Chapter 7

Evie

"We need details."

"We need all the details."

"Agreed. Don"t leave anything out. We want the teeniest, tiniest, nittiest, grittiest little morsels of information."

I stare at my friends Hannah, Beth, Summer, and Amiel, whom we just met since Hannah invited her to join us on our morning walk, and say nothing.

Collectively, we"ve been dubbed the Fast-Talking Four. Normally, I"m a fan of the cute moniker.

But there"s nothing normal about this morning.

Because it"s the morning after the wedding.

The morning after Fraser carried me to the beach and held me in his arms as we danced in the water to "Sweet Nothing."

I"d warned him I"d be judging his Taylor song selection for years—possibly decades—to come, and yeah…he has nothing to worry about. He couldn"t have picked a more perfect track.

And that almost kiss?

Because we were just about to kiss, weren"t we?

And that right there, folks, is the biggest abnormality of them all.

I was about to kiss Fraser Rademacher.

Me.

Evelyn Freeman.

The girl who has, up until this point in my life, always strictly enforced a no kiss until the third date rule.

The girl who, up until yesterday, was ninety-five percent sure her feelings for Fraser were in the past.

The girl who stupidly agreed to a sunrise walk, only to be grilled by my three besties and one newcomer who doesn"t know where to look or what to make of us.

All. Without. Coffee.

My friends pick up on my not-okay-ness and start talking like I"m not even here.

"Oh, no. She"s got that look."

"This is bad, you guys."

"The diner is one block away. Do you think she"ll be able to hang on?"

Whatever the hangry version of needs caffeine is, I"ve got a major case of it this morning. It must be showing on my face. It"s probably seeping out of my pores.

"We have no other choice. Come on."

Hannah slides one arm through mine, Beth takes the other side, and Summer shoots out ahead of us.

"I"m texting Bear," she says over her shoulder. "I"ll get him to meet us out front."

"Of course she is," Hannah says under her breath, and I giggle.

Everyone in Comfort Bay knows Bear has a thing for Summer. Everyone except for Summer, that is. She"s a high-powered lawyer a few years older than me, and she divides her time between her life in LA and caring for her sick father here. Maybe she"s too busy to notice Bear stealing glances her way or how he hangs on her every word.

Beth gives my forearm a squeeze. "Hang in there, girl. We got you. Coffee will be hitting your bloodstream in less than a minute."

"I should be able to last, but I make no promises."

My mind flashes back to that moment on the beach when Fraser realized we were being photographed.

The determination in his eyes as he held me tight and close. The protective way he shielded me with his back, sidestepping through the water to block their view of me. The way he took off away from them.

I didn"t like what was happening, but I did feel safe. Fraser made me feel safe.

Summer skips ahead when she sees Bear, aka Monosyllable Man, stepping out of his diner, flannel-clad, with his sports cap on backward, as always. Seeing him holding a tray of to-go cups, my mouth waters. I can almost taste the coffee on my lips.

Forget the sunrise, this is the best sight I"ll see all morning.

"Thank you," Hannah and Beth say in unison as Summer starts handing out drinks.

The second I snatch mine, I bring it to my mouth like a baby does a sippy cup. Ahhh…I can feel myself booting up.

"You"re the best, Bear," I say after taking a few sips.

"No sweat."

His gaze lingers on Summer for a moment. She"s oblivious, of course, focused on the Great Dane who"s basically walking her. Because in addition to being a lawyer and a carer for her father, she also volunteers at the local animal shelter, and because she can never say no to an animal in need, she often ends up fostering them at home.

Bear gives Summer a wave she completely misses as the Great Dane yanks her away, and we keep heading for Cuddle Cove Cliff, our favorite place to watch the sun come up.

The girls try to do this walk once a week. Not being the morning-est of morning people, I join them whenever I can, usually every few weeks. You"d think that working on an early morning show would acclimate me to early starts…but you"d be wrong. And the last thing I want to do on a day off when I can sleep in until noon is get up in the dark. But it"s worth it to spend some time with these girls.

"So, Amiel," Beth says to our newest friend. "Hannah mentioned you"re new in town."

"That"s right. I"ve been in Comfort Bay for two weeks."

"And you work in the bakery right next door to Hannah"s flower shop, right?" I ask, one hundred percent because I"m interested in getting to know her and zero percent because I"m hoping to keep the topic off me and yesterday"s wedding for as long as possible.

