Page 48 of Falling for You
Evan officially wanted to curl into a ball and die. “Right, duh.” He chuckled, but it sounded lame to his own ears.
Natalie offered one of her carefree laughs, but it didn’t make Evan feel any better. “Leave it to Anthony to dive right into MSNBC talk before we’ve even placed an order.”
Fortunately, the waiter came by to take their drink order, giving Evan the opportunity to catch his breath. Being out with Natalie was one thing, but her husband brought things up to a level Evan wasn’t used to. “And for you, sir?” the waiter asked, his eyebrow raised and his pen hovering over the order pad. Evan looked down at the menu and decided on a simple cocktail, just something to calm his nerves a little. Although anything carrying a $20 price tag better do more than calm his nerves. When Evan put the menu down, the waiter asked, “ID, please?”
Once again, everyone’s eyes were on Evan and he wanted to shrink further into the booth. “Sure,” he said as he pulled out his wallet. Showing the waiter his ID, Evan hoped his cheeks weren’t turning as crimson as the tablecloth. Thank God he’d switched to a leather wallet after college. The thought of his old Velcro wallet ripping apart at the table made him want to faint.
Sensing his tension, CeCe covered his hand with her own. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her wink before steering the conversation back to safer terrain. As in, anything not related to Wall Street. “What do you think of that new bar off Main Street?” she asked, closing her menu. He tried to soak up her warmth, hoping it would bolster him through the evening.
An hour later, their empty plates were cleared and Evan felt the night wasn’t a total disaster. He and Natalie briefly discussed the project with the boutique, and he had the opportunity to humble brag about his progress on their website. Natalie gushed to Anthony about how Evan had saved the day, and he felt himself inflate slightly at her praise. Every time he caught CeCe’s eye, he felt her reassurance that it was going well. Maybe the night wasn’t a complete mess after all.
“No way, dude!” a deep voice boomed from two tables away. Shep, one of Evan’s friends from OSU, shuffled over to their table, an empty bus bin clutched under his arm. “I thought that was you, man. How the hell are you?” Shep’s ruddy face was open and happy while he waited for Evan’s reply.
“Who is this?” Anthony asked. It was a simple enough question, but Evan had no idea how to answer.My old drinking buddy from collegeseemed too honest, butMy old study partner from collegewouldn’t be bought by anyone at the table. Studying had never been Shep’s thing—unless it was studying the female form. That was where Shep had excelled.
When Evan opened his mouth, Shep jumped in. He stuck out his hand toward Anthony. “You must be Ev’s dad. I’m Shep. We were frat brothers.”
Natalie snorted with laughter as Anthony fumed. “Excuse me?” was all he could muster. Pissing off Anthony wasn’t difficult, as Evan had learned before. Yet now was not the time to test the good mayor’s patience.
Evan waved frantically, as if trying to stop a highway accident. “No, no, no. Shep, these are my friends and girlfriend. This is Anthony and Natalie and”—turning to CeCe, he draped his arm over her shoulder—“this is my girlfriend, CeCe.”
It wasn’t lost on Evan that Shep’s eyes roamed CeCe’s frame, clearly enjoying what he saw. While slightly flattering, he still wanted to gouge his eyes out with his dessert spoon for creeping on his girl. “Damn, Ev. You’ve really gone up in the world.” Shep wiped his hand on his slacks and reached out to take CeCe’s hand. In his haste to make a good impression, he swung his bus bin over and whacked Anthony on the shoulder. While Anthony bristled, Natalie was nearly in tears from holding back her laughter.
Natalie’s giggles drew Shep’s attention, and he reached out for her hand as well. “And you’re just as lovely.” He hitched a thumb over to Anthony and asked, “You with the old guy, or are you available for drinks tonight?”
“All right,” Anthony said in a tone that meant the conversation was over. Bless her heart, Natalie seemed fine with Shep’s attention. She offered a slight wave as she pulled herself to standing. CeCe remained silent, lost in the remains of her cocktail glass. Evan wanted to disappear. Immediately, and potentially forever.
Having been lost in CeCe’s moods lately, Evan forgot about the one thing that would always be there. The one issue he couldn’t fix, no matter how hard he tried. The age gap.
Sure, five years isn’t a lot, but it was enough that right now they were on different planets. Anthony and Natalie had a family and careers, and CeCe had her own house and a string of successful restaurants on her résumé. Evan sat there in his department store jeans with his goofy frat brother, feeling like a child.
And suddenly he understood what was bothering CeCe, because it bothered him too.
CHAPTER 12
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