Page 84 of For Eva

His grin looked as if it would remain permanently stretched across his face. “This is such amazing timing, Eva.”

I sniffed and titled my head. “What do you mean?”

He reached for his beer and took a long swig. “My buddy down in Nashville—you know Kevin, he was at the wedding. Anyway, his dad is retiring from their law firm, and he’s looking for someone to partner with him when he takes over.”

My brows turned down. “What? Does he want…”

Aaron’s head bobbed with excitement. “He wants me to come down there. Can you believe it? My own firm—well, sort of my own firm—at thirty-two?”

I ran my hands down my face, swiping underneath my eyes. “I don’t…Is that a good idea? I mean, moving and a new job with a baby on the way?”

“It’s thebestidea.” He beamed. “His dad’s firm does well.Reallywell. And we’ll be close to my family, so they can watch our kids grow up and truly be a part of their lives.”

I tried to think of all the things I could counter with, without saying what I really thought. That I didn’t want to leave Chicago. I didn’t want to leave my friends and my job. And that I wasafraid of what this would mean for the relationship with my own father—one I’d built after worrying all those years that he blamed me for what had happened with my mom.

I crossed my arms over my chest. “But can you practice law in Tennessee? You passed the bar in Illinois.”

“I need to look into the whole reciprocity thing, but it should work out. Or I’ll take the damn thing again in Tennessee,” he explained, like it was no big deal. “This is just all so amazing.Soamazing.”

I swayed, pressing my hand against the fridge to steady myself. What the fuck was happening? It was as if I’d entered a whole new world, completely different from the one I’d woken up in that morning.

Aaron rushed to my side. “Whoa, you okay?”

I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them to make sure Aaron’s theory about dreaming hadn’t been correct. “Yeah, it…it’s just a lot to take in right now.”

He gripped my hand and steered me toward the living room. “I know, I’m sorry, I should’ve waited to tell you. I just got so excited. You need to lie down, and we’ll talk about it later. I’ll get you some water.”

I nodded and stretched my legs along the couch, my fingers kneading my forehead. Maybe he was right. Maybe thiswasamazing. But there was something inside me that didn’t want to talk about it later. That didn’t want to talk about itever. That wanted to go to sleep and wake up and realize this allhadbeen just a dream.

FORTY-FIVE

Eva

November 1996

“No, Drew. Listen to Mama and put that back.” I took the can of corn he’d swiped off the shelf while I was scanning the aisle for French-style green beans, which had apparently sold out in the Thanksgiving rush.

I’d taken the Wednesday before the holiday off from work. Drew’s preschool was closed, and I’d packed him in the car to go shopping for the side dishes I promised to bring to Aaron’s sister’s house the next day. And as if I wasn’t already busy enough dealing with a three-year-old and trying to remember what ingredients I needed for two casseroles, I’d now have to run to another store to find the damn green beans.

“I want it,” Drew cried, snot dripping from his nose. I let out a heavy sigh as I pushed the shopping cart to the front of the store, stopping in a line three people deep and digging in my purse for a tissue. He squirmed in the front of the cart as I wiped away the glob of mucus teetering on the edge of his top lip, his little legs kicking my thighs.

“Stop that, Drew,” I said, balling the tissue into a wad, which I stuffed into the pocket of my jeans. “We’re almost done, and then we’ll go home and see Daddy.”

I’d already decided I wasn’t going to another store with him in tow. Aaron had told me he was calling it a day at noon, so he could deal with getting Drew fed and down for a nap while I ran back out.

Drew miraculously stopped sobbing when he heard the worddaddy, and I smiled and ran my hand through his silky blond hair before pushing the cart forward. “Who’s my best boy?”

He giggled and blew me a kiss, which I pretended to catch before I blew one back at him. As I went in to give him a real kiss on his forehead, one of the gossip magazines at the end of the checkout counter caught my eye. On its cover was a picture of Hollywood’s latest “It” girl, holding hands and smiling at a tall figure dressed in jeans and a T-shirt.

Christina Hanson: How She Healed and Found Love with Eric Stratton

Pins and needles pricked at my body, and my face grew warm. It wasn’t anything new to see Eric’s face on a magazine at the store. He’d become one of the biggest rock stars in the world since his solo debut. We’d lost track of each other after Aaron and I had moved to Lincoln Park. More like he’d lost track ofme. I hadn’t left a forwarding address with the post office or written him with my new phone number. For all he knew, I was still somewhere in Chicago, not living in Nashville with a husband and a kid. But this blond starlet was surprising. She had to be ten years younger than him. They couldn’t possibly have anything in common…could they?

“Eva? Is that you?”

“Huh?” I shook my head and turned to see one of the moms from Drew’s preschool. “Julie. Hey. How are you?”

She threw her hands up. “Oh, you know, like everyone else. Just trying to make it through the start of the holidays.”

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