"I do. I"m so lucky I got the job. I"ve been baking since forever."

"You bake and you have that waistline?" Beth says, giving Amiel a thorough once-over. "I officially hate you."

"You"ll get used to her and her "sense of humor,"" I say to Amiel, putting the words sense of humor in air quotes.

"It"s true. I"m all bite and no bark," Beth concedes with a friendly smile.

"And what do you do?" Amiel asks Beth.

"I run The Cozy Corner bookstore. Do you like to read?"

"I haven"t had much of a chance lately with how busy and stressful the move has been, but I"d love to get back into it."

"Favorite genres?"

"I"m afraid I"m kinda boring. I mainly like YA and clean romance."

"Boring? Hardly," Beth says. "The best people in the world read those two genres. Come in one day, and I"ll hook you up."

"That sounds great. I will."

"It"s so funny," I say to Beth. "How you"re all in on reading romance, but in real life, you"re the most anti-love person I know."

Beth grins. "I am a complex and nuanced individual."

"You can say that again," Hannah says before giving me a nudge. "So, now that you"re caffeinated…"

Uh-oh. I can feel the conversation steering back to me. Where"s the eject button?

"Clue us in, Evie. There"s only so much to be gleaned from social media stalking."

And that sets off the morning"s first proper round of fast talking.

Summer: "How was the ceremony? Did they write their own vows or go traditional?"

Beth: "Was Bryce floored when you showed up with Fraser? I bet he was. I would have loved to have seen the look on that mousy little face of his. No offense to mice."

Hannah: "The band looked super crappy. Were they super crappy?"

Beth: "Did you go all revenge romcom crazy ex-girlfriend on them?"

Hannah: "I saw the bride"s dress on Insta. I wanted to hate it."

Summer: "I saw it, too. And same. I tried to make myself hate it. I just couldn"t. That girl"s got good taste."

Beth: "Except when it comes to men."

Summer: "One hundred percent agree."

Beth: "But anyways, back to you, Evie. Details. All of them. Spill. Now."

Hannah: "And start with Fraser. Everything else can wait. How dreamboaty was he?"

Ladies and gentlemen, The Fast-Talking Four. I did warn you.

I lengthen my stride as we start climbing the hill. "Fraser was great. He couldn"t have been a more perfect wedding date. He checked in on me to see how I was doing the whole time. He kept getting me drinks even though I couldn"t settle on anything. He stared at Bryce the way a sniper surveys their target. He asked me to dance seven times."

Beth"s eyebrows shoot up. "Seven times?"

"Uh, yeah," I pant. "To, you know, make it believable. Keep up the pretext that we"re a real couple."

These girls are my besties. There"s no way I was going to hide that this was all for show with them.

I glance over at Amiel. "What happens on this sunrise walk, stays on the sunrise walk."

She grins and nods in agreement. "Understood."

I like her already.

Hannah: "Uh-oh. She"s got that look on her face."

Me: "What look? I don"t have a look. This is just my normal I have a face look."

Summer: "But she"s caffeinated."

Hannah: "Oh, this isn"t her I need coffee or else there will be murder look. This is her I"m not telling y"all something look."

Beth: "How can you tell the difference?

Hannah: "I"ve known her since elementary school. I know all her faces."

"I do not have faces," I retort, schooling my face into…dammit, probably another face for my closest friends to dissect and analyze.

"But there is something you"re not telling us, right?" Hannah probes, softening her words with a smile.

"There is."

"I knew it. Spill."

The incline is getting steeper. "Can I spill once we reach the top?" I huff out. "I"m out of practice."

"Well, if you joined us more often…" Beth teases. "Fine. But don"t think we won"t be on your case the second we reach the peak."

"Wouldn"t dream of it," I grumble.

These walks were her idea. She"s a morning person, but since she"s so awesome and snarky and one of my closest friends, I"m prepared to overlook her one fault.

When we reach the summit, the sky is still a canvas of deep, muted blues and purples, gradually lightening at the horizon where the first hints of morning are beginning to emerge.

Humans are not designed to be up and active this early in the day. This is a hill I am prepared to die on.

Beth checks her watch and smiles. "Perfect timing. The sun is due to come up in two minutes."

We sit down at our usual bench, each taking swigs from our water bottles.

Hannah bumps me with her elbow. "Well?"

"Wouldn"t we all like to watch the sun come up in peace and quiet?"

