Page 68 of Still The One

Foster’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise and he looks at me expectantly.

‘Too many broken hearts can do that to a girl,’ I quip.

‘This guy break it?’ Brady asks, acting all protective over me.

Foster’s gaze moves to me.

‘Our relationship is complicated,’ I reply vaguely.

Brady grins. ‘You’re a woman, I’d be concerned if it wasn’t,’ he jokes. ‘Whatcha drinkin’ tonight?’

‘Um, can I get a Sweet Tea Moonshine?’

‘You’restartingwith moonshine?’ Foster asks, his tone laced with concern.

I nod. ‘And you’re loaded on morphine. We’re even,’ I joke.

He smirks, his gaze drifting toward the dance floor where people step in time to the twangy country music playing in the background.

‘I’m definitely not loaded enough to line dance.’

I playfully nudge him with my elbow. ‘Come on, Fost. You grew up in the South. Isn’t country music y’all’s theme or somethin’?’

He lets out a sigh, his eyes still fixed on the dancers. ‘Florida doesn’t really qualify as the South, Evie. Maybe up north in Tallahassee, but it’s more diverse than that everywhere else.’

A sudden thought strikes me and I can’t resist asking, ‘Didn’t you grow up near Tallahassee?’

Foster lets out a wry laugh, a smirk growing on his face. ‘Technicality. Now I spend so little time in Florida it affects my taxes.’

That I know – considering I lived with him for a while and he was never there. I chuckle at his response, taking a sip of my drink which is served in a glass shaped like a cowboy boot – a nice touch for this country-themed bar. Gen and I chatter about nothing really, considering we can barely hear each other, bouncing to the music, and as I finish the drink quicker than expected, I feel emboldened by the alcohol and decide to push Foster a little further.

‘OK, Mr Serious,’ I say with a playful grin. ‘Time to relax and have some fun. How about for one night, you let that accent free and be the southern boy you pretend you’re not?’

Foster raises an eyebrow at me, a hint of amusement in his eyes. ‘And why should I do that?’

25

GUY ‘FOSTER’

Eve shrugs, her delicate shoulders rising and falling in a gesture of nonchalance. However, the pleading look in her eyes betrays her true feelings. ‘Because I’d like it,’ she says, her voice soft and earnest. ‘Is that enough?’

Yes, the fact that she’d like it is more than enough for me. It always has been. I want to say that to her, but there is no way I am bringing up the past again. We never even finished our conversation from last night, but I feel like we got somewhere despite that. We each kept our past hidden away because we couldn’t let it go. That’s something, in my book.

‘Alright,’ I say, laying the accent on thick. ‘Southern Foster reportin’ fer duty – at yer request, Miss Eve.’ I tip my brand-new cowboy hat, feeling my heart swell with pride as she beams at me for granting her absurd request.

‘Well, howdy there, Mr Foster,’ she replies playfully. ‘What brings you to a place like this?’

‘A beautiful girl – or fate, perhaps,’ I respond with a grin.

Pink fills her cheeks. ‘Thank you, handsome. Speaking of fate… I should warn you that I plan on mounting that bull over there at some point tonight.’

Mount the bull.Christ, Evie.I can’t help but laugh.

‘If I weren’t already broken, I’d break whatever record this place has.’

‘I once went nineteen seconds,’ Gen boasts with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. ‘Got free drinks for the rest of the evening.’ The sound of clinking glasses and laughter fills the air around us.

‘And I’m sure that had nothing to do with the fact that she’s “doing” the bartender,’ Eve teases her.

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