Cori and Evan both rose.

“You couldn’t have resisted for a few more weeks?” Ava asked. She focused on Evan. “I thought we talked about how everyone thought us not sleeping together was a sign that this was more serious. That everyone was buying that this was something different for you.”

“You talked to Ava about not sleeping together?” Cori asked Evan.

“I told her how everyone in town had noticed a change to my…typical pattern.” His expression was a combination of regret and sheepishness.

Yeah, but she and Evan fell right back into their typical patterns when they were together. In spite of all the very good reasons to stay apart, they hadn’t. No, she hadn’t been able to just freaking wait. She never put off having fun and feeling good.

“It was supposed to make it easier to break up later,” Ava said. “For now, it looks like we’re more serious than he usually is, but in the end, it will be our excuse, that we just never totally felt that way about each other.”

“Except now we screwed it up,” Cori said. She turned to Evan. “We’re screwing all of it up. We’re both doing what we’ve always done.”

He started to respond, then he just took a deep breath and shook his head. “Yeah. I guess we are.”

She moved closer to him, not touching him, but meeting his gaze directly. “I feel like being here, in Bliss, in the shop, with my sisters, has been really good for me. And that I’ve…gotten better. I’m proud of what we’re doing. But I want to be proud of everything.”

“And you’re not proud of being with me,” Evan said flatly.

“Because we shouldn’t be doing it. And you know it,” she said. “You want to be the right guy for Ava. But I got in the way of that.”

“I kissed you first.”

“When you thought I was Ava. And I sure didn’t rush to tell you the truth.”

“I haven’t fought one second of this, Cori.” His voice was low and firm, and he had an intensity in his stare that reminded her of the times he’d defended Rudy.

“You didn’t ask for my involvement though. You came to the shop to check in and instead of just telling your mom and everyone that Ava left, I jumped in and pretended to be her. You came over to ask Ava out and I kissed you. You took her to dinner and I interrupted. And you did toss me out of your car the other night.”

He made a little growling noise. “We’re still on that?”

“I’m just saying, all of the interruptions have been me.”

“I haven’t regretted one second,” he said, his gaze boring into hers.

“But—” She took a deep breath. “I’m keeping you from doing what you wanted to do, from doing what Rudy wanted you to do.”

“Cori—”

“I want you, Evan,” she said before he could say something to change her mind about doing the right thing. “And I’ve never resisted going after something I’ve wanted. So this is a way to prove that I’m better now too. I’m going to let us both do what we should do. I’m going to let you go. And you’re going to help Ava.”

“It’s only for a few more months,” Ava said quickly, suddenly seeming over her annoyance.

But Cori shook her head. “Evan can’t go from one sister to the other.”

“Then we’ll tell them the truth. I started dating Ava but got to know you and fell for you.”

“You mean you’ll tell everyone that you made a promise to Ava but then couldn’t keep your pants zipped?” Cori asked, crossing her arms.

“If that’s what people think, fine. That doesn’t bother me. We all know the truth,” Evan said. “I don’t care what everyone else thinks.”

“But you do,” Cori said. “You care what this town thinks of you, how they feel about you. That’s what you care about most. You want to be beloved and wanted here, Evan. And you won’t have that if you create this much of a scandal.”

“I’m in love with you, Cori.”

His words sucked the air out of her lungs. It was the most beautiful thing she’d ever heard. And the most painful. “Well, of course you are,” she said. She gave him a half smile. “Because you aren’t supposed to be. And you’re a contrary personality. Like me.”

Evan’s jaw ticked and he took a step closer. “If that’s your way of telling me you’re in love with me too, that kind of sucked.”

She fought the urge to wrap her arms around him and refuse to let go. “I’m going to go.” She turned for the door.

“Where? You can’t leave, Cori,” Ava said, her tone panicked.

Yeah, that part was definitely inconvenient. She looked back at her sister. “I’m not leaving. I’m…fixing this.” Typically, her way of fixing things did include getting out of Dodge. But they were still hanging on by their fingernails and if she left now, she’d mess it all up for her sisters. “It’s a big learning curve for me, but I’m trying.”

“Where are you going to go?” Ava asked.

“Home,” Cori said simply.

“But—”

And she knew Ava wasn’t sure where Cori considered home. Well, Cori at least knew that now.

