Chapter Eleven

Evelyn couldn't focus on a damn thing after she received the call from Donald. She knew what Owen thought, especially after finding Donald at her house, taking a shower. Part of her was pissed that he would even think she would cheat on him. But mostly, she was worried. Owen would be a mess.

She'd called his phone so many times, she was getting desperate. She wanted to leave work, but since they were getting ready to shoot their first episode, she couldn't afford to take off in the middle of the day. There was still too much to do.

Between trying to fill audience seats for an unknown show to fielding ridiculous questions about Donald, she was barely keeping her head above water. And Owen's actions were pulling her under. She left him a message, but knowing him, he wouldn't even listen to it. If, by chance, he did listen, it still probably wouldn't do much good. He was a stubborn man.

She put her head down and got to work, even though she constantly checked her phone on the off chance that he might call.

Later that night—always later than she thought she'd be leaving work—she called him again. Straight to voicemail. So after grabbing a ride to her place to pick up her car, she drove to his house to make him listen to reason.

The house was dark, but his car was out front, so he was home. She pulled out her keys and considered walking in, but then decided to knock. He was mad. He wouldn't want her barging in.

No answer. She knocked harder. Probie barked, and she heard the dog scrambling on the other side of the door. Maybe he'd gone out?

Then she heard the curse. The door yanked open and he stood in the entryway. His face was indifferent at seeing her. It shouldn't have hurt, but it did.

Shoring up her defense, she said, "Can I come in?"

"Why bother?"

Then she noticed how he swayed. He'd been drinking.

"Are you drunk?"

"Not nearly enough. Couldn't sleep. What do you want? To tell me that it's not what I think? That Donald's naked ass wasn't strolling through your condo?"

"Yes. No." She closed her eyes and took a breath. "Yes, Donald was at my place. I was not. I spent the night here. How could you think I would ever cheat on you, much less with Donald?"

"There are other ways to cheat besides letting some guy put his dick in you."

"What?"

"Go home, Evelyn." He moved to close the door.

She slapped her palm against it. "No. You don't get to say shit and then brush me off like I don't matter."

"You don't. You made your choice. And it wasn't me."

His first words more than stung. A stabbing pain thrust through her. Then the rest of his statement registered. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"He's staying at your place, Evelyn. He doesn't fucking belong there."

"His life is imploding. His career is in question, he just lost the job with my show, reporters are all over his place. I'm helping a friend."

He growled.

"That's all he is, Owen."

He shook his head and gave her a look of disgust. "You choose him. All. The. Time. Phone rings. It's Donald. Let me take this. Donald shows up in town. I'm going out to dinner with Donald. Donald fucked up his life. Let me help. " With each phrase his volume increased and his arms waved for emphasis. It was the most non-Owen-like she'd ever seen him.

She took another deep breath. "Can I come in so we can talk?"

"There's nothing to talk about. Your priorities are clear. And I'm not one."

For fuck's sake. "You're drunk. Call me when you're ready to have a conversation." She turned and left. The problem was, she didn't know where she was supposed to go. Donald was still at her place, and he was the last person she wanted to see right now. As she drove through the city, anger bit at her. Men were so stupid.

She called Nina.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Are you at home?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Can I come over? I need a place to stay tonight."

"What's going on?"

"I'll explain when I get there. Have the wine ready."

When Evelyn arrived at Nina's apartment, which was bigger than Evelyn's condo, Nina already had wine poured for both of them.

"Tell me," Nina said.

"This is all your fault." She accepted the glass, settled on the couch, and then told her friend what happened.

"How is any of that my fault?"

"You and your stupid challenge for us to find someone to be with. Specifically calling out me and Owen for our relationship. That was all you. We were fine."

"Were you?"

Nina's question was full of innuendo.

They had been fine. Their lives had been good. Admittedly, they were better now. At least until today. It was all jumbled up.

"So Owen thinks you slept with Donald?"

Evelyn shrugged. "I have no clue what Owen thinks. He's mad. He's drunk. He thinks I chose Donald over him." She glugged more wine.

"As if."

"Right? How could he think I would ever do anything like that?"

Waving her glass at Evelyn, Nina said, "He did find a naked Donald in your living room."

