Page 40 of Sweet Revenge
“Looks different now, doesn’t it?”
She turned at Finn’s voice behind her, smiling warmly. She and Finn had been the same year in school, so she’d spent as much time with him as she had with Cait and Maura in their classes. Cait had hated Finn in school, and it amused her that sometime between then and now her friend had stopped hating the man she’d dubbed Declan’s annoying little brother.
“When did you and Cait get together?”
His eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Okay, not what I expected you to say. Cait didn’t tell you?”
Evie shrugged. “I haven’t asked.”
“She started spending a lot of time here after you left. I think she kept hoping Declan would be able to find you. He didn’t tell you that,” he said when her eyes widened. “Shit. He looked for you. For a while. When Dad finally forced him to stop looking, he…”
Finn rubbed the back of his neck and glanced at his brother. “And Cait was a mess. I’d like to think we’d have gotten together at some point without the push of her grief for you. But in a way, I’m kind of grateful. So, thanks.”
Evie couldn’t help but chuckle at his wide grin. “Well, at least some good came out of it.”
“She’s glad to have you back. But Evie,” he went on, drawing her gaze. “If you hurt her again—”
“I know,” she interrupted. “I’m going to do my best not to make the same mistakes twice. Speak of the devil.” Evie spotted Cait making her way down the hall with a reluctant Maura in tow.
Maura breezed by her with an icy nod and crossed the room to James, rising onto her tiptoes to brush a kiss across his cheek. At least with James, Maura could smile. Evie could feel Maura’s devotion to her fiancé from across the room. It warmed her, even if Maura wanted nothing to do with her.
When her gaze shifted to Declan, she found him staring back at her, blue eyes intense and searching. He’d looked for her. That thought stirred something unfamiliar in her chest. She’d wondered, in those first few months, if Declan had loved her enough to search for her and what she would have done if he actually found her, if he’d said all the right things and begged her to come home.
If he had, she’d probably be standing next to him across the room laughing along with him while their children slept upstairs, and Maura wouldn’t be looking at her like she was a bug that needed crushing. If he had, she wouldn’t be standing feet away from him feeling like they were miles apart.
“Am I interrupting?” Cait asked, looking from Evie to Declan and back again.
“No,” Evie said, turning to wrap her friend in a tight hug. Pulling back, she cupped Cait’s face in her hands, hazel eyes staring into Cait’s blue ones. “I’m sorry, Caitlin.”
Cait’s smile was puzzled. “For what?”
“For…for all of it.”
Cait’s eyes misted as understanding dawned, and she wrapped Evie in another fierce hug. “I forgive you. You know that, right? You believe me when I say it?”
“I believe you,” Evie whispered, voice hoarse through her own unshed tears.
“Come on,” Cait said, releasing her then gripping Evie’s hand. “Let’s get a drink.” She stopped in front of the minibar. “What’ll it be?”
“The wine’s good,” Declan said in her ear.
His voice melted through her like liquid gold, and she turned to look up at him. He was so close she could smell the spicy notes of his aftershave, and she had to stop herself from taking another step closer and breathing him in.
“I bet you drink red,” he added, moving to lift a bottle from the rest.
It was the same brand she’d brought back from the restaurant. “That’s an easy guess.”
He grinned and opened it for her, pouring her a glass. When he handed it to her, she took a step back. It was hard to think standing that close to him. She took a slow sip while he watched her. Still just as good as the first taste she’d had at the restaurant.
“You’ll have to tell me where I can buy this once I go back to New York.”
He cocked his head, expression neutral. “We’ll see.”
He turned when his uncle called his name, and she frowned, unsure if he’d been referring to the wine or her leaving. They settled into pockets of conversation, and she perched on the arm of the sofa, not knowing enough to participate and not entirely sure she’d be welcome if she tried with the looks Aidan and Maura were giving her.
“Evie,” Cait called from her spot on the couch, drawing her attention. “The nun who taught chemistry, with the glasses and the freckles, what was her name?”
Evie scrunched her nose, trying to bring the woman’s face into view. “Sister Mary Francis?”
