Page 10 of Back to Square One

“I’m great. Haven’t felt this relaxed in a long time.” She shaded her eyes from the sun as she turned to look at Stevie. “Thanks for talking me into coming.”

“Welcome. I’m glad you did.” Stevie smiled at her as she slathered some sunscreen over her tattoos. Her bathing suit consisted of a pair of navy-blue board shorts and a sports bra in bright lime green with a navy-blue abstract pattern on it. Her blond hair was in wet spikes after her turn on the tube, and her sunglasses were wraparound. Her body was lean and muscular, and she looked like the epitome of a surfer. She let out a sigh of contentment as she lay back, and Rowan turned her attention to soaking up some sunshine.

It was late afternoon when they finally decided to head back to the house and start getting things ready for dinner. Lizzie chugged them back to the dock, expertly parking up against it as Stevie hopped out with ropes to secure the boat. Everybody grabbed bags and supplies, and as they headed up the hill to the house, a shout came down to them.

“Hey, you bitches! I drank all the beer!”

Rowan looked up as some of the others laughed and Becca called back, “You better not have!”

Claire had arrived. She stood at the edge of the deck, looking down at them, and as they climbed and the full deck came into view, Rowan stopped in her tracks at the sight of the second person, sitting in a chair, beer in her hand. Rowan’s heart began to pound like it was trying to escape her rib cage.

Evie.

Jesus Christ, Evie was here. Rowan’s gaze snapped to Stevie, who looked just as stricken, so she knew it was as much a surprise to her.

Everybody tromped into the house to set down bags and put stuff away, and hugs went all around, though Rowan kept her distance. Evie met her eyes and gave a sad smile, mouthed a hi in her direction. Rowan swallowed the lump in her throat and gave her a nod.

God, why does she have to look so good?

It was the thought that kept flying around in her head, bouncing off the inside of her skull like a fly that couldn’t find its way out. Evie was tall and lean, always had been, all long arms and legs. She’d always kept her dark hair long, but it was shorter now, the ends just coming to the bottom of her neck, the sides tucked behind her ears. No more cute ponytails for her, yet somehow, the new style suited her, framed her face nicely, made her big brown eyes more of a focal point, caused her to look slightly older and more sophisticated.

Stevie glanced at Rowan more than once, and she knew her friend was checking on her, taking her temperature, so to speak. At one point, she raised her light brows in clear question, and all Rowan could do was shrug.

Claire also glanced her way several times. Claire, who had been Evie’s best friend for years, and who Rowan always suspected might have harbored deeper feelings for Evie, though she had no proof of that.

“Dinner tonight is chicken on the grill,” Justine announced. “Everybody good with that?”

Murmurs of agreement went around the room as some people grabbed beers or cocktails and headed back out to the deck. That’s when Evie approached her.

“Hey,” she said softly as she got closer. She lifted a hand as if about to touch Rowan, then seemed to think better of it, and the hand dropped back down to her side. “How are you?”

Rowan tried to speak and ended up croaking like a bullfrog. With an internal sigh, she cleared her throat and tried again. “Great. I’m great. You?”

“Yeah, I’m good. Yeah.”

“You cut your hair.” She hadn’t meant to get personal, but the statement slipped out.

Evie’s hand went to the back of her neck, then tucked some hair behind her ear. “Yeah, I did. It’s easier to deal with in the—” She stopped and wet her lips, then shrugged. “It’s easier. And what about you? I heard about your accident. Your head—” Again, she reached out like she was going to touch Rowan’s temple, then thought better of it. “Is it all right?”

Rowan nodded. “It’s okay. Lots of memory loss, but some of it’s coming back. Slowly.” And then her eyes welled up, much to her horror, and she cleared her throat again.

I don’t love you anymore.

“It’s good to see you,” she said quickly, then moved around Evie to the kitchen where Stevie stood with one of her NAs. She grabbed it and headed out to the deck.

There were multiple conversations going on, and she did her best to pay attention, figure out which one she could jump into, but her brain suddenly felt super fatigued, and she had trouble focusing on what any one person was saying. Evie and Claire came out onto the deck, standing close to each other, and Rowan felt her stomach churn.

She turned and went back inside.

Justine was seasoning the chicken, and she glanced up at her. “Hey. You okay?”

“Give me something to do?” Rowan pleaded.

Justine held her gaze for a beat before pointing at the door to the pantry. “Salt potatoes are in there. Wanna get a bag started for me?”

“Absolutely.” She headed to the pantry, found four bags of potatoes, and grabbed one.

“I saw a giant pot down in that cupboard,” Justine said, pointing. “They should fit in that.”