To Evangeline’s surprise—and delight—the next morning she awoke surrounded by Drake’s warm, solid body. He was wrapped around her, her head nestled on his shoulder, his arms possessively anchored around her and one leg thrown over hers. She couldn’t have moved if she wanted, and it was certainly the last thing she wanted.

She let out a deep sigh of contentment, thinking she’d never been happier than in this moment.

“Good morning, Angel,” he murmured against her hair.

“Good morning,” she said, smiling against his shoulder.

“You’re smiling.”

She nodded.

“Any particular reason?”

“This is the first time I’ve woken up in your arms,” she said in a dreamy voice. “It’s . . . nice.”

He rubbed his hand up and down her back and then down to cup her behind.

“I found I didn’t like being away from you for even one night and I was reluctant to leave our bed so early this morning.”

“I’m glad. This is the very best way to wake up.”

He sighed. “Unfortunately, I can’t linger, as much as I’d like to. I’d rather spend the day home, making love to you and keeping you naked until you have to get ready to go to see your girls. But there are things I have to catch up on. Even a day away leaves me with a pile of shit to sort out.”

She tilted her head back and smiled up at him. “It’s okay, Drake. This was enough. You’ve made my entire day better already, and it’ll make me look forward to being back with you later tonight when you’ve concluded your business.”

He kissed her, taking his time exploring her mouth and lips. Then he rolled away, sliding from beneath the covers.

“Ah, how you tempt me, Angel. If I don’t get up now, I will indeed say fuck it and keep you in my bed all day.”

She rewarded him with a radiant smile and then made a shooing motion with her hand. “Go, or you’re going to be late. You can make it up to me tonight.”

A delicious gleam entered his eyes as he stared down at her body, exposed when he’d pulled the covers away to get out of bed.

“Oh, I’m going to make it up to you and a whole hell of a lot more.”

She shivered at the promise in his voice and watched appreciatively as he turned and walked naked to the bathroom. She lay there in his bed long after he’d kissed her good-bye and departed, not wanting to leave the warmth from his body still imprinted into the mattress.

Finally, she summoned her courage and slid her cell phone from the nightstand and brought up Lana’s name. She’d start there and rotate. Eventually someone would answer. Days off usually started slow because of the late night before, so she was certain at least one, if not all three, would be home.

Taking a deep breath, she hit connect and waited to see if Lana would answer.

To her shock, Lana picked up on the second ring.

“Hello?”

Evangeline’s enthusiasm waned, and she scolded herself for her paranoia rising in proportion. Lana sounded groggy and as though she’d been asleep, so she likely hadn’t even seen who was calling. Oh well. Evangeline was going to make the most of an opportunity.

“Lana, hi! It’s Evangeline. I’ve been trying to call you guys.”

There was a hesitation, and a period of quiet descended.

“Vangie?”

“Yes, it’s me. Did I wake you?”

Evangeline silently urged Lana not to take the out she was giving her and nearly did a fist pump when Lana said no.

“How are you?” Evangeline asked. “How is everyone? I miss you guys so much. Drake has an important meeting tonight, and I thought we could all get together since it’s your night off.”

“Uh, Vangie, give me a second, okay?”

Evangeline’s brow creased as the line went silent, and then she heard muffled sounds, Lana obviously getting out of bed and then the sound of a door shutting. A faucet running? Had she gone into the bathroom?

Understanding dawned, and directly on its heels came dread and deep sadness. Lana didn’t want Steph and Nikki to know she was talking to Evangeline. She closed her eyes, tears stinging the lids. Why did it have to be a choice between Drake and her best friends? Why couldn’t they be happy for her and wish her well?

“Uh, look, Vangie. I don’t want this to come across the wrong way, but Steph is pretty hurt over the way things went down. I don’t think it’s a good idea for us all to get together yet. Give it a few more weeks. Let her chill.”

“Why can’t she be happy for me?” Evangeline whispered. “Why can’t all of you be happy for me?”

