Page 27

Swallowing hard, Jo stepped toward Evelyn. “Hi,” she started, and when Evelyn didn’t reply, she held up her hands in surrender. “It’s not what it looks like.”

Evelyn arched an eyebrow. “Oh?”

Jo sighed, knowing that standing in another woman’s arms was not how she wanted Evelyn to find her tonight.

As she took in the scene in front of her, Evelyn’s stomach twisted. Jo. Standing at the bar with another woman’s arm draped casually around her shoulders. The two of them were close, laughing together in a way that looked easy and very familiar. Jo’s face was lit up in that confident way Evelyn had come to recognize when she was completely in her element. Like at the bar the first night, like at the car show, and even at her garage.

Already regretting it, Evelyn had come toSapphireon impulse. She hadn’t planned it. She had been sitting at her desk, waiting for Jo to text her back and feeling a little irritated for even caring so much that there hadn’t been an answer when the idea had struck her.I should just go toSapphireand say hi,she had thought.And if she’s there, we can dance and if she’s not, I’ll go home.

But now, there she was, and there Jo was, with someone else. When she first stepped inside and saw what Jo was doing, Evelyn’s initial instinct was to turn around and walk out. Hopefully get away before Jo even saw her, but then Jo’s eyes met hers, and everything inside her froze. For a split second, Jo even looked guilty.Not caught-in-the-act guilty, Evelyn thought.But in an “oh shit, this looks bad” guilty. Evelyn’s heart clenched.

She wasn’t naive. She knew she and Jo weren’t in a relationship. They were still figuring things out. But seeing Jo in the middle of an embrace, looking so at home in this world, made something inside Evelyn go cold. She refused to let it show. Instead, she lifted her chin, forced a neutral expression onto her face, and walked toward the bar like she had every right to be there. She slid onto a barstool, setting her purse down beside her. “Cosmopolitan, please,” she said to the bartender, keeping her voice even.

Jo stepped forward immediately. “Evelyn—”

Slowly, Evelyn turned her head, arching an eyebrow. “Oh,” she said, smoother than she thought possible. “Hey, Jo.”

After a beat of hesitation, clearly thrown by her calm tone, Jo gave her a small smile. “Hey,” she said. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Taking her drink from the bartender, Evelyn stirred the little straw. “Yeah, well,” she said, lifting the glass to her lips. “I needed a break from working so late.” She felt Jo watching her, as if she were waiting for something. Maybe an accusation, a confrontation even, but Evelyn wasn’t going to give her that. She wasn’t going to demand an explanation. If Jo had one, she could offer it on her own.

Exhaling slowly, Jo shifted her weight. “Okay, look,” she said. “This—” She gestured toward the woman beside her, who hadmoved away slightly, no doubt sensing something was off. “This is Carly. An old friend from college.”

Carly gave a small wave, offering an awkward smile. “Hi.”

Evelyn nodded politely, sizing the woman up.Attractive,she thought.A little on the tomboy side for Jo’s taste I would have thought.“Nice to meet you,” she finally said, and Jo continued.

“If you sent me something, I didn’t get your text,” she explained. “My phone’s dead. I don’t know when it happened, but Jess is charging it behind the bar.” She motioned toward the counter where her phone sat plugged in. “I wasn’t ignoring you.” Taking another sip of her drink, Evelyn let that sink in and made no comment. Jo sighed. “Carly moved back to Portland. We ran into each other just now and caught up for a bit. That’s all.”

Facing Jo, Evelyn studied her carefully. Jo’s voice was steady, her expression open. She wasn’t flustered and wasn’t scrambling for excuses. She was telling the truth, and Evelyn believed her. Yet, that cold feeling didn’t go away, because the reality was, she hadn’t realized until tonight how much she didn’t know Jo.Not fully, she thought.Not yet. Jo leaned in slightly, lowering her voice so only Evelyn could hear. “I missed you,” she admitted, her brown eyes searching Evelyn’s face. “I was hoping to see you tonight. Somehow.”

Something in Evelyn softened, but she forced herself to stay steady. The truth of the situation had finally come to her, and she knew whatever was happening between them was moving too fast. She set her drink down, exhaling slowly. “Jo,” she said carefully, and Jo straightened.

“Yeah?”

Hesitating for a moment, Evelyn saw the hope in Jo’s eyes, the way she waited for Evelyn to say something as if to make everything okay. But Evelyn wasn’t sure she could do that, or at least not tonight. “I think I’m gonna head home,” she finally said.

Blinking with surprise, Jo clearly was not expecting that answer. “Oh,” she said. “Okay.” The woman hesitated for only a second before stepping closer and dropping her voice. “Do you want me to come with you?”

Evelyn’s stomach flipped, but she shook her head. “No,” she said gently. “Not tonight.”

Jo’s expression flickered with something.Frustration?Evelyn wondered.Or disappointment? Still, she didn’t push.

Instead, Jo nodded slowly. “All right,” she said. “I’ll call you a little later?”

“Yeah,” Evelyn said with a small smile. “I’d like that.” She slid off the barstool, grabbed her purse to get money to pay.

Clearly recognizing what Evelyn was doing, Jo waved her off. “I got it,” she said. “My way to say sorry for the confusion.”

Biting her lip, Evelyn hesitated before nodding. “Thank you,” she said and turned to leave. As she walked away, she felt Jo’s eyes on her, and although it took all her strength, she didn’t turn back.

Exhaling slowly, Jo stared at the spot where Evelyn had sat a moment ago.She left, Jo thought.She actually walked out and left me standing here.Jo wasn’t sure why that fact rattled her so much. It wasn’t like Evelyn had stormed out or made a scene. She had been calm, polite.Too polite. Somehow, that was worse because Jo knew when someone was putting up a wall, and Evelyn just locked herself behind one. “Shit,” Jo muttered, rubbing a hand over her face.

Beside her, Carly let out a low whistle. “Well, that didn’t go great,” she said, and Jo shot her a look.

“Thanks for the insight.”

Carly held up her hands. “Hey, I didn’t mean to cause problems,” she said. “I didn’t realize you were involved with someone.”