When she entered the house, the tension in the kitchen stopped her like an invisible wall. What the heck? Evan and her sister had chosen opposite sides of the center island. An almost empty wine bottle sat between them. Lily’s mouth was set in unhappy lines. Her gaze dropped from Evan to the bowl of lettuce on the counter before her.
“Evan, this is a surprise.” Ming eyed the vase of flowers beside the sink. Daisies. The same big bunch he always gave her after they’d had a difference of opinion. He thought the simple white flower represented a sweet apology. He was nothing if not predictable. Or maybe not so predictable. Why had he shown up on her doorstep without calling?
Lily didn’t look Ming’s way. Had her sister shared with Evan her dismay about Ming’s decision to have a baby? Stomach churning, she set Muffin down. The terrier headed straight for her food bowl.
“What brings you here?” Ming asked.
“I came by to… Because…” He appeared at a loss to explain his reason for visiting.
“Are you staying for dinner? Lily’s making rack of lamb. I’m sure there’s enough for three, or I should say four, since usually she makes it for whomever she’s dating at the time.”
Evan’s gaze sliced toward Lily. “You’re dating someone?”
“Not dating exactly, just using him for sex.” Ming lowered her voice. “Although I think she’s ready to find someone she can get serious about. That’s why she’s moving to Portland.”
“And the guy she’s seeing.” Since Lily refused to look up from the lettuce she was shredding, Evan directed the question at Ming. “She can’t get serious about him?”
“She says they’re just friends.” The Yorkie barked and Ming filled Muffin’s bowl. “Isn’t that right, Lily?”
“I guess.” Lily’s gaze darted between Ming and Evan.
“So, when are you expecting him to show?”
“Who?”
“The guy you’re preparing the lamb for.”
“There’s no guy,” Lily retorted, her tone impatient. “I told you I was craving lamb. No big deal.”
Ming felt the touch of Evan’s gaze. She’d been using Lily’s love life to distract him from whatever purpose he had for visiting her tonight. Something about Evan had changed in the past year. The closer they got to their wedding, the more he’d let things irritate him. A part of her had been almost relieved when he called things off.
What was he doing here tonight? She glanced at the daisies. If he was interested in getting back together, his timing was terrible.
“I’m going to head upstairs and unpack,” she told them, eager to escape. “Evan, make sure you let me know if Lily’s mystery man shows up. I’m dying to meet him.”
“There’s no mystery man,” her sister yelled up the stairs at her.
Ming set her suitcase on the bed and began pulling clothes out of it. She put everything where it belonged, hamper and dry cleaning pile for the things she’d worn, drawers and hangers for what she hadn’t. When she was done, only one item remained. A white silk nightie. Something a bride might wear on her wedding night. She’d bought it in San Francisco two days ago specifically for her weekend with Jason.
Now what was she supposed to do with it?
“Ming?”
She spun around at the sound of Evan’s voice. “Is Lily’s date here?”
His gaze slid past her to the lingerie draped over the foot of her bed. He stared at it for a long moment before shifting his attention back to her.
“I’ve wanted to talk to you about something.”
Her pulse jerked. He was so solemn. This couldn’t be good. “You have? Let’s go have dinner and chat.”
He put up his hands as she started for the door. “This is something we need to discuss, just us.”
Nothing that serious could ever be good. “You know, I’m in a really good place right now.” She pulled her hair over one shoulder and finger-combed it into three sections. “The practice is booming. Terry wants me to buy him out.” Her fingers made quick work of a braid and she snagged a scrunchy off her nightstand. “I’m happy.”
“And I don’t want that to change. But there’s something you need to know—”
“Dinner’s ready.”
Ming cast her sister a grateful smile. “Wonderful. Come on, Evan. You’re in for a treat.” She practically raced down the stairs. Her glass of wine was on the counter where she’d left it and Ming downed the contents in one long swallow. Wincing at the taste, she reached into her wine cooler and pulled out a Shiraz.
