Page 64 of Sweet Revenge
Evie hefted the bag Cait pointed to from the trunk of her Escalade with a grunt. “Jesus, woman. Do you have bricks in here?”
“Jesus, woman!” Evan shouted as he ran down the grassy hill from the car to the playground.
Evie’s eyes widened, glancing at Cait. “Oh my God. I’m so sorry.”
Waving a hand in the air, Cait laughed as she hit the button to close the automatic door. “I promise you he hears much worse from Finn.”
They followed Evan down the gentle slope to one of the picnic tables that ringed the play area, and Evie dropped the bag on the table with a dull thud, huffing out a breath.
“I’m going to have to do more pushups or something,” she said, massaging her biceps. “Running isn’t going to cut it if I’m going to be hauling your crap around all the time.”
“I greatly appreciate your assistance,” Cait said as she pulled containers of food out and set them on the table, one eye watching Evan climb the stairs to the slide. “Maura should be on her way. I didn’t think you’d mind,” Cait added, looking away from Evan.
“No, of course not. I thought the fitting went well.”
“Very well. Great job, Evan!” she yelled as Evan jumped off the end of the slide, arms raised in triumph before racing up the stairs again. “Speak of the devil.”
Evie looked up to see Maura making her way through the grass in a pretty purple sundress that complemented her red hair.
“You look like a mermaid,” Evie said with a grin.
Maura did a little turn before sliding onto the seat next to Cait. “I bought one of these in white for the honeymoon. Thought I’d give it a test run.”
“Where are you two going?” Evie picked up a piece of pineapple from one of the containers and popped it into her mouth.
“Paris,” Maura sighed. “For two whole weeks.”
“Oh, you’ll love it there. Do you still like Napoleon pastries?”
“Oh God,” Maura groaned. “More than anything.”
“Visit Amelie in Bastille. Best one in Paris. But don’t call it a Napoleon or they’ll laugh you out of the patisserie. Ask for amille-feuille.”
“I’m writing that down,” Maura said, quickly typing on her phone. “What else?”
“The opera house. It’s not a huge draw for tourists, so it shouldn’t be too busy. You can wander, but the guided tours are great. Definitely do a boat café or restaurant. The food is always fabulous.”
Evie tilted her head, considering. “James might like the catacombs. Very creepy down there, and the guides tell good ghost stories. Really though just eat all the food. If you haven’t come back twenty pounds heavier, it’s like you didn’t even try.”
Maura laughed and dropped her phone into her bag. “Duly noted. Before I lose my nerve, I wanted to give you this.” She pulled an embossed envelope out of her bag and pushed it across the table to Evie.
Evie flipped it over and pried out the unsealed flap, pulling out a wedding invitation, the swirling font inviting her and a guest to attend. She looked up at Maura in shock.
“Declan would have brought you as his plus one to the wedding with or without this, but I wanted you to know, without a doubt, that I want you there.”
Evie knuckled away a tear, reaching across the table to grip Maura’s outstretched hand. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Thank you.”
“I didn’t realize it was the one thing that was missing until I heard you were back in town. Frankly, it pissed me off that I still missed you,” she added with a chuckle.
“I get that. I think missing you guys, home, all of this was what brought me back to New York. I didn’t really think about it until now, but I had this restlessness living in Europe I couldn’t shake. So I came back as close as I dared.”
“And re-established communication with your mom.”
“Yeah. I wish I had done that a long time ago.”
Cait reached out and covered Evie and Maura’s joined hands with her own, giving them both a squeeze.
“Aunt Evie!” Evan exclaimed, breathless as he raced over with something clenched in his fist. “I found this for you.” He held out his hand, palm up, opening his fingers to reveal a flat gray pebble that sparkled when he wiggled his fingers. “It’s pretty like you!”
