Page 2 of This I Promise

He’s dressed in a dark-gray hoodie and well-worn jeans, instead of the slacks and button-down dress shirt he usually wears to the office. Evan glances at me, and my gaze sweeps over his body.

“I’m working from home today.” He shrugs. “My boss is letting us try a hybrid schedule where we only have to go in twice a week. I’m an architectural engineer. I can do my job from anywhere,” he states, as if I don’t already know what he does for a living.

“You’re lucky. I wish I could work from home.”

Evan laughs at my exaggerated pout while driving me to the jewelry store downtown. “Yeah, right. You’d go stir crazy if you were home all the time. You like interacting with people too much for that.”

That’s true, but helping customers pick out expensive baubles wasn’t the career path I had in mind for myself. The pay, however, is good and I enjoy what I do, so I guess I can’t complain.

“You’re right. Besides, I never would’ve met Davis if I worked from home.”

At the mention of my boyfriend’s name, Evan’s grip tightens on the steering wheel. I can’t figure out why my two favorite men don’t seem to like each other, but neither one has put me in the middle of it. At least not yet. That’d be an impossible decision, one I don’t think I could make.

I met Davis a little over two months ago when he came in to buy a necklace for his sister. I’ve never dated a customer before, and I hesitated when he asked me out. But we hit it off right away and he’s been sweeping me off my feet ever since.

“You know, we haven’t been to a game in a while.” Evan changes the subject, something he does often whenever I talk about Davis.

“Maybe we can get tickets to the next home game. I’ll wear my lucky scarf.”

“I can’t believe you still have that. I gave it to you in the seventh grade.” He shakes his head.

“You bought it for me when you and your parents took me to my first Bengals game. They won that day and every time I’ve worn it since. It’s a good luck charm, and the team would suffer if I didn’t wear it.”

The sound of Evan’s hearty laugh fills the cabin of the truck, and I find myself laughing too. This is how it always is with us and why we’ve been friends for so long.

“Fine, wear that old thing. You’ll be the only one with a scarf in late September.” He pulls to a stop at the curb in front of the store. “By the way, Mom wants you to come over for a family dinner soon. She promised to make your favorite.”

Heather is an excellent cook, and my mouth waters at the thought of her fried chicken and mashed potatoes. I’ve spent many evenings at their house over the years, and they never fail to save me a seat at the table.

“We’ll do dinner soon,” I say to Evan as Cici waves at me through the large display window. We were supposed to open the store together this morning, so she’s been on her own for the first forty-five minutes. Knowing her, though, she has our daily checklist nearly complete by now.

I’ll get her one of those fancy pastries she likes at lunch. Maybe that’ll make it up to her.

“I’ll pick you up at the end of your shift. Gimme your keys and I’ll change your tire before you get off,” Evan says.

I side-eye him, but fish the keys out of my purse. “There’s a spare in the trunk. I’ll replace it tomorrow after work. So therebetter be four old-as-shit tires on my car when I get home, Evan Michael Roberts.” I give his muscular bicep a teasing pinch.

He hops out, then pockets my keys. “Whatever you say, Abby.” He winks at me before walking around to my side and helping me out of the truck. “Have a good day at work. I’ll be back at five thirty.”

I pop onto the tips of my toes and give him a peck on the cheek. “You’re the best, Scraggle.”

I scurry into work when I hear him shout after me, “Stop calling me that!”

I laugh as I ignore him.

“Was that Evan?” Cici asks as I join her behind the glass display case.

“Yeah, my tire was flat this morning, so he came and got me.” I stow away my belongings beneath the counter, but when I stand up, I find her staring at me with an odd expression on her face. “What?”

“Nothing, really. It’s none of my business.” Cici pretends to examine her nails while I wait for her to tell me what’s on her mind. I’ve known her for a long time and she’s never been one to keep her thoughts to herself. After a pregnant pause, she throws her hands in the air and rolls her brown eyes. “You are so clueless, girl.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“Where’s Mister Wonderful? Why’d you call Evan instead of your dreamy older man?”

I prop my hip against the edge of the case. “Oh, well, Davis goes into the office so early, and he doesn’t take calls during business hours. He likes to remain focused on his job.”

“I see.” Cici frowns and crosses her arms over her chest. “Don’t you think that’s a little weird?”

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