“No,” David shook his head, scrambling to recover. Eve scrambled his brain and better judgment. He had to nip this conversation in the bud. “There were bad people after her. The only way to keep her safe was to let her go.”
“You mean as in witness protection?” Eve’s voice dropped, and he couldn’t believe how sharp she was. He’d have to watch himself around her.
“Something like that,” David confirmed, then leaned forward. “Trust me, there hasn’t been a day that’s gone by since she left that I haven’t thought about her or missed her dearly. But she’s safer now.”
“Again, David, I’m sorry,” Eve said. No judgment in her voice, just warm compassion and a deep understanding of loss.
“We do what we have to, in order to keep the people we love safe,” David told her, turning back to his now-cold coffee. “So what do you do when you’re not on vacation in St. Augustine?”
“Oh, I’m the head of surgery at a hospital in Los Angeles,” Eve told him.
David’s eyebrows rose. “Impressive.”
She asked him about what he did. He told her he was a plumber and did a bit of woodwork around St. Augustine and Anastasia Island.
“Was that always your career?” Eve asked, tilting her head slightly. “I somehow wouldn’t have guessed that’s what you did for a living.”
David laughed. Dr. Eve Reynolds really was as sharp as a tack. He sharpened his resolve to watch himself around her. He couldn’t afford any slip-ups or … he shook the thought away before it formed. “I worked for the government before, but I’m retired now. Or semi-retired.”
He didn’t elaborate on what he’d done for them.
She gave a gentle push. “When you say you worked for the government, did you work for the DMV?” Her eyes held a teasing light, but he could see the curiosity shining beneath.
“No,” David said. “I worked in intelligence.”
“Military?” Eve asked.
“Something like that,” David answered, hedging.
“Ah,” Eve said, her smile widening. “So it’s a ‘you could tell me, but you’d have to kill me’ scenario.”
“Something like that.” David laughed.
Thankfully, Eve dropped it.
Too soon, Lila, Brian, Milly, and Dan came back, all of them laughing and talking over each other about the rides.
“Eve, this is my husband, Dan,” Milly said, introducing a tall, broad man with a broody expression that softened when he looked at his wife.
“It’s lovely to meet you,” Eve said.
It was time to go, and David reluctantly stood, already missing the easy conversation and the way Eve’s smile made something in his chest loosen.
Then, to his mortification and part delight, Milly opened her mouth.
“You should come to our place for a barbecue,” Milly said. “Experience the more rural part of St. Augustine.”
Eve smiled. “Thank you, that’s very kind. But we have plans tonight with an old family friend.” She glanced at David. “You grew up here, you must know him. William Moore.”
David’s world tilted.
Yes, he knew William Moore.
What he hadn’t realized was that William was a close family friend of Eve’s. He’d seen them greet William and Julie Christmas the previous day, but he’d thought that was just because they were staying at the Christmas Inn.
“Yes, we know William,” Milly answered for him, and he suddenly realized he hadn’t answered and had been lost in his thoughts. “Everyone in St. Augustine does.”
Well said and nice save, David thought.