Over dinner, Evan’s sober expression and Lily’s preoccupation with her own thoughts compelled Ming to fill the awkward silence with a series of stories about her trip to San Francisco and amusing anecdotes about Wendy’s six-year-old daughter. By the time the kitchen was cleaned up and the dishwasher happily humming, she was light-headed from too much wine and drained from carrying the entire conversation.
Making no attempt to hide her yawns, Ming headed upstairs and shut her bedroom door behind her. In the privacy of her large master suite, she stripped off her clothes and stepped into the shower. The warm water pummeled her, releasing some of the tension from her shoulders. Wrapped in a thick terry-cloth robe, she sat cross-legged on her window seat and stared out over her backyard. She had no idea how long her thoughts drifted before a soft knock sounded on her door.
Lily stuck her head in. “You okay?”
“Is Evan gone?”
Lily nodded. “I’m sorry about what I said to you earlier.”
“You’re not wrong. I am being selfish.” Ming patted the seat beside her. “But at the same time you know that once I decide to do something, I give it my all.”
Lily hugged Ming before sitting beside her on the window seat. “If anyone is going to be supermom it’s you.”
“Thanks.” Ming swallowed past the tightness in her throat. She hated fighting with Lily. “So, what’s up with Evan?”
“What do you mean?”
“When I came in tonight, he looked as grim as I’ve ever seen him. I figured he was explaining why he showed up out of the blue.” Ming knew her sister had always been partial to Jason’s older brother. Often in the past six months, Ming thought Lily had been the sister most upset about the broken engagement. “You two became such good friends these last few years. I thought maybe he’d share with you his reason for coming here tonight.”
“Do you think Jason told him that you want to have a baby?”
“He wouldn’t do that.” Ming’s skin grew warm as she imagined where she’d be right at this moment if she hadn’t run out on Jason. Naked. Wrapped in his arms. Thighs tangled. Too happy to move. “I know this sounds crazy, but what if Evan wants to get back together?”
“Why would you think he’d want to do that?” Lily’s voice rose.
“I don’t. Not really.” Ming shook her head. “It’s just that after I told Jason I wanted to get pregnant, he was so insistent that I’m not over Evan.”
“Are you?” Her sister leaned forward, eyebrows drawn together. “I mean Evan broke up with you, not the other way around.”
Ming toyed with the belt of her robe. The pain of being dumped eased a little more each day, but it wasn’t completely gone. “It really doesn’t matter how I feel. The reasons we broke up haven’t changed.”
“What if they did? What if the problems that came between you were gone? Out of the picture?” Lily was oddly intent. “Would you give him another chance?”
Ming tried to picture herself with Evan now that she’d tasted Jason’s kisses. She’d settled for one brother instead of fighting for the other. That was a mistake she wouldn’t make again. She’d rather be happy as a single mom than be miserable married to a man she didn’t love.
“I’ve spent the last six months reimagining my life without Evan,” she told her sister. “I’d rather move forward than look back.”
*
At a little after 8:00 p.m., Jason sat in his car and stared at Ming’s house. When she’d left him in Mendocino, his pride had kept him from chasing after her for a little over two hours. He’d come to California to spend the weekend with Ming, not to pace a hotel room in a frenzy of unsatisfied desire. Confident she wouldn’t miraculously change her mind and return to him, Jason had gotten behind the wheel and returned to the San Francisco airport, where he’d caught a 6:00 a.m. flight back to Houston.
He hadn’t liked the way things had been left between them, and her text message gave him hope she hadn’t, either. After catching a few hours of sleep, he’d come here tonight to talk her into giving his strategy one last shot.
But the sight of his brother’s car parked in Ming’s driveway distracted him. What the hell was Evan doing here? Had he come to tell Ming that he was dating her sister? If so, Jason should get in there because Ming was sure to be upset.
He had his hand on the door release when her front door opened. Despite the porch light pouring over the couple’s head, he couldn’t see Lily’s expression, but her body language would be visible from the moon.