“Okay, spill. What went down with you and Drew?”
Carolina sighed and pulled her attention away from Drew, who was currently standing in a group with Gray and Trevor. Admittedly, Evelyn understood the attraction. Drew was incredibly handsome, with a strong jaw and killer smile. And there was no denying he had an amazing body, showcased oh so well in those jeans and that tight T-shirt. If her libido wasn’t already focused on Gray, Evelyn would be very attracted to him.
But the thing was, she wasn’t attracted to Drew. Or Trevor, despite them both being gorgeous and obviously available.
She was, however, extremely attracted to Gray, who kept shooting looks her way and smiling at her. Which was very inappropriate considering they were surrounded by a lot of the people she worked with. And despite her being on her best behavior today, she couldn’t help but look back. He was like a giant sex magnet.
Damn him.
“Are you sure you want to talk about me and Drew, considering you’re having hot sex fantasies about my brother right now?”
She jerked her attention back to Carolina. “What? I am not.”
Carolina laughed. “Yes, you were. Your tongue was practically hanging out. And you might want to wipe the drool from the side of your mouth.”
She reached up to touch her lips, then gave Carolina a glare. “You are not funny.
And you’re changing the subject so you don’t have to talk about Drew.”
“Caught you, though.” Carolina took another swallow of lemonade. “There’s not much to tell. I had a stupid schoolgirl crush on him that went very badly.”
“How badly?”
“I followed him around the college campus. I was two years behind Drew and Gray and the others, so once I hit campus, I thought I could meet all the hot guys through Gray. My big brother, of course, wanted nothing to do with his dorky little sister. And Drew teased me incessantly. I was a late bloomer, too, so it wasn’t until I hit twenty or so that I learned all about makeup and fashion—”
At Evelyn’s shocked look, Carolina nodded. “I know, I know. You’d think since fashion is my life, I would have wrapped myself in designer clothing from age twelve.
Not so. I was a big, dumb moron who didn’t know how to dress or make myself look decent until I took some classes.”
“I find that so hard to believe.”
Carolina laughed. “Sometimes I look back and I’m appalled at my younger self.
And you know those cartoons where the cartoon character has a big lightbulb go off over their heads? That was me. It was like I had this sudden awareness of fashion and what clothes fit my body type and looked good on me. I styled my hair and learned all about makeup, and suddenly guys noticed me.”
Evelyn’s lips curved. “Bet that was fun.”
“Oh, it was. By the beginning of my sophomore year of college, I was partying like there was no tomorrow. I gained a lot of knowledge that year.”
“I’ll just bet you did.”
“I felt very worldly and experienced, when in reality I had no clue what men were about. So when Gray graduated, I decided to hit up my smoldering crush with my newfound expertise about men.”
“Your smoldering crush being Drew.”
She nodded. “Yes. And he, having a penis, didn’t turn me down. We had one blistering-hot night of no-holds-barred sex. I thought I had seduced him and he would fall head over heels in love with me, now that he’d seen the transformed Carolina.”
Evelyn could sense where this was going. “But that didn’t happen.”
Carolina let out a short laugh. “No. He left me in bed the next morning, packed up, left school, and I never heard from him again.”
“Ouch. I’m sorry.”
She shrugged. “It’s ancient history. I was heartbroken at the time, of course, all those youthful dreams being shattered.”
“I’m sure you were. Young men can be so insensitive.”
“Well, in retrospect I realize now it wasn’t entirely his fault. He’d made no promises to me of forever or love. But at the time I had stars in my eyes because I was convinced I was in love with him. And he used my feelings for him to get me in the sack. At the time I was crushed. And he could have handled letting me down a little better.”
“Yes, he could have. But men can be such assholes.”
“Yes, they can. The problem is, because he’s stayed friends with Gray, I’ve run into him over the years here and there. So I can’t forget that hideously bad decision I made.”
“So you still have feelings for him.”
Carolina frowned. “No. Not at all. I’d just like Drew Hogan to go away and not come back so I never have to think about that stupid mistake I made.”
It was obvious Carolina still had feelings for Drew. Denial was a powerful protector. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Carolina said with a slight laugh. “It’s in the past. Too bad Drew can’t stay there.”
EIGHTEEN