Chapter 8

8

Iona

S o this was her.

The infamous Evenie Lewis.

I could see why Tyrion had such a hard time moving on. She was absolutely beautiful. I mean, there was also the fact that she was his missing wife that kept him from moving on, but the woman was gorgeous. She stared at me for the longest time before turning her gaze to Tyrion. The hurt in her eyes was clear.

“Fiancée,” she whispered.

“I was gonna tell you, Ev,” Tyrion said. “Everything just… today happened so fast.”

She pursed her lips, tears brimming in her eyes.

“Why don’t I cook us something to eat,” Mrs. Pauline suggested. “Cairo, come help me in the kitchen.”

I could tell she didn’t want to be a part of this conversation by the way she ushered her husband out of the room.

“Daddy, is Mommy gonna stay here?” Summer Rose asked.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Evenie said.

“But you can’t leave. I just got you. Daddy, don’t let her go!”

She ran over to her father, giving him the saddest puppy-dog eyes. He looked down at her. Forever the sucker, I could tell he was going to concede.

“You can stay a couple of days, can’t you?” he asked his wife.

“You can sleep in my room,” Summer offered. “We can have a sleepover.”

Evenie’s face softened as she looked at Summer but hardened as she looked at me.

“I guess since this is no longer my home, I should ask if you’re okay with that,” she said to me.

I pulled back the frown I felt about to pop up. She didn’t have to put me on the spot like that. Of course, I couldn’t look like the bad guy and say no. Missing wife and mother be damned. I didn’t want another woman under the same roof with my man, especially one who clearly still loved him.

I smiled. “Of course it’s fine. I think it’s a great chance for you and Summer to spend some time together until we can work out something more permanent.”

Summer took that and ran with it. “Let me show you my room!”

She ran over to her mother and grabbed her hand, pulling her off down the hall. I turned to Tyrion.

“Can I speak with you in private?”

I didn’t give him a chance to respond before I was walking back out the front door. His footsteps echoed behind me as I made my way to the end of the driveway. Once we were far enough away from the house, I turned back to him.

“How could you blindside me like that?” I asked.

“If you think you were blindsided, how do you think I feel? I wasn’t expecting this today. I was preparing for a meeting when I got the call. I had to drive two hours to get her.”

“So you had a total of four hours to let me know what was up, and you didn’t think about that?”

“Iona… my wife was missing for ten years. I didn’t know if she was dead or alive. The last thing I thought about when I got that call, was calling you.”

“Oh! Okay.”

He sighed. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant I didn’t think about calling you or anybody—”

“Yet your parents and hers are here. I guess I was just the afterthought.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry, okay? I told the people I knew would want to see her first. Please don’t make this personal. She’s back, and she’s gonna be around for Summer. You two will just have to get used to each other. I’m begging you. Don’t make this any more awkward than it already is. Just come inside. Eat dinner. Get to know her.”

He tried to pull me toward the house, but I yanked away. “I need a minute.”

He sighed and raised his hands in surrender. “Okay.”

Leaning in, he kissed my cheek before heading back up to the house. I paced the driveway for a good five minutes before storming to my car to grab my phone to call my mother.

“Pick up, pick up,” I mumbled as the phone rang several times.

“Hello?”

“Ma.”

“What’s wrong with you? Why do you sound like that?”

“She’s back.”

“Who’s back?”

“Tyrion’s wife, Mama. I came to drop Summer off, and there she was standing in the living room. Mama, he didn’t even tell her he’s getting married.”

“Hold on, calm down.”

“I can’t calm down. You didn’t see the hurt in her eyes, Mama. She still loves him. She came here thinking she was getting her family back, and she’s not.”

“Iona, take a deep breath. In and out.”

It was frustrating that she was doing her psychology shit on me, but I did as she suggested and took a few deep breaths.

“Now,” she continued. “Tyrion loves you. He asked to spend the rest of his life with you, baby.”

“That was before he knew she was, in fact, alive. Again, he didn’t tell her about me—”

“The man was in shock. I wouldn’t be thinking about my fiancée if my missing spouse popped up, either. I don’t say that to be harsh; I say it to be real. I’m sure he didn’t intentionally keep you in the dark. That’s a hard thing to tell someone and an even harder pill to swallow, baby. Give him some grace.”

She wasn’t helping. She was supposed to be on my side, not be the fucking voice of reason.

“I gotta go, Ma.”

“Iona—”

I hung up the call, resisting the urge to throw my phone.

“He’s yours,” I told myself. “You have the ring. You just have to make sure he files for divorce.”

I took a few deep breaths and smoothed my hands over my clothes before walking back into the house. Tyrion was mine. I’d put in too much time and effort to let this woman pop back up and snatch him from me. If she didn’t know what it was, she would find out.

