Page 81 of The Moment You Know

They had gotten an incredible deal on it because of the housing downturn, and because it needed some updating. After moving in, they had spent a lot of their spare time doing renovation projects like replacing carpet with wood flooring, installing crown molding, hanging new doors, and outfitting the kitchen with new appliances, cabinets and countertops. They had also painted every room, and painstakingly added furniture when they could afford it, scouring flea markets and estate sales, until they thought it was perfect.

He’d thought he and Paige would have a life here, with kids and maybe a dog to go with the cat they adopted.

None of that had happened, though.

Taking a deep breath, he got out of his car and started walking up the driveway. Halfway up, he heard his name being called and turned to see their elderly neighbor, Marilyn, crossing the lawn toward him.

“David!” she called out, her wrinkled face lighting up with a smile, just before she enveloped him in a hug. “It’s so good to see you after all this time.”

He hugged her back. “It’s good to see you, too.”

“What are you doing here?”

He motioned toward the house. “I came to see Paige for a minute. I need to talk to her about something.”

She gave him an odd look. “She’s not there.”

“Is she at work?” He looked back at the house, which had light shining out of several windows.

“I mean she doesn’t live there. She sold the house.”

He stared at Marilyn in shock, her words taking a moment to settle. “What? She sold the house?”

“You didn’t know?”

“No. When did she sell it?” He hated having to ask, because it advertised that he was completely out of Paige’s loop.

“Almost four years ago,” she told him, looking decidedly not happy to be the bearer of that news.

“Four years ago?”

She’d sold it a year after the divorce? David looked at the house, utterly stunned. And a lot pissed.

“Yes.”

“Do you know why?”

“All I know is that she was terribly unhappy and it was hard for her to do it. She loved that house so much.”

He took a deep breath and released it. “Fuck,” he muttered, then quickly apologized. “Sorry.”

Marilyn gave him a sympathetic smile. “I really do miss her. You, too,” she was quick to add. “She still comes by to see me once in a while and takes some applesauce off my hands, and we exchange Christmas cards every year, but it’s not the same as having her next door.”

After Marilyn insisted on giving him some applesauce and another hug, he got back in his car, and sat there, stewing. He thought about the text he’d sent, and how she could’ve let him know she wasn’t living at the house anymore—information that would’ve been really helpful—and got even more pissed. For a moment, he wondered if she’d not told him on purpose, just to fuck with him because of what had happened at Bender’s, and that pissed him off a little bit more.

He picked up his phone and called Paige.

He was done fucking around.

Chapter 31

When her phone rang thirty minutes later, Paige wasn’t surprised to see David’s name on caller ID.

“It’s David,” she announced, setting down her glass of wine.

“Answer it and put it on speaker,” Jules said, looking like she was Braveheart, gearing up to battle the English army at Falkirk.

Taking a deep breath, Paige accepted the call. “Hello?”

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