"First, he wasn't really naked. He had a towel on because he'd just gotten out of the shower. Second, he was only in the living room because he heard Owen come in. Owen jumped to all kinds of conclusions."

Nina raised her eyebrows. "Still…"

"Still, what?" Where was Nina going with this? She couldn't be siding with Owen.

"How would you react if a naked chick was at Owen's place?"

Evelyn stopped and thought for a minute. She couldn't imagine it. Over the years, she'd been there when a woman had spent the night, but she'd never walked in on anything. But now? She knew he would never do that. "I would be shocked, but I'd also give him the benefit of the doubt."

"I don't know that Owen can do that in this type of situation. His wife cheated on him. For all the group counseling and healing he's done, I don't know that he's truly gotten past it." She sipped from her glass. "He has trust issues."

"We all have trust issues. You decide what's important and take a chance."

"He did. He took a chance on you, and now he has doubts."

She listened. She knew Nina spoke the truth. It was nothing she didn't already know about Owen, but she was still angry that he doubted her. Sadness fought the anger. "I didn't do anything wrong."

She gulped her wine, hoping to drown all of the feelings. Tomorrow would look better. Owen would sober up and in the light of day, he'd realize how ridiculous this was.

"I'm not accusing you of doing anything wrong. I'm just saying that maybe you should cut Owen some slack."

The sadness won over the anger. "But how could he even think I would sleep with Donald?"

"I don't know. I thought if anyone would get him to move on it would be you. He's always loved you."

They sat in silence, drinking wine. Nina made some dinner, but to Evelyn it was tasteless. Thoughts of Owen filled her head. She didn't know how to convince him of how much she loved him, that she would never cheat on him.

…

She had a restless night in Nina's guest room before going home. She needed to change to get ready for work. When she shoved the door to the condo open, she called, "Donald?"

It was early, but Donald had always been an early riser. He came around the corner. At least he was fully dressed.

"Hey, Evie. Everything okay?"

"No. Nothing is okay. You need to go."

"What? You said I could stay for a few days."

"That was before you cost me my relationship with Owen."

"What are you talking about? I told him he was misreading the situation." He straightened his tie and picked up a cup of coffee. Totally comfortable in her space.

That's when it hit her. Owen had been right. She let Donald stroll into her life whenever he wanted. And although she didn't sleep with him, he was here. In her place.

"Letting you stay here was a mistake. Owen doesn't particularly like you, and he definitely doesn't trust you. I should've paid more attention to that before agreeing to let you stay."

"Come on, Evie. It's just a couple days."

She clenched her jaw and inhaled sharply through her nose. "Do not call me Evie. I'm not a child. You made a mess of your life, and you can't use me to hide out."

"After all I've done for you?"

She crossed her arms on an eye roll. "I'll admit that you helped me early in my career. But I've built what I have. I'm a respected producer. I stepped out of your shadow a long time ago."

"Did you forget I brokered the deal with Marcus?"

She snorted. "Why exactly did you do that? Was it because you believed in me and my show or was it your way of getting your hands on my idea?"

"That's a hell of a way to thank me."

"I thanked you for the introduction to Marcus. You have no right to anything else."

"That's the way it's going to be?"

She walked over to the door and held it open. "It's the way it has to be. I've moved on with my life. You need to do the same."

He disappeared into the bedroom and returned a few minutes later wheeling his suitcase behind him. She stepped into the hallway to let him pass.

"Good luck," she said.

He leaned in to kiss her, and she swayed back. With a shove to his shoulder, she pointed to the elevator. "No more."

He smiled and shook his head. "Had to give it a shot. I'll call when things settle down."

"Don't. We both need space." She went inside, poured herself coffee, and stripped the bed to remove any sign that Donald had been there. For the first time in her life, she'd thrown Donald out and stood her ground. It was an accomplishment. And the one person she always wanted to share her accomplishments with wouldn't take her calls.

She stepped into the shower. That was where tears finally fell. Fear that Owen wouldn't realize he had overreacted overwhelmed her. She loved him and didn't want to lose him.

As she finished her coffee, she stared at her phone. One more time. She'd call and leave him a message.

