Page 74 of I'm Watching You

‘Nothing.’ Eleanor waved for Lindsay and Zack to sit. ‘Can I get you anything else?’

Lindsay smiled. ‘No, this is great.’

Zack nodded. ‘We’re good.’

Eleanor leaned close to Lindsay and said in a stage whisper, ‘Zack is real sorry about your big fight.’

Zack coughed. ‘Would you beat it, Ellie? Lindsay and I have business to discuss.’

‘Marriage business?’ Eleanor said, hopeful.

Heat rose in Lindsay’s face. She didn’t dare look at Zack, but she could feel his gaze on her. ‘Just business.’

‘Zack, you need to fix this marriage,’ Eleanor said.

Zack cleared his throat and glared at her. ‘Ellie.’

She matched his glare. ‘What?’

‘Butt out.’

She grinned. ‘No way, José.’

‘Ellie,’ he warned.

‘Okay, okay, I’m going. But I’m going to be listening at the door.’

When Eleanor vanished into the kitchen, Zack said, ‘She can be a little outspoken.’

Lindsay broke a breadstick in two. ‘I always liked that about her.’

He laughed. ‘I do too, most times.’

She took a bite of pasta. It tasted like heaven. She didn’t realize how hungry she was. Before she knew it, she’d eaten half of the pasta on her plate.

Zack set down his fork. ‘Ellie’s right, you know.’

‘About what?’

‘Sooner or later, we’re going to have to settle this marriage business.’

Chapter Sixteen

Tuesday, July 8, 2:00P.M.

These days it was the little things that reminded Nicole of how much she’d lost during her marriage and was only now regaining in increments. Walking through the park. Ordering an ice cream cone. Having money that she’d earned in her pocket.

She still felt shaky about life in general, but she was discovering how much she’d forgotten how good it felt to make decisions and to be independent.

She strolled down the Carytown district sidewalk. This was her favorite section of town. She loved the early nineteenth-century row houses that were painted bright colors and housed ethnic restaurants and curio shops as eclectic as their patrons.

Nicole moved past the smoothie store, the chocolate shop and into her favorite French bakery. She purchased a croissant and a café au lait and savored both before wandering back outside. Down here, she could almost pretend her life was normal.

Her gaze drifted to a familiarFOR RENTsign posted above a Pilates studio that was sandwiched between a jewelry store and a restaurant. Again, she imagined reopening her photography business.

Giving rein to impulse, she climbed the narrow steps of the building to the second floor. She followed aRENTERS INQUIRE HEREsign to a half-open green door. She knocked.

‘Come in!’

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