She grunted and crossed her arms.
“We’ll never know if we don’t try.”
“I guess.” She shot him a sidelong glance. “You got another cliché for me?”
Brad laughed. “Fake it ’til you make it? Eyes on the prize? Go for the gold?”
Lindsay rolled her eyes.
“Just think about it, all right? And, look, if you just want to use me for my hot body, I’m okay with that, too.” Brad wasn’t entirely sure why he was throwing himself at Lindsay so hard. Well, he did want her back. No one had ever fit with him or made him laugh or eased the old wounds in him the way Lindsay had, and he’d regretted every moment of his life since she’d walked away from him the first time. Oh, he’d dated other women—he was a man with a pulse, after all—but none of them measured up.
Her mouth twisted in a way that showed she was amused but didn’t want to be, a suppressed smile for the ages. He thought he almost had her when Evan walked in.
Lindsay, Evan, and Lauren had been friends since their undergrad days. Brad’s understanding of the situation was that Evan and Lauren were very close, but since Lindsay had moved to Brooklyn after culinary school, the three of them and Paige had started spending a lot of time together. It had been clear from their rapport at the adoption party that they were all close now in a way they hadn’t quite been five years ago.
Another clue was that Evan sat down and gave Brad the stink eye.
“I’m just waiting for Lauren,” said Brad. “She has some paperwork for me. She made me get a cat.”
“She does that,” said Evan.
“He dropped by to say hi to me, too,” said Lindsay.
“Did you guys kiss and make up or what?” asked Evan.
Lindsay looked horrified, so Brad decided not to betray anything. “No, no. She still hates me. Not for lack of effort on my part.”
Evan narrowed his eyes at Brad. It was like he was trying to see right through him. The intensity of Evan’s gaze was unnerving. “Uh, what are you doing?” asked Brad.
“Everyone at the cat café is in love with you, so I’m trying to figure out why.”
“I make good scones?”
“You’re not hard on the eyes, I guess,” said Evan.
Brad smiled.
“There it is,” said Lindsay.
“Oh,” said Evan. “That’s a persuasive argument.”
“What did I do?” Brad asked.
Evan laughed. “Not to be, like, a creepy guy on the street, but you should smile more.”
Brad filed that away for later.
“Anyway, sorry I’m late,” Evan said, his tone lighter. “The subway is pandemonium. Also, it’s a day ending iny.”
“Is Will coming?” Lindsay asked.
“No. I told him I had meetings all day, which is not really a lie.”
“Do you not want to see him?”
“I don’t know. I’m reevaluating.”
Brad sensed there was something going on here that Lindsay already knew about, but it felt invasive to ask, so he sat back and listened. He munched on a few more chips.
