Page 41 of Fool Me Twice

Peter couldn’t wait to tell Evie about the surprise Anya had arranged for Jaxon. She’d called him a few weeks ago, asking his advice about incorporating a small recording studio into their renovation plans. In the original plans, the basement had been left as a blank space before Anya had hit on the idea of the studio. And who better to help her with all the technical stuff than her father-in-law?

Not that he’d been much use since the accident, but he’d been able to keep in contact with the architect and engineer via phone and video calls, and he’d barely been able to control his excitement when he’d toured the site for the first time that morning. It wasn’t the biggest room, but thanks to the architect’s clever use of space and Anya’s flair for design, Jaxon was going to love it.

They hadn’t let Evie in on their secret – it hadn’t been intentional; they just hadn’t thought she’d be interested – but Peter couldn’t wait to share his news.

Evie was preparing the studio for her next class when he returned. “You should have come,” he burst out as soon as he saw her. “Things are really taking shape up there now, and...” He paused as if he was about to share some great secret of the universe. “Jaxon is going to freak out when he sees the surprise we’ve arranged for him – well, Anya arranged it really, I’ve just been advising her...”

Okay, so he hadn’t expected her to be as excited as he’d been about the studio, but he’d at least expected her to show a little interest since it concerned Jaxon. “Evie?” he ventured, praying that the frosty atmosphere had nothing to do with what had happened between them. Maybe in the cold light of day she’d regretted it. “Is everything okay?” he forced himself to ask, not really sure he wanted to hear her answer.

“Fine,” she said sharply, focused on the essential oils she was blending for the oil burner.

“Are you sure?” He watched her continue to fill the already over-full well, causing it to spill over.

“No, I’m not fine, actually.” She slammed the small bottle she was holding down next to the lamp and grabbed some tissues to mop up the spill. “I had a visitor earlier,” she informed him as she tried to scrub the oil from her hands. “Your wife,“ she said, her voice rising. “Demanding to know where her husband was.”

Peter closed his eyes slowly. “Did she say what she wanted?”

“What am I, your secretary now?” She let out a snort.

“No, no, of course not.” He knew he was on very thin ice here and had to tread carefully. “I just wondered if maybe she’d said what she was doing here.”

“Looking for her husband, obviously.” Evie rounded on him, her eyes blazing. “You assured me you were all but divorced, that it was a mere formality.” She waved her arms around wildly. “‘We just need to sign the papers,’ you said. And I fell for it.” She huffed out a breath. “Again.”

“It’s not...we’re—“

“Here we go again,” Evie said in a sing-song voice as she rolled her head from side to side. “Tell me, do you get some kind of kick out of this?” she asked. “Playing the victim, playing the ‘my wife doesn’t understand me’ card, before hightailing it back home once you’ve had your fun?”

“It’s not like that.” He stepped closer, his hand reaching for hers. “Please.”

Evie snatched her hand away. “Don’t,” she said, spearing him with an icy glare.

“Evie, please.” If he messed this up, there’d be no more chances. He had to make her understand. “You’ve got to believe me—“

“That’s the problem.” She lowered her voice. “I did believe you, just like I believed you the last time, then the next thing I knew, you’d reconciled with your wife and my plane ticket had been cancelled.”

“It’s different this time.” Completely different. He couldn’t have just abandoned Cathy, not then.

“You’ve got that right, because this time, I won’t be spending months sobbing into my pillow every night, waiting for you to come back.”

“Evie.” He reached out for her. “You’ve got it all wrong—“

“No.” She pushed his hands away. “You’re the one who’s got it all wrong. Now pack your bags and get the hell out of my house.”

Chapter twenty-three

He’d blown it, again.

Evie hated him, again.

And it was all his fault, again.

Peter put his foot to the floor, speeding out of Evie’s drive and onto the main road. He tried to hit Shari’s name on speed dial as he pulled out of the junction.

“Where are you?” he barked.

“Peter, darling, how lovely to hear from you.”

Just the sound of her voice had set his teeth on edge. “Don’t play games with me,” he ground out, struggling to keep his mind on the busy road. “Just tell me where you are.”

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