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“You’re not considering how we can use his washboard abs todraw attention to our cause.”

“And you’re not considering that there are no waves on the Amazon.”

They vanished out the door, and I turned back to Jennifer.

“Alone at last, eh? I hope you’re not about to tell me we have to fire those two.”

She scoffed and dismissed my concerns with a wave.

“Oh, those two have been with us since forever. I would never fire them. I am seriously considering naming my children after them, for heaven’s sake.”

I laughed, feeling a little bit better.

“What I wanted to talk to you about is, what’s eating you?” She reached across the table and took my hand. “I mean, ever since you got back from that plane ride, you’ve been kind of different.”

I heaved a long sigh and decided to take the plunge and tell Jennifer everything.

“I may have, um…” My throat suddenly felt dry. I took a sip of my drink and continued. “I may have slept with Evan on the plane.”

Jennifer’s jaw dropped open, and she let out an excited squeal.

“Look at you!” she punched me playfully on the arm. “You go, girl!”

“You’re not upset with me?”

“Why would I be upset? You’re a grown-ass woman, and who you sleep with is your business.”

I let out a long sigh, feeling relief at having finally confessed. Now I could feel melancholy about it.

“The thing is, as good as it was at the time, he changed afterward. He got all… cold. Distant.” I hugged myself and shivered, though the restaurant was hardly cold. “I’m such an idiot.”

I shook my head.

“Not for that part. For thinking that, you know, that there might be something more to it. You know? That thinking someone like him could ever be with someone like me.”

Jennifer snorted. “Oh please, you’re always so down on yourself. You deserve a hundred Evans.”

“You’re just saying that because you’re my friend.”

She put her hand on my shoulder and gave it a little shake.

“Hey now, come on. You’re sassy, smart, damn good at your job, and you have a great sense of humor. Of course Evan’s interested in you. What guy wouldn’t be interested in you?”

Much as I hated to admit it, her pep talk did make me feel better. I still wasn’t convinced that I hadn’t bitten off more than I could chew with how I felt for Evan, but she did make me believe in myself, at least for a little while.

I reached for my drink and knocked over my purse. My phone spilled out, and I frowned when I saw the screen. I had more than a dozen missed calls and half that many messages.

I scrolled through the messages and found they were all from the same person, someone called Jenna. It took me a moment to recall that Jenna was the name of Evan’s personal assistant. It was through her I was to have most of my contact with him. Another degree of separation that had me wondering if I wasn’t a sucker after all.

“Who in the world is trying to get a hold of you that much?” Jennifer asked. Her eyes lit up eagerly. “Oooh, is it Evan?”

“No, it’s Evan’s assistant,” I said as I stared at the screen. “Her last text says there’s been a complication.”

“A complication?”

“She wasn’t more specific. The one thing she was clear on though, is this—the wedding’s been canceled.”

Chapter 6