Thankfully, the door buzzed. I went to the intercom to let the delivery person upstairs.
“You’re lucky, but you’re telling me the juicy parts once we’re eating,” she yelled as I went to the door.
She had two bowls and chopsticks on the coffee table by the time I returned.
“Open that up, it smells freaking delicious,” she said as she reached over me to get the bags.
We filled our bowls full of saucy chicken and beef and broccoli over sticky white rice with some savory noodles on the side. Definitely not a meal for the waistline.
“Oh my God, this is amazing,” Evie said as she went back for another mouthful.
We sat in companionable silence as we enjoyed our meals. Eventually, the silence dragged on.
“So,” Evie said, “why today?”
I stuffed my mouth with noodles to avoid answering, but she waited patiently for me to chew and swallow. Once I did, there was no deflecting any longer.
“A few things have happened lately. There was a moment at the party last Thursday, and then something at the office today.”
I knew I was being vague. The invite to eat dinner with me was to tell her about today, but suddenly I didn’t want to spill the tea about what happened.
“So, these are apology flowers. What did the asshole do this time?” Evie asked.
I shot up straight at those words.
“No,” I said firmly. “It wasn’t like that.” My hands shook as I placed my bowl on the table next to the white blooms. “Nothing like that at all.” I could tell her about the note he wrote, which would explain so much, but I wanted to keep that to myself.
Her chopsticks stopped moving in her bowl as I chanced a look up at her. A small, knowing smile hit her lips.
“You know my stance on this one, Mare. I think you guys should be together. He’s fucking hot, though a bit immature. Although from what you’ve told me, he treats you different than all the other girls in his past, so that says something. But he needs to be faithful, of course. No more philandering. And then there’s the money. That doesn’t hurt.”
She went back to eating, but I’d lost my appetite thinking about what could have been between us. Chase and I were good when we were together for that short time. No one knew the real reason we couldn’t be together, not even Evie.
I had to keep it that way.
I picked up my bowl and headed toward my kitchen area when there was a knock at my door.
Evie and I stared at one another.
That didn’t really happen. You had to buzz people up in this building.
“Who is that?” she asked.
“I don’t know, maybe a neighbor?”
I almost threw my bowl in the sink as both of us made our way to the door. We fought over the peephole, but I won since I was taller.
“Shit.”
“Who is it?” Evie asked as she pushed me out of the way and peeped through the hole. “Holy shit.” Without hesitation, she tore the door open. “Hi, Chase!”
The man on the other side of the door handled the greeting well as we both stood staring at him. He leaned against the doorjamb and smiled at us. His tiny dimples were showcased through the light stubble he seemed to always have. His eyes twinkled at Evie’s enthusiastic greeting. He was in casual clothes, jeans, a sweater, and a puffer jacket, so not straight from the office. There was something about him not being in a suit that made him look older for some reason, which took me off guard.
“Hi, Evie, Maryellen,” he said as he ran his hand through his light brown hair, mussing it up as he did. “Am I interrupting?”
Evie took over and dragged him in by the arm.
“Of course not, I was just leaving. We had a quick dinner, but I have things to do, so I’m outta here.” She filled her bowl and wine glass again before heading back toward the door. “I’ll take a refill with me and be on my way. You two have a good night…”