My friends look at me like I"ve sprouted a second head.

"Fine. I"m spilling."

As the sun comes up over Comfort Bay, I fill them in on everything, starting from the moment Fraser picked me up in my old bedroom and ending with Fraser taking me down to the beach.

I omit the fact that he carried me to the beach.

And insisted on dancing in the water.

To a totally underrated but brilliant Taylor Swift song choice.

And our almost-but-not-quite kiss.

Because I know them.

If I told them that, they"d have a field day with it, making it out to be a bigger deal than what it is, bringing up a conversation I am more than happy to not revisit.

Because I don"t want to explain to them for the millionth time that I do not have a crush on Fraser.

Especially since I"m, like, eighty-five percent positive I actually don"t.

"Sounds like it was a big day," Hannah says as we start to make our way back. "Like you finally got closure on the Bryce chapter of your life."

"I really feel like I have."

I start telling them about the conversation I had with Bryce but when I reach the part where I thanked him, they all look about as surprised as he did.

Beth: "In the interest of full disclosure, I have to say I don"t understand why you did that."

Summer: "I kinda get it. It was a power move."

Beth: "How so?"

Summer: "Being the bigger person, and all that. Right, Evie?"

Me: "I don"t know about that. Part of me still feels bad about making him?—"

I glance nervously at Amiel, then at Hannah since she brought her here and knows her better than the rest of us.

"It"s okay," Hannah says with a smile. "Amiel is one of us, too."

Summer: "She is?"

Hannah: "She is."

Beth: "Right on, sister!"

Amiel, to her credit, despite looking confused because she has no idea what we"re talking about, is taking our weirdness in good stride.

So I say what I was going to say. "I hate that this is how I feel, but there is a part of me that blames myself for things ending with Bryce because I made him…wait."

We reach the bottom of the hill, and I need to re-tie my shoelace. The girls wait for me. Once I"m done, I continue walking.

Alone.

I spin around. No one has moved, and now they have looks on their faces.

Hannah: "You did not just say that, did you?"

I scratch my arm.

Beth: "Because we have been over this, Evie."

Summer: "A million times."

Hannah: "Looks like we might need to make it a million and one."

The girls approach me.

Hannah: "I will say this and keep saying this until it finally sinks in. There is nothing wrong about wanting to wait until you"re married."

Her voice is firm.

Summer and Beth nod their heads, backing Hannah up.

Even Amiel gives me a shy nod.

The four of us have another nickname. A private one that only we know.

The Vinaigrettes.

And it"s based on a common trait we share—we"re all virgins.

We are not a cult. I repeat, we are not a cult.

We"re just four—well, now five—girls who have made a choice that feels right for us.

It"s not a judgment on anyone else, but we all have our reasons, and it"s great to have a close group of friends to support you in this. It can be tough sometimes, navigating dating and other people"s perceptions. I"m glad I"m not alone, that I can always count on my girls.

Oh, and if you"re wondering about the name The Vinaigrettes? That"s a great story…for another time.

"I know there"s nothing wrong with waiting, but…" I blow out a breath. "All three of my relationships have ended at the twelve-month mark. Maybe there"s something in that? What sort of guy wants to wait more than a year before getting physically intimate with his girlfriend?"

Hannah: "The right guy."

Summer: "Exactly. And you were up-front with Bryce?—"

Beth: "You were up-front with all three guys."

Summer: "Exactly. They knew the deal, and they signed up. They"re all adults and capable of standing by the commitment they made."

Me: "But three relationships? All ending after a year? Come on. At some point, don"t I have to at least consider that it might not be them? That it"s this. Either that or I"m cursed. Not sure which option is worse."

Hannah: "Is it something you still believe in?"

Me:"Of course. I want to wait until my wedding night. It"s really important to me."

Hannah: "Well, then, that"s your answer. Keep waiting, and the right guy will show up."

Me:"You"re right." I blow out a breath. "This is exactly what I needed to hear. Thanks, you guys."

Hannah: "Anytime, babe."

Summer: "That"s right.We"re all in this together."

Beth:"Amiel, welcome to the circus."

Before Amiel can say anything, Mrs. Kagney calls out from the other side of the street. "Oh, hi, Evelyn. You look great in the photos!" She gives a wave before slipping into the produce store.

I turn to my friends, only to be met with blank expressions. "What was she talking about?"

"No idea."