“I’ll be at the house, working on the books.” And out of everyone’s way. “Dinner’s at six. And just so you know, we’re having three desserts tonight. There will be lots of chocolate. And there’s a very good chance I’m using the blowtorch.”

Her hand was on the door when she heard, “I love the view from behind, but I’m not letting you walk away from me for long, Cori.”

She sucked in a deep breath and gathered her bravado. Then she shot Evan a big Cori grin over her shoulder. “I can absolutely say that you are a ton of fun, Evan Stone. Be sure you show my sister that side. There’s no reason to hold back.”

Then she took the hardest step of her life…out of the pie shop that was full of all of the good things in her life.

* * *

“We’re doing this, Ava.”

Ava gave Evan an arched eyebrow. “I’m sorry, did you mean to phrase that as a question?”

“No.”

She leaned one elbow onto the table and rested her chin on her hand. “You know, you are hot when you get all bossy, but since you’re in love with my sister, that doesn’t really do anything useful for me. So how about you tone it down a little?”

Evan blew out a breath.

The past two weeks without talking to or even seeing Cori had been the hardest of his life. Probably not as hard as seeing her and not being able to kiss her, touch her, laugh with her, but still excruciating. He knew he shouldn’t appreciate that she was avoiding him, but at the same time, it made it easier to plan this party. He was, however, losing his patience.

“Ava,” Evan said, evenly. “This is a good idea. And we’re already knee-deep in planning. I need you to be on board here. And maybe even a little excited.”

“It is a good idea,” she agreed. Then she tossed her pen onto the top of her notebook and sat back in his kitchen chair. “But you and I both know that something’s missing.”

Evan sighed. He looked down at his own notebook. “Have you told her that something’s missing?” Because Cori wasn’t talking to him.

He and Ava had been working on putting together the Parking and Pie event for the past two weeks. The party was scheduled for a week from today.

As soon as Cori had walked out of the pie shop with his heart, Evan had decided that they were going to do this. They were going to show her that she did not have to stay out of the way, that they not only wanted her around, but they needed her. And putting this together with Ava had showed them both that was even truer than they’d thought. It was supposed to be a kind of tribute to Cori and her amazing, over-the-top-yet-totally-perfect ideas. Instead, it was clear that no one could quite pull it off like she could.

And that made him love her even more.

“She doesn’t want to talk about it,” Ava said. “She’s going to take tickets for us—the money part—but she said we have to do the rest.”

Evan shook his head. “Basically, she’s gorgeous, sexy, brilliant, and stubborn as hell?”

“Probably a good thing for you to know before you get in any deeper, huh?” Ava asked with a smile.

“I’m in really deep now, Ava,” he told her honestly.

“Good.” She picked her pen up again. “Let’s throw a not-bad party that will make her roll her eyes and jump in to save us.”

“This isn’t going to be the spelling bee all over again?” he asked. “She won’t realize what we’re trying to do and just walk out?”

Ava shrugged. “I hope not.”

“That’s not very comforting.”

Ava sighed. “Well it won’t be a total disaster. So there’s that. Everyone knows we’re working on it together. They all think it’s great. I’m getting everything organized and you’re making it fun. They figure this is the perfect type project for us to come together on. Everyone’s celebrating us being a couple and all of the wonderful things we’re going to be able to do together.” She said it dryly.

Evan groaned and ran a hand over his face. “It is great and we are a good team.”

Ava laughed. “We are. Just like Dad thought we would be.”

Evan looked at Ava. She was beautiful and smart and sophisticated and successful. And he had no desire to kiss her. They were a great team. But they weren’t meant to be.

“How is Cori?” he finally asked.

“I’ve gained five pounds and my kitchen is now bright yellow.”

“The kitchen at the house or the shop?”

“Yes.”

Evan laughed in spite of himself. “She’s bored.”

“Very bored,” Ava said. “Oh, and I do have a Piehole Game in the middle of my dining room.”

“Piehole?” Evan repeated.

“You know the saying “shut your piehole?”

“Okay,” he said slowly. “Yes.”

“And you know of a game called Cornhole?” Ava asked.

“I do.” Not that he could imagine Ava Carmichael playing the lawn game where people tossed bean bags through holes in a big wooden board.

