Forever Summer - Melody Grace Page 0,74

shrugged. “I need a new job and a new man. Not necessarily in that order,” she added with a smirk. “Know of anything?”

“Men or jobs?” Noah asked.

She laughed. “I’m not picky. No, scratch that, I am.”

Jules must have noticed the tension simmering in the air, because she looked back and forth between them and then linked her arm through Evie’s. “Well, we better be going. The night is young, and we’ve got another thirteen seasons of Grey’s Anatomy waiting for us back at the inn. Nice seeing you,” she called back at him, steering Evie away. “And congrats on the movie!”

The movie? Noah watched them go in confusion until he realized she must be talking about Aunt June’s video.

He sighed. One of those days, he’d have to have a word with that woman, but right then, he couldn’t have cared less. Not with everything that mattered in the world walking away without so much as a backwards glance.

Noah made his way home in a daze. All his earlier reckless determination had faded, leaving nothing but the sting of rejection in its place. Was Evie even thinking about the two of them and what she wanted to do? Or was this her way of ending things for good: just acting like it was over until, finally, he got the hint. Noah had given enough dates the slow fade to know the score, but he couldn’t believe Evie would let everything they shared just melt away.

He loved her. They were meant to be.

Weren’t they?

18

“Left a bit … no, the other way!”

Evie groaned in pain. “You expect me to know left from right after all the margaritas you were pouring down my throat last night?”

Jules grinned. “You mean, all two of them?” she asked, teasing.

“The way you mix them, it was more like six.” Evie tried to hold on to her end of the dresser, but it wasn’t exactly easy with her head pounding and her stomach in knots. “I haven’t had a hangover like this since college.”

“Just a little more … there!”

Evie lowered the piece of furniture to the floor with relief. “How is this any better than the last four places we tried it?”

“It just is.” Jules stood back, looking satisfied. “See?”

Evie looked around. They’d been setting up one of the guest bedrooms all morning, shifting the furniture around so many times that Evie couldn’t tell if she liked it a certain way or if it was just … different. Now, airy drapes framed the beautiful view, a gorgeous vintage rug lay on the floor, and a king-sized bed with a beautiful velvet headboard was made up with soft linens, perfect for snuggling up in.

Or tossing aside in the throes of passion …

Evie sank down onto the bed with a sigh. “He looked good, didn’t he?” she asked mournfully.

Jules didn’t even need to ask who she meant. They’d been up until three a.m. talking about him, after all. “Good enough to eat,” she agreed.

Except Noah hadn’t been on the menu last night, so Evie had settled for consuming her body weight in Pepperidge Farm frozen cookies instead. But of course it hadn’t filled the aching hole in her chest.

Nothing could. Except Noah.

“Do you think he hates me?” she asked, replaying that awkward scene at the mini-mart all over again. She buried her face in her hands. “He definitely hates me.”

“Sure, the man was gazing at you like you were a slice of double chocolate fudge cake because he secretly despises you.” Jules paused, then went to sit beside her. “This isn’t just about what Starr said, is it?” she asked eventually.

Evie let out a long sigh. “No.”

After Starr left, she had spent days trying to figure things out. She knew the younger girl was hurt and probably didn’t mean half the cruel things she’d said, but still, the guilt made Evie lose sleep. It was true, after all: Evie’s new life here in Sweetbriar Cove was built on the ashes of her old one with Glen. It was his death that had sent her searching for a new beginning, the check from his life insurance policy that had paid for the renovation of the inn.

Was it right for Evie to be so happy when other people were still desperately grieving the loss?

But that wasn’t the only thing holding her back.

Evie sat up again, toying with the fringe on the embroidered quilt. “Everything with Noah has happened so fast,” she admitted. “Our connection … the way I feel about him. After Glen