Evan arrived moments after his mom and sister, and Courtney quickly learned why Scarlett possessed the reputation she did. After introductions, she spent a solid ten minutes complaining about the cold and informing them they should’ve planned their wedding for somewhere in California or at the estate she and Trevor owned in Aruba. Her next complaint came when she learned Josh didn’t have her favorite wine on hand. Her problem with his choice of dinner quickly followed. Evidently, he was supposed to know she’d become a vegetarian before Christmas. Of all her complaints, the last was one Courtney could do something about. Press, a café in the city, had a full vegetarian menu, and it delivered.
“You’re not the type of woman Josh is usually attracted to,” Scarlett said.
They’d made it halfway through dinner without another complaint. Courtney doubted the stretch would last much longer.
“It shocked me when those pictures of you together popped up in December. And I didn’t expect him to get engaged. He’s too much like me.” She smiled in Josh’s direction. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that. You should have fun when you’re young. But I made the mistake of getting married before I should have.”
“Mom, you got married when you were twenty-two. Josh is a little older than that. Besides, it’s about marrying the right person, not about how old you are when it happens.” Shannon spoke up. So far tonight she’d helped move Scarlett off more than one topic when she went off on a tangent.
Scarlett finished her wine and refilled the glass. “Well, there’s no doubt your father wasn’t the right person for me. Marrying him was the worst decision I ever made. And that’s saying a lot.”
Courtney couldn’t decide if she should laugh or cry. The woman clearly didn’t think before she spoke. And Courtney could honestly say she’d never met anyone quite like Josh’s mom. If tonight was the one and only time they spent time together, she’d be okay with that. However, there was one benefit to Scarlett’s personality. Rather than focus on the conversation she and Josh needed to finish, she put all her energy into trying to predict what the woman would say next.
“But the good thing about marriage, it doesn’t have to be permanent,” Scarlett added, eliciting something similar to a groan from Josh.
“Have you thought any more about the role in The Water’s Edge?” Shannon asked.
With that simple question, Josh’s mom launched into what Courtney guessed was her favorite subject: Scarlett Basto and her career.
Seventeen
“And Shannon wonders why I haven’t introduced Gemma to Mom yet.” Seated across from them, Evan propped his ankle on his knee. “The woman never shuts up. I don’t know how Trevor lives with her.”
Following dinner and perhaps a few glasses of wine too many on Scarlett’s part, Josh’s sister drove their mom back to her hotel. While Courtney had enjoyed visiting with Shannon and wouldn’t mind getting to know her better, she’d been more than happy to see Scarlett leave. The woman had one of those personalities that few people could handle for any length of time. And Courtney wasn’t one of those people. She hoped any future interactions with Josh’s mom turned out to be much shorter than tonight’s visit.
It might be your only interaction. She’d pushed the thought of their pending conversation away during dinner. Now, it was attempting to climb out of the box she’d shoved it in. Until Evan left, she needed it to stay in there.
Josh sat down next to her, but he didn’t reach for her hand or put an arm over her shoulders like he usually did. “He travels. A. Lot.”
“If I was married to her, I would too,” Evan said with a grin very similar to Josh’s. It didn’t stick around. “Have you heard when the custody hearing will be?”
“There isn’t going to be one. Naomi changed her mind. She no longer wants sole custody.”
The man’s smile returned. “Congrats. You must be relieved. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It happened this afternoon, and I didn’t want to discuss it with Mom here.”
“Does she even know?” Evan asked.
“No. Half the time, I do not think Mom remembers she has a granddaughter.”
Evan laughed sarcastically. “As far as Adalynn is concerned, I’m not sure that’s a bad thing. Are you going to go through with the wedding as planned or what?”
Josh glanced at her before answering. “We haven’t figured that part out yet. Courtney and I were talking about it when Mom and Shannon got here.”
“My advice, make an announcement saying you’ve decided to wait until the summer. Then in another month or two, have Courtney call off the engagement altogether. She can make up a reason. Maybe one of you wanted kids right away and the other didn’t. Something that doesn’t reflect poorly on either of you.” Advice offered, Evan stood up.
Please say you’re leaving. A week ago she wouldn’t have cared if Evan stuck around and visited for another two hours.
“Do you have any beer in the kitchen? Or some vodka?” Evan asked instead of saying goodbye. “After a few hours with Mom, I need a drink.” At dinner, everyone but Evan, who disliked wine, had at least one glass of it.
“There are a few different kinds in the refrigerator. If you want vodka instead, there’s some at the bar,” she answered. Although she didn’t use it often, the penthouse contained a bar, and she kept it stocked for anyone who visited.
“I’m going to grab something too. Do you want anything?” Josh asked, standing as well.
“All set.”
She watched the two brothers walk toward the kitchen. Once they were no longer in sight, she slumped back against the sofa. She liked Evan, and while Josh denied it, the brothers most certainly shared some personality traits. And Evan willingly shared details about Josh’s past, such as the fact he’d slept with a bedroom light on until the age of nine because he hated the dark. Regardless of all that, she wished the man would leave so they could get back to the elephant in the room. Or more precisely, the elephant in the room before the doorbell rang and disturbed them.
Alone and with no other distractions, their earlier conversation replayed through her mind. The next words out of Josh’s mouth after admitting their upcoming wedding had nothing to do with Naomi’s decision has been “looks like you’re off the hook.” Not long after, he’d offered up a solution almost identical to Evan’s suggestion.
The doorbell had cut off Josh’s second idea, but she expected it would be something along the same lines. Would he view the situation differently if she told him how she felt? Based on his past relationships, Josh preferred to keep his romantic entanglements short and sweet. That wasn’t to say he didn’t care about the women he got involved with, but he never fell in love with them. And while she believed he cared about her, from an emotional standpoint, nothing suggested he viewed their relationship much differently than all his past ones.
But if given enough time, could she change that?
You can’t make someone love you. A person either fell in love with you or they didn’t. So it might be in her best interest to go along with Evan and Josh’s suggestion. At the same time, she could ask Josh to move back into a guest room and put an end to their physical relationship.