“This is a combination. Cori made a game called Piehole. She made bean bags that look like little pies and the holes in the board are all mouths.”

Evan honestly wasn’t sure what to say to that. But as he thought about it, he felt his grin stretching. “She couldn’t resist.”

Ava shook her head, also grinning. “Nope. But adding some games is a good idea, right?”

“It is.” Evan’s mind starting spinning. “We could start everything around four p.m. They could play games for a while before we start the movie at five? I have a couple of ideas for other activities. But I’m sure Cori will have more.”

“She won’t tell us.”

“Maybe she’ll tell Noah. He’s sweet. A good listener,” Evan said.

“She might have written them down.”

They both looked up as Brynn came into the room.

“You think so?” Ava asked.

“Well, she’s writing something in that notebook while she pretends to work with us every night,” Brynn said, taking a chair at the table. She and Noah were both helping with the party too, of course. But the town knew that Ava and Evan were the driving forces.

“Wait what?” Evan asked. “Pretends to work?”

“We have new house rules,” Brynn told him. “Cori insists that we all have dinner together every night and then any work we do has to be together at the dining room table. We’re not excused until eight.”

He liked that. He knew that Rudy had been concerned about his girls and their relationships with one another. At least that was going well.

No, it was all going well. The pie shop was up and running. Business was slow, but the party in the park would help. Exactly as Cori had envisioned. And as for their romantic relationships. He looked at the two sisters at his table. He really did want to help them all with the conditions of Rudy’s trust. He always had. Because of Rudy. But now it was because of the girls themselves. They’d become his friends.

He wasn’t worried about Brynn. She was slow getting into the dating scene maybe, but she’d only been here for a little over two months, and it seemed that Noah was going to be plenty protective when it came to which guys got to take Brynn out. If she didn’t go on that first date—especially if Noah was going to keep insisting that his time with Brynn didn’t count—then Evan would nudge them in the next couple of months. But there was plenty of time for her to get her six dates in. As for Ava…he wasn’t going to be able to keep this up for three and a half more months. That wasn’t long. He got that. But he couldn’t be away from Cori for that long. He was just going to have to find the right guy—or at least the right-ish guy—for Ava. But he could do that. Probably.

And Cori…well, she wasn’t having multiple casual sexual relationships, that was for damned sure. There was going to be nothing multiple about her relationships with men in Bliss. Or anywhere else in the world. And there was absolutely nothing casual about what was going on with him and Cori.

* * *

“Thanks, have a great time.” Cori stuffed the money into the money bag and kept her smile in place while the family of five drove their SUV past the table and into the park. Then she turned to survey the scene again.

Ugh. It was…nice. Very nice. The sun was shining and the temperature was just about perfect. Because of course it was. Ava Carmichael wouldn’t throw a party in less than ideal temperatures.

Noah was directing people into parking spots facing a huge movie screen. Almost like a drive-in theater. Cori had no idea how they’d gotten the screen or projector and she hadn’t asked. Since they hadn’t paid for it out of the pie shop account, it was none of her business. And honestly, the Dream Team of Ava and Evan had so many connections between them that they could probably pull anything off.

And yes, everything was very…nice. They had local high school kids acting as car hops, taking orders and delivering pie and drinks. They had music playing too. It sounded like one of those compilation CDs where kids covered popular songs from the radio. They did have the Piehole game set up along with a couple of other lawn games. And behind the Ethan Stone Memorial Pavilion was a large mud pit where kids were making mud pies. There was even a clean-up station with hoses and towels that bore the logos from Parker’s diner, Noah’s auto shop, and Evan’s law practice.

The other games had nothing to do with pie, but that was a minor detail. It was bugging the crap out of her, but it really was a small thing. The towels were very cool and everyone seemed to be happy to be here. Most of them were sitting in their cars or hanging out in the backs of their trucks, just kind of…waiting. But they were here and eating pie and that was the main point.

There were, however, shrieks of laughter coming from the direction of the mud pit and Cori couldn’t help but smile. She was certain Evan had pushed for the mud and Ava had countered with the washing station and had somehow talked the guys into sponsoring the towels. They really were a good team. Exactly as it should be. Evan was part of a carefully laid out plan and Ava was throwing a party. This was the perfect thing for them both.

And Cori wanted to be anywhere else.

