late. Rather than try to convince him that arriving at any time other than when the party started was no big deal, she took a ride-share. She tipped the driver and scooped up the two trays of desserts (store-bought) she was bringing as her contribution to the potluck meal.

  A bright yellow sign hung on the front door telling guests to come around back. She loved coming to parties like this with Owen. His circle of friends accepted her without thought of what she could do for them. Throughout her marriage to Donald, every event had been a networking opportunity. People wanted to get close to her because she could take them to Donald, and her husband never entered into a relationship unless he could get something from it. But with Owen, she never had to perform. She was free to be herself.

  Around here, she was simply Owen’s friend. She reached over the gate to flip the lever. As soon as the gate swung open, the full force of party noises hit her. Music blared from speakers near the patio door. A small kiddie pool in the corner of the yard held a few young children who were squealing and splashing.

  She rounded the corner of the house to look for Owen. She was comforted by all of the familiar faces she saw. Some people offered a smile and nod of acknowledgment, others a wave. Then there was Abby, who rushed at her and squeezed her in a tight hug.

  “It’s about time you got here.”

  “I’m not that late.”

  “No, but Owen has been staring at the gate waiting for you, like a puppy waiting for someone to come home.”

  Evelyn rolled her eyes. Owen was not dying to see her. Abby had a flair for the dramatic. “Here.” She thrust the desserts at the woman.

  Abby took the trays and threaded her other arm through Evelyn’s. “You’re not getting away that easily. I haven’t seen you in forever. Why don’t you come around more often?”

  “I show up whenever Owen tells me there’s a party.”

  “You don’t need Owen’s invitation. You can join us whenever you want. We have book club once a month.”

  “I don’t have that much spare time for reading.”

  Abby laughed. “We call it book club. We buy the book and sometimes we might read part of it. Mostly, we sit around, drink wine, and gossip.”

  The drinking wine part sounded good. And really, she should put in the effort to make more friends. She had Tess and Nina, but other than that, she didn’t have many female friends. Most of the people she worked with were men, except for some of the interns. Her world was lacking connections with women.

  “Who’s in the book club?”

  Abby led her to a long table already weighed down with food. “Other firefighter wives.”

  And there was the rub. “I’m not a firefighter wife.”

  Abby set the desserts down and turned to face her. “First, there are no requirements for joining. Second, you’re the closest thing Owen has ever had to a wife. I mean, since his divorce, anyway. Does the man even date? He’s never brought anyone around except you.”

  “Well, we do tend to be each other’s plus-one wherever we go.” We’re safe for each other. No worries about friends forming attachments with people who might not stick around.

  “Think about it. I’ll get your email from Owen and send you info.”

  “Sounds good.” But Evelyn doubted she would join. Too many assumptions would be made if she showed up. As much as she loved Owen, she wasn’t part of his work family.

  Abby yelled across the yard at one of the kids, so Evelyn took that as her cue to grab something to eat while she was standing there. Considering Abby had told her Owen had been waiting for her, it was odd that she still didn’t see him. She picked up a brownie that looked deliciously homemade and took a bite.

  Oh, yeah, homemade.

  She glanced around the yard again and her eyes landed on Owen. He was with a couple of guys she didn’t know well. He smiled at her and lifted his arm as if to look at an imaginary watch. She winked and took another bite of brownie.

  She turned to grab a napkin and came face-to-face with Jamal.

  “Hey, Evelyn. Long time no see.” He leaned in and gave her a hug.

  “How are you, Jamal?”

  “Good. I told Owen he should invite you out more often.”

  What was with these people? It seemed like with every event, more of them made similar comments. “I see Owen all the time.”

  “But he doesn’t bring you around us.”

  “Well, if it’s a firefighter thing, I don’t really belong.”

  “Come on, now. You’re one of us.” He put an arm around her shoulder and turned her back to face the yard. “Look around. Everyone knows you.”

  For the first time, she really paid attention. She did know these people. And they knew her. Was it enough for them to know her? Did that make her fit in? Belong?

  “Hey, didn’t I tell you Evelyn was off-limits?” Owen said from her other side.

  “We’re all innocent here,” Jamal said with a smirk. “Unless Evelyn doesn’t want to stay innocent.”

  She barked out a laugh. “My innocence left the building a long time ago.”

  Jamal dropped his arm. “Who’s up for a game of cornhole?”

  “Maybe a little later,” she said. As Jamal walked away, she nudged Owen. “That wasn’t nice. He wasn’t hitting on me.”

  Owen raised an eyebrow.

  “Okay, at the end there, he was. But that was just for your benefit. Before that, he was being friendly.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “What do you care, anyway?”

  “It would complicate my life, and I prefer things simple.”

  She didn’t have a comeback for that. It would complicate his life. But she wasn’t attracted to Jamal. She was over young guys.

  “What were you guys looking at, anyway?”

  “Jamal was pointing out that I belong here, I guess. And for the first time, I realized that coming here is kind of like hanging out with family. Without the stress.”

