Diamonds and Dirt Roads

by Erin Nicholas

  Okay, that was weird. But accurate.

  “Cori!” He shouted as he came, clutching her tightly, holding her close as his orgasm swept through him.

  He held her like that, breathing raggedly against her neck for several long moments.

  Then he rolled to his side, taking her with him. He settled a hand on her ass, took a big satisfied breath, and said, “Now that’s what I call sprinkles and a cherry on top.”

  She laughed and snuggled in close. “I had no idea that sex could be like that without whipped cream.”

  He gave her butt a pinch. “Don’t make me take that whipped cream gun away.”

  “You can try.”

  He rolled on top of her, tickling along her side. But she was saved a moment later by his phone ringing from the pocket of his jeans. Evan sighed. “Hang on. That’s Parker’s ring tone.” He crawled to the edge of the bed and reached for his jeans. He pulled his phone out and answered, “Hey, I’m taking the after—” He was clearly cut off as his eyes got wide. “Oh, shit.”

  Cori sat up and was already reaching for her panties on instinct.

  “How did he know?” Evan asked Parker. He paused listening. “Great.” He didn’t sound happy. “Yeah, we’ll be right there.”

  Cori scrambled off the bed as he hung up.

  “We have to go.” Evan grabbed his boxers.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Your sister is pretending to be you.”

  Oh. Crap. “Which one?”

  “Ava.”

  “Why?”

  “Because my grandfather is at the shop. And Ava is supposedly here with me.”

  She paused halfway through pulling her skirt up. “How does he know that?”

  “Because he stopped by the office and Claire told him we were together. So he stopped by the shop and there were people there who saw us together at the park. And then leaving the park.”

  “Well…crap.”

  They got dressed and five minutes later walked through the door of Blissfully Baked together.

  “Hey, everyone,” Cori greeted, as if there was nothing at all out of place or worth feeling guilty about.

  She met Ava’s gaze from where her sister was positioned behind the display case that now held six pies, each of which was missing at least one piece. But Cori didn’t have a chance to really enjoy that fact. Ava had her hands in the pockets of her apron and a smudge of flour on her face, and it was clear that she was trying to act natural even though she was obviously tense from head to toe. Parker was there too, leaning against the counter behind the cases, his arms folded, not looking happy. Cori gave him a frown. What was his problem?

  The only other person in the shop at the moment was a tall man in a suit and tie. He had nearly white hair and light blue eyes. Eyes that his grandson had clearly inherited.

  “Welcome back,” Ava said. “I was just telling Evan’s grandfather that you might not be back since you’d decided to take the afternoon off.”

  “Evan,” the man greeted.

  “Hi, Grandpa.” Evan steered Cori to the table with a hand on her lower back. He reached a hand out to shake his grandfather’s. “I didn’t know you were coming to town.”

  “Just a quick trip to pick up some books your grandmother wanted from the house.”

  “Grandpa, this is Ava. Ava, my grandfather Judge John McCormick. He’s a District Judge for the 20th District. He and my grandmother moved to Great Bend about five years ago but they keep their house here and visit periodically.”

  “It’s very nice to meet you Judge McCormick,” Cori said, extending her hand and giving him an Ava smile. A judge, district or otherwise, wouldn’t intimidate Ava. But Cori thought the guy was a little imposing even seated on a blue cushion with yellow ruffles.

  “You too. I came by specifically for that pleasure,” he said, shaking her hand and not even bothering to tell her to call him John rather than Judge. “Not only because you’re… dating…my only grandson, but because I’m very curious about the women I read about in Rudy’s trust.” He lifted his cup for a sip of coffee, watching her over the brim.

  She didn’t appreciate the way he’d emphasized ‘dating’ as if they were doing something else entirely—even though they totally were—but she was too distracted by the rest of what he’d said. “You know about the trust?”

  “Rudy and Evan had me look it over to ensure they hadn’t missed any details,” John said with a nod. “It’s really a fascinating and unique document.”

  Well, she’d agree with unique.

