His Best Friend's Wife (Bachelor Best Friends 2)

Twisting a dark strand of hair around one finger, Leslie gazed up at him. “I didn’t know him. But my Grammy says he was special.”

“He was special,” Evan assured her a bit huskily. “And he would have loved you and your brother very much.”

“Grammy says that, too.”

“Take the album back to my room now, Leslie,” Renae said, her throat tight.

“Yes, ma’am.” Leslie picked up the book, then hesitated, still looking at Evan. “We’re having a Christmas pageant at our church this week.”

Evan shot a look at Renae before nodding. “Yes, I heard.”

“Daniel’s going to be a shepherd boy and I’m an angel.”

Chuckling, Evan reached out to run a hand lightly over Leslie’s hair. “Perfect casting.”

Sensing what was coming, Renae braced herself, unsure how to stop it.

“Maybe you could come watch us?” Leslie asked Evan innocently. “They told us to ask all our friends.”

“I’m glad you consider me a friend. I’ll have to check my calendar about the pageant—I’m not sure I’ll be free that night. I know you and Daniel will be the stars of the program, though.”

“Okay. I hope you can come.” Leslie dashed out of the room again with the album.

Evan stood abruptl

y, his chair scraping on the tile floor. He carried his coffee cup to the sink, setting it on the counter. “I’d better go before Lucy gets home.”

Renae drew a deep breath and rose to her feet. “Evan? I’d like you to come to the pageant, too.”

His eyes narrowed as he frowned down at her. “You would?”

“Yes.”

“What about Lucy?”

She ran her hands over the front of her jeans. “I’ll talk to her.”

Stepping forward, Evan rested his hands on her shoulders, gazing down at her with an intensity that unnerved her a little. “I told you I don’t want to complicate your life. I meant that. I really appreciate you asking me to join you, but I won’t ruin your evening with Lucy and the kids.”

“I said I would talk to her. She won’t like it, but there’s not a lot she can do about it.”

He hesitated only a second, then shook his head with a sigh. “I would never ask you to choose between me and Lucy, Renae. For one thing, I know that ultimately, I would lose,” he said with a faint smile of resignation. “But mostly, it just wouldn’t be fair to you. She’s your family, your children’s grandmother. Maybe I don’t quite understand the arrangement you have, but I would never do anything to put a strain on your relationship with her.”

She swallowed a lump in her throat. “Thank you.”

“Things will settle down after the holidays, and in the meantime, I’ll see you when you have an available hour or two, okay?”

She reached up with her right hand to cover his left. “I really would like to have you there.”

“I believe you.” He brushed a chaste kiss across her forehead. “And I’d like to be there. Maybe in the future, I will be. But this time, I’d better pass. Give the kids my regrets, will you?”

Very aware of his mention of the future, she nodded. “I will.”

It would have been easy to believe that Evan had used Lucy as an excuse not to come to the church pageant, Renae thought as she watched him drive away after he said goodbye to the twins. The thing was, she thought he would really have liked to be there. Even after what had to have been a fairly miserable afternoon for him at the arcade, he was still trying to be a part of her life—and not just in bed.

Would it be completely reckless and irresponsible of her to hope that this wasn’t just physical after all?

Or had she unwittingly done that from the start?