His Best Friend's Wife (Bachelor Best Friends 2) - Page 48
“Good night, Evan.”
He kissed her lingeringly. “I’ll call you.”
Nodding—and wondering what she’d gotten herself into now—she closed herself into her car and started the engine.
* * *
Renae waited until the kids were in bed Sunday night before sitting down with Lucy for a talk over tea in the kitchen. She’d been gearing up for this all day, and she was as ready now as she would ever be for this overdue discussion.
It had been a busy day. After church, the pastor and his wife had joined them for a big lunch mostly prepared by Lucy. The weather was cool but clear, so Renae had taken the twins to a nearby playground that afternoon. After dinner they’d made popcorn and watched a DVD.
After the film, the twins had gotten into a tugging match over a toy they both wanted to play with, which had almost ended the otherwise pleasant day with them being sent to bed early as a consequence. Fortunately, they had gotten themselves under control and grudgingly apologized to each other beneath their mother’s stern gaze. They’d gone to bed an hour later with the usual hugs and kisses and giggles, the quarrel forgotten. Renae hadn’t tried to fool herself that it would be the last one—her children were generally well behaved, but they had their moments.
She hoped they wouldn’t have any of those “moments” at the arcade next weekend.
She hadn’t told them yet that they would be going on that outing. First she had to talk to Lucy.
She took a sip of her tea, then set the cup on the table, cradling it loosely between her hands. “We haven’t had a chance to talk about the party last night.”
Lucy lowered her own cup, looking over the top of her narrow, gold-framed glasses at Renae. “No, we haven’t. Did you have a nice time?”
“Yes, it was very nice. The auction was a success. They raised quite a bit for the charities, so the scholarship fund should get a nice little boost.”
“I’m happy to hear that.”
“I bid on doggie obedience classes, but I got outbid.”
Lucy gave a faint chuckle. “Those might have come in handy.”
“We’ll probably enroll him after the first of the year, anyway. You’ll be happy to know that your afghan went to a good home. Emma Grainger bought it. She absolutely loves it.”
“That’s the young woman we met at the River Market? Evan Daugherty’s girlfriend?”
“Yes, we met her, but she isn’t Evan’s girlfriend. They’re just friends.”
“Good for her. She seemed nice.” Too nice for Evan, she might as well have added.
Renae resisted a sigh. “She is nice. I enjoyed spending time with her last night.”
“I figured you were having a good time when you got home so late. Guess the party went on longer than you expected?”
Drawing a deep breath, Renae put her hands in her lap and laced her fingers together. It was ridiculous that she felt like a teenager making a confession to her mother—at least, this was the way she assumed she would feel in that situation she had never actually experienced. “I wasn’t actually at the party the whole evening. I spent some time visiting with Evan afterward.”
She didn’t know if her mother-in-law would figure out that she’d used visiting as a euphemism, but that was as much detail as Renae was willing to give on that count.
Whether she’d caught the nuance or not, Lucy stiffened hard enough to make her chair creak a little. “Just you and him?”
“Yes. I’ve seen him several times recently, Lucy. I didn’t mention it because I knew you’d disapprove, but I don’t want to hide it from you any longer.”
Lucy clung a bit longer to her shaky optimism. “I know you’ve been meeting him about the scholarship. Is that what you were talking about last night?”
“No. We have taken care of the scholarship, but we’ve also been meeting socially. I, um, guess you would call it dating.”
Blinking rapidly, Lucy asked in little more than a whisper, “You’re dating Evan Daugherty?”
That seemed
like the easiest way to explain it. “Yes. It’s all still tentative, and I don’t know where it’s headed, but I’m going to keep seeing him. For now.”
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