“And how are you going to fix all of this?”
Cori pushed her jeans to the floor and stepped out of them. “Take off your clothes.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m going to be you.”
“But…this isn’t like the shop. I’ve already been out there. Everyone’s already seen me.”
“I know. But no one but Brynn will know which of us is which if we change clothes and I go out there as you, I promise. People see what they want to see.”
“You really think this will work?”
Cori sighed. “It’s our best shot. Look—” She faced her sister squarely and took a deep breath. “I know I should have just left him alone. But I didn’t. Of course. And now he’s all distracted and I’m loving that you have no chemistry and kind of encouraging it even. Like by flirting with him and kissing him and stuff I shouldn’t be doing. I should be trying to help. Like telling you how great he is and what an amazing kisser he is and how funny he is and that you should give him a chance. And telling him how smart you are and how to get you to relax. And I really should want you to go out with him. For all the reasons Dad wanted this to happen. You work too much, you take everything too seriously, and you could really use some fun…some hot, sexy fun. But I don’t want to tell you or him that stuff. Because…that would be the mature and sensible thing to do and God knows, I’m allergic to both of those things. Let me try to help this way.”
Ava was regarding her with a bemused expression. “When things get messy you usually just leave.”
Cori gave a short, humorless laugh. “Yeah. I get out of the way. But this time I can’t. I’m stuck here in Bliss. Sorry.”
Ava shook her head. “God, Cori, don’t be sorry for being here. I couldn’t be handling any of this without you.”
Cori stared at her sister. “Really?”
“Really. This is all crazy. And crazy is your specialty. As long as you’re smiling, I know we’re not totally off the rails.”
That was…unexpected. She knew Ava had fun when Cori was around, but she wasn’t sure she’d ever reassured Ava before.
“Well, don’t go by me,” Cori said. “I’m usually the one pushing you all off the rails.”
“Yeah, but…okay, if I’m going off the rails, I want someone with me who has experience. Who’s survived that before.”
Cori laughed. “You need someone who’s climbed the mountain before?”
“I was thinking more like I need someone who’s been in the scary, haunted forest and been chased by a creepy clown with a machete but who’s made it out alive.”
Cori snorted. “That makes Bliss the haunted forest and Evan the creepy clown?”
Ava grinned. “Okay, maybe it’s not quite that bad.” She paused. “Actually, I know why the haunted forest came to mind. Do you remember the haunted house we went to when we were thirteen?”
“You were supposed to be sixteen to go in, but I sweet-talked the guy at the door into letting us go,” Cori said.
“I was scared to death,” Ava said. “Even before we got inside. But you were…giddy about it. I just knew that if you could get that excited and think it was fun, then there wasn’t anything to be really scared of.”
“You hated that haunted house. We all had to sleep in the same bed for like two weeks, with you in the middle.”
Ava nodded. “But you did that for me too. And honestly, that haunted house has always stuck with me. You were diving in because of the adrenaline rush. Brynn wasn’t scared because she was able to look at everything and immediately figure out how they’d pulled off the illusions. It was just me…too uptight and not smart enough to avoid being scared.”
“Hey—” Cori started.
But Ava shook her head. “But in the end, I got the best deal. You two, sleeping on either side of me, laughing and giggling until way past our bedtimes, for two whole weeks.” She gave Cori a soft smile. “Totally worth it.”
Cori blew out a breath. “You think Bliss can turn out the same way?”
“With you making it all fun and exciting and Brynn making it all practical and breaking things down step-by-step? Yeah, I think it can be the same way.”
Cori reached out and squeezed Ava’s hand. “I’ve got you, sis.”
“I’m counting on it.”
“Okay. Now take off your clothes for fuck’s sake.”
“I hate to ask you to sacrifice like this,” Ava teased, but she began unbuttoning. “I mean, making you go out there and act all goofy over Evan.”
“Yeah, yeah, more unbuttoning, less talking,” Cori said, but she was smiling as they exchanged clothes.
Within minutes Cori was in a silk blouse and pencil skirt that was slightly tight through the hips. She needed to lay off the carbs. Or she needed to get her sisters eating more of them. Triple the wardrobe was one of the most obvious benefits of being triplets.
“Okay, let’s do this fixing everything and making it all totally fine again,” she said, as she slipped Ava’s heels on. These were Gucci rather than Louis Vuitton but seriously, Ava had great taste in shoes.
“Hang on.” Ava stepped forward, pulling the clip out of her hair. “Let’s do it right.”
Cori turned and she felt Ava gather her hair back and then twist it and secure it with the clip.
“Okay, now let’s go. I can’t wait to watch this,” Ava said, actually looking like she was looking forward to it.
A minute later, Cori approached the table where Evan sat. She tried to keep her heart from pounding and her breathing from increasing. She wished she could blame it on nerves, but it was pure and simple lust. She wasn’t nervous at all about sitting across the table from him. Or acting like she was falling for him.
That was, unfortunately, something that was as real as the diamond bracelet she’d also taken from Ava.
“Everything okay?” he asked as he stood and held her chair for her.
She gave him a smile and a nod. “Sure.”