  “If we’d known you were stopping by, we would have been sure to be here,” Evan told him. He pulled a chair out for Cori, then took the seat next to her.

  “Would you?” his grandfather asked, setting his cup back on the table. “It sounds like you were busy.”

  Cori was startled to feel herself blushing.

  “Roger was here when Judge McCormick first came in,” Ava said. “He told us that he saw you in the park together and then headed to Evan’s.”

  Cori wasn’t sure if anyone else would be able to tell, but Ava was pissed. Ava didn’t like being caught off guard. She didn’t like having meetings she was unprepared for. And she didn’t like when the person she was meeting with knew more than she did.

  And this was Cori’s fault. If she’d been here, then Ava wouldn’t have to be faking everything. She would at least be facing all of this as herself.

  Cori gave her sister a tight smile. “I needed his opinion on a new pie.” She worked hard not to grimace at what sounded very much like a euphemism for sex and hoped that everyone else in the shop was much more mature, and less dirty minded, than she was.

  But Parker coughed and she heard the soft choking noise Evan made. Well, terrific.

  “Okay, we’re going back to the kitchen,” Ava said. “We’ll let you get to know John.” Ava grabbed Parker by the sleeve and pulled him with her into the kitchen.

  Cori blew out a breath. Maybe this would be easier with two fewer people trying to keep the lie going. Less chance of someone screwing the story up. She gave John a smile, but just then Evan’s phone rang.

  He glanced at the screen. “It’s…a client.”

  Cori lifted an eyebrow. Bull. That was Parker’s ring tone. Cori gave him a quick frown. He didn’t want his grandfather to know that Parker was calling from the kitchen? Yeah, because that was suspicious as hell. Parker was calling to either tell him something he didn’t want John to know. Or to chew him out.

  No one was happy with Cori and Evan’s mid-afternoon break. Except Cori. And Evan. She hoped. She was feeling a little guilty, she had to admit. Not just because John had showed up and Ava had been forced to lie, but because suddenly facing someone else who knew about the trust, she felt jittery. She wasn’t sure a district judge would agree that the loopholes they’d all found were no problem.

  And she hated the idea that Evan might feel the same way—guilty and jittery. Not the way a woman wanted the man she was falling in love with to feel after sex. Okay, or any man after sex, really.

  “I’ll be right back.” Evan kissed the top of her head and headed outside to the sidewalk.

  Leaving her alone with John.

  Awesome.

  “Rudy would have been thrilled that you and Evan are together,” John said, as the little bell over the door tinkled.

  That definitely got Cori’s attention. “Oh?”

  John nodded and picked up his cup again. “Rudy trusted Evan with a lot of responsibility. The foundation, the trust for the town, his own will and trust. When I called him about it, he assured me that you would keep him in line.”

  Rudy had thought Ava would keep Evan in line? Rudy had known that Ava and Evan would date? “Evan asked…me…out because Rudy wanted him to?” she asked, almost messing it up already by referring to Ava.

  John gave a soft chuckle. “No. Rudy didn’t ask him to date you.” John sipped from his cup, then said, “Rudy knew Evan very well.”

&nb
sp; Cori could believe that. It seemed Rudy had been incredibly insightful even about her, and he’d spent a lot more time with Evan.

  “He would have never flat-out asked him to date you,” John went on. “But he planted the seeds. The ways you could be good for him. The ways he could be good for you. He knew that Evan loves being important to people. He loves to make people happy. All your dad had to do was plant the seeds that you needed more happiness.”

  Cori’s heart clenched at that. He was right. Rudy had been right. That was Evan.

  “You and Rudy were friends?” she asked. It seemed John knew her father well.

  “No, I wouldn’t say that. I was suspicious of him. Strange guy suddenly moves to town and becomes fast friends with my grandson. But he respected that. Then I found out his secret. Or his twelve billion secrets.”

  “You knew who he was.”

  “I did. I was, apparently, the only one who thought it was strange that as soon as he showed up, suddenly some company became interested in restoring our buildings and building up Main Street and offering the business owners no-interest loans.”

