Page 48 of Back to Square One

“All good?” Evie asked.

Rowan took a beat, so many responses bouncing around in her head, but she ultimately settled on, “Yup. You?”

“Absolutely.” Evie threw her bean bag directly into the hole.

“Shit,” Rowan said quietly as Evie laughed and Jasmine shouted, “That’s my partner!”

Without Rowan and Evie partnered up, the games were longer, which meant Rowan had time to take Evie in, even as she tried not to. That instant attraction she had to Evie hadn’t changed, even after all this time, even knowing what they’d gone through. It was practically magnetic; it pulled her, tugged her closer. Evie was tall. Rowan wasn’t short, but Evie was taller than her, and she’d always liked that. Found it to be a huge turn-on when Evie moved in to kiss her.

She swallowed hard, watching Evie throw her bean bag…the long line of her body, the curve of her ass. She tossed and then seemed to teeter a bit but caught her balance.

“Whoa,” she said, then grinned at Rowan.

“Air’s pretty thin up there, huh?” Rowan asked, an old joke teasing her about her height. “Do you still tip over putting your underwear on?” Another old joke, one she probably shouldn’t have trotted out, but she had, and Evie grinned back at her.

“It’s been a while, but yeah. Sometimes.”

Rowan threw her bean bag, knocking Evie’s into the hole. “Damn it.”

“And I thank you for that.” Evie’s dark eyes glittered in the sun, slight wrinkles in the corners when she smiled.

“Whatever I can do.”

They stood while their partners tossed, and then Evie muttered, “You look great, Rowan. I’ve been wanting to tell you that.”

“I mean, the ambush make-out session in the hallway yesterday was a pretty good indication that you think so.” Holy shit, she couldn’t believe she’d said it, but the words were out and hanging in the air between them, and instead of being mortified, Rowan was pretty proud of herself.

And instead of being upset, Evie barked a laugh and bumped up against Rowan with a shoulder. “Not terribly subtle of me, was it?”

“Not even a little bit.”

And that’s how the next two hours went. Drinks came out and Rowan had a beer, a regular one. Evie had a vodka tonic, her old drink of choice, Rowan knew. They weren’t always next to each other, but when they were, there was definite…was it flirting? It sure felt like it to Rowan—complimentary, sexy, a little edgy. Anybody looking in from the outside would have no idea of the history, of Rowan’s accident and memory loss or Evie breaking up with her and devastating her world. Anybody looking in from the outside would probably think they were two women very interested in each other, teasing, flirting, playing.

At one point, Rowan was grabbing another beer out of the cooler and glanced up at the house to see Claire standing on the balcony, watching them with an unreadable expression on her face. She went back to her chair where she’d been sitting next to Evie, and again she blurted before she could stop herself.

“Are you guys together now?” She said it quietly. Nobody heard her but Evie, who turned to her with a furrowed brow.

“Who?”

Rowan met her gaze, held it. “You and Claire.”

The brows that had been arched down now raised up toward Evie’s hairline. “What? Seriously? No, of course not.”

Rowan shrugged. “Seemed like a pretty reasonable assumption. I’m not the only one wondering.” She took a swig of her beer and returned her attention to the current game.

“Really?”

“You’re surprised?”

“I am. Yeah.”

“Evie.” Rowan turned her body in her chair to face her. “You showed up together. Nobody knew you were coming. You’re sharing a room and a bed. You’re fighting like lovers.”

“I shared a bed with you, too.” It was a lame counter, despite Evie’s little half-grin, and they both knew it.

“Exactly,” Rowan said.

A moment of quiet passed before Evie said, very softly, “No. We’re not together.”