Be Ava. Be Ava. Let him scoot your chair in. She knew how that was done, of course, but she didn’t hang out with guys who did it much. Of course, no one really held a barstool for a woman.
She gave him a smile as he returned to his seat in the chair perpendicular to hers. “Okay then, what were we talking about?” She definitely should have asked Ava that question. Instead she’d been busy apologizing…and being shocked to find out that Ava really liked having her here.
Evan hesitated, then he leaned back in his chair. “Cori,” he said simply.
For a second, she thought he’d recognized her and was saying her name to confirm. Then she realized that he meant he and Ava had been talking about her.
Surprised skittered through her. She wet her lips. She should tell him who she was. He could be in on the ruse, of course. And she would. In a minute.
“Cori. Right. What about her again?”
“Her crazy idea about the party in the park.”
The surprised rippled through her again, stronger this time. “Did…I…tell you all about it?” Cori asked, remembering partway through the sentence that she was supposed to be Ava.
“Is there more to it?” he asked. “She wants to call it Parking and Pie and have everyone come to the park for pie and a movie. Like a drive-in. She wants to make a bunch of kids’ pies, like that s’mores pie she made the other night, and really appeal to the kids, who will then bring their parents. She wants to show that animated movie, Jelly Jam. That one is about a bunch of kitchen appliances and tools that cook and bake at night to save their owner’s restaurant, right?”
Cori nodded and reached for her water glass. She was biting her tongue. She had to let him talk, see what he already knew, and act like Ava about the whole thing. And Ava was not practically jumping up and down in her seat over the idea. That much Cori did know. She’d told her sisters the idea that morning and had been met with not a lot of enthusiasm. Ava was worried about the pies and the general logistics of pulling something like that off when they hadn�
��t been in town long. Which was, of course, why Cori thought it was a great idea. What better way to meet the town and show them that the girls wanted to be a part of the community? Brynn, the more practical one, talked about things like licenses and permits. Which was where Evan could, obviously, come in. He knew the laws and he knew everyone in town. Or maybe even the county. But Cori had figured she would be the one to bring it up to him, and she was surprised Ava had done it. Maybe they hadn’t had anything else to talk about.
“And I told you about the charity part of it, right?” Cori asked. “Where we’re going to give half of the profits to the before-school breakfast program and the snack program for the daycares?”
She’d asked the coffee club that met in the pie shop every morning if there were any food-related charities in the area—a shelter or food bank or something—that they could donate to. The guys had suggested the food bank in Great Bend, but she’d wanted something right in Bliss if possible. Thankfully, the guys had grandkids in the school system and one of them had a daughter who did daycare, so they’d known about both the breakfast program at the school and the program that provided nutritious snacks and nutritional education to daycare providers in the county. Which tied in perfectly with the kids’ theme for the event, as well.
“You did,” Evan said. “And I agree that knowing it’s partly for charity will make everyone even more likely to come and participate.”
“Oh, good. I didn’t remember if I’d mentioned that.”
Cori felt a little warm that Ava had brought all of this up. Cori had wanted to tell Evan about it. As more than the local attorney and guy-in-the-know. She’d wanted to tell him because…okay, because she’d wanted to impress him. The entire Parking and Pie event idea wasn’t for Evan’s benefit. The idea had come to her in the shower actually. But, she’d wanted to let him in on her idea and see his reaction. It was stupid, but she’d liked the look on his face when he’d accepted that first cup of caramel macchiato, and heard about Nutella-dipped bacon, and when he’d heard her talk about putting a photo booth in the pie shop, and when he’d watched her toast the marshmallows on the s’mores pie and taken that first bite. She liked the look of amusement combined with a touch of admiration on his face. It had seemed as if he’d liked all of those ideas, but even more, he’d been kind of intrigued by her out-of-the-box thinking.
Captivated.
The word whispered through her head and she had to fight a smile. That was the word he’d used last night to describe how he felt about her. She freaking loved that. And yeah, she wanted more. She wasn’t throwing a pie party in the park—and she also really loved that alliteration—but she did want to tell Evan all about that party. And yes, she also had the feeling that he’d jump right in on that good time and help her make it even better.
“But I do agree that it’s probably taking on too much too soon,” he said, picking up his wineglass and taking a sip.
Cori let that sink in. “You don’t think we should do it?”
“Not yet. Not if you’re not ready.”
Pop. Cori swore she could hear and feel her little bubble of excitement break.
“You need to get things at the shop going smoothly before you take on a big publicity stunt.”
“But it’s not a stunt. It’s a way to get people trying our pies, first and foremost. And we need something to do that. And in addition, this would associate our business with fun and show we want to participate in the community.”
Evan’s eyebrows rose. “I thought you didn’t like this idea?”
Oh yeah, shit. Ava didn’t like this idea. “Well, I’m just surprised that you are dismissing it so quickly,” she said honestly. “This seems like something you’d enjoy. I know you organize the 5K every year that raises money for the medical clinic here.” It was a satellite clinic to the big medical group in Great Bend, but it provided all of the basic care the people here needed as well as bringing specialists in on a monthly basis for consultations. She’d heard all about that from her coffee group as well. Walter was followed by a cardiologist once a month and Ben had just been in to get his prostate checked. She’d heard way more about that than she’s wanted to.