"Hi. I know you're mad. I want to talk. I threw Donald out. I get it now. Please call me back." If he didn't return her call, she'd go talk to him again.

Then she left her house and went to work. She had a show to put on.

…

Owen had stopped drinking in plenty of time to be sober and functioning at work. But he still felt like shit. He'd finally turned his phone off to avoid hearing from Evelyn. He had nothing to say to her. When he turned it back on, not only did he have calls from her to ignore, he had two from Nina, one from Trevor, and even one from Gabe. If anyone could understand where he was coming from, it would be Gabe.

Gabe had told them all for as long as they'd known him that no one could really be trusted. Maybe he should go live like Gabe. Cut everyone out and be alone. He stood outside the firehouse and called his friend.

"Yes?"

"You called but didn't leave a message."

Gabe sighed. "Nina called me. Said that you and Evelyn are fighting."

"Not fighting. To fight, you have to care. I'm done."

"Bullshit."

"What?"

"Tell that lie to someone who might believe it. You're pissed because her ex is hanging on. I get it. But you know Evelyn. She knows your history. She wouldn't sleep with him."

He bit back a curse. The one friend who he thought would back him wasn't being helpful. "Look, I just got to work. I wanted to make sure whatever you called for wasn't important. It obviously wasn't."

"See you for coffee in the morning?"

"Is Evelyn going to be there?"

"No idea."

"Then probably not."

Gabe mumbled something that resembled a curse. They disconnected.

He'd barely been at work long enough to settle in when Jamal yelled from the front, "Hey, Owen. You have a guest."

"What?" No one ever came to the firehouse.

Standing in the doorway of the bay was Evelyn. Sun shining on her brown hair hinting at red tones. His heart lurched. He wanted nothing more than to go to her and pull her into his arms.

Stupid fucking heart.

Tucking his hands into his pockets, he asked, "What are you doing here?"

She smiled. "Since you won't call me back and you can't close a door in my face here, I figured we could talk."

"I'm working."

She tilted her head as if to listen. "No alarms are ringing. I think you can spare a few minutes."

"There's nothing to say."

" I have something to say."

He crossed his arms and waited.

She stepped closer, raised a hand as if to touch him, but then dropped it. "First, I didn't sleep with Donald. I am absolutely not interested in him. Second, I love you. I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you."

He sniffed in disbelief.

A flash of irritation crossed her face. "I made a poor choice. Donald asked to stay at my place, and I didn't consider how that would make you feel. I'm sorry for that. I was at your house, so I didn't think about it at all. But I should have. When I went back home, I told Donald to leave."

The idea that after he turned her away she went back to Donald still rubbed him wrong. It shouldn't matter. He was done, right?

"In telling him to leave, I realized a few things. I do let Donald have too much space in my life. I don't know why I've done that. A lot of shared time and history. The power he holds that could impact my career. I never really thought about it. But I should have listened closer to you. For that, I am sorry."

He didn't know what to say. His heart leaped in his chest, screaming at him to accept her apology and kiss her. He swallowed it back down.

"Are you done?"

She nodded. He turned his back and started to walk away.

"Where the hell are you going?"

"Back to work," he said over his shoulder.

"So that's it?" she called. "You overreact, I apologize, and it's still over? You're going to throw away years of friendship for what?"

He spun on his heels. "You threw it away. Tossing around an ‘I'm sorry' doesn't change what you did."

Her throat worked as she swallowed. Her eyes filled, but she blinked rapidly. "You're going to be alone forever if you can't accept that people screw up, Owen. We all do. Even you."

She walked away. Her parting words felt truer than he wanted to admit. Watching Evelyn leave felt like the biggest mistake of his life.

…

As he left work the following morning, his phone buzzed with a text from Gabe.

Meet me at Sunny's in 10. I have something to show you.

He answered.

I just got off work. Going home.

Get your ass here. It's important.

He checked the time. He could make it to the diner in time, which would be earlier than they usually met. It might be possible to find out whatever Gabe wanted to show him and leave before anyone else arrived. He didn't want to listen to advice about his ruined relationship.

He drove to Sunny's and found Gabe at their usual table. His stomach flipped. He and Evelyn came together more often than not. What would his life look like now?