“Hi, are you Ava?”

Cori looked at the little boy beside her table. She smiled. “No, I’m Cori. Ava’s over there in the yellow shirt.” She was even wearing blue jeans.

“Okay. I have to tell her the mac and cheese pie is awesome!”

“Definitely,” Cori said with a nod. “She’ll love hearing that.”

The boy ran off and Cori watched him give Ava the compliment. Her smile was bright and sincere and Cori felt herself smile too. Then Ava looked over at her and gave her a big grin. Ava had made the pies, but it was Cori’s recipe. They were a good team too. Cori gave her a thumbs-up. Okay, maybe being here wasn’t all bad.

“This is pretty good.”

Cori turned to find Hank and Walter at her table. “Well, hey guys.” Seeing them suddenly made her aware of how much she’d missed seeing them every morning. She’d been sticking close to the house. She couldn’t risk being at the shop in case Evan stopped in. Or walked by the window. Or when someone mentioned his name.

“How’s it going? It looks nice,” Walter said.

Yep. Nice. It sure did. “Okay. We have more pie left than we’d like to. Do you think people are still coming?”

Hank glanced at his watch. “Boy, I don’t know, honey. I’d think most everyone would be here by now.”

Damn. That’s what she’d been afraid of.

“Cori.”

Tingles skittered down her spine as Evan’s voice came from behind her. Crap. She’d avoided him for most of the day. She’d seen him, of course, but they hadn’t spoken. She took a deep breath and turned. “Hey.”

“Can I show you something?”

No. Hell, no even. She wanted to just sit here, sell tickets, then go home and take a bath. And hope that now that this party was over, Evan and Ava wouldn’t need to be spending every evening together.

“I have to take tickets.”

He glanced at her table. “Anyone can do that. I need you for a minute.”

I need you. How was she supposed to respond to that? But before she could come up with anything, Hank piped up. “I can watch the table, Cori.”

And the truth was, yeah, anyone could take tickets. Crap, again.

“Fine.” She stood. Smoothed her skirt, straightened her T-shirt, and stepped around the table.

Evan reached for her hand, but she shook her head. “Come on. We can’t.” And if he touched her, even her hand, she’d shatter.

He blew out a breath. “Fine. For now. Over here.” He started across the grass toward the mud pit.

They didn’t talk and her chest ached. She had so many things—words, emotions—bottled up, it felt like they were constricting her heart, causing each beat to hurt a little. Evan stopped at the edge of the mud. He smiled at the kids who were elbow-deep.

“I saw this,” she said. “It’s great. I love the towels.”

“Yeah?” He finally looked at her again and she saw the same pain in his eyes that she was feeling. He missed her like she missed him. That was…the suckiest thing she’d ever faced. Technically in about three months, he could break up with Ava. But could he really just start dating Ava’s sister? He wasn’t that guy. He might have dated extensively, even bed hopped a bit, but it was never…scandalous.

“You and Ava did a great job,” she finally said.

He gave a nod. “I guess so. But—” He turned to face her fully. “What else would you have done with the party?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Yes you do. Come on,” he said. “What would you have done with it?”

Her heart squeezed. “This whole thing was my idea. Pie and a movie in the park.”

“That was your basic idea,” he said. He paused then said, “But what about the garnish?”

Oh, boy. She shook her head.

“I thought we’d already covered this.” He took a small step forward.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Things that are completely fine, good even, are better with your touch.”

He’d used the same words before. She shook her head again. “You and Ava—”

“Are fine. But nothing…special.”

Cori wet her lips, but again shook her head. “Evan—”

“We need your touch. I need your touch.” He moved closer again. “In lots of ways. In everything.”

She swallowed hard. “It doesn’t matter.”

“But that’s the thing. It does. It really matters.”

He took another step, close enough to kiss her. So she stepped back and said quickly, “Pie trivia. And a town vote on what our next new flavor should be.”

She had to stop him from…whatever he was doing. Getting closer. Talking. Tempting. Making her miss him even while he was standing right there in front of her.

He did stop. And gave her a half grin that made her heart trip. “Pie trivia? Are there lots of interesting facts about pie?”

Well, she didn’t know about a lot. But… “Nineteen percent of Americans say apple is their favorite and only nine percent say cherry.” Yeah, she’d looked some stuff up working at the dining room table with her sisters.

