Page 19 of Healing You
“I already told you, Mom. I'm not interested. I love Maple Grove as it is. Besides, I have plans for that money...as soon as you apolo—”
“Yvonne, it would be silly not to hear it out,” her dad cut her off. “Besides, the condos and shopping center will be happening with or without your investment. I—we just think it would be a wise place for your money to go.”
Jonah slid a hand across the linen tablecloth and rested it atop hers. Across the table, Steve inhaled sharply. “Babe,” Jonah said, “you could double what's in that trust. Think of all the animals you could save with double the amount? And it's an investment that would keep on giving. It would keep paying and those profits could be used toward the shelter.”
Yvonne yanked her hand back and tucked it into her lap. “Since when do you care about my rescue?”
For all of a moment, he looked hurt, and regret nipped at her toes. He'd cared when they were together. He just didn't take it seriously. As though she was cute for having a goal to grow her rescue.
And she had to admit that just now, he made a good point. The trust was just sitting there, but investing that money would offer potential growth for her and the rescue. Maybe she could even start helping farm animals and larger breeds. Like so many other aspects of her life, Jonah and her parents couldn't let this be something she chose for herself. They cornered her into it; coerced her as though she wasn't adult enough to hear them out on an intelligent topic. God, she wanted to bite her nails. Instead, she squeezed her hands together in her lap.
“I told you this was pointless,” her mother complained. “Even with Sophy here to explain it, we still can't get through to her.”
“I was thinking, Mother. You know, for myself. It's a huge decision, with a lot of money at stake.” She glanced up at Sophy. “I would want to see plans. Projections for the scope of the project before I seriously considered investing.”
The table grew silent. “You're very quiet over there, Steven,” Jonah said, taking a bite of his ravioli. “What do you do?”
“It's Steve. And I'm a veterinarian.”
“Oh,” Jonah nodded, feigning interest. Yvonne lifted her eyes from the table and gave Steve a weak, apologetic smile. He returned it half-heartedly. “How interesting,” Jonah answered, eyeing Yvonne.
“You have pets?” Steve asked.
Jonah shook his head. “Not anymore.”
Heat flushed Yvonne's cheeks. The only pet he'd ever had was her Gatsby. Only he wasn't ever Jonah's. If her ex-fiancé had had his way, Gatsby would have been tethered to a tree in the yard twenty-four hours a day.
“What do you do?” Steve asked, redirecting the conversation.
“I'm an attorney. Mostly divorce, but I have dabbled in some litigation in the past as well.”
“How interesting,” Steve repeated Jonah's earlier response with a more mocking tone. The silence resumed.
“Jonah,” Sophy finally broke the tense moment and nearly everyone at the table sighed. “Did you tell them the news?” She grinned and a dimple puckered high on her cheek.
Yvonne blinked and for some reason a ripple shivered in her hollow stomach. “News?”
He ran a hand across his hair. “Well, I was going to tell you after dinner. Sophy helped me buy a house up on the hill on the West End. We closed on it just a few days ago.”
That hollow pit gonged in her stomach and she gave a frustrated sigh. Jonah was a nice enough guy, but the last thing she wanted was to have to see him around town frequently. “You're moving to Maple Grove?”
He shrugged nonchalantly, as though this news was nothing to be startled by. Jesus. Had he forgotten their fights, night after night? She didn't want to leave Maple Grove. He didn't want to leave Laconia. And they couldn't settle on where to live after the wedding. It was the first snowball in the avalanche that was the end of their relationship. “Why?” Yvonne tried again.
“Well, with the investments, it made sense for me to live in the community I'll be putting so much money into.”
Oh, God. Yvonne met Steve's curious gaze as she swallowed hard. This could not happen. She was already avoiding one ex in Maple Grove... there was no way she could handle dodging two.
“Excuse me,” Yvonne said as she pushed her chair back and rushed for the bathrooms.
What a shit date this turned out to be, Steve thought as he stretched in his chair. His first one in ages, and he ended up sitting across from his ex. Who would have known that the girl from the coffee shop would turn out to be a person in charge of turning his town on its head? But what was even more confusing was the fact that Yvonne was even considering investing in this project.
Steve also excused himself, setting the napkin beside his plate. He found his way to the men's room and paused just outside the doors, putting his ear to the ladies door. It was silent on the other side. Looking down the hallway, he couldn't quite see their table from outside the bathrooms.
With another glance behind him, he pushed the door open to the women's bathroom for a quick peek, praying no one other than Yvonne was in there. Through the sliver of the door, he saw Yvonne standing at the sink, her cheeks flushed with anger. “Yvonne?” he said gently, slipping inside the bathroom.
“Get out of here, Steve.”
She glanced up at him in the mirror, her eyes rimmed red. The blotchy flush interrupted what would have been perfect complexion. “You're not supposed to be here.” Steve wasn't sure if she meant there in the bathroom or dining at the restaurant with her family.
