Chapter 63

Evie

Buzz. Buzz.

Someone is sitting on the doorbell. I know Jeffrey is out with friends and he has a key. That leaves only one person who would show up in Manhattan at ten p.m. unannounced. I want to ignore the bell but clearly Caroline isn't going anywhere. I'll need to have a chat with Paul and have him talk some sense into his employer.

Yeah, right. Like that would ever happen. Paul is as loyal to Caroline as a royal subject to his queen.

Caroline has to know I'm still livid. Even if what she said about Marco rang true.

"Would you leave me alone already!" I shout, stomping to the foyer and yanking open the door. I come to an abrupt halt.

Stephanie is standing in the doorway, her face as red as her hair. Brad appears to be hiding in the corner of the hallway, staying out of the line of fire.

"Stephanie?"

"I can't imagine who you would be expecting with that welcome."

"Sorry, I thought you were my friend . . . forget it. What are you doing here?"

Steph bites the inside of her cheek. "Brad and I are on our way to Madrid for our honeymoon. We have an overnight layover here in New York. Thought we'd use it to, well, stop by."

"You're spending your honeymoon looking for me?"

She must interpret my tone as more irritated than surprised as she begins to turn away. "Maybe it wasn't the most thought-out idea."

Brad sneaks up closer, placing his hands on Steph's muscular shoulders and gently turns her body back to face me. "Steph really wants to talk to you," he says to me.

I can't fathom what this is about. "Please come in."

I show them inside and they take off their coats, Steph assessing the surroundings. "Nice place."

"Thanks."

"Wasn't expecting snow."

I'm not one for small talk and make my way to the liquor cabinet. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"What's the strongest thing you have?"

Seems Steph and I are on the same page.

"A bottle of Kentucky bourbon. It's what I'm having."

Brad says, "Make it three, please."

I bring over three glasses and the bottle. I keep the whiskey in the house ‘just in case.' If ever there was a time to open it, this is it.

I take a seat on the opposite loveseat, realizing that Caroline was the last person to sit in the same exact spot Stephanie now occupies. As much as that conversation had been a disaster, this one will surely be far worse.

I pour out three shots and down one. Steph follows suit, then says, "I hear your name is Evie Lawson."

"Guilty as charged," I say, immediately regretting the choice of words I am using with a federal officer.

I refill my glass but don't drink it. I need my wits about me. "Before you say your piece, I need to apologize."

Steph sighs.

"I'm terribly sorry," I say, taking a deep breath. "I'm so embarrassed for lying . . . to all of you."

Brad nods. "Thanks, that helps."

We sit in silence for a full minute, me unsure what else to say. "Well, then, if that's all?—"

"I ran a thorough background check on you," Steph blurts out.

"Excuse me?" I say, not sure I'm hearing her correctly.

"My friends, the ones you met at the wedding?—"

"The Feds," Brad says, like he's eaten something unsavory.

My defenses are building a Wall of China. I do my best to keep my voice even. "I remember them."

Steph sucks on her teeth, Brad shifts in his seat.

Steph says, "I asked them to look into your history. Everything."

What?

I gulp audibly. "Define ‘everything.'"

"Your education, job history, finances, kids, reason for your divorce."

Hearing her mention my boys, my mama bear is ready to poke out its head and growl. Loudly.

I want to protest the vile breach of my privacy. Before I can ask if what she's done is even legal, Steph says, "I needed to know what else you were lying about."

"Nothing," I say, seething.

"I know that now but I didn't then."

Brad seems to fade into the sofa's fabric. "For the record, I was not on board with this."

My focus is solely on Steph. "Why would you do that? What was the point? Were you planning to have me arrested?"

At this, both Steph and Brad laugh, stopping abruptly with my angry mien. "If only that were an option," she says.

I get to my feet. It is time for them to leave. What I did was stupid but not malicious, like Steph's investigation was. "Adam and I blew it big time but what you did?—"

Steph holds up a hand. "I checked your background so I would feel better."

My hands are firmly on my hips. "About what?"

"Telling you to go back to Yosemite, make up with Adam."

Of all the things I could have imagined Steph to say, that one wasn't on the list.

"Come again?"

"Adam and I have a strange bond. We fight like cats and dogs and are competitive with one another but at the end of the day, we love each other very much. He always wants me to be happy and I want the same for him."

I swallow hard. "What exactly are you saying?"

"I—" she takes hold of Brad's hand. "We, think you and Adam are perfect together. Even if you are partners in crime. And despite my brother's poor decisions, teaming up with you wasn't one of them."

I feel my eyes water.

Brad says, "From what I understand, if it weren't for your calming influence, Steph and I might not be here right now."

I chuckle softly. "It was nothing."

Brad says, "It was everything."

Steph nods.

I feel a wave of emotion. "I really appreciate you coming here and clearing the air but it's no use. Adam and I are too different. For one, I'm older." I frown. "By far."

"I know," Steph says.

Of course she does.

"Why should that matter?" Steph asks.

"We're at different points in our lives. I've already had my children. He may want some of his own."

Brad says, "Maybe that's something you should discuss with him directly."

I shake my head. "My life is here with my boys. Adam would never want to move to New York." He probably wouldn't even want to visit.

Steph looks away. It is clear I hit on something insurmountable. "Listen, I won't pretend that Adam would ever want to live in a big city far from all the nature he loves. But you two need to talk. No matter what the outcome."

I choose to leave out how hurt I was that Adam didn't come to my aid at the wedding. There's no point.

Steph must have sensed the end of the line. To Brad she says, "We tried."

Brad offers a thin smile. "Good luck, Evie."

To my surprise, Steph puts an arm around me and gives me a hug. I pat her back. "Be happy, you two."

We say a final goodbye for what seems like the last time ever.