Page 47 of In this Moment

Chapter Twelve

She needed to be alone to nurse her wounds and think about what she was going to do next. Because the truth was, all she really wanted to do was hide under her quilt and forget about everything. If she could just rewind two months, she would. Before Tony had come back into their lives, before he decided he wanted to share custody and turned her life around. Yes, if she could only rewind two months, she could avoid meeting Declan. And even if she couldn’t avoid the meeting, she could avoid falling in love withhim.

Love.

Because that’s what had happened. While she was busy trying to save her little family, she’d done the unthinkable and fallen in love with Declan McCormick.

That should be a good thing. She should be over the moon excited and giddy and all the things that you were supposed to be when you were in love. So why was she so miserable?

Because he didn’t loveher.

She’d heard him say it himself. She was a thing he had to take care of. And then he’d be gone to whatever cause needed him next because that’s all she was to him. A charity case. Someone to help out of a bind. That’s what Declan did. He helped people. Just like he’d tried to helpEvie.

She sat on the deck as long as she could. Finally, when she couldn’t avoid it any longer, she made her way back inside and dumped her now cold coffee down the drain. She was hoping to sneak into the bathroom to get ready, but Declan’s voice stoppedher.

“Good morning. I was wondering if you were ever going to get up.” He came up behind her and kissed the back of her neck sweetly.

The tender gesture almost broke her but somehow she swallowed hard and managed to keep the tears at bay. He was just so dammed good at his role. He was so good at pretending to be her fiancée that he’d even fooledher.

Well, if he could act, she couldtoo.

Evie put a smile on her face that she hoped looked a whole lot more natural than it felt and turned around. “I can’t believe I slept in so late,” she said. “But I have a lot to do so I’m just going to get going.”

There was a flicker of disappointment on his face. But maybe it was her imagination. “Do you have time for something to eat? I’ll make you breakfast.”

She wanted to. More than anything, Evie wanted to sit down at the kitchen table and chat with him while he made her a delicious breakfast that they could enjoy over another cup of coffee. She wanted that so verymuch.

But only if it was real. She no longer wanted the story.

She shook her head. “No. I really don’t have time. Sorry.”

This time, she was sure she saw disappointment on his face. Her heart clinched a little, but she steeled herself against it and turned to leave.

“Maybe tonight?” Declan reached out for her arm, his touch hot on her skin. She looked over her shoulder at him. “How about a movie on the couch? I’ll make the popcorn. It’s world famous.”

She couldn’t help it, she cracked a smile. “World famous, isit?”

“Absolutely. You’ve never tasted anything like it. I promise.”

She thought about it for a moment, and remembering that Jonah was going out with Tony, she finally nodded. “Okay.” Besides, it might be a good time to talk to him about their next steps. After all, there was no point carrying on with their charade any longer. “I’ll see you tonight.”

“Seriously, Cal.” Declan puffed out the words. “You need to slowdown.”

His brother turned and jogged backward, which only rubbed salt in his jogging sucks wound. “You can do better than that,” Cal said with a laugh.

Bastard wasn’t even out of breath after taking him on some sort of super speed run through town. For the life of him, Declan couldn’t remember why he kept agreeing to go jogging with his youngest brother. It had seemed like a good idea the first few times, more as a way to spend time with Cal, but now it was starting to seem more and more like torture as his brother only seemed to get fitter while he didn’t.

“Okay,” Declan said as soon as he caught up with Cal, who was finally waiting for him. “Let’s walk for a minute.”

“If we must,” Cal conceded. “I don’t need to be on set until later. We’re doing a night shoot tonight.”

“How’s that going anyway? Shooting? When’s the premiere?”

“Funny you should ask.” Cal took a swig of his water bottle. “Jade was just talking details about that yesterday. I think it’s going to be on Labor Day. Kind of an end-of-summer kick-off. She wants to use the big screen in the park that they use for family movie nights and invite the whole town. Combine it with the Labor Day festival.”

“That’s actually a good idea.” Declan polished off his own water and reached for Cal’s bottle. “After all, this show has been kind of a town effort since the start.”

“Exactly. And don’t worry, you’re VIP, so I’ll make sure you and Evie get front row seats with the rest ofus.”

---