“I guess there are.” Evan gave her another grin.

“But this is all really good as is,” she said. “Really.”

He clearly wanted to say more, but finally he nodded. “Fine.” He took a breath. “Did you see the sign?”

“The sign?” She followed his finger. He was pointing at a wooden sign beside the mud pit.

Future site of the Rudy Carmichael Memorial Miniature Golf Course.

She read it three times, then looked back at Evan, her heart thundering. “Really?”

He nodded. “We needed a mud pit and I needed a ground breaking, so we combined them.”

Cori felt tears threatening. “You’re going ahead with it?”

“Yeah. Because I realized something.” He stepped closer again and she didn’t stop him this time. “Rudy was wrong.”

Her heart thumped. “He was?”

“The only thing that came of him sending that St. Bernard puppy away was him not having a St. Bernard puppy. He didn’t tame or even change your spirit. He just made it so he didn’t get to see as much of it. And he missed out.”

He moved closer as Cori sniffed. Dammit. She couldn’t kiss him here in public in front of the whole town. But he was making it really impossible to resist.

“And I realized if he was so wrong about you, then he could have been wrong about me too,” Evan continued. “I don’t know if he meant I should do more of what I already do or if I should be doing something else, but it if was something else, then he was wrong. I make people happy. And it took having someone make me incredibly, impossibly happy to realize how truly fucking important that is.”

She caught her breath and actually pressed her fingers to her lips.

“Cori, I thought I was happy. I thought I understood fun and goodness. But until you, I didn’t realize that things could be even better. And he was completely wrong about Ava being right for me. She’s great, but the thing is, I love your St. Bernards. I don’t mind the mess. I can absolutely handle chaos, and I love surprises. All of which makes me right for you. I love you. I want every crazy, over-the-top idea and plan you have. In fact, I need it. This party is fine. But why would I want fine when I can have amazing?”

Cori felt one tear roll over her cheek. This man…he did more than tolerate her craziness. He embraced it. He encouraged it.

Evan started to lift his hand to her face, but she ducked out of the way. “Hold that thought, okay?” She wanted desperately to go into his arms and let him hold her. But once she was there again, she didn’t plan on leaving for the next several hours. Or days. Or ever. And there was something she needed to do first.

“What?” He took a step after her. “Where are you going?”

“I have to go…round up some puppies.” She shot him a grin, but didn’t wait for his response. She turned on her heel and ran for the ticket table, her mind spinning. “Hank!” she puffed a minute later. “Who’s the Mayor of Bliss?”

Hank laughed. “Really?”

“Yes, really. I need to talk to him or her. Right away.”

“Well, honey, that’s me.”

“You’re the mayor?” How did she not know that? Hank had turned into one of her best friends in Bliss. And she didn’t even know he was the mayor. “I feel like this is something we should have talked about.”

He winked at her. “I have so many stories. We might need to have afternoon coffee too.”

“I’m in. But right now, I need a favor. I’ll explain on the way.”

Five minutes later, she burst into the pie shop, ran to the back and turned into Parker’s kitchen. “I need a can opener.”

“You don’t have one?” Parker asked.

“I do. But I need another. And another set of hands to use it.”

Parker sighed. “Like mine?”

She grinned. “Yep. We need to open every can of pie filling Ava has stashed in our storeroom.”

“She has cans of pie filling?” Parker asked with a scowl.

Shit. “We’ll deal with that later,” Cori said quickly. “We need to hurry.”

“Tell me why.”

“Because I’m in love with your best friend and will make him very happy.”

Parker sighed. “You’re going to screw up the trust, aren’t you?”

“Nope. Just going to use a little loophole. Or two.”

* * *

Evan was nearly out of his mind. Cori had run off over thirty minutes ago and wasn’t answering calls or texts.

“What the hell?” he asked Ava for the seventh time.

Ava frowned at him. “I’ll shove you into that mud pit, Evan. Don’t think I won’t.”

Evan had no doubt. “She just ran off. She—”

Suddenly Parker pulled into the park in his truck. He drove right past the ticket table where Evan was pacing. Evan frowned. Parker didn’t do parties. He didn’t even let them call football parties, parties. He preferred “gathering” or even better, no label at all. He didn’t understand why they couldn’t just get together and watch a game without calling it something. As he pointed out every time. Which just made it even more fun to call their get togethers shindigs and bashes. And Parker definitely didn’t do parties with kids’ movies being shown. But before he could ask his friend what was going on, he saw Cori in the passenger seat. And nothing else mattered.