  “And you looked into him,” Cori said.

  “I was, of course, stunned to find out who he really was. But when I went to him about it, I respected the fact that he wanted a new start, a new life.”

  “You kept his secret.” Something about that made her like John a little more.

  “I did. And I asked him to help keep an eye on Evan. My grandson has never listened to me very well. But he loved your father.”

  Cori leaned in, fascinated. “What did you want from Evan?”

  “I wanted him to be less like his father,” John said. “I wanted him to find a purpose. More than just having a good time.”

  That was crap. Cori was on the verge of telling him so. Evan had a purpose. He took care of this town and the people he loved. There was definite value in making people happy. Instead she said, “But you approved of Rudy’s plan for Evan to date me. To make sure I work less and have more fun.”

  “Because you will make him more balanced too,” John said. “You will finally give him a reason to be more responsible.”

  Oh boy. John thought Evan’s feelings for her would make him a better man. No, that his feelings for Ava would make him a better man. At least in his grandfather’s eyes. John would be incredibly annoyed to find out that not only was she not really Ava, but that Evan wasn’t spending that much time with Ava.

  Cori felt a niggle of guilt at the back of her mind. Would Evan be better off if he was spending more time with Ava?

  But no, that wasn’t fair. He was a great guy just the way he was. He didn’t need any positive influences from anyone.

  And Lord knew he wasn’t going to get it from her.

  She shook that off.

  “You know that it was very important to your father that you find happiness, Ava,” John said.

  His use of her sister’s name jolted Cori. She swallowed hard. “So I hear,” she said. And it made her heart ache a little. She loved that Rudy wanted Ava to be happy. But it hurt that he hadn’t been able to tell her that himself.

  “He felt guilty,” John went on. “He knew that you worked hard because you thought it made him happy.”

  “It did,” Cori said. That was no secret.

  “It did,” John agreed with a nod. “For a long time. But he finally realized that he was looking at your successes as proof that he’d done something right as a father. And that that wasn’t true. So he decided to be a good father now.”

  Cori swallowed hard as her throat suddenly tightened. “By bringing me here.”

  “Yes.”

  And setting Ava up with Evan. Even if he’d done it indirectly.

  That niggle in the back of her mind grew stronger. Yeah, that was definitely guilt. But Evan had been making sure Ava had some fun. Yes, Cori had interrupted their dinner, but that had been helpful at the time. Supposedly, anyway. Her intentions had been good. And they’d had movie night. Cori had stayed out of the way of that one. That had been fun for Ava. Probably. Game night had been fun. Cori had been there for that and had stayed away from Evan. He’d followed her into the kitchen but…she hadn’t even kissed him. And she’d seen Ava laughing that night.

  “I’ve definitely been working less,” Cori said to John. But she almost winced. Ava was still working a lot. Too much. She was doing pie shop work and still making conference calls with New York. And who knew who else? She’d supposedly taken movie night off. Cori knew Evan had been gone by eleven because that was when Cori had risked going home. But Ava could have gone to her office to work after he left. Cori hadn’t even checked. Because she didn’t want to actually hear that Ava had had a good time.

  Cori realized that Ava may actually be working longer hours, making up for the time she was taking off here and there with Evan. She was going through the motions with Evan because she had to, but it wasn’t actually changing anything for her.

  And Evan was just going through the motions with Ava too.

  Cori glanced out the window to where Evan was on the sidewalk, still on the phone.

  Evan said she was brighter and bolder than he was, but he was still the party guy, fun and spontaneous. He wanted to build a mini-golf course and take clients fishing. He was unconventional. So why was he taking Ava to dinner and doing movie nights at home? Those were…typical dates. Somehow she knew he wouldn’t have taken Cori to a steak house. They would have made homemade egg rolls and eaten them picnic style in the back of his truck. And poured the sauces on each other’s stomachs for dipping. If they did a movie night, it would have been a marathon and there would have a least been a theme, and cuddling under a blanket, and rewriting the bad dialogue, and acting out how the romantic moments should have turned out.

