Her plan worked for the next several hours. The group played games, talked, and relaxed. She made it a point not to always sit near Evan and took the opportunity to become acquainted with Sophie. The only uncomfortable moment came when Sophie innocently asked what she did for a living, and she explained that she’d been a housewife, and hadn’t decided what she would do now.
She wasn’t ashamed of her choice to be a housewife. Once Mike’s checks could support them both, they’d made that decision together, and she’d left her job as a sales associate at a department store. Despite the jokes about her cooking, there were a few meals she’d managed to make, and she kept her house spotless. She volunteered at church and the USO to have a life outside of work, but she loved the freedom to spend more time with her husband. If she’d have known how short Mike’s life would be, she’d have found a way to quit her job even sooner. At least they’d had that extra time together the last two years.
Regardless, in modern times, many women didn’t understand, and she always hesitated to answer the “what do you do” question. She’d faced the judgments many times and cringed when asked. Fortunately, Sophie showed nothing but understanding and support, even expressing her own struggle to decide if she should work or stay home.
Despite her worries earlier in the evening, the night had been pleasant and stress-free for the most part. Until the approach of midnight.
The countdown began, and seconds ticked until the new year arrived.
Boisterous screams, flashing lights, and clouds of confetti erupted on the television screen.
Refrains of “Happy New Year’s” made their rounds, and then “Auld Lang Syne” played as couples embraced and welcomed in a fresh beginning. Not only on TV, but in Kate’s home.
She stood awkwardly, averting her gaze from the two couples.
Evan locked eyes with her.
Oh no, she was in trouble.
All her convictions of hours ago melted away. Tonight. She’d allow herself tonight, but what happened in Louisiana would stay in Louisiana. That’s how it would have to be.
Sliding his arms around her waist, Evan pushed all thoughts from her mind. “Happy New Year.”
“Happy New Year,” she murmured before his lips cut off any more speech.
Chapter Eleven
The words blurred on the page and Evan set the textbook aside. He’d conquered deployments—he could conquer economics. When he’d decided to take classes at the community college for culinary arts, he hadn’t realized he also had to take electives that, to his thinking, had little to do with his career goals.
None of his classes this semester related to culinary arts, but he’d knock out those pesky electives. He’d been fortunate to be admitted on such short notice, so he accepted the inconveniences with his mind focused on the end result.
He rubbed his eyes and picked up the dreaded book again. If he didn’t knock out his understanding of the material, he’d fail his first exam. Supply and demand made sense, and so did utility, but he struggled with elasticity. He filled out practice charts, but confused elastic supply with inelastic supply, then inelastic demand with elastic demand. The lines ran together, and his frustration soared. Why couldn’t he remember what seemed like a simple concept?
He needed a break. For the last six weeks, he’d thrown himself into his classes, barely seeing the outside world. Most of it came naturally to him—economics is the only one that caused extra work—and the distraction kept his mind off Janie.
Or at least that’s what he told himself. The truth was, she rarely strayed far from his thoughts.
In the two months since the trip home for Christmas, they had strategically avoided being alone and had only seen each other in group settings. The only exception had been when he’d given her car a jump start.
He missed her. Would it be so bad to invite her out to eat? He would call one of the guys, but they’d left Monday for training in Yuma until mid-April. With Jared gone, the probability Janie would need him increased.
Maybe not. She was finding her independence, which made him proud, but he missed being needed. He enjoyed helping her, being her shoulder to cry on, the man she could count on.
Why had he gone and kissed her? Not once, but twice.
Everything had changed since then. They’d come back to North Carolina without ever talking about it. There seemed to be a mutual agreement to pretend it had never happened—except it had, and had changed their relationship.
Gone were the days of ease and comfort between them. Their conversation on the plane ride home could have defined stilted in the dictionary. He wanted the oldthemback, and they couldn’t reach that unless they found a way to move past the kisses.
He reached for his phone with the intent to call her. It wasn’t wise. He knew distance presented the best option for protection of his heart, but he was lonely. One little dinner wouldn’t hurt …
Why did she have to be his best friend’s widow? Why did he have injuries that prevented him from offering her the life she wanted? Why, why, why.
He threw the phone on the coffee table and ran his hands through his hair.
This was stupid. He’d spent years learning the art of self-discipline and courage, but he was going to let a little crush on Janie stand in the way of their friendship?
Grabbing his phone for the second time, he decided to put aside his feelings at all costs in order to repair what had been broken. If he took the first step, maybe she’d follow, and they could be friends again without letting a little misplaced passion hang between them.
