fry, so I swiped it from him. “I watched them get in a fight in a diner, then helped Evan buy a rare Pontiac right out from under Luke’s nose.”
“We like her, don’t we?” Logan asked with a half-smile.
“Fuck yes, we like her,” Gavin said. “I like your nose ring, by the way. I don’t think I told you that the first time we met.”
“Um, thanks?”
“Where is the big guy, anyway?” Logan asked.
“He said he had to take care of a few things in town and he’d meet me here later.”
“I’m just glad we saw you through the window,” Gavin said. “Evan would have lost his shit if he came in and saw you sitting with Luke.”
“It’s not really Evan’s business who I talk to, now is it?”
“Doesn’t mean it wouldn’t piss him off,” Gavin said. “He’s pretty territorial.”
I was about to say, I’m not anyone’s territory—which I really wasn’t—but there was something archaically appealing about that. Keep away, she’s Evan Bailey’s.
Although I had a feeling a guy like Luke would be territorial, too.
“Anyway, what are you doing tonight?” Gavin asked, his tone full of suggestion. “We should totally go out.”
“Gav, I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Logan said.
“Why not? Evan doesn’t get dibs just because he saw her first.”
Logan’s gaze swung to me. “Don’t mind him, he’s just messing with you because he has a death wish.”
“That’s not true.”
“It doesn’t matter, because a date with anyone is basically the last thing on my agenda right now,” I said. “Sorry, Gavin.”
He let out a sigh. “That’s okay. My heart will heal. Someday.”
Logan rolled his eyes. “Aren’t you still dating what’s-her-name?”
“Naw, we broke up.”
“That’s too bad,” I said.
He took a fry off my plate and stuck it in his mouth. “Yeah, it kind of sucks, but whatever.”
“Already?” Logan asked. “I swear, you spend more time chasing girls than you do actually dating them once you convince them to go out with you.”
Gavin lifted his eyes, like he was thinking about that. “That’s probably true.”
Logan shook his head.
A girl with long blond hair, wearing a pink cardigan and cropped jeans, walked over to our table. She smiled, showing off perfect white teeth. “Hi, guys. Have you seen Evan?”
A flare of something that could not possibly be jealousy erupted in my chest. My cheeks warmed and I chewed the inside of my lip to keep my expression neutral. What the heck was wrong with me?
Logan glanced at Gavin, his forehead creasing. “Uh, no.”
The girl’s shoulders slumped and her lower lip protruded in a little pout. “Hmm. Well, if you see him, can you tell him to call Jill?”
“Sure,” Logan said.
She smiled again. “Thanks. I’ll see you guys later.”
Logan swiveled in his seat, watching her leave, then whipped around again. “Do we know her?”
“Yeah, I’ve seen her around,” Gavin said.
“Is Evan going out with her?”
Gavin shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe. It’s not like he tells us anything.”
Was Evan dating her? We’d been on the road together for days, and he hadn’t said a word about a girlfriend. I hadn’t noticed him texting a lot and he certainly hadn’t made very many phone calls. Maybe they’d been dating and broken up and she wanted to get him back. Or maybe they’d been out a few times but it hadn’t developed beyond that yet, and she was hoping it would.
Either way, I did not like the idea of Evan dating her. Not one bit.
Why? No idea. She just looked so wrong for him. I didn’t know why—who was I to judge what was right for him?—but I was sure of it. She was pretty in a sorority-girl kind of way, with a nice smile and gorgeous hair. But there was something about her.
As if on cue, Evan appeared on the sidewalk outside. Even with no one to glare at, his eyes were narrowed and he had that intense groove between his eyebrows. He was a storm cloud, dark and ominous, casting a broad shadow wherever he went.
Jill walked out the door just as Evan was about to come in. He rocked backward a half step, but his expression didn’t change. Jill bounced onto her tiptoes a couple of times, all bouncy hair and flirty smiles.
Evan’s brothers kept talking, but I wasn’t paying attention. I was too busy trying to put words in Jill’s mouth. What was she saying to him out there? Did he like her? It was impossible to tell anything by his face, but that was always the case. Evan might as