  One of the many things that drew her to Owen was his sense of family. He had his own family and his work family, and he had quickly brought her into all of it. It had been him who suggested coffee after the divorce support group. He made friends with Trevor and then Tess and so on. The group had grown because of him. She’d simply enjoyed the result.

  “You are family.” He said it matter-of-factly. As if there were no question.

  “The other guys bring wives and girlfriends. I’m neither.”

  “You’re better. You’re my best friend. Now let’s go show Jamal how the game is played.” He took her hand and led her across the yard.

  …

  Monday morning, Owen walked into Sunny’s Diner to meet his friends. Trevor and Tess sat at the table, already drinking coffee. Owen nodded at the waitress as he made his way over.

  “Hey,” he said as he sat.

  Trevor looked over. “I have some stuff for you. For the center. Evan’s clearing out the storage shed. There’s lumber and leftover materials, if you want it. I figured you could do some kind of project with the kids.”

  “Cool. I’ll swing by after my next shift and pick it up.”

  Tess leaned forward as the waitress filled his cup. He turned over the one next to his, because he saw Nina crossing the parking lot.

  “Where’s Evelyn?”

  “She had to go in to work early. Today’s the day they announce the nominations for the Women in Media awards. Her boss thinks she’s getting nominated this year.”

  Tess’s eyes widened. “Really? That’s awesome. When will she know?”

  He shrugged. Although Evelyn had called him this morning and chatted nervously on her way to work, she hadn’t said when the call was happening.

  “When will who know what?” Nina asked as she took a seat a
cross from him.

  Tess said, “Evelyn is up for some TV award. She finds out if she’s been nominated today.”

  “Why didn’t she say anything?”

  “She told Owen,” Tess pointed out.

  Nina rolled her eyes. “She tells Owen everything. Why didn’t she tell us?”

  “I don’t know.” He drank from his cup. “Maybe because every year she hopes to be nominated, and it doesn’t happen. It would drive her crazy to have everyone feel sorry for her.”

  “Makes sense,” Trevor said.

  They fell into a brief silence until Nina spoke again. “The party was awesome, Tess. I couldn’t have organized it better myself.”

  “Thanks. I would’ve had you do it, but Miles’s mom has her own people. That family has people for everything. It’s a little overwhelming.”

  Trevor chuckled. “Since the engagement party was so over-the-top, what are you going to do for the wedding?”

  Tess shrugged.

  “Speaking of weddings,” Nina interjected, “what’s happening with you and Callie? Any wedding bells?”

  Trevor choked on his coffee. When he finished sputtering, he said, “We’re taking our time.”

  “I was just thinking that you and Tess might get a twofer.”

  “Like the Prescotts would ever let that happen,” Owen said. “If you’re smart, you’ll do what my brother is doing. A destination wedding in Vegas. It’s just the immediate family and a few close friends.”

  “That sounds wonderful,” Tess said. “I wouldn’t have to meet hundreds of people who don’t matter. Or be afraid to wipe my mouth on a napkin that looks like it cost more than my dress.”

  “Miles doesn’t strike me as a guy who wants all that crap,” Trevor offered.

  Tess sighed and shook her head. “It’s not Miles. It’s his mom. He’s the baby of the family, and this is his first marriage. It might be different if this were his second wedding, but not now.”

  “Good luck with that,” Nina said. Turning back to Owen, she said, “You and Evelyn were mighty close at the engagement party.” She waved a hand. “I mean more than usual.”

  “Like you were so quick to point out to Callie, we’re always each other’s date. We were having a good time.”

  “Mmm-hmm.” She raised an eyebrow and gave him the once-over. “When was the last time you went on a real date?”

  The change in subject caught him off guard. “Why?”

  “Because it’s been more than a year since we made a pact to get out there and date and look for real relationships. I see no movement on your end. Other than the dance you do with Evelyn.”

  “There was no pact. You just yelled at us. I never agreed to anything. I like my life just fine. I have everything I need.” For the most part, it was true. Each branch of his life felt right. He loved his job. Working with the kids at the center gave him additional purpose. If he was horny, he knew women he could call. Every now and then, though, it seemed like something was missing. In those moments, he called Evelyn.

  “I call bullshit.”

  “Yeah?” he countered. “Where’s your serious relationship?”

  “I’m working on it. I’ve been trying a lot of new experiences to put myself out there to meet people. You’re not doing anything. You find some random woman to bang, and then you hang out with Evelyn.”

  “What’s wrong with that?”

  “What are you going to do when she finds someone else? Someone who will do everything you do, plus give her screaming good orgasms?”

  His immediate reaction was to put his back up and declare that Evelyn wouldn’t do that. She couldn’t replace him. But the look on Nina’s face told him the truth.

  “She wants someone in her life.” Nina’s voice softened. “A partner in everything. You have to know that.”

  He swallowed nothing in an attempt to clear his throat. He didn’t want things to change, but the thought of not having Evelyn in his life was painful.

