See Me(53)

“Why?

“Because she’s Lily,” Evan said, sounding exasperated. “She probably wants to ask whether you’ve handwritten a card to Maria with fancy calligraphy. Or she’ll offer to help you select the perfect silk scarf for Maria’s birthday. Or she wants to make sure you use the right spoon for your soup if you take her to the country club. You know how she is. But she brought home an extra bag, and she won’t tell me what’s in it.”

“Why not?”

“Stop asking questions that I can’t answer!” Evan sighed. “All I know for sure is that every time I tried to make my move, she told me that I had to wait. Because of you. And just so you know? I’m not happy about it. I was really looking forward to tonight. I needed tonight. I’ve had a crappy day.”

“Okay.”

Evan scowled at Colin’s answer. “Why was it crappy, you ask?” he said, mimicking Colin. “Gee, thanks for asking, Colin. I appreciate your empathy. You plainly care about my well-being.” He stared down at his friend. “It turns out that there was a terrible jobs report this morning, and the market tanked. And though I have no control over those things, I was nonetheless on the phone all afternoon with upset clients. And then, I get home and my house smells like a locker room, and now I have to wait for her to talk to you before my night can really begin.”

“Let me change first. I’ll be over in a couple of minutes.”

“I surely hope not,” Lily said to Colin, suddenly appearing next to Evan on the porch, wearing a yellow sundress. She slid her hand into her fiancé’s and smiled up at him sweetly. “You wouldn’t think of letting him come over without a chance to shower, would you, Evan? The poor man is practically soaked through. We can surely wait a few more minutes. Merely allowing him to change his clothes wouldn’t be proper.”

When Evan didn’t answer, Colin cleared his throat. “She does have a point, Evan. It wouldn’t be proper.”

Evan glared. “Fine. Go shower. And start your laundry. And then come over.”

“Oh, don’t be so hard on him,” Lily scolded. “It’s not his fault that you invested your clients’ money in the wrong companies.”

She secretly winked at Colin.

“I didn’t invest in the wrong companies! It wasn’t my fault! Everything was down today.”

“I’m just teasing you, sugar,” she drawled. “I know you had an awful day and that it wasn’t your fault. That mean old Mr. Market just took advantage of you, didn’t he?”

“You’re not helping,” Evan said.

Lily turned her attention to Colin again.

“Have you spoken to your lady friend today?” she asked.

“I talked to her before I went running.”

“Did you bring flowers to her office like I recommended?”

“No.”

“Candy?”

“No.”

“Whatever am I going to do with you?”

“I don’t know.”

She smiled before tugging Evan’s hand. “We’ll see you in a few minutes, okay?”

Colin watched them head back inside before entering his apartment. He stripped on his way to the bathroom and added his clothes to the laundry pile, noting that Evan was right. The pile reeked. He started a load of laundry and hopped in the shower. Afterward, he threw on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt before making his way back to Evan’s.

Evan and Lily were sitting beside each other on the couch. Of the two, it was clear that Lily was the only one who was happy Colin was there.

“Colin! I’m so pleased you could join us,” Lily said, rising from her spot, obviously ignoring the fact that they’d just talked. “May we offer you something to drink?”

“Water, please.”

“Evan? Will you please get Colin some water?”

“Why?” Evan asked, leaning back, his arm over the top of the couch. “He knows where it is. He can get his own water.”

Lily turned toward him. “It’s your home. And you’re the host.”

“I didn’t ask him to come over. You did.”

“Evan?”

The way she said his name made it plain that Evan had no choice in the matter. That and the way she looked, of course. She was not only far and away the most beautiful woman Evan had ever dated, but she was well versed in the ways of using her appearance to her advantage.

“Fine,” he grumbled, rising from the couch. “I’ll get him a glass of water.”

Evan slouched off toward the kitchen.

“With ice, please,” Colin called out.

Evan scowled over his shoulder before Colin took a seat in the easy chair across from Lily.

“How are you this evening?” she asked.

“Okay.”

“And Maria?”

Earlier on the phone, Maria had told him what had happened with her boss Ken Martenson and as he’d listened, Colin had found his jaw beginning to clench. Though he’d kept his voice steady, he’d imagined having a little talk with Ken, the kind that made it clear that it was in Ken’s best interest to stop bothering her. He hadn’t said that to Maria, but when he found himself grinding his teeth after hanging up, he’d thrown on his workout gear and gone running. It wasn’t until he’d nearly finished his run that he’d begun to feel normal again.