✨Bri✨

The moment the door closed behind them, Evan burst out laughing. He threw his head back and leaned against the wood frame of the large shop window. It was the first time Pandora had heard him release more than a chuckle in years. She didn’t even care that it was at her own expense. Her brother looked free.

“What d-did you d-do?” Evan choked out, waving a hand at his face as a rosy hue tinted his olive complexion.

Pandora adjusted the shoulder strap of her purse and sighed heavily. “You don’t want to know. Can we go to lunch now? I’d really like to forget that happened.”

“Oh no, you better explain yourself,” Evan insisted, tripping over her heels to follow when she turned to walk away. “I didn’t think it was possible to fluster her like that! She’s so confident and self-assured, even when she’s stressed. Barty said she threw him up against a wall the last time he flirted with her. How did you cause that?”

“Wait, what?” 

Pandora turned to look at him and promptly became twisted up in her maxi skirt. Annoyed, she grabbed his arm for balance as she tried to tug it free from her boot. Her brother’s deeply ingrained gentlemanly instincts kicked in as he stood tall and stabilised his arm while she leaned into him.

“I can’t even imagine—” Pandora said, cutting herself off with a huff. “Ugh, this skirt! Evan, who is this Barty and what did he say to her?”

Evan shrugged nonchalantly, but she could tell he was uncomfortable. “A friend I went to Amsterdam with a year ago. He has family there, I guess. Look, I know Barty’s…a little wild, but he wouldn’t hurt Lily. They’re old friends or something.”

“Old friends? Isn’t that a euphemism for exes?” she said, rolling her eyes. 

When she finally unwound her skirt from the buckle of her boot, Pandora straightened. She glanced up at Evan to continue their conversation, but found him staring over her head with a frown. Pandora tried to follow his stare, but there was nothing of interest on the wall behind her. 

“What? What’s wrong?” 

Evan shook his head clear, blinking rapidly. “I never considered that they could be exes. He said ‘old friends’ and I just assumed that was all there was to it.”

Pandora studied his expression closely as he spoke. He was genuinely caught off-guard by the possibility. While there was always a chance that she was wrong, her experience in psychotherapy said otherwise. Men especially tended to refer to exes as “old friends” to their new partners in an attempt to minimise their past relationship. There were a variety of motivations for it, but most often, they simply wanted to maintain contact with that ex without alerting their new partner.

“So, this Barty fellow told you that he flirted with her,” she checked, “and you didn’t think they were exes?”

“He can flirt with whoever he wants. Not that it matters to me, but no I didn’t make that connection when he was helping me get the interview.” Evan ducked his head, chin resting on his chest as his eyes flitted over the pavement in concentration. 

Well, either he and Evan really are just friends or it’s a situationship. None of my business, either way.

Pandora tucked her arm under his and tugged him forward. “Fair enough. Let’s find lunch.”

“Right,” he agreed. They made it a dozen steps before he turned that shit-eating grin on her again. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten about you and Lily, by the way. Best to spit out now than make me dig it out of you later.”

“Fine, but it’s not that exciting. Dorcas and I met her at a pub last week, and we kind of…hit it off.” 

Evan’s eyebrows shot up his forehead. “Hit it off? Did you…Pandora, tell the truth, did you sleep with her?”

“I may have spent the night at her house, yes,” she replied, lifting her chin defiantly. “I had no idea she was your boss though, I swear!”

“How does that even happ–”

“If it makes you feel any better,” Pandora interrupted, “I left her my number and asked her to call me, but she didn’t. I’d say it’s pretty clear she wasn’t expecting to see me again…probably ever.”

He hummed to himself, his teasing tone vanishing in a matter of seconds. “She was surprised, obviously, but I don’t think she was upset to see you. Just surprised.”

“Well, I don’t intend to show up again. This was a fluke. You and I will have to meet at the restaurant if we do lunch again.” Pandora steered him toward a cafe that advertised fresh scones, hoping food would distract him. “Let’s eat here. Smells good, right?”

“Why not ask her out properly?” he pressed, narrowing his eyes as they sat at an empty table. “If she was good enough in bed for you to give her your number, why avoid her now?”

Pandora opened the menu and ignored his questions. She didn’t think he’d understand her approach with Lily, or at least wouldn’t approve of it. Evan preferred straight forward, uncomplicated relationships with clearly defined parameters. Waiting on a potential partner to make a move was not his style.

“Oh, come on, ma crevette,” Evan crooned. He tapped the back of her hand persistently until she lowered the menu. “Are you a coward?”

“No, I’m accepting a rejection for what it is. Respecting her boundaries, etcetera.”

He hesitated, gaze flicking past her shoulder for a moment. “I know that whole setting boundaries thing is a big deal for you, but I really think you should ask her.”

“Evan–”

“No, listen! She’s clever and has a wicked sense of humour. Twice today, she’s had Remus and I fighting back laughter while she’s on the phone. I think you’d get on,” Evan insisted. 

Pandora allowed his words to settle in her mind, taking them at face value before analysing them. She seriously doubted that her brother would have suggested she ask out his boss if they hadn’t already met. There was an ulterior motive here…and then it hit her. “You’re afraid Barty is going to pursue her, aren’t you?”

“No! I told you, it doesn’t matter to me what he–”