Page 24 of Fixing Hearts

Fourteen

E velyn hadn’t slept much. She had tossed and turned all night, staring at the ceiling, staring at her phone, willing it to light up with a message from Jo.

But it never did, and that, more than anything, made her stomach sink.

She had told herself she wasn’t going to overthink it.

That she and Jo weren’t serious yet, that they were still figuring things out, but the truth was, she had wanted Jo to call.

In a tiny part of her, she had expected it even.

The fact that Jo hadn’t bothered to call her told Evelyn everything she needed to know.

She had been right to put on the brakes last night.

She groaned. Even though it was Saturday, she had to go to work today.

She had deadlines, research to finalize, and a board presentation to prepare for, but she had no energy for it.

Dragging herself out of bed, she shuffled into the kitchen, making herself a cup of coffee.

Standing by the window as she sipped it, she watched the early morning light filter through the trees outside.

Her thoughts drifted once again to Jo. Did she still stay at the bar after I left?

she wondered. Did she go home with someone else?

Evelyn clenched her jaw, hating that she even cared. She needed to talk to someone.

Before she could second guess herself, she grabbed her phone and called her sister, Jasmine. The phone rang twice before her sister picked up, sounding groggy. “Evie?” Jasmine’s voice came over the speaker on Evelyn’s phone. “It’s barely seven. Are you dying?”

Evelyn let out a weak laugh. “No,” she said. “I just needed to talk.”

There was a pause, then the sound of rustling sheets as Jasmine sat up. “Okay,” she said, suddenly more alert. “What’s wrong?”

Pressing her fingers to her temple, Evelyn sighed. “It’s Jo.”

“Oh, boy,” Jasmine said with a groan. “What did she do?”

Closing her eyes, Evelyn hesitated. “Nothing. That’s the problem.”

Jasmine was quiet for a beat. “Start from the beginning.”

Evelyn did. She told her about going to Sapphire , about sort of seeing Jo with another woman, about how Jo had explained everything and how Evelyn had believed her but still hadn’t been able to shake the doubt.

“And then,” Evelyn finished. “I went home. And I thought she would at least call me. But she didn’t. Not a text. Not anything.”

“Damn,” Jasmine exhaled.

“Yeah.”

There was a long silence. “Are you sure you’re being fair?” Jasmine finally said, and Evelyn frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Jasmine said. “You said you believed her. You know she wasn’t doing anything wrong. So why are you acting like she betrayed you?” Evelyn opened her mouth, then closed it. Jasmine continued. “You pulled back first, Evie. Clearly, you needed space. Maybe she was respecting that.”

Evelyn shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t know…”

“Look, I get it,” Jasmine said with a sigh. “You’ve always been careful about relationships. You don’t trust easily, and that’s fine. But don’t push her away only because you’re scared.”

“I’m not scared,” Evelyn said a little too fast.

Jasmine snorted. “You so are.” Pinching the bridge of her nose, Evelyn groaned. Jasmine’s voice softened. “You like her. And I think she likes you too. So maybe give her a chance before you decide she’s like every other mistake you’ve never actually made.”

“You really think I should call her?” Evelyn said, rubbing her forehead.

“Yes,” Jasmine said firmly. “Before you drive yourself crazy.”

Evelyn paused for a beat and then, finally, she gave in. “Okay,” she murmured.

“Good,” Jasmine said. “Now let me go back to sleep.”

“Fine,” Evelyn said with a laugh. “Thanks, Jasmine.”

“Anytime,” Jasmine said. “Go fix your love life.”

Evelyn rolled her eyes and hung up. She stared at her phone for a long moment. Then, before she could lose her nerve, she scrolled to Jo’s name and pressed the icon to call. The phone rang once. Twice. Then… “Evelyn?” Jo’s voice was rough, like she hadn’t slept much either.

Evelyn hesitated. “Hey.”

There was a pause, and then Jo exhaled. “Hey.”

“I wanted to check in,” Evelyn said in a rush. “See how you are doing.” She bit her lip. Jo was quiet for a second.

Then she let out a laugh, but there was no humor in it. “Well,” she said. “You picked a hell of a time to call.”

“What do you mean?” Evelyn asked, her chest tightening with concern. “Is everyone okay?”

“Yeah,” Jo said with a tired sigh. “But my garage got broken into.”

Evelyn’s stomach dropped. “What?” she asked. “When?”

“Last night,” Jo muttered. “Got a call from the cops right after you left the bar. Someone smashed the front windows, trashed the place. Took some tools, some parts. I spent the whole damn night dealing with police reports.”

