Page 10 of The Wife Stalker

Though Reynard is sly, amoral, cowardly, and self-seeking, he is still a sympathetic hero, whose cunning is a necessity for survival.

I sat still, staring at the description. Was Reynard even her real name? Maybe the reason I couldn’t find anything from her past is that she’d changed her name. And if she had, had she deliberately chosen “Reynard” because of its disquieting meaning?

But that was crazy. Certainly, it was just a coincidence. I’d just never met a woman so beautiful who didn’t have at least a flattering headshot somewhere online these days, especially if she had her own business. Had she found a way to erase herself online? And if so, why? What was she hiding?

9

Piper

Piper rushed home after her five o’clock yoga class, grabbed a quick snack of yogurt with fresh blueberries, and went upstairs to shower. She pulled on jeans, slipped into a pair of black sandals, and moved to the full-length mirror. She didn’t like the way the jeans looked with the shoes, so she kicked them off, put on her white canvas boat shoes, and checked herself out again. Perfect. She’d been surprised and pleased when Leo had responded to her text with an invitation to his Memorial Day party last week. But to her disappointment, he had been busy with his duties as host most of the time. Then when he’d finally turned his attention to her, Joanna had cut their conversation short.

It was a short drive to the Town Hall, an imposing yellow building with tall white columns, and once inside, Piper was surprised to see how crowded it was—not one empty seat in the first ten rows. She scanned the room but saw no sign of Leo. Her stomach sank, and for a moment, she thought of leaving. Suddenly, she felt someone take the seat next to hers. His lips parted in a wide smile as he met her eyes.

“You made it,” he whispered.

She nodded. “I’ve been looking forward to it.”

Before they could talk any further, a man walked to the podium, introduced himself, and reviewed the agenda for the meeting.That was followed by a series of boring monologues, mostly the reading of minutes from meetings with state officials, which Piper thought would never end. When the meeting finally came to a close, Leo and Piper both rose, and she stood back as several people clustered around him. One woman was going on and on about a petition she wanted to circulate at her country club, all the while fawning over him. It didn’t look like he’d be free anytime soon, so Piper picked up her purse and slung it over her shoulder as she headed toward the exit. Before she’d taken more than five steps, though, she stopped. What was she thinking? She’d waited for this all week, and now she was going to just turn and run? No way. She walked back to where he was and put a hand on his arm.

“Just wanted to say good night,” she said to him, hoping he’d take the hint and extricate himself from the woman.

He held up a finger to Piper, turned to the country club woman, and handed her a card. “I’m afraid I have to call it a night, but please feel free to call or email me about any other concerns you have, okay?”

As they left, Leo turned back to her. “Thanks for sticking around.”

“Well,” she said, “it was an interesting meeting. Thanks for inviting me. I’m going to get going.”

Leo frowned. “How about a drink? It’s only nine thirty, and I promise I won’t keep you out too late.”

She felt her face flush with pleasure and her stomach seesaw. “Sure. And you can keep me out as late as you like.” Piper wanted to retract the words as soon as she said them, fearing she sounded too forward. But when he looked at her with those warm brown eyes and a grateful smile, she felt relieved.

He put a hand on her back as they walked to the door, and she felt a shiver go up her spine at his touch. “Why don’t we just walk over to The Pointe?”

“Sounds good.”

The night air was cool, and Piper swung her sweater over her shoulders as they walked.

“Cold?” he asked.

“A little.” She pulled the sweater more tightly around herself as Leo took his jacket off and put it on her shoulders. It felt romantic, gallant even.

“Here we are,” Leo said, as they stopped in front of the restaurant and he opened the door for her.

They sat at the bar and ordered two martinis. By the time they’d ordered their second drinks and discussed the plans for Save the Sound, Piper was feeling pretty uninhibited.

“So,” she asked, “what do you do for fun? You know, when you’re not crusading for justice or saving the planet.”

“I hike and swim with my kids, I travel, and I used to fly.”

Piper was surprised. “Fly? As in you were a pilot?”

“Yup. As in Iama pilot. I used to have a single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza that I kept at the airfield. My wife gave me such a hard time about it, though, that I ended up selling it.”

She deflated a little at the mention of his wife. But he was here, after all, with her. “You’re full of surprises.”

They stayed for another round, and Leo insisted on picking up the check. It was after eleven when he ordered an Uber for them since they’d been drinking. They could get their cars in the morning. When the car pulled up to her house, Leo asked the driver to wait, and he escorted her to the door. She unlocked it and turned to him. “I had a wonderful time tonight.”

“I did, too. Thanks again for coming. It was nice getting to know you better,” he said.

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