Page 31 of Theirs to Take

“Thanks,” he said. “I borrowed some of Doug’s cologne. I love smelling like my man when I’m not with him. It makes me want to hurry home to him.”

“You know, Doug could have joined us tonight,” she offered.

“Not on your life,” Tyler said. “He said that when the two of us get together, we cackle like hens and while he loves both of us, it’s annoying.” She giggled, knowing that was true. They were kind of awful when they were together. “He sends his love though.”

“Well, send it right back to him when you get home tonight,” she said. “I miss him. I think the last time the three of us were together was your wedding.” It was a beautiful wedding, and she was lucky enough to be Tyler’s “Best woman” for the ceremony. She loved being a part of his special day, but now that her two very best friends were married, she longed for something shenever thought she wanted. Watching first Tyler, and then Nova, tie the knot with the person of their dreams made her want the same. She’d just need to find the person first and her dating track record wasn’t the best.

They walked into the restaurant and were quickly seated in the back corner, adjacent to where she and Rod sat just days earlier. Seeing their table made her feel the same butterflies that she had when she met him there for their “date.”

“You all right?” Tyler asked as if picking up on her mood change.

“Yeah,” she said. “I was just here on a date a few days ago and well, we sat there,” she said, nodding to the table across the aisle.

“I take it that the date didn’t go very well, judging by your sour expression,” Tyler said.

“It wasn’t that bad,” she insisted. “I mean, it did end with me getting a pretty great job out of it,” she said.

“You got a new job?” he asked. “That’s great. It’s been a few months now, right.”

“Yes,” she said. “I was beginning to worry, honestly, but then, I went out with Rod and he offered me a paralegal position. I couldn’t say no.”

“So, you didn’t say no to the job, but what about the guy?” Tyler asked.

“Well, that’s a complicated story,” she said.

“I’m yours for the whole night, Evie,” he assured.

“Nova set us up,” she said. “Rod is her new husband’s younger brother. He works at Alex’s firm, and you know how pushy Nova is, right?” She asked.

“Um, yeah,” he said. “Nova’s the reason why I have a sexy ass husband waiting for me at home.” She knew that Nova had set up Tyler and Doug. She had just selectively chosen to forget that part when Nova was insisting that she go out with Rod McTavish.

“We went out last Friday and he admitted that he wasn’t doing a whole lot of dating right now because he’s concentrating on building his career at Alex’s firm. I told him that I wasn’t really interested in dating either, you know because I was job hunting. He’d heard what I did to help Nova and Alex get Jack back, and he offered me a job on the spot.”

“So, you gave up the chance of dating the hunky McTavish brother for a job?” he asked.

“I didn’t give up anything,” she insisted. “Rod made it very clear that he wasn’t interested in dating anyone right now, and I wasn’t about to sit there and spill my guts, telling him that I’m looking for Mr. Right.”

“You’re still looking for him then?” Tyler asked.

“Yeah,” she admitted. “I mean, things definitely slowed down while I was searching for a job, but I’m still looking for the right man. I’ll just have to find someone who can get past my little problem.”

Tyler grabbed her hand from across the table and held it under his own. “Evie, being a virgin isn’t a problem. And if it turns out to be a problem for your date, then, he’s not your Mr. Right.”

“I know that, Tyler,” she admitted. “I’m just worried that I’ll never find a man who thinks that me being a virgin is a good thing.” Tyler’s eyes looked at something behind her and when she heard a man clear his throat, letting her know that they weren’t alone, she wanted to hide under the table.

“Please tell me that Rod isn’t standing behind me,” she mock whispered to Tyler.

“Well, the guy behind you looks a lot like Alex McTavish, but I don’t want to make assumptions,” Tyler said.

“Hi,” Rod said, stepping from behind her. She groaned and sunk into her seat as low as she could go, trying to avoid making eye contact with Rod. She was sure that he had overheard whatshe had just said about being a virgin to Tyler. The question now was would she be able to live through the humiliation and come back from it?

“I’m Rod McTavish,” he said. She could feel her cheeks burning with embarrassment as he held his hand out to Tyler. “Sorry to interrupt your date.”

“I’m Tyler Anderson, one of Evie’s best friends from college. She, Nova, and I go way back. And this isn’t a date-date,” he said. “My husband doesn’t allow me to date,” he teased.

“I see,” Rod said. She could feel him staring her down. “Sorry, I was made to believe that Evie had a date tonight,” he said. “I guess that I was mistaken.”

“It’s good to finally meet you, Rod,” Tyler said. “We ran into each other at Alex and Nova’s wedding, but I didn’t get the chance to introduce myself that night. It was a beautiful affair though.” Evie agreed, Nova’s wedding was gorgeous. It was held in Alex’s house, in the ballroom that his grandfather had thrown so many beautiful parties in. Her best friend’s wedding had a certain old-world charm, and even though she hadn’t met Rod at the affair, she had noticed him. He had shown up stag and every woman in the place had their eye on him.

---