Page 28 of In this Moment

It’s a good thing, she reminded herself. Every boy needed a father and the fact that Tony wanted to be part of his life—even if it was eight years late—was a good thing. She needed to remember that. Ultimately, it wasn’t about her. It was about Jonah.

“Youokay?”

Declan was sitting across from her after getting her a latte and cinnamon bun. She was purposely trying not to look at the other table and instead focused on the foam flower that had been poured on the top of her drink—at least, what she assumed was a flower. Suzy had been practicing her coffee art, and while she was definitely getting better, some of her designs were still pretty hard to decipher.

“I’m good,” Evie said after a moment. “I mean, as good as can be expected, I guess. But it wasn’t as bad as I thought it wouldbe.”

“Good.”

She nodded. “It is. I mean, if Jonah’s happy, that’s a good thing. But I can’t help but think about this whole custody mess. I mean, what’s Tony thinking? He can’t just come inhere—”

“Hey.” Declan put his hand over hers. “Don’t think about that now. You and I both know it won’t happen. But it does look like he wants to be part of Jonah’s life and that is a good thing. The custody situation will work itself out. It’ll beokay.”

She ripped off a piece of bun and dipped it into her drink. “I hope so. When I spoke to Russ this morning, he told me to be as agreeable as was reasonable. If I can show that I’m willing to have shared custody and co-parent effectively, the whole thing will be easier.”

Declan smiled and patted her hand. “I think that’s good advice.” He stared into her eyes and for the briefest moment, it felt natural and real sitting there with him. As though they really were a couple. As if maybe they couldbe.

“Declan, I wantto—”

“Mom.”

Evie turned as Jonah ran up. “Tony and Lauren want to take me mini golfing tomorrow night. Can Igo?”

Tony was right behind him. “I should have asked you first.”

She narrowed her eyes, but recovered quickly. “Yes, you shouldhave.”

“Can I go, Mom? That new fun zone just opened up at Stone Summit, and I really want to go. Brandon was telling me about it. His dad took him last week and he said it was super cool. Can I go? Please?”

There was no way she could say no now. Truthfully, when she’d heard that Malcolm Stone had created the fun zone as a way to bring up some summer tourists to the ski hill in the off-season, she’d wanted to take Jonah up to check it out and support the new venture, but she’d been so busy with the store there hadn’t been time. Jonah’s face was lit up with hope and excitement. She looked to Declan and back at Jonah. “Of course,” she said with a smile she didn’t feel in her heart. “I’m sure that will be a lot offun.”

“Awesome! Thank you, Mom.”

“Thank you, Evie. I’m really hoping we can do more of these—”

“One thing at a time.” Evie cut himoff.

Declan reached out and took her hand. “It’s fine, Evie. Because my family really wants to have you over for a celebratory dinner.” He lifted her hand to his mouth and left a gentle kiss over her ring. “These things always seem to workout.”

For the dozenth time that morning, she was thankful Declan was there. This time her smile definitely reached her heart. Maybe even a little more than she expected itto.

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