Page 10 of All Because of You

Evan closed the bag and laughed. “I’m married to my job right now.”

“Well, you’re doing a mighty fine job reviving the downtown. I heard the hardware store is back open for business.”

He frowned. Somehow, the news about Herman Hardware must have leaked out—but obviously not the whole story. “I don’t think that’s happening anymore.”

“What do you mean? Hilda told me just this morning that she and José were in there last night shopping.”

“In where?”

“Now, sugar, you must be tired. I just told you. The hardware store.”

“As in, Hole-in-the-Wall Hardware?”

“What other hardware store do you know of in town?” Josephine laughed. “Well, speak of the angel herself. Madison Price, I hear you’re back for the long haul.”

Evan turned. “Madison.” Seriously? Why had his voice chosen that instant to sound like a prepubescent teen? He cleared this throat. “Hey.”

Somehow, despite her yoga pants and wrinkled shirt, she looked even more beautiful today than she had earlier this week in skinny jeans and a fitted sweater.

Ignoring him, she maneuvered past and approached the counter, where Ms. Josephine had a to-go bag waiting. “Hey, Ms. Josephine.” She smiled, the effect mesmerizing his focus. “It’s great to see you again. And you heard right.”

She had? Evan scrubbed a hand across his face as he waited for Madison to pay for her food.

Madison turned around, bag in hand. Surprise lit her features when she saw him still standing there but was soon replaced with something like annoyance—brows raised, nose scrunched, lips curled. Even that didn’t diminish her beauty or the vulnerability floating just beneath the surface.

Had he done something to offend her? Maybe she’d heard somehow about Herman Hardware. Things didn’t stay quiet in this town for long. Not that she had anything to worry about. Mr. Aldrin had looked pretty settled in his opinion when he’d left the meeting yesterday, and Evan hadn’t heard a word from anyone at Herman since.

“So, what’s this about you reopening the hardware store?”

Maybe she didn’t want him to notice the way she bit her lip, inhaling twice in rapid succession, but he did. “I haven’t officially reopened yet. I was just in there yesterday and people kept coming in. So I let them.” With a whirl, she hightailed it out of the café’s front door.

“Hang on.” He followed and caught up with her in front of Charmed, I’m Sure Books. “What you said to Ms. Josephine, though . . . that made it sound like you were planning to stick around.”

Madison continued her brisk pace without looking at him. She clutched the Frosted Cake bag in her fist. “So what if I am?”

The sidewalk was always pretty crowded this time of day and today was no exception. As Madison bulldozed her way past people ducking into various South Village shops and restaurants—from Hardings Market to Froggies Pizza and Rodolfo’s Taqueria—Evan did his best to keep up.

Finally, he snagged her elbow. She stopped abruptly, her eyes darting to his fingers. He let go immediately. “Sorry, it’s just kind of hard to talk while walking so fast.”

“I have a lot of work to do at the store. And we really don’t have anything to talk about.”

“Actually, there was something I’d like to discuss, if you don’t mind.” He tilted his head, smiling. “Can we go beachside? May as well enjoy the walk and get some extra breathing room in the meantime.”

Her teeth snagged her bottom lip, and he couldn’t help staring for a moment. “I guess.” Then she turned down an alley that led out to the sand, and Evan once again followed her. She stopped at the boardwalk and waited for him to catch up. Her shoulders straightened. “What did you want to talk about?”

The waning sun from the day backlit Madison, silhouetting her slim figure. They started walking, together this time, along the wide boardwalk. Occasional cyclists and kids on rollerblades passed, but for the most part, they were alone. The ocean to their right filled in the silence as he considered the best way to approach the topic.

“So, are you?”

“Am I what?”

“Planning to reopen the store.”

“Why do you care?”

Evan nearly stumbled at the clenched tone. Wow. Had Madison always been this prickly? Chrissy had described her as sweet, shy, and studious. He glanced at her and caught her wince.

“Sorry, that was rude. I’m going on only a few hours of sleep, but that’s no excuse.”

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