Page 18 of Back to Square One

Rowan didn’t believe that for a second. One, because Jazzy didn’t seem like somebody who made stuff up. She seemed like the opposite: somebody very observant who saw things a lot of people didn’t. But mostly because she’d thought the same thing about Evie, and she didn’t understand it. If she didn’t have any kind of past with her, she’d have definitely thought Evie was flirting with her, making her interest known.

But she did have a past with Evie. She did. Evie had broken her heart. Evie had said she didn’t love her anymore. So, no. Evie had not been flirting with her. She had not been showing some kind of interest. She was simply having a good time, and Rowan happened to be there. That was it. That was all.

“Hey, there’s a couple of hot chicks on this dock!” The words cut through the air and yanked their attention out to the water, where Lizzie’s boat was chugging toward them, and Rowan was thankful to let go of that subject for the time being. Stevie waved, her wraparound sunglasses reflecting blue and silver back at Rowan, and the relief that suddenly washed through her was palpable. Stevie was her safe space now.

“How were the fish?” Rowan asked as she caught the rope Stevie tossed to her.

“Bitey,” Stevie replied. “I’d say we caught about a dozen between the two of us.”

Jazzy craned her neck, looking into the boat. “Where are they?”

Rowan explained, “She does catch and release.”

“The challenge for me is in catching them,” Stevie explained. “But I don’t want to eat them. I just toss ’em back.” The boat fully docked, Stevie shouldered her bag and grabbed her tackle box as Rowan wrapped an arm around her waist. “How was wine tasting?”

“Good. Fun.”

Jasmine and Lizzie walked ahead of them, so Stevie lowered her voice. “How’d it go with Evie?”

Rowan took a moment before answering truthfully, “A little weird. But I was fine.” She could feel Stevie’s eyes on her as they walked. “I missed you, though. And I really like Jasmine.” She indicated the two women in front of them.

“Jazzy’s great. She’s really kind of tamed Becca. Made her take a deep breath, you know?”

Rowan nodded. “I do.”

“Did you grab a nap today? How’re you feeling?”

As if her words were a trigger, Rowan felt her limbs suddenly get heavy. “I didn’t.” A glance at her watch told her she had some time before dinner. “Maybe I’ll do that now, so I don’t have to tap out early again tonight.”

“Good call.”

They were on the lawn now, but Rowan had a question she needed answered before they were in mixed company again. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Always.”

“Are Claire and Evie together now?”

Stevie shook her head and added a light shrug. “I honestly don’t know.”

Not the answer she was expecting. Or that she wanted. They headed up and into the house, and conversation was loud there as beers were passed out, and Rowan didn’t have the time to think about it anymore. She knew as soon as she went upstairs to nap, her brain would chug around in a circle, thinking about nothing else.

So, she decided right then, there would be no nap.

Chapter Five

By the time they’d all converged around the campfire, Rowan was yawning, paying for not taking a quick nap. At the same time, she was very glad to be sitting around the flames with her friends. Again, Evie sat across the fire from her, but this time, it was Claire who’d made sure that happened. Rowan had been sitting already, and Evie was clearly headed for the chair next to her when Claire hooked her arm and steered her to the other side of the fire. Rowan pretended not to have seen, poking unnecessarily at the fire.

“Hey. What do you think you’re doing?” Stevie took the stick from her hand. “Are you in charge of the fire?”

Rowan suppressed a grin. “No, ma’am, I am not.”

“And who is?”

“You are.”

“That’s right. Don’t you forget it.” Stevie started poking in the same spot Rowan had, making a show of slightly moving pieces of wood, shifting embers and sticks.

“Every group has a fire tender,” Jasmine said from two chairs down. “Don’t you think? In my family, it’s my brother Eddie. He just…” She shrugged. “Has a way with fire, I guess.”