Lana sighed. “We want what’s best for you. We’re just not sure this Drake guy is what’s best.”

“Shouldn’t that be my decision?”

Lana sighed again. “I’m just telling you like it is. You know how Steph is. She holds a grudge a long time, but eventually she’ll let go of it. Just give it time.”

“Would you and Nikki meet me somewhere this evening?” Evangeline asked, desperate to salvage something out of this whole fiasco.

“It’s not even an issue,” Lana said with a hint of impatience in her voice. “We have to work tonight. Open to close.”

Evangeline frowned. “But this is y’all’s day off. It’s always been your day off.”

“Not anymore,” Lana said bitterly. “Not since you left. We’re short staffed and everyone is having to take extra shifts to cover until management hires a replacement, and he’s a little too happy to be pocketing that extra salary, so he’s in no hurry to hire someone new.”

Evangeline closed her eyes, guilt and grief vying for equal attention. Despite Lana’s assertion that Steph was the one holding a grudge and she was the one “unhappy” with Evangeline, it was obvious that Lana wasn’t any more eager to reconcile than the others.

“I’m sorry to have bothered you,” Evangeline whispered. “I’ll let you go so you can go back to sleep. You have a long shift tonight.”

Before Lana could respond, Evangeline slid her finger over the button to end the call and cradled the phone to her chest, lying still, staring sightlessly up at the ceiling. The tears that had threatened during the call fell freely now, sliding from the corners of her eyes, over her temples and into her hair, dampening the pillow her head rested on.

Never in a million years would she have imagined herself to be a woman who chose a man over her best girlfriends, and yet that was exactly what she’d done. She couldn’t blame her friends for being upset or feeling betrayed. One day things had been normal, and the next everything had changed.

“I don’t regret it,” she whispered fiercely.

Drake was worth it. And if Steph, Lana and Nikki were true friends, they would have supported her from the start. They would have wanted her to be happy instead of remaining stuck in the same mundane, going-nowhere life she’d led.

She stayed in bed, staring at the ceiling, grieving the loss of three people she loved dearly. She couldn’t find it in her heart to assign blame or even resent her friends for their actions. Evangeline had acted completely out of character. Irrationally, to be honest. Things had worked out, but there were so many ways the entire situation could have gone very wrong.

If it had been one of them who’d been so impulsive, Evangeline would have reacted in the same manner. She would have fought and tried to make her friend see reason.

But love didn’t have an assigned set of rules. Love was worth any sacrifice. Just as she couldn’t—wouldn’t—blame her friends for their feelings, never would she regret her decision to be with Drake.

She loved him.

And he cared for her too. Did he love her? She wasn’t sure. But she knew she had a very important place in his life. Could he love her? Absolutely. In the beginning, she would have said that never in a million years could someone like Drake ever love someone like her, but he’d proved his words over and over. He’d proved they weren’t just words meant to elicit a desired response. And it wasn’t just about sex, because God knew, he could have any woman he wanted with nothing more than a look.

She’d seen the way women followed him with their gazes. Openly lustful expressions. Flirtatious. Brazen invitations. And yet when he was with her, it was as if other women simply didn’t exist. His attention was always solely focused on her.

She rolled to her stomach and then forced herself to sit up. She wouldn’t lie there the entire day disheartened when she’d been blessed by such a precious gift. Drake. Her life had forever changed the night she’d walked into Impulse, and looking back, she wouldn’t change a single thing leading up to that night because she wouldn’t have met Drake otherwise.

She sighed. So much for her plans for the evening. She supposed she needed to come up with a plan B and notify Drake, who would then notify Maddox. But try as she might, nothing appealed. She had no desire to go out without Drake or her girls.

If only Drake didn’t have that damn business meeting here tonight.

She came to an abrupt halt as she started to climb out of bed, her mind running at the speed of light. She knew he was having the delivery service cater his meeting and there were six guests. She could kick the delivery service’s ass any day of the week and knock Drake and his associates’ socks off with a decadent meal.

