Page 43 of One Chance to Stay
“Hey, buddy.” She didn’t even hide the knowing grin. Evelyn hadn’t spent enough time in Firefly to understand the art of subtlety. “We missed you at dinner last night.”
“Don’t play coy with me, Ms. Olsen.”
“Who, me?” She feigned shock. She needed to ask Chris for acting classes. “Okay, fine.” When I reached the top of the stairs, she hooked an arm with me. “You know the deal. You’re trying to keep a secret. Weknowyou have a secret. We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”
“Wow. You haven’t even lived here a year, and you’re already strong-arming for info.”
“You can thank Sheryl. Pretty sure she worked for the C.I.A.”
“How much do I need to give you to change the topic?”
She escorted me inside. I kicked off my boots and followed her to the kitchen. Valhalla smelled of dark roast coffee and vanilla. When I arrived at the small-town bed-and-breakfast, I had low expectations, but she continued raising the bar. Waking up to a fresh pot of coffee each morning, asecondfresh pot was worth a five-star review.
“Scone?”
I patted my belly. “Do I look like someone who’s ever turned down a scone?”
“Was it a date?”
“Huh?”
Evelyn set a plate of scones on the table. She grabbed small plates and set them opposite one another. Taking a seat, shepointed, demanding I join her. If I ignored her, she’d be left speculating. That’s how rumors started in a small town, and the last thing I needed was them getting back to Seamus.
“Were you on a date last night?”
I hadn’t thought of it as a date. Usually, when I got together with one of the guys, we’d classify it as a ‘hang out.’ Those didn’t end with orgasms and cuddling. I’d need to be a bit more descriptive when I asked the guys to come over for dinner. Or did I? There were a lot of unsolved questions piling up.
“Sort of.” My eyes narrowed as she picked at the frosting on her scone. “Is that it? That can’t be the only question.”
“Why’d you come to Firefly?”
“You don’t want to ask for names? Where we went? What we?—”
“Ew. No. I’m not my brother. A maybe date is all I need to know.” She grinned. “Unless you want to tell me who.”
I underestimated her. Evelyn might not be a traditional small-town girl, but she wielded her charm like a weapon. She had the home field advantage, and with the coziness of her bed-and-breakfast as a backdrop, she might charm the pants off me. Not literally, that required a certain grumpy gentleman.
I dodged her follow-up. “I won the raffle.”
“People win raffles all the time. If you wanted a vacation, you could have gone anywhere. Why here?”
“Mabel still talks about the Glitter Guild’s corporate retreat. If you get a glowing recommendation from the notorious Mabel Syrup, then it must be magical.”
Evelyn slid the plate of half-eaten scone out of the way, resting on her elbows as she leaned forward. I worked with enough drag queens to know when somebody was giving me a reading. Her eyes narrowed, followed by a soft, “Tsk. Tsk.”
“What?”
“Mr. Bartender, you’re not the only one with a lie detector.”
I bought myself time by shoving a scone into my mouth. I wanted to ask if she made them herself or if she had grabbed them from the bakery. No, it’d be pointless. If I tried deflecting, it’d only give away more information. The residents of small towns were masters of reading between the lines or making it up.
I covered my mouth as I continued gulping down the scone. “I needed some me time.” She held still. I wanted to ask if she and Seamus had taken a class to acquire a poker face. The only difference, her eyelashes fluttered.
“I’m thinking of leaving the bar. Or bartending. Or a new career. Or… Or… I don’t even know the question I’m trying to ask yet.”
“You’re talking to the lady who quit her job, moved to Maine, and opened a BNB in her grandmother’s house. If anybody understands big life changes, it’s me.”
“I’m not scared to take the leap.” That surprised me, but I believed it. If I could pinpoint the goal, I’d run toward it. The uncertainty, or perhaps indecisiveness, is what gave me pause. “I just don’t know what I want to do.”