We continue walking past the gazebo in the town square and…why is everyone looking at us?

Hannah: "Have we all got something on our faces?"

Summer: "Beth and I are wearing the exact same pair of Nike Joyrides. I knew I shouldn"t have told you about the mark-down. And why did you have to get them in bright pink like me? People are noticing."

Beth: "I hardly think the townsfolk of Comfort Bay are concerned with our choice of footwear."

Hannah: "I agree. I"m sure there"s a more logical explanation."

Me: "Such as?"

Beth: "Maybe the world ended while we were up at Cuddle Cove Cliff, and everyone"s been turned into zombies, and they"re all sensing we"re the only non-zombified humans left?"

We all swivel our heads in her direction.

Beth: "Sorry. I"ve been branching out and getting into sci-fi lit lately."

Hannah: "There"s Bear"s diner. AKA safety from any possible apocalypses."

"Also the place with more coffee," I point out.

"And pancakes," Amiel adds, solidifying her place in our group with those two small words.

So that"s where we head, but not before Mike the mechanic, two giggling teenagers dressed in school uniforms, and Mrs. Dunn all stare at us as we pass.

Well, not at us.

At me.

They"re all focused on me, which is unnerving because if all five of us are non-zombies, why am I the only one being singled out?

The bell above the door jangles as we scurry into the diner.

The place goes deadly quiet, everyone stopping whatever they were doing and turning to us.

"I"m starting to think this whole zombie thing might not be so far-fetched," I whisper to my friends.

"Is something going on?" Summer asks, glaring at everyone like the high-powered lawyer boss she is. "Well?"

People slowly go back to whatever they were doing before we disrupted their morning coffee and breakfast.

Bear walks over to us. "Two things," he says in his customary curt way of speaking. "One, Summer, I"m sorry but you can"t bring a dog in here."

"Oh. Of course. Sorry. I wasn"t thinking. We were escaping a zombie apocalypse and seeking shelter."

Bear tilts his head. "Huh?"

"Don"t worry. I"ll take him outside."

"What"s the second thing?" I ask.

Without saying a word, he sticks his phone out for all of us to see.

I gasp and snatch the phone from Bear, panic coiling in my belly as I take a closer look.

Images of me and Fraser dancing in the ocean yesterday are splashed across a sports news website under the headline RADEMACHER"S NEW LOVE INTEREST?

I turn to my friends. "This is a nightmare."

"This is amazing!" Margo announces, walking up behind me.

Shoot. I thought I"d managed to sneak into the office without her spotting me.

I wheel my chair back and pivot to face her.

She"s glowing.

"I have a feeling I know what you"re talking about, and I"m going to have to strongly disagree with you."

"Walk and talk time, hon. Let"s go!"

I push to my feet reluctantly.

She takes out her phone. "You"re trending."

I wince. "The last time I heard those words, I went into hiding for a month."

"You won"t want to hide from this. Believe me."

Margo tries to give me her phone, but I resist. "I"m scared to look. Just tell me."

"Fine. The top trending hashtag in the US is currently #RademacherReturns."

"That"s…not scary at all." In fact, that"s really good. Fraser has returned to form.

"The number four top hashtag is #FraserWithBSG."

BSG = Breakup Sneeze Girl.

"Okay. Not as good."

"But not horrible, either. The narrative is shifting, as evidenced by the number seven top hashtag in the country. #GoodluckcharmBSG."

I roll my eyes. "I am many things, but Fraser"s good luck charm isn"t one of them."

"I see." Margo studies me for a moment before we veer right at the elevator bank. "So you"re thinking the interview angle is better than the dating angle?"

"What interview angle? And what dating angle?"

"You know, for the story. If you"d rather interview him, I get it. Dating him makes you the story, and that"s always an iffy area. I totally respect your decision, Ev."

"No, but I"m not doing a story abo?—"

"This will be great for your numbers."

"Wait. Margo. I"m not?—"

"Gotta dash, hon. Late for a meeting. We"ll walk and talk later!"

She dashes off, leaving me by the marketing department. Gina looks over at me and smiles. I wave back before returning to my desk.

Via the snack station.

I normally don"t raid this area until after lunch, but it"s a snack station kind of morning.

Setting up Google notifications at the diner with the girls this morning was a giant mistake. I"ve been witnessing this story get picked up by more and more outlets in real time.

Images of my private moment on the beach with Fraser are spreading like wildfire.

