“I’d better run,” David said. He nodded once to both of them, his gaze lingering on Lila for just a moment before he turned and walked away.
“Uncle William!” Lila called, her voice pulling Eve’s attention away.
Eve looked across the street where Lila was waving toward William and Julie. They spotted them immediately, their faces lighting with surprise and pleasure as they waved back.
Eve turned to look at David one more time.
He was gone.
Vanished.
Eve frowned, scanning the street. It was a straight road with no side streets for at least another block. Storefronts lined both sides, their windows bright with displays. People walked in both directions, but none of them were David Lawson.
He had disappeared like he had walked through some invisible portal.
Eve glanced down at the card in her hand, then slipped it into her pocket. It had been a long, long time since she had been bowled over by someone both physically and emotionally. She could still feel the tingle where his hand had held hers for far longer than necessary.
“Are you okay?” Julie asked as she and William reached them, slightly out of breath from hurrying across the street. Julieglanced in the direction Eve had been looking. “Are you looking for someone?”
“What?” Eve asked, feeling a little bewildered. She shook her head and pulled herself together. “Oh, no. Just admiring how beautiful the city looks, and I can’t wait to see it all lit up at night.”
5
DAVID
David stood in the boutique across the street, his back pressed against the wall beside the display window, watching as Eve and Lila crossed to meet William and Julie.
It had been a long, long time since anyone had affected him as much as Eve had. The feel of her hand in his, solid and warm and real. The surprise in her eyes, the flush on her cheeks, the way she’d smiled at him like she was discovering something unexpected.
And Lila.
She reminded him so much of his daughter, it had been such a shock, it had almost taken his breath away. The same brightness, the same curiosity, the same tilt of her head when she was interested in something. And the color of her eyes… He’d forced the ache in his heart away, locked it down the way he had learned to do over nearly three decades of practice.
But it still hurt.
“David?” a voice called from deeper in the shop.
David turned away from the window, pulling himself back into the present.
Margaret Warren stood near the counter, her expression a mix of relief and apology. She was in her mid-sixties, with sharp eyes and capable hands, the kind of woman who had built her business from nothing and refused to let anything break it.
“Thank you so much for coming on such short notice,” Margaret said, moving toward him. “You were right about having to get the pipes fixed properly, and I’ll put in a whole new system in the new year.” She blew out a breath that made her bangs flutter. “But this has been our busiest season in a long time. I can’t shut down now. Please, can you fix them one last time? The pipes in the ladies’ room have burst again.”
David smiled despite himself. Margaret had given him his first assignment when he’d moved back to St. Augustine two years ago. She’d found him through a mutual acquaintance, someone who knew David preferred to work quietly and didn’t ask too many questions about why a man with his particular skills was doing plumbing work in a small coastal city.
He only had a few hand-picked clients that he helped. He didn’t need the business. Money wasn’t an issue, hadn’t been an issue for a very long time. It was more about keeping busy, about moving through the town without drawing attention to himself.
David didn’t like attention. He preferred to be left alone.
Plumbing was more of a hobby to him. He enjoyed fixing things. He also did a bit of woodwork in his spare time, building furniture in the workshop behind his cabin. It helped keep his mind and hands busy, kept the past from creeping in too often,and kept him from thinking too much about everything he’d given up and lost.
Margaret’s boutique was one of his favorite customers. She sold women’s clothing, upscale but not ostentatious, with a small coffee shop tucked into the back corner where customers could sit and chat while they browsed. There were changing rooms along the far wall and a customer bathroom that had been giving Margaret trouble for months.
“Show me,” David said, grabbing his toolbox from where he’d set it by the door.
Margaret led him through the shop, past racks of dresses and shelves of jewelry, toward the back hallway. The bathroom door was propped open, and David could already hear the water running.
He gave one last look toward the window, toward where Eve and Lila were walking away with William and Julie.