She jumped out as Parker stopped the truck and ran to the back of the truck. Evan stalked forward, intent on getting his hands on Cori before anything else happened. But she dropped the tailgate—and Evan got distracted. “What the hell is this?”

“This is a kiddie pool filled with pie filling. It’s all different kinds. We didn’t have enough of any one kind. But that’s okay.”

Cori climbed into the back of the truck and shot him a grin as she bent over to push the pool to the edge of the tailgate.

Parker moved to grab it and Evan found himself taking the other side as they lowered it to the ground.

“Why?” was all Ava said.

“This is what the winning tug-of-war team will pull the losing team into,” Cori said.

“We’re having a tug-of-war?” Ava asked.

“We are. The starting high school basketball team against some of the starting football players.” Cori jumped out of the truck and wiped her hands on her skirt.

“Where do you want these?” Hank came up to Cori carrying two pie plates.

“Oh, in the pavilion,” Cori said.

“What’s this?” Evan asked, his heart suddenly racing. He didn’t even care really. The look on Cori’s face made him want to pull her into that kiddie pool for some pie filling wrestling.

“Those are whipped cream pies,” Cori said, almost triumphantly.

“Why?” Ava said again.

Cori kept her eyes on Evan as she said, “There’s not much that I do that doesn’t involve whipped cream.”

Her grin was mischievous and insured that Evan would be getting a can of pie filling on his way home. “What’s going on?”

“For two dollars you can throw a pie at a prominent Bliss citizen,” Cori said. “If you hit Parker in the face, you get a free breakfast. If you hit Noah, you get a free oil change. For Principal Tompkins, you get a Bliss Bandits sweatshirt. And if you hit Mayor Hank in the face, you get to have coffee with him every day for a week.”

“This is—” But Ava apparently didn’t know what this was. Or at least what to call it.

“I thought we were maybe missing some demographics. We’ve got the kids and parents, but now the basketball and football team will get their friends up here and a bunch of Hank’s friends want to see him covered in whipped cream.”

“Not in the dirty way,” Hank said. “Except maybe for Maggie Collins.” He winked as Cori snorted.

And Evan had never wanted someone as much as he wanted her.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her close. “Amazing,” he said in her ear.

“Well, if I’d had time I would have painted the pool to look like a pie crust,” she said with a shrug.

“Of course you would have.”

“And we didn’t have time to—”

Evan cut her off by wrapping his arm around her, dipping her back, and kissing her. In front of everyone.

She gripped the front of his shirt and opened her mouth under his, but when he lifted his head, she just said, “Evan.”

“I love you Corrine Michelle Carmichael,” he announced loudly. He righted her and turned to face the people who were watching.

“Then you do realize that the woman you’re kissing isn’t your girlfriend?” Holly Morris came to stand right in front of them.

“Evan!”

Evan turned, taking Cori with him. To face his mother. “Hi, Mom.”

“What are you doing?” Diane looked from Evan to Cori and back. “That’s not Ava.”

Evan grinned at Cori. “No. It’s definitely not.”

“But—”

“This is scandalous, even for you,” Holly cut Diane off. She crossed her arms. “I don’t believe you’ve ever cheated on someone with her sister before. But—” She looked Cori up and down. “—anyone who is as free with her sprinkles as this one, probably gets a lot of guys into trouble.”

Oh, no. He was not going to let her insult Cori like that. He was not going to let this bitch ruin this day for Cori. “Listen, the only thing you need—”

“Holly.”

The quiet but firm voice stopped him from speaking and Holly from scowling at him. They both turned to face Diane.

“What?” Holly asked her old friend.

“Shut up.”

Evan felt his eyes widen and Cori start with surprise. Holly looked like Diane had just slapped her.

“Excuse me?” Holly asked.

“Evan has always been one of the happiest people I know,” Diane said, calmly. She looked Evan directly in the eye. “But this…how he is since meeting Cori…is so much more than he’s ever been before.”