He must be furious.

Here he is doing a nice, decent thing, taking his best friend"s sister to an ex"s wedding, and this is what he gets for it. Top news story coverage.

I flop into my chair, armed with enough candy and chocolate to get me through until lunch time.

My phone buzzes.

I ignore the incoming call from my brother.

"Not today, mister. I"m angry at you."

It buzzes twice more.

I ignore it both times.

Levi: I assume you"re not taking my calls because you"re in a meeting or busy and not because you"re ignoring your favorite brother in the world on purpose.

Me: I"m actually busy dealing with the major catastrophe that is entirely YOUR FAULT!

Levi: Ah. So you"ve heard. But how is Fraser holding you in the water my fault?

Levi: You know what? Never mind. I don"t want to know the inner workings of your mind on that one.

Levi: I"m reaching out because I was hoping the news hadn"t reached you yet.

Me: Comfort Bay"s courier pigeons do a remarkable job of bringing information to us from the big cities these days.

Levi: Okay. Sarcasm. So you"re on to the second stage of dealing with a PR crisis.

Levi: Now, you know me, I don"t like to meddle in your life…

Levi: But I can help.

Me: I don"t need your help.

Levi: Denial. Stage three. Wow. You"re moving through it fast. Way to go, sis!

Me: It"s a good thing you"re not here right now otherwise I would wrap my fingers around your neck and THROTTLE YOU.

Levi: Stage four. Anger. This is good. Healthy. Get it out, Evie. Get it all out of your system.

Argh! He is frustrating me so much right now, I want to scream.

Me: What do you want, Levi?

Levi: Ah. We"ve reached the final stage. Acceptance.

I shake my head, fuming at the mess he"s caused.

I"m about to tap out a message telling him I don"t have time for this when a strange voice from behind me asks, "Ms. Freeman?"

I spin in my chair, the Snickers Bar I"d been chewing falling out of my mouth, because there isn"t one flower delivery person standing there.

Not two.

Not even three.

But four.

Four flower delivery men are holding bouquets of what must be at least a few dozen yellow roses in their arms.

Another text comes through.

Levi: I"ve spoken to Fraser, and he feels terrible about this.

"So I gather," I mutter to myself.

"Where would you like these, Ms. Freeman?"

"Um, over there." I point to a spare desk nearby.

The men leave the flowers on the desk, and when the flowers don"t all fit, they place the leftovers on the floor around the desk.

Me: Please tell Fraser thank you for the flowers and that this isn"t his fault.

Levi: He bought you flowers?

Me: He did.

Levi: That was nice of him. I really do have the best best friend.

Can"t argue with that.

Me: Will you tell him please?

Levi: I would love to…but relaying messages between the two of you feels wrong. Like I"m meddling or something. And you know me, I would never do that. smiley face emoji>

AnnndI"m back in Evie wants to stab her brother mode. I do have Fraser"s email address, but it doesn"t feel right to send him a thanks via email.

Me: I don"t have his number, otherwise I would tell him myself.

Levi: Oh. Perfect!

Hear that?

That"s the sound of a wild animal stepping in a carefully laid trap.

Me: What"s perfect?

Levi: You just said you wanted to tell him yourself.

Me: I did?

Levi: You did. And now you can! After the home game on Wednesday.

Levi: He"s made a reservation at GOMU. But I think the G is silent so when you read this out, pronounce it as OMU. Super fancy place. Impossible to get a table there. I"m still on the waitlist. Can you believe that? Maybe I should be sneaky and make the reservation under a WHAT NOW member"s name.

Levi: But I digress. The point I was trying to make is you"ll be able to tell Fraser yourself.

Levi: Over dinner.

Levi: And before you ask, yes, I"m sure they can make you an off-menu burger.

The home game.

Of course, that"s this Wednesday. With all the commotion today—not to mention the unnaturally early start I"ve endured—it had totally slipped my mind.

Not that I always see Fraser at the games.

I mean, of course I see him because hello, he"s on the ice. But I don"t always hang around to speak with him afterward.

Much less at some swanky-sounding restaurant.

But I guess we do have some stuff to talk about.

He must be hating all this unwanted press.

And Levi will be there, so that should keep things nice and normal and far, far away from talking about anything remotely related to the kiss that almost was.

Me: Fine. I"ll go. But if I were you, I"d hire security. Your little sister is THIS CLOSE to going on a rampage against you.