  Nina reached across the table and laid her hand over his. “If you don’t make a move, you will lose her. Not completely. She’ll still be there, just like we are. But it won’t be the same, because she’ll have what Tess and Miles do and what Trevor and Callie do. A life away from us and Sunny’s Diner. That guy will be her first call when she has news about an award.” She squeezed his fingers. “The look on your face says that you don’t want that to happen.”

  What move am I supposed to make?

  Trevor cleared his throat. “Leave him alone, Nina. You made your point.” He made eye contact with Owen. “She doesn’t know everything. Evelyn is happy. You’re one of the most important people in her life. I can’t imagine that ever changing.”

  “Yeah,” Tess chimed in. “I mean, look how she remained friends with Donald all this time. She’s moved on, but he’s still part of her life.”

  Owen’s stomach flipped. He did not want to be in the same category as Evelyn’s ex. Sure, she was friends with Donald, but it wasn’t on the same level of what Owen shared with her.

  He looked at Nina again. “Message received.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “Hell if I know.” That was the God’s honest truth. He stood and tossed money on the table. “I’ll talk to you guys later. Don’t call Evelyn about the nomination. Wait till she says something, okay?”

  “Sure,” Tess said. She touched his arm as he walked by. “It’ll be fine. Don’t let Nina scare you.”

  He nodded and headed out. He had a lot of thoughts to sort, so going for a run with Probie sounded like the best idea all morning.

  …

  Evelyn paced in Harry’s office. Her coffee sloshed in her cup as she turned to walk the length again. “What time did you say they were making calls?”

  “Soon,” he answered without looking up from his computer.

  Why call? It was an antiquated system. A mass email would be so much faster. She had a show to run. Anything would be better than standing in Harry’s office. Waiting. It wasn’t like they would call if she was being passed up again. How long was she supposed to wait?

  Harry’s phone rang, and she jumped. Turning to watch him as he answered, a boulder settled in her stomach. Then his faced brightened. “Excellent. I’ll let her know. Thank you.”

  He hung up and said, “I told you this was your year. You’ve got the nomination.”

  She almost dropped her coffee. Had she heard him right? “You said I got it?”

  “Yeah. You’re up for best producer. Your school shooting episode from last year.”

  Her heart stopped. Why couldn’t one decent thing happen to her? She hated that episode. Dragging kids in to the studio to tell their story of watching their friends die while having gun-toting lobbyists talk about the right to bear arms had made her ill. Yeah, it had been their highest-rated episode ever, but she had despised every minute of it.

  Harry stood in front of her. “What’s wrong? You look like you’re gonna be sick. This is great news. It’s what you’ve always wanted.”

  “Yeah. I know.” She inhaled deeply, shoving all unpleasant thoughts aside. I did produce a kick-ass show. “You’re right. It’s excellent news.”

  “Well deserved.”

  “Thanks.” She gulped her now-lukewarm coffee. “Have you thought about my proposal for the new show? Now that I’ve got the nomination, pitching it to the network should be easier.”

  “I’ve looked it over. We’ll see.”

  She hated when he offered that response. The lack of commitment drove her crazy.

  “You know…” he started.

  She set her cup down and waited.

  “The anniversary of that episode is coming up.”

  No, she hadn’t realized that. Mostly because she tried to block that entire situation from her memory.

  “We should do a follow-up episode for the anniversary of the school shooting. Take it on location. Go to the school, see the kids, how they’re doing a year later.”

&n
bsp; The coffee swirled in her stomach like acid, eating away at her. Rather than telling Harry to fuck off, she said, “I’ll check the schedule, but for now, I have today’s show to produce.” Then she picked up her coffee cup and left his office.

  For the rest of the day, Evelyn went through the motions of being a producer. She was on autopilot, telling cameras to shift, giving advice to Trent. Luckily, this episode was a follow-up. The guests had appeared at least once before for paternity testing and the people they thought were the fathers were not, in fact, the fathers. So now they were bringing in the next round of possible daddies.

  Security was always on standby in case things got out of hand, but these guests leaned toward the weepy, not explosive. Although the men did jump around a bit in denial, no fights had to be broken up.

  All of this allowed Evelyn to turn ideas over in her head. She’d thought having the nomination would be enough for Harry to at least run her idea up the ladder. Instead he wanted more of that gut-wrenching stuff.

  Her phone buzzed in her pocket with a text.

  Are we celebrating or commiserating tonight?

  She wasn’t sure how to answer Owen.

  A little of both?

  Huh?

  I’ll explain later.

  Come to my house. I’ll cook.

  Evelyn immediately felt better. Owen didn’t always cook, but when he did, it was yummy comfort food. Nothing fancy or elaborate for him. Chili, spaghetti, pot roast—things he’d learned to cook while at the firehouse.

  As they moved to commercial break, Evelyn suddenly wondered if Owen ever cooked for anyone else. She’d mentioned to him a number of times what a turn-on it was for women to have a man cook for them. Did he add that to his repertoire for getting a woman in bed? Not that he needed help. Even if he weren’t a good-looking guy, he had the whole firefighter-hero thing going for him.