Evan heard a tiny gasp from Cori and felt her arm tighten around his waist. But he couldn’t look away from his mother.

“So,” Diane continued, looking at Holly, “if you have anything to say to him other than ‘I’m very happy for you, Evan’, then you need to just shut up.”

Evan felt shock rumble through him. But right on its heels was an incredible feeling of relief. And then contentment. His mother was sticking up for him. It was late. It was just this one moment. But it still mattered. He didn’t care what Holly thought, but Diane did, and she was standing up for him to her friend.

More, she saw his happiness, what Cori had done to him. And that mattered.

Evan looked at Holly. “You’re not the only one who is going to wonder what happened,” he told her. “And I’m sure you’re all going to talk about it.” He glanced at Hank and Walter, knowing they would definitely help spread the story. “But it’s very simple—I was dating Ava.” He had been. His intentions had been good. And he and Ava had definitely spent time together. “But that meant I saw a lot of Cori too. And she’s…” He glanced at her, his chest filling with warmth and desire and love. “…amazing,” he finished, though it didn’t seem like a strong enough word. “I fell for her completely. Yes, it might seem ‘scandalous’ to go from one sister to the other, but Ava and I were nothing more than friends and Cori and I are so much more than a weekend fling.”

“And it would take an idiot not to see what was happening between Evan and Cori,” Ava said, coming to stand next to her sister. “They belong together and I’m thrilled.”

Cori leaned over and hugged Ava, and Evan gave her a grin and a wink over the top of Cori’s head.

Holly narrowed her eyes, but said nothing. Diane stepped forward and Evan leaned down so she could kiss his cheek. Then she kissed Cori’s, sniffed, and said with a wobbly smile, “I hope we can all get together soon.”

“I’d love to make you a cup of coffee tomorrow,” Cori told her. “And maybe we could talk for a little while.”

“I’ve never had sprinkles on my coffee,” Diane said. She glanced at Evan. “But that sounds like something your dad would have loved.”

Evan felt his throat tighten and he could only nod.

“Well, I might even have to pull out my blowtorch for this,” Cori said.

Diane’s eyes widened. “What?”

“Really?” Evan asked her.

Cori grinned at him, then at Diane. “Toasted marshmallows aren’t only for pie. I make a fantastic s’mores latte.”

And Evan wanted to throw her over his shoulder and carry her across the park, in front of everyone, and straight up the road to his house.

“Well, that sounds wonderful,” Diane told her.

“It’s a date then.”

“And that better be the only date you’re going on.”

They turned to find John McCormick standing behind them.

Evan sighed. “Grandfather.”

“Evan.” He looked at Cori. “Corrine, I presume.”

She gave him a single nod. “You can call me Cori.”

John looked at Ava. “And you’re my grandson’s latest ex?”

Ava gave him a cool look. “Your grandson’s very good friend.”

“Ah.” John looked back at Evan. “I see you’ve screwed this up too.”

Evan ran his hand up and down Cori’s back and shook his head. “Actually, I think I’ve gotten this more right than anything I’ve ever done.”

Again, he felt Cori’s arm tighten around him and he heard her sniff. This time he did look down at her, much preferring her smile to his grandfather’s expression of displeasure.

“That was pretty great,” she told him softly.

“But there is the one, not so small detail of the trust,” John said before Evan could respond.

He looked back to his grandfather. “What do you mean?”

“You’ve broken one of the main stipulations,” John said. “Cori wasn’t supposed to date anyone, for six months.”

“We haven’t broken anything,” Evan said calmly.

“Then how do you explain how you are together?”

Evan shrugged. “Rudy didn’t want Cori to date. Since he didn’t define what ‘dating’ entailed, I assume he meant he didn’t want Cori to have relationships with men like she’s had in the past.”

“And you are somehow different?” John asked.

“Cori?” Evan asked.

“Oh, there’s no question things with Evan and me are different,” she told John. “I typically hang out at dance clubs or party on yachts or do crazy stuff like rock climbing or scuba diving with the guys I date.”

“You party on yachts?” Evan asked.

“Shh,” she told him, giving him a little pinch. “I’m making a point.” She addressed John again. “And if I’d taken my shirt off in any other guy’s car, I definitely would have gotten lucky.”

John’s eyes widened and now it was Evan that pinched her. Right on her ass.