Gabe pushed a cup of coffee in his direction.

"I don't think Evelyn is coming today. First day of her new show."

He sank into the chair and drank the coffee. "I don't want to talk about Evelyn."

"Whatever. I told her you guys were a bad idea."

That took Owen aback. "You did?" He'd been sure everyone in their group had been cheering from the sidelines. Against his better judgment he asked, "Why?"

He pointed around the table at the empty chairs. "For this exact reason. Our group would explode."

"Maybe it's time we all moved on."

"No." Gabe's emphatic statement was strange for the usually quiet guy. "You might find this hard to believe, but I don't socialize much. You guys have given me the most normalcy I've had since my divorce. I can't afford to lose that."

Owen took another drink of coffee. "So Evelyn and I will take turns coming. I'm not saying we can't be friends."

Gabe looked agitated. As if any alteration in his routine and group of friends was unacceptable.

"She didn't cheat on you."

Owen huffed. "How would you know?"

"Besides the fact that I know Evelyn? Even an idiot like me can see she loves you. But I have proof."

"Huh?" How could anyone prove the lack of anything?

Gabe pulled out his phone. "Security cameras at the studio show Donald leaving at one forty-two. Evelyn continued working that day until after seven, at which point, she went to your house."

"How do you—"

"I hacked the security feed, then pinged her phone. She was nowhere near her condo."

"Until I didn't let her in."

"Wrong again. She spent the night at Nina's." He swiped the screen on his phone. "And then there's this." He turned it to let Owen see.

On the screen, a grainy video that showed Evelyn's hallway. She stood in the doorway, arms crossed.

"What the hell, Gabe?"

"Don't ask. Just watch."

He returned his focus to the screen. A moment later, Donald came through the door with a suitcase. They spoke and then he leaned in. Owen's jaw clenched. But Evelyn's hand came up to Donald's shoulder and pushed him away. Then she pointed down the hall.

She'd told the truth. She had thrown him out.

Gabe put his phone away. "Donald was on the next flight back to New York. There hasn't been any contact since."

"So she didn't fuck him. She still let him stay at her place. He's always there in her life."

"I can't believe I'm gonna say this, but we all have baggage. History. You can't just pretend it doesn't exist. Your baggage is Stacy. Hers is Donald. The difference is, Stacy did something to make you keep your distance. Evelyn didn't have that experience. But she's hurting now." Gabe drank his coffee. "And that's all on you."

He listened, but had no idea what he was supposed to do. Part of him had always believed Evelyn hadn't fucked Donald, but the whole situation still felt wrong. "It's not like you to get all up in anyone's business."

"This business is messing with the balance of my life. I don't like it."

He chuckled. That was more like the Gabe he knew. He didn't want to repair Owen's relationship with Evelyn because he believed they belonged together. He just didn't like the inconvenience to his life.

He drained his coffee. "Tell everyone I said hi."

"You're not staying? I told you Evelyn's at work."

"First, stop hacking into our lives. Second, I can't listen to them, especially Nina."

Gabe grunted his understanding. Owen tossed a few bills on the table and left. He drove home thinking about Evelyn and everything that had happened. Probie offered his usual happy greeting at the door. He wasn't up for a run. In his bedroom, he looked at the space he'd cleared for Evelyn. It was empty. She must've come by while he was at work and taken her stuff.

The empty drawers stared at him. Then he noticed a pile of his neatly folded clothes. Random T-shirts and shorts that she'd borrowed when she'd spent the night. He'd been kidding about wanting them back, yet here they were. He was back to being alone. More alone than he'd been in years, because now he didn't have Evelyn.

He plopped on the couch, turned on the TV, and waited for Evelyn's show. He watched the full hour. Marilyn interviewed people, but he didn't pay much attention. In his mind's eye he saw Evelyn in the control room bossing people around, saying an occasional "fuck" when things weren't going as planned.

Just as the show was about over, Marilyn said they had one more segment that they'd taped. She introduced the Chicago Avenue Youth Center. Then they aired the interview he'd done. The one Evelyn had said was practice.

His heart swelled. She'd done that for him. He was such an asshole.

What the fuck have I done?