  He wasn’t really giving Ava the full Evan experience. Because of Cori. Because she was in the way, distracting him with her St. Bernards.

  “I’m glad you’re going out more,” John said. “And it’s very telltale that Evan hasn’t bought the town a Ferris wheel or something.” He chuckled and took a final swallow of coffee.

  He was drinking it black. That was a definite mark against him. Not to mention how guilty he was making Cori feel.

  She frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “Evan has ten million dollars all to himself. It’s completely under his control and it’s for the town. I’m shocked he hasn’t bought something absurd like a Merry-Go-Round or a bouncy castle.”

  Or a mini-golf course. Cori rubbed a finger on the center of her forehead. “He can easily afford some fun things too,” she said.

  “Oh, no,” John said quickly, his smile disappearing. “He’d already got you playing hooky in the middle of a work day and having your sister cover for you when she’s not supposed to be baking. Don’t fall under his spell.”

  Well…shit. She couldn’t tell him that wasn’t true. Or that the hooky thing had been her influence.

  “I know my grandson can be very charming, but you are supposed to be immune to that.”

  She was definitely not immune. But yeah, Ava did seem to be. “Did my father tell you that too? That I don’t respond to charm?” That was kind of sad. Surely there was someone that had, that could, charm Ava.

  “He told me you respond to success and drive,” John said. “Which is why forcing you to date someone different was a good plan. You never would have done that on your own.”

  Cori really hated John’s assumption that Evan fit because he was the opposite of successful and driven. But she couldn’t defend him too passionately or she wouldn’t be Ava.

  “I guess there were a lot of good parts to Rudy’s plan.” Coming to Bliss had been a good thing. Working with her sisters to get the pie shop going had been a good thing. Meeting Hank and the guys had been a good thing. And she couldn’t say that her time with Evan hadn’t been good. It had been too good, in fact. It did seem that Rudy had known what he was doing. Which meant Evan really would be good for
Ava…if Cori wasn’t in the way.

  “Buying the town a Ferris wheel would somehow indicate that I’m failing at making Evan more responsible?”

  She’d definitely put her vote in for the mini-golf course. Would Ava have done that? No. Cori knew the answer. Ava would have talked investing.

  “Evan wants to be worthy of the responsibility Rudy gave him,” John said. “Evan is well-liked and people trust him with basic legal matters. But he’s not…someone anyone but your father would have given ten million dollars to.”

  “But my father wanted me to date him,” Cori said, that fact fully sinking in for the first time. Rudy had wanted Ava and Evan together. “Seems he must have trusted him if he wanted him with his daughter.”

  John laughed. “Well, for one, Rudy didn’t worry about you handling yourself with men. He wanted you to be a little softer, if anything. But he also knew that Evan would never agree to date you if it was premeditated. Evan doesn’t really plan well or commit easily. And he doesn’t like having a lot of expectations placed on him. But Rudy also knew that once Evan knew what you needed and that he could meet those needs, he’d step up.”

  Cori frowned. “Rudy gambled on the fact that Evan is a good guy who loves to help the people around him.”

  “He did.”

  “And he won,” Cori said. Evan had done exactly what Rudy had expected.

  “I have a feeling that your father didn’t get to where he got to in business by never gambling.”

  “No,” Cori agreed. “Or by being wrong about people.”

  John nodded. “Exactly. I thought he was crazy to put Evan in charge of everything he did. But so far, looks like Rudy was right. And I know that makes Evan happy—to know that he’s making Rudy happy.”

  Cori sucked in a quick breath, then covered it with a cough. Dammit.

  Evan probably wasn’t feeling all that proud and satisfied. After all, he was messing around with her behind everyone’s backs, half-assing his dates with Ava, and taking bids on a miniature golf course.

  Hell, maybe he wasn’t even taking bids. Maybe he was just going to go with the first company that showed him the brightest lights and best music. Because that’s what she would do.