The time at Tyrion’s was awkward before dinner, and even more awkward during dinner. I sat here quietly, pushing my food around my plate, and taking a bite every so often. Summer dominated the conversation, telling her mother all about herself, and her grandparents joined in with all kinds of stories.

Tyrion was almost as quiet as I was. I watched him throughout dinner. Every now and then, he glanced over at her. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but the look on his face had a hint of guilt in it.

Right before Mrs. Pauline served ice cream for dessert, I heard the locks on the front door disengage. I looked back to see Nina walk in with Jersey in tow.

“Sorry I’m late! I had to work over, and then traffic was—”

She paused as she stepped into the dining room, and her eyes landed on Evenie who wore a big smile.

“Evenie!” Nina screamed.

Evenie stood from the table, and they damn near crashed into each other. The crying started all over again. When they finally broke apart, Nina slapped Tyrion on the arm.

“Why didn’t you tell me!” she whined. “This is as good a reason as any to leave work early.” She hugged Evenie again. “Oh my God! It’s so good to see you, Ev.”

“It’s good to see you too.”

Nina waved Jersey over. “Baby, you remember me telling you about my best friend?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“This is your godmother. Give her a hug.”

Jersey, being the friendly little girl she was, went straight into Evenie’s arms.

“She’s so beautiful, Nina,” she declared. “You were a tiny thing the last time I saw you.”

“Are you Summer’s mom?” Jersey asked.

“I am.”

Her eyes widened, and a smile broke out on her face as she looked to her friend. “Your wish came true!” she exclaimed.

“Wish?” Evenie questioned.

Summer Rose nodded. “My birthday wish. I wished you would come home. I know I wasn’t supposed to tell my wish, but Jersey wished real hard with me. Now you’re here.”

Evenie swiped a tear from her eye. “I’m here. And I’m not going anywhere.”

“Hell no, you aren’t,” Nina agreed. She clutched her heart. “My twin flame is home.”

They shared another embrace, and I wanted to gag. I could tell the mutual respect Nina and I had for each other was out the window now that her bestie was back.

“Are you staying here?” Nina asked.

“Only a few days. I really just want to spend as much time with Summer as I can right now.” She slapped her forehead. “Shoot. It just hit me. I don’t have anything to wear.”

Tyrion spoke up. “Oh, your clothes are in the attic. They might be a little dated, but it’s something until we can get you more.”

“I don’t think I can fit those,” Evenie said, looking down at her body. “I’m not exactly the same size I was ten years ago.”

“Then you can wear something of mine tonight, and we’ll go pick you up a few things tomorrow.”

“I couldn’t let you do that,” she protested.

“It’s not a problem, love.”

That time, I couldn’t pull back the frown fast enough. I guess Mr. David caught it because he went into his pocket and pulled out his wallet.

“Baby girl, Daddy’s got you,” he said, fishing out his black card. “Get whatever you need.”

Nina grinned. “Okay, big spender! Mr. David, I’m practically your daughter, too, you know.”

He chuckled. “Get yourself something nice, Nina.”

She squealed as she went to hug him. “Thank you,” she said, plucking the card from his fingers. “I’m coming to get you in the morning,” she said to Evenie. “Me, you, and the girls are gonna have a ball.”

I looked over at Tyrion, who seemed a little bummed that Nina had swooped in for the shopping trip. I had to get out of here. Pushing off from the table, I stood.

“I’m gonna get going,” I said.

“Do you want me to box that up?” Mrs. Pauline asked. “You barely touched your food.”

I couldn’t tell if she was being funny or not, but I didn’t like that shit. Still, I remained calm as I answered her.

“It’s okay. I don’t have much of an appetite. I guess it’s all the excitement. Y’all have a nice night. Evenie… welcome back.”

“Wait,” she said. “You don’t live here?”

Tyrion spoke up. “Iona is moving in after the wedding.”

Evenie looked between us. “Hmm. And when is that?”

“June of next year.”

“Well…” she said, clasping her hands together. “I guess you’ll have to tell me all about your wedding plans, huh?”

I gave a tight-lipped smile. “I guess I will.” I motioned Summer over to give her a hug. “You be a good girl and have fun. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

I could tell that stung Evenie just a little. The petty in me wouldn’t let me just walk out of the house. The part of me that wanted her to know this was my man walked over to Tyrion. I palmed his face with my left hand, making sure she could see my beautiful engagement ring, and leaned in to kiss him.

“I love you,” I said, swiping my lipstick from his lips.

I didn’t wait for him to say it back before I sashayed my pretty ass right on out the front door.