Page 11 of In this Moment

Chapter Three

It was a restless night, but somehow Evie managed to get some sleep. First thing in the morning, she called Joanne, the mom of Jonah’s best friend, and arranged for a him to hang out with her son Brandon for the day. Jonah needed some time with his buddies, having fun in the sun, and Evie definitely needed some time to think and figure out what was happening.

Russ Vince had called her back the night before, but only to tell her that he would look into what was going on first thing in the morning. He hadn’t heard anything from Tony’s lawyer, at least not yet, so as far as they could assume, Tony’s desire to move was only a coincidence and didn’t have anything to do with Evie or more specifically, Jonah.

Evie knew it wasn’t a coincidence, but she couldn’t keep making herself crazy with what-ifs so she’d decided to go into the store early and make sure all the new merchandise had been properly organized by April the night before.

She lost herself in the work, and soon enough it was time to open. Evie flipped the sign on the door over promptly at ten and only ten minutes later, the bells over the door jingled to signal a customer.

Evie looked up to see a tall woman with a severe ponytail pulled back tight and high on her head. She was wearing a bright-blue halter top and shorts that even from a distance, Evie could see, left very little to the imagination. The woman looked around a moment before her eyes landed on Evie, who smiled sweetly.

“Hi there,” Evie said. “Can I help you find something?”

“I think you can.” The woman seemed almost predatory as she crossed the shop floor toward the desk where Evie stood and Evie had to force herself not to back up. “Are you the owner of thisshop?”

Alarm bells went off in her head, but still, she stayed calm. It could be someone interested in small business or who’d heard of Live, Love, Lake. Evie kept the smile on her face. “Iam.”

“EvelynRose?”

The bells rang louder. “Can I help you with something?”

“I’m Tony’swife.”

The bells in her head turned into sirens. She was consumed by noise in her head, and it took everything she had to stay standing and somehow maintain her composure, although for the life of her, she couldn’t think of anything tosay.

“My name is Lauren. Lauren Clarke.” She emphasized her last name as if Evie would care. But clearly shedid.

“Hi.” Unsure of what else to do, Evie extended her hand. “It’s…well…hi.”

Lauren took her hand and squeezed. In an instant, the woman’s demeanor changed as whatever shields she had up melted. “It’s so nice to meet you.” Lauren pumped Evie’s hand. “I didn’t think you’d want to. But I’m so gladyou—”

Evie didn’t have a chance to register anything the woman said because the door to the shop opened and the bells jangled loudly, announcing someoneelse.

“Lauren!”

The woman dropped Evie’s hand, which Evie immediately tucked up, crossing her arms protectively over her chest as Tony Clarke sauntered towardthem.

“I thought I asked you to wait outside?” He chastised his wife before he turned to Evie. “Evelyn, it’s good to see you. I hoped to make the introductions myself. I didn’t want it to be uncomfortable.”

Uncomfortable? As if anything about this situation could be anything butuncomfortable.

“It is a bit of a surprise,” Evie said. “You didn’t tell me you were coming.”

Neither of them mentioned the fact that they hadn’t actually spoken in years. Their communication had been reduced to the direct deposits into Evie’s bank account and the twice-yearly package she sent to him with pictures of theirson.

“Well, it was one of those things.” Tony wrapped his arm around Lauren and pulled her close. “We just got it in our heads that we wanted to come for a visit. It’s been a long time since I’ve beenhere.”

“Almost nine years.”

The smirk fell off Tony’s face at her candid reply.

“I heard you were doing a lot more than visiting.” She stood straight, challenging him. She didn’t know what he was playing at, but if it involved her son, she’d be damned if Tony was going to think he had the upper hand in anything. He may have surprised her by showing up, but that would be the last surprise.

“Word travelsfast.”

“It’s a small town.” She stared into his eyes, so much like Jonah’s. There were other similarities, too. Jonah had inherited his thick, dark hair and olive-toned skin from his dad’s Italian heritage as well. She’d forgotten how handsome Tony was, and the years had treated him well. He’d grown from a boy into aman.

But some things hadn’t changed.

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