The more she thought about it, the more excited she became. There was no need of him having his delivery service bring in food for his meeting when she could arrange a kick-ass dinner and play the consummate hostess for him. She wanted to make him proud of her, prove that she could fit into his world and not shame him in front of the people he associated with.

She’d go all out for the meal and prepare something worthy of a five-star restaurant, and she’d dress to the nines and even wear the expensive jewelry he’d bought for her. The jewelry she’d been so reluctant to accept. Once dinner was served and she ensured everyone’s comfort and enjoyment, she would discreetly disappear so they could discuss their business matters without her underfoot.

But there was a lot she had to do and if she didn’t get started now, her plans would be an epic fail.

The first order of business was to plan the menu and so after showering and changing, she sat down at the bar in the kitchen and prepared a list of all the items she’d require. Then she’d simply call Edward and have him send out for the groceries.

That task completed, she went into her closet and spent an hour pondering her wardrobe possibilities. She didn’t want to be over the top or look like she was trying to impress, even if that was precisely what she wanted to do. Impress Drake. But she wanted . . . classy. Beautiful, elegant and yet simple.

Finally, she chose a blue strapless, knee-length cocktail dress that was perfect. She realized with excitement that the sapphire and diamond choker that she’d never worn would look perfect with the dress, and she could wear the diamond stud earrings Drake had bought for her. She’d finish off the look with the diamond tennis bracelet and a pair of silver heels. She’d wear her hair up to best show off the choker and earrings and allow a few tendrils to float down her neck and cheeks and use a curling iron to make loose ringlets.

Her brain came to a screeching halt when she remembered the single most important barrier to her pulling off her big surprise. Maddox. And the fact that he was supposed to be taking her to her girlfriends’ apartment.

She frowned. Think, damn it. There had to be a way.

Wait. Lana had said they were all working tonight. Open to close, which meant the apartment would be empty, and she still had a key. All she had to do was arrange as much as she could in advance, then have Maddox drive her to the apartment. He’d wait in the car while she went up, and she could climb down the fire escape, hustle a few blocks over and hail a cab back to Drake’s.

“You’re a genius, Evangeline!” she said gleefully.

Her plan was flawless and totally doable. Maddox would never suspect that she would bail out the fire escape, and she could be back in plenty of time to dress and finish preparations before Drake arrived with his guests.

Satisfied that she’d planned for every eventuality, she laid out her wardrobe for the evening and then picked a simple outfit to wear out with Maddox. Something that wouldn’t impede her climb down the fire escape from the seventh floor.

The rest of the day dragged on with Evangeline checking her watch every half hour, willing time to go faster. She breathed a sigh of relief when Edward personally brought up the groceries she’d ordered and winked at her when she anxiously told him not to breathe a word to anyone about his outing. She told him the truth, that she was planning a surprise for Drake, and he seemed delighted to be included in the plotting.

Happy to now have something to pass the time with, she put together everything she could beforehand, preparing three different appetizers and two choices of sauces to accompany the veal she would pop into the oven the minute she returned home from her girlfriends’.

She mixed the ingredients for the sides and then slipped them in the refrigerator. Satisfied that dinner was arranged and would only require half an hour cooking time at most when she arrived back, she checked her watch and then squeaked. It was already four thirty!

She dashed to the bedroom and hastily brushed out her hair, securing it into a messy bun, and then found a pair of casual slip-on shoes. After a quick once-over in the mirror—after all, she was just going to her girlfriends’ apartment—she hurried back to the kitchen just to double-check and mentally go over her menu one last time to ensure she hadn’t overlooked anything.

“Evangeline? You ready to go?” Maddox called from the foyer.

Adrenaline surged in her veins and she took a few seconds to steady her frayed nerves and then calmly called back, “Yeah. Let me grab my purse and I’ll be right there.”

She sucked in a deep breath as she collected her bag and headed to meet Maddox.

Well, here went nothing. Hopefully her plans went off without a hitch and she’d make Drake proud tonight by playing the consummate hostess.