Page 28 of Silver Fox Firefighters Next Door

“Grandpa’s never dated, as far as I know, since Grandma died when I was young. He’s never mentioned dating or even hinted at it. If he started dating, I can’t imagine it would be Coco he chose to go after. Coco… I told you about the lube. She’s nuts.” I flopped back on her bed and sighed. “Did you finish your ice cream?”

Vera snorted. “No.”

“Damn. Now I feel gross. Could you finish your ice cream?” I lifted my head and smiled. “It’d make me feel a lot better about myself.”

She laughed and stretched out next to me. “Sorry. No can do. I’m not going through any romantic drama so I’m not motivated to crush a tub of ice cream. Maybe that alone is reason for me to be depressed, though. It’s been years since I’ve had anything romantic in my life. Tell me again why you’re upset about your three hot neighbors wanting you.”

“I’m not upset that they want me.” I groaned. “Why did Mark have to message me? I think I would’ve been fine with what happened if he hadn’t messaged me.”

“Then why are you upset now? You liked what happened, Eve! You like your neighbors. Don’t let your asshole ex ruin your good time.” Vera sat up and grabbed her ice cream. Pushing it at me, she grunted. “Eat that. You clearly need it more than me.”

“He wasn’t an asshole. That’s the thing. He was good to me and we were good together. Even the sex was good.” I sat up and wrapped my arms around my knees. “I thought he was going to be my forever, Vera. It’s hard not to think that maybe he just got lost along the way.”

“He’s married, Eve. He didn’t get lost; he got married. Do you really want to waste your time on someone who sends inappropriate texts to their ex while married? Do you really want to waste your time on a man who throws away your relationship just to reach out and keep you hanging on a year later?”

“No.” I pulled out my phone and opened the text from Mark. “I know you’re right. The man I was with never would’ve sent a text like this while married. Maybe he’s different now. Or maybe he was never what I thought he was. I don’t know. I don’t know anything.”

“You know that you had fun last night.” Vera took my phone and looked at it. “This is weird, Eve. If I saw my husband sending a text like this, I’d kick his ass. Especially knowing the memories are all porn-adjacent.”

I scoffed. “They’re not porn-adjacent. But you’re right.”

“I see you didn’t respond.”

Sighing, I took the phone back and turned the screen off. “What am I supposed to say?”

“Do you still love him?”

Tears filled my eyes and I looked away. I didn’t want to answer that question. Answering it meant accepting that my life as I’d planned it was well and truly over.

“Eve?”

“No.” I sucked in a shaky breath and wiped my face as the tears fell. “I don’t. If I did, I wouldn't have slept with my neighbors.”

“Why do you seem sad about that? It’s a good thing. You’re ready to move on. That’s great.” Vera patted my knee and grinned. “Now you can go back to your sexy firefighter, paramedic boyfriends.”

“Not my boyfriends. And it doesn’t feel like a good thing. It feels like everything I ever wanted is gone. I used to feel butterflies every time Mark texted me. I loved him so much. I had a very real idea of our future kids’ names. And now? I felt dread when I saw his name this morning. He’s not my Mark anymore. But if he’s not my Mark, I’m not his Eve.” I swallowed a lump of emotion in my throat and blinked rapidly to keep more tears from falling. “I counted on being his Eve. I didn’t plan on a reality other than that.”

Vera wrapped me in a hug and squeezed. “Oh, Evie. Things may not be the way you thought they would be but you’re better for it. You’re killing it at work. Mary Gregory raves about you. She says you’re the best editor she’s ever worked with. You’re getting out there and exploring things sexually. You’re just getting started, Eve. This Eve, your Eve, is already amazing.”

I hugged her back just as tightly. “Why are you so kind?”

“Oh, I’m not always kind. You can ask my brothers. If the mood strikes, I can be a real pain in the ass.”

Laughing, I pulled away and grabbed her ice cream. It was melted but I didn’t care. “I’m really glad I ran into you today.”

“I’m glad you did, too. You needed me here to tell you to stop crying over what could’ve been. You have the entire world ahead of you, Eve.” Vera stood up and patted my leg. “I’m going to make popcorn. I need salty with my sweet. Probably because, again, I’m not going through guy issues.”

I blew out a big breath and stared up at her ceiling. There were no water leak stains in sight. I considered what Vera said about the new version of Eve I was becoming. It was hard to think about a me that was so vastly different from what I’d planned for myself. I’d spent the past year feeling so lost that I’d felt like I was in a fog. I didn’t want to be lost anymore but I was scared. No matter what, though, I needed to close the door on Mark.

I typed out what felt right and hit send without allowing myself time to think about it. Get rid of the mug, Mark. I put down my phone and covered my face with my hands. I was shutting that door on Mark. I should’ve shut it when he got married, but I’d been so reluctant to let go of what I thought I would be. I still wasn’t sure if it was a good thing, or a thing I felt good about, anyway. It was scary to accept change.

“Oh, shit.” Vera’s alarmed voice was loud from the other room and by the time I rolled out of her bed and rushed in to see if she was okay, there was already smoke filling the living room and kitchen. “I don’t think I did it right!”

The smoke detector started screaming through the small house and I rushed to open the front door and whatever windows weren’t painted shut. “What happened? How did popcorn turn into this?”

“I bought these vintage style popcorn things because it felt cute but I don’t think you’re supposed to use them on electric stoves! I turned away for a minute and then this all happened!” She groaned and tried to fan the smoke detector. “God, this thing is loud!”

The alarm monitor on the wall next to the door started going off next. Someone on the other end of the security system was asking something but I couldn’t make out anything over the smoke alarm. I covered my ears and stared at Vera with wide eyes. She’d climbed up onto the table to fan the detector at a closer range.

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