I pull the edge of the foil back to peek. “Oh yum, these smell divine.” I’m already visualizing the Facebook post Mrs. Bernard has probably already uploaded.
“How’s your dad’s leg?” Ryan asks James as they shake hands.
“Getting better,” James answers. “Or at least getting better at not complaining about it.”
The woman lets out a laugh while nudging James with her elbow. “Stop. He’s a far better patient than his son would be.” She turns to me. “There’s a never-ending poker game now that he’s stuck at home. He’s running out of friends who are willing to lose money to him.” Her hand falls gently on Ryan’s arm. “I know he’d love for you to stop by for a visit. Maybe lose a hand or two to keep his spirits up?”
She’s got both men hanging on her every word within minutes of arriving.
“It’s not hard for Ryan to lose at cards!” James says.
I laugh just enough that it sounds genuine, then gesture for everyone to take a seat at the table while Ryan adds the beer James brought to the tub.
“I’ll just be a second,” I say, then step inside to grab the appetizers I made earlier. Once I sit back down, I take a deep breath and soak everything in. It’s a gorgeous night, with weather Louisiana is seldom blessed with—warm and breezy with no humidity. It’s a shame to waste such a perfect evening on work.
The conversation is easy, with the guys doing most of the talking. She seems to approach this sort of thing the same way I do: listen and learn.
“We’re hogging the conversation,” Ryan says with a laugh after a bit, then turns to the woman sitting next to James. “I’d love to learn more about the newest addition to Lake Forbing.”
“Yes, we didn’t get much of a chance to talk at the Derby Party... Lucca.” It’s hard to say her name out loud. My name. It felt as bitter on my tongue as I thought it would.
She shrugs and sends James a warm smile. “Not much to tell. James and I met a few months ago. We both were working in Baton Rouge. I’man insurance adjuster and was there following up on a group of claims from the tornado that tore through last fall.”
“Yeah, that was a bad one,” Ryan says. “I have a couple of clients there. Lots of homes were destroyed.”
“It was tragic.” She reaches over and slips her hand into James’s. “Makes you really appreciate everything you have.”
It takes everything in me to keep my sweet smile and engaged expression locked into place.
“So, you just move from disaster to disaster?” I ask.
She cringes. “Pretty much. It gets hard sometimes. But there are breaks in between, like right now. There’s nowhere I need to be so I can handle the paperwork from anywhere.” Another loving glance at James and another squeeze of his hand, but he’s too busy downing the rest of his beer with his free hand to notice.
She’s good. The backstory is solid. Delivery is flawless. Facial movements match her emotions. I’m impressed.
James, on the other hand, needs some coaching, although I’m pretty sure he’s just a pawn. She’s polished while he looks to be hanging on by a thread. I can’t imagine any circumstance where this is actually a genuine relationship.
I’ve been in her spot before. Forcing something just for the sake of a job. The fact that she keeps looking at him like he’s hung the moon makes me respect her more than I want to.
She turns toward me and says, “James said you haven’t lived here long, Evie. What brought you to Lake Forbing?”
“Oh, I’ve been bouncing around for a while. My parents died in a car wreck a few years ago and I needed a change of scenery.” I bite down on my bottom lip and cast a glance at Ryan—my vulnerability making a quickappearance before I shove it back down. He scoots closer to me, resting his hand on my thigh. “Ended up here and fell in love with this place. I’m a sucker for a cute small town,” I say with a nervous laugh. “And for a cute guy who’s handy with minor car repairs.”
Ryan chuckles beside me. “Anything more than a tire change and I’ll need to call in reinforcements.”
She leans forward, grin stretching across her face. “Speaking of cute small towns, who is your college friend from Eden, Evie? I’m sure I know her or her family. It would be hard not to in a town that size.”
This bitch.
I match her smile. “Regina West. She’s got a younger sister, Matilda, and an older brother, Nathan, you may have known. We stayed at her house while we visited but I couldn’t tell you the street or neighborhood.”
Let’s see how good she is and just how thorough the packet she was given on me was. Regina West was a girl I went to school with, but her family moved away in seventh grade. We were best friends growing up, and I would love to find out how much of my past Mr. Smith knows. Nathan moved back to Eden about five years ago after he finished med school and opened a walk-in clinic there. There aren’t many family doctors in that area, so he is very well known and respected in the community.
Her brow creases as if she’s struggling with how to answer me. “That name does sound familiar...” She trails off, leaving the rest of her sentence unfinished.
Nope. I’m docking points. She obviously didn’t do any of her own research and relied only on what Mr. Smith gave her. And she would have been briefed on Nathan if my early friendship with Regina had been discovered, because we were inseparable before she moved. I’m guessing Mr. Smith didn’t uncover anything on me earlier than high school.
“Is Eden still where you call home?” Ryan asks. “I would think your company wouldn’t send you so far away for work.”
