“Heck,welike him.” Lila nodded. “I asked Hector all about him, and he said Evan is steady, a super nice guy, and you can trust him. He’s not a serial dater, a thief, or a mama’s boy.” She frowned. “He was pretty clear about that, and I get the sense there’s an inside joke there, but he only said the guy loves his mom, so that proves he can’t be all bad.”
“My parents would agree with that,” Rachel added. “They secretly love Will, not only because he’s so good to me but because he’s learning Korean to impress them. He respects their culture, but he’s also really into pleasing my mom. She digs that.”
“Your mom would.” Lila snorted. “If I don’t bow and tell her how amazingly young and beautiful she is every time I see her, she swears at me in Korean. Don’t tell me I’m making that up. Your sister told me she put a hex on me.”
“Dude, we’re Korean. Not witches.” At Lila’s raised brow, Rachel conceded, “Though my mom is pretty superstitious.”
“See?”
Good. They’d gotten distracted. Kenzie focused on her design.
“But we’re off topic.” Rachel glared Lila into silence.
Kenzie groaned.
“Come on, we’re your best friends. Tell us what’s going on.”
Kenzie glanced up to see concern, not fun, on her friends’ faces. “It’s nothing bad.”
“Well?” Rachel waited.
“It’s…well…I really like him. A lot. It feels like way more than a crush, and it scares me.”
“I knew it.” Lila nodded. “You can pay me later.”
Rachel rolled her eyes and slapped a five-dollar bill in Lila’s hand. “Here.”
“Seriously?” Kenzie glared at her friends.
“Keep talking or we’ll bet on something else,” Rachel advised. “You know we love you. We just want you happy.”
Lila agreed. “It’s been too long since Bryce, but you’re finally not flinching at his name.” She gave a smug smile. “My aversion therapy worked, didn’t it?”
Kenzie grudgingly laughed. “You’re such a pain in the ass. But it helped, yes. Guys, Evan scares me. He’s sweet, kind, so smart. And God, he’s hot.”
“He so is.” Rachel fanned herself. “If it helps, and don’t tell Evan this, but Will has the bro-hots for him. He thinks Evan is awesome, and he’s crushing on your man’s soccer skills. I focus on Evan’s powerful thighs. Will can’t get over what the guy can do with his feet. And Will’s been getting huge kudos at work for finding the team a ringer. The Legal Eagles now have bragging rights over both the cops and health services. It’s epic.”
Kenzie grinned. “Well, with that kind of endorsement, I should propose to the man.” The notion that she didn’t necessarily mind the thought of that scared her even more.
“Oh, marriage.” Lila looked positively gleeful.
Kenzie scoffed. “I barely know the guy.”
“Honey, you know Evan,” Rachel said. “But you could know more about him if you’d give him a chance to show you what he’s capable of.”
“I did that with Bryce, and he ruined me for months.”
“Oh my.” Lila put the back of her hand to her forehead and turned on a Southern accent. “Oh my, oh my. That man ruined me. I’ll nevah, evah be the same again.”
“Not sure why the accent, but you nailed the drama for sure.” Rachel turned a sneer on Kenzie. “Sac up. Bryce does not define you.”
“I know.” Kenzie knew she was being overly dramatic. Maybe not as much as Lila, but still… “I just don’t know if I can go down that road again. Daniel was so hurt, it still breaks my heart to think about it.” She grew teary remembering how hard he’d cried, how he’d been despondent for months afterward.
“Oh, Kenzie, we know.” Rachel left her desk to give Kenzie a hug, and Lila followed. “And we know it hurt you so much more. But that’s life. You can’t bury yourself in work just so you’ll never get hurt again. I got lucky with Will after a string of bad datingyears. And Lila is still floundering.”
“Hey. We’re talking about Kenzie.”
“You’re being smart, and that’s good. But honey, it’s been over a year since Bryce. You need to move on. Evan’s a good choice. You didn’t rush into anything.”