“I do,” Evan said.
“And I know that it’s more than just a 5K. You give it a theme every year and the runners and spectators dress up accordingly and the after party follows the theme as well.”
He nodded. “Running kind of sucks. Even if it’s for charity. I wanted to make it more fun.”
Yeah, she’d loved hearing about that. The guys that sat in the front of her pie shop and raved about her coffee and kept her constantly buying more whipped cream, had given her more insight into the town—and Evan—than she could have ever hoped for. She’d gladly buy sprinkles and caramel syrup out of her own account in exchange for the steady flow of information. And laughter. The guys were great, and she couldn’t help but think that if these guys had been her father’s friends, then there was definitely more to Rudy than she’d thought.
“And I know that you do a lot of your business meetings while hunting or fishing. And that you throw amazing tailgate parties…and have everyone throw in money toward the youth football program while they stand around and talk sports.”
Her heart thumped again as she repeated the story that Roger had told her a few mornings ago. Everyone knew about Evan’s fondness for a good party and having fun. But those extra things, like the fact that he preferred talking business while floating on the local fishing pond, or the fact that he found ways to make the fun into something more, were not as widely known. Or at least, they weren’t as widely talked about. Not every party or get-together turned into a client meeting or charity event, of course, but the idea that some of them did made her stomach flip. Evan was a good guy. Just as she’d told Ava. A really good guy. Who didn’t really see it about himself. This all seemed like something he just did without thinking about it. And she was incredibly grateful, again, that her sister was not attracted to him.
“It’s easier to get generous donations when people are full of beer and brats,” he said, again casually lifting his wineglass for a drink.
She nodded. “I’m sure. But my point is, you’re all about having a good time and you’re all about supporting this community. And,” she said, leaning in slightly, “you’re all about supporting me and my sisters. What’s with your hesitation on this park party?”
That bugged her. Sure, he thought she was Ava, and Ava had probably spelled out all of her concerns earlier. But still, this really seemed like something Evan would get into. She hated hearing he didn’t like it. She had bad ideas sometimes. She had crazy ideas a lot of the time. And she’d accepted the fact that sometimes people were not going to buy in. But she hadn’t expected it from Evan and it stung more from him. Whatever that meant.
And she didn’t really want to know what that meant.
Evan shifted on his chair, leaning in and resting an elbow on the table. He met her gaze directly. “It’s just a lot,” he said. “The stuff I do has evolved over time. The 5K was always for charity, but someone else did it for three years before I took it over.”
“They didn’t have themes or a big after party though, I’m guessing,” she said, knowing that those had to be Evan touches.
If he was surprised that “Ava” would have that kind of insight, he didn’t show it. He just smiled. “That started out because the prior Halloween, Noah told me there was no way I could ever get Parker to dress up. Doing it for charity was my only chance. And I won fifty bucks off of Noah for that.”
She laughed at that. She couldn’t help it. Surely Ava would too. If nothing else, the idea of Parker Blake in a costume of any kind was just too funny.
“But the tailgates were just an excuse to get drunk and be loud at the game at first,” he said. “And the fishing…I like fishing. One day a guy and I went out on the pond. We weren’t going as client and attorney, just as buddies. But while we fished, we got to talking. And I found th
at he was a lot more amenable to the other side of the case while the fish were biting.”
“You mediate a lot more than you actually sue or take people to court or whatever,” Cori commented, unable to help it. Walter had told her that little tidbit and it had fascinated her. Of course, Ava wouldn’t have said “whatever”. She would have known the right terms for all the legal stuff Evan did. But Cori could hope he didn’t know that.
“I do,” Evan confirmed. “This is a small town full of people I’ve known and cared about my whole life. I don’t like when they fight.”
He gave a little smile, and Cori felt that flip in her stomach again.
“And don’t you want these people you care about to have an amazing pie party in the park?” she asked.
Evan’s smile dropped and he took a deep breath, his gaze going to his wineglass instead of holding hers. “I just think you girls might get in over your heads with it. Maybe next year.”
Yeah, well, they weren’t supposed to still be here, running the shop next year. And Cori couldn’t deny that she felt a stab of sadness at that idea. Sure, things were anything but smooth and easy, but she couldn’t say she’d hated her time in Bliss so far. Hanging out with her sisters at the shop all day, painting and stitching with Brynn, coaching Ava and resisting the urge to just push her sister out of the way and take over, listening to the coffee club, watching Noah and Brynn pretend not to flirt, watching Ava and Parker face off, anticipating seeing Evan…it had all been fun.
She shook all of that off. There was a long way to go before this year was over. She might feel differently by this time next year.
Okay, this party thing was a lot. And her sisters didn’t love it. And Evan wasn’t sold on it. But it was a good idea, dammit.
Cori took a drink of water, then said, “Well, Cori isn’t very good at very many things, but she definitely knows how to throw a party. Maybe we should let her develop the idea a little bit.”
Diamonds and Dirt Roads Page 18
