Page 13 of The Summer We Started Over

“It’s just…I missed you so much.”

Eddie squeezed her hand affectionately. “Come on. I’ll walk you back to your shop. What time do you get home?”

“If I can get stuff more organized, I’ll be there by six.”

“Great.” Eddie stood up. “See you at dinner tonight.”

“That sounds wonderful.” Barrett stood, too, and hugged her sister. “I’msoglad you’re here!”

—

Eddie drove out to Bartlett’s Farm to buy some irresistible treats and a cartload of spring flowers to cheer up the inside of the house and put in the window boxes. She sang as she headed back to the farm. She knew Barrett had tried her best, but her younger sister was just too sweet to be bossy enough to get their father out of the house and intoreal life. Tonight, dinner out at a local, low-key restaurant. Tomorrow, a lecture at the library. Next, friends for her father—and aboyfriend for Barrett had to be waiting out there somewhere! Eddiesmiled. She could do it all. She hoped she could do it all in a month.

As she pulled into the driveway, her cell buzzed. Dinah. It hadn’t been even twenty-four hours since Eddie left New York. But Eddie was in a good mood.

“Hi, Dinah!” Eddie put the car seat back and got comfortable. Dinah never had a little bit to say.

“Eddie. Someone’s stalking me.”

Eddie rolled her eyes. “Dinah, calm down. Why are you whispering?”

Dinah hissed, “Because I don’t want anyone else to hear.”

“Okay. The doors are all locked?”

“Yes. And Sara is here.”

Eddie rolled her eyes again. At this rate, they’d get stuck like her mother used to predict when she crossed her eyes as a child. Sara was Dinah’s agent, and even more take-no-prisoners than Eddie.

“Honey, if Sara’s with you, you’ll be fine.”

“She can’t spend the night.”

“Where is Sara now?”

“Out buying Scotch. She says she’ll have a couple of Scotches with me and I’ll sleep like a baby.”

Eddie swore under her breath. “Dinah, hard liquor often makes you sick. It gives you headaches. Sometimes you throw up. Remember? Just drink wine, okay?”

Dinah’s voice strengthened as she burst into tears. “Oh, Eddie, please come home! I can’t remember all this stuff when I’m writing! You know the ladies in my book drink sherry!”

“I can’t come back, Dinah. I just got here. Look, I wrote down the information you need on the notepad by the kitchen landline. Ask Sara to go over it with you.”

“Fine, but honestly, Eddie, I’m afraid this guy will find a way to sneak into my apartment. I can’t stop imagining what could happen.”

Eddie spoke calmly. “Your life and your books are two different things, Dinah. Remember, you’ve got extra bolts on all your doors. Locks on your windows. A state-of-the-art alarm system. Plus, your favorite doorman, Jorge, will be there, and he would never let a stranger into your apartment.”

“But—”

Eddie interrupted. “Dinah, why do you think you have a stalker?”

“Remember the book signing I did last week? At Barnes & Noble? And the man in the camel-hair coat who bought three books?”

“That’s hardly stalking.”

“Wait a moment, please! Yesterday, when Sara and I went out for lunch, the same man came in a few minutes after I did. He sat at a table behind me. He was looking at me. And this afternoon, when we went for a walk down Fifth Avenue, he was across the street.”

“Dinah. Dinah, slow down. First of all, he couldn’t have known what time you’d go for a walk, or what streets you’d walk on. Maybe he lives in your area.”

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