“Jo, I’m so sorry.”

Jo let out a slow breath. “Yeah,” she muttered. “Me too.”

Clutching the phone tighter, all Evelyn’s doubts, all her assumptions about last night, suddenly faded into the background. Jo hadn’t called her, not because she didn’t care, but because her entire world had been shaken. “Jo…” Evelyn said softly, still processing an idea.

“So, yeah,” Jo said. “I’m sorry, but that’s why I didn’t call or text.” Even though she knew she still had a lot of work to do at the office, Evelyn decided it could wait a little longer.

She smiled. “Jo,” she said. “I’m coming over.”

Leaning against the kitchen counter, Jo blinked. “What?”

“I’ll be there in thirty minutes,” Evelyn said, her voice leaving no room for argument. “I’ll make you breakfast. And help however I can.”

Closing her eyes for a moment, Jo realized how much she needed to hear that right now.

For the past eight hours, she had been running on fumes, trying to push through the exhaustion, the frustration, the violation of someone breaking into her shop.

But suddenly, for the first time since it happened, she felt like she wasn’t handling it alone.

“You don’t have to do that,” she said softly.

“I know,” Evelyn said. “But I want to.”

“Thank you,” Jo murmured. “See you soon.” She hung up, staring at the phone for a beat.

Then, finally, she let herself relax a little.

Evelyn was coming. Before she even realized what she was doing, Jo pulled out flour, sugar, and eggs.

There was time to wait until Evelyn arrived, so she stuck to her go-to baking.

She needed it to calm herself down and help her feel like she had control over something.

By the time she was scooping dough onto the baking sheet, the tension in her shoulders had eased a little. Her phone buzzed on the counter.

She wiped her hands on a towel before picking it up to see a text from Mica. “Am I fired?”

Jo snorted. “No, dumbass,” she wrote.

A text came back. “Good. That would have sucked. Sorry for being an insensitive jerk last night.”

Leaning against the counter, Jo sighed and messaged back. “I forgive you.”

“Whew,” Mica sent. “How’s everything with the garage?”

The anxiety Jo had shrugged off slowly came back. “A mess,” she said. “I’ll see you Monday.”

“Yep. Hang in there.”

Jo set the phone down and checked the clock.

Evelyn should be here any minute, she thought, a warmth filling her and easing her nerves a little.

Then the doorbell rang as if Jo had conjured her out of thin air.

She didn’t hesitate, going to the door and pulling it open.

Evelyn stood there, her expression even more comforting than Jo had expected.

“Hi,” Evelyn said, and then, without saying a word, without hesitation, Jo stepped forward and pulled Evelyn into her arms. Evelyn let out a small sound of surprise, but then she melted against her, holding her just as tightly.

For the first time since last night, Jo felt like she could finally breathe.

Evelyn stretched her legs out on Jo’s couch, feeling the warmth of a delicious breakfast settle into her body.

Jo sat beside her, one arm draped lazily over the back of the cushions, her eyes heavy-lidded, her body clearly running on fumes after the long, stressful night.

Evelyn nudged her gently. “You need to sleep.”

Letting out a soft chuckle, Jo rubbed her eyes. “Yeah, well,” she said. “Hard to sleep when your whole world gets trashed in the middle of the night.”

Feeling her heart tighten, Evelyn reached over, slipped her fingers through Jo’s, and squeezed lightly. “Come on,” she said, standing and giving Jo’s hand a gentle tug. “Bed. Now.”

Raising an eyebrow, Jo smiled despite her obvious exhaustion. “Bossy,” she said, and Evelyn rolled her eyes.

“You love it,” she said. “Now, come on.” Jo laughed but didn’t argue.

Instead, she let Evelyn pull her toward the bedroom, their hands still linked as they walked down the short hallway.

Inside, the room was simple but comfortable.

There was a large bed, dark sheets, and a dresser with a few scattered belongings on top.

Jo paused inside the door, suddenly looking shy in a way Evelyn hadn’t seen before. “You don’t have to stay,” Jo said, glancing at her. “I know you have work to do.”

Knowing Jo was right, but also knowing what needed to happen next, Evelyn took a deep breath to summon her nerve.

I can do this, she thought. I want this.

Reaching for the hem of her shirt, Evelyn stepped closer.

“I’m staying,” she said, and she watched Jo swallow hard as Evelyn pulled off her top, leaving herself in only a soft cotton tank.

Jo’s gaze darkened slightly, but she didn’t move.

Evelyn tilted her head. “You planning to sleep in jeans?”