But Cori went on. “And if I was dating Evan, it would already be over. We’re past the two-month mark here. Guys never make it that long. And I’ve baked for him. I’ve never baked for any other guy.”

Evan liked that. A lot.

“And I’ve never told any other guy about my childhood. Or anything else important,” Cori said, her tone softening a little. “I’ve never paid enough attention to anyone else to know that he prefers half and half to milk in his coffee. And I’ve definitely never met anyone else’s mother…or grandfather.”

Evan grinned, the warmth in his chest—and the need to throw her over his shoulder—growing stronger.

“What I’m doing with Evan is definitely not dating. It’s making a commitment.” Cori looked up at him. “And I can assure you, that’s absolutely something different.”

Evan kissed her quick and hard on the mouth, then focused on his grandfather again. “And I can promise we haven’t done any of the things I typically do when I date someone either. Cori and I haven’t been to a single movie, barbecue, or street dance. And I promise we won’t be doing any of that for at least another three months or so.”

John stood, studying them both, for several long seconds. Then he gave a nod. “A loophole.”

“A loophole,” Evan confirmed.

“Fine,” John agreed. “But, Evan,” he added, looking at Cori again. “You need to take this girl miniature golfing as soon as you can.”

Evan couldn’t believe it. His grandfather had not only agreed with him about the stipulations in Rudy’s trust, but he was giving his blessing to the miniature golf course. Evan swallowed hard and extended his hand. “I’ll do that.”

John took his hand and gave it a long squeeze. Then he said to his daughter, “Can I buy you a pie, Diane?”

She smiled brightly. “I’d love that.”

They moved toward the pie stand and Cori turned to face Evan, her eyes wide and her face lit up. “Wow. That was awesome. This day is perfect, Evan.”

“Actually—”

“Look out!”

Noah’s shouted warning came just as a large ball of fluff came tearing toward them. Barking.

“Now it’s perfect,” he said with a grin.

Cori froze in his arms. “Is that—”

The puppy was coming straight at them but as Evan leaned to grab him, he veered off, heading for the mud pit. “Stop him!” Evan shouted with a laugh.

Cori gave him a huge, stunned smile. “You got me an actual St. Bernard?” she asked, wonder in her voice.

Evan started to pull her close again, but Noah shouted, “Evan!” as the puppy plunged into the mud.

“It’s only fair after all of the amazing figurative St. Bernard’s you’ve given me,” Evan said.

“I hope you know what you’ve done.” But her face was full of joy.

“I told you,” he said, squeezing her hand. “I can handle chaos and messes.”

He looked over as Noah lunged for the dog—and missed. The puppy ran happily through the mud until Cori put her fingers to her lips and gave a sharp whistle. The dog, and all of the humans in the vicinity, paused. She knelt on the grass and the puppy yelped once, then made a beeline for her. The dog jumped up on her, covering her clothes with muddy paw prints and her face with wet, sloppy kisses.

“That might be the hottest you’ve ever looked,” he told her taking in the muddy paw prints on her shirt, the streaks of dirt on her legs and the huge, happy grin on her face.

“What’s his name?” she asked as the dog wiggled free and suddenly headed toward Ava.

Ava shrieked and stepped behind Parker just before he scooped up the wriggling ball of fur.

“I think Rudy.”

Cori looked up at him. She stretched to standing. “Really? A messy troublemaker? Does that fit?”

Evan brushed her hair back and looked into her eyes. “A big ball of happiness that makes everyone around him smile.”

Her eyes suddenly got misty. “I like that idea of him.”

“It was him. I promise.”

She sniffed and then wrapped her arms around his neck, getting mud all over him too. “I love you, Evan Stone.”

He settled his hands on her butt and squeezed. “I love you too. Which is why I got you a puppy. He’ll make it harder to leave in nine months.”

“Well, no worries,” she said, smiling though her voice was thick. “I only leave after we hit the high point, remember? And I have a feeling there’s always going to be more of those to come with you.”

Relief, love, gratitude—and yes, lust—washed though him. “Well, I might have learned a little bit from Ava about plans and schedules and deadlines, but—” He dipped his head and put his lips against hers, “—high points are my specialty.”

Then he kissed her as her St. Bernard, Rudy, went barreling toward the table full of whipped cream pies.