Now she was back in Ipswich again, taking care of her grandmother who broke her arm partying with one of the male guests in a hotel room. She shivered thinking about what they were doing that could have gotten her grandmother’s arm broken. She knew it wasn’t pretty since her grandmother was naked when the paramedics arrived.
“Evie honey, do you want something for lunch?” Evelyne Stone called from the kitchen.
Evie hefted herself up out of the chair, walked into the kitchen, and put her hands on her hips. “Grandma, why am I here if you insist on doing everything yourself?”
Evelyne tsked, “Now honey, you know I need you, but there are some things I can do myself. Besides I need to get my wing back in working order, sooner rather than later, we’ve got a girl’s cruise coming up in a month and there are going to be men that need taming.” She tried to wave her arm around almost knocking over the pitcher of iced tea on the counter.
Evie rushed over and caught it, giving her grandmother a look. “Can you please take it down a notch? You aren’t fifty anymore.”
“Pah. Come on, honey, lighten up. I know you’ve got it in you. Maybe you should go with us. I know there will be some young hot guys there.”
“And how do you know this?”
“Because we signed up for a party cruise. Average age is twenty-four. I know that’s a bit young for you, but hey, you can still have fun.”
Evie closed her eyes and mentally prepared herself for the call from the cruise company to come pick up the Troublesome Trio from whichever port the ship was docked at. Although now that Lexi was married to Noah, he might have better connections and be able to get them home quicker than commercial flights. Something to bring up to them when they got back.
A knock sounded at the door. “Hold that thought.” Evie went to answer the door, absently pushing back the hair that had escaped her ponytail. They’d rented out the cottage on the back of her grandmother’s property and the tenant was due to show up sometime either today or tomorrow. They had no idea who was renting it since a corporation had completed the transaction.
She could see the shadow of a tall man through the frosted glass. Evie had hoped the renter would be a family to distract her grandmother so she might get some rest and not some man to chase around. She opened the door and looked up into the face that haunted Lexi’s nightmares. She stifled a scream and started to slam the door on him.
He slapped one strong hand on the door and stopped it from closing. “I’m not him.” His low voice with a hint of British accent washed over her. She hesitated for a moment and that was all it took for him to work his way into the house.
“Wait. Don’t come any closer. How do I know you aren’t him?” She needed to keep him talking to find out if it was Jeremy or Anthony. Her grandmother was just in the other room, hopefully paying attention to what was going on. If it was Jeremy, she could call the police without him knowing. She wasn’t sure why Jeremy would come here though, it was Lexi he wanted. If it was Anthony, why was he here?
She watched as he rolled the sleeves up on his arms. She let out a deep breath; there was no scar. She knew what Lexi had done to Jeremy with the cuticle scissors. Since Jeremy hadn’t been heard from, and they had been checking hospitals and doctor’s offices she knew there was no way a plastic surgeon could have repaired the damage so that nothing was there. She nodded her head trying to still her beating heart. “I suggest you wear short sleeves while you are here, otherwise you’re going to have a lot of explaining to do.”
“I knew this wasn’t going to be easy. You knew that when you sent me that e-mail. If you don’t mind, I’d like the keys to the cottage so I can get settled. It’s been a long day.” He ran his hand through his black, wavy hair.
“Of course, they’re just in the living room.” Evie turned and walked to the curio cabinet. Thoughts whirled through her mind as she tried to calm her shaking hands. She shivered as he came up behind her.
“You don’t have to be scared of me. I’m not here to hurt anyone.”
She turned towards him. “That’s good, because Lexi has been hurt enough. I know it was no picnic what you went through, but I won’t have you hurting her.” She stood up to him, secretly liking the fact he was taller than her own six-foot height. Staring into his shocking blue eyes, she couldn’t deny how gorgeous he was. He carried himself like he was used to getting what he wanted. “You never replied to my e-mail. So I have no idea why you’re here.”
“Don’t think I haven’t done my research before arriving. I know who you are and what Lexi means to you.” He took a step closer to her. “But don’t think I’m going to let that get in the way of getting the answers I want.”