“Well,” she said brightly, trying to dispel the momentary blackness he’d dragged into the room. “Can you believe how much our group has grown in one year?” She waved a hand toward the assembly in the living room. Last year, there’d been only Mavericks, including Susan, Bob, and Lyssa.
“Now we’ve got Harper and Jeremy,” Lyssa enthused.
Harper had dressed Jeremy in a tux, and he looked fantastic. And happy. Which was Jeremy’s constant state as well as Will’s these days. By the new year, Will would be married to the woman he utterly adored. The look on his face was both proprietary and humble, as if he knew how lucky he was and didn’t take a moment for granted.
“Of course, there’s Charlie and her mom too,” Lyssa said, like a laundry list of the Mavericks Who’s Who.
Francine Ballard, Charlie’s mother, perched on the end of the couch. Charlie had given her a golden paper crown, calling her the queen for the day. Instead of tossing it away, Francine enjoyed every moment, popping it on her head and giving queenly waves every now and again. Evan felt a great admiration for her. Even with her gnarled fingers, she was always smiling, always with a sweet word to say, never mentioning her pain or the inability to do all the things she loved. She forced herself to walk a mile every day using her walker. How many people could say they tackled the hardest things in their lives—and beat them? Bob and Susan were tucked around her on a chair and the sofa, avidly detailing all the wedding preparations.
A loud squeal rose from the far end of the room where Noah was playing jets with Jorge and doing a damn good job of simulating the ear-piercing sound of engines. Evan thanked God that Whitney had flown the coop for this celebration. She’d definitely have made a scene.
“Ari’s friends Rosie and Chi are a hoot, aren’t they? It’s so nice to have people my age to hang out with at these parties instead of all you old fogeys.” All the Mavericks felt like they’d practically raised Lyssa, and she loved to tease them about the ten-year age difference. “Seriously,” Lyssa said, “have you ever seen Matt so happy? Ari is so good for him. She told me she’s teaching part time in the mornings at Noah’s school now. Did you know she has a degree in child development?”
Ari truly was the best thing for Matt and Noah. And she would make a fantastic teacher. Gideon Jones, on the other hand…
“What do you think about her brother?” The man stood by himself, his gaze moving over the group, from one to the next, watching, always on alert.
“He’s all broody and masculine,” she said dreamily enough that Evan looked down at her in surprise. “I overheard him say to Ari that she’d tapped into the mother lode with Matt.”
Evan’s hackles rose, though he was shocked Ari would have agreed with something like that.
He must have tensed, because Lyssa whispered, “Down, boy. I might have been offended when Ari agreed. Except that she wasn’t looking at the priceless paintings or the huge house. She was looking at Matt and Noah. And—” Lyssa sighed just like a woman dying to fall in love. “The look on her face was so adoring. She said she finally felt like she mattered to someone and that they meant absolutely everything to her. It kind of made me sad for what her life must have been like before.”
“I never thought it was about the money for her.”
“I’m sure it isn’t for Gideon either,” Lyssa went on. “Matt says he’s been asking around about work. But seriously, Evan, how do you tell whether they want you for the money or for yourself? I mean, it was easy for you with Whitney because you didn’t have any money back then. But now, it would be really hard to know for sure.”
Eight years ago, he’d been twenty-six and Whitney barely twenty. His first million was still a couple of years off. His first billion further out still. But Whitney had wanted him even without the money.
At least, that’s what he’d always wanted to believe.
But life with Whitney had become unbearable. They barely spoke—and when they did it was usually to argue about something. She did her own thing, and he did his. Even when they attended a party together, they were separate, she with her crowd, he with his.
He knew how badly the miscarriages had affected her. They’d affected him too, and those bad times had somehow become as huge between them as the Hoover Dam.
Whitney had never been what anyone would describe as sweet, but once upon a time she’d been fun and sexy. Until the aching loss of the children they hadn’t yet been able to create turned her cruel and mean. Now she had her own bedroom, and they hadn’t come together since that last miscarriage at the beginning of the year. He’d thought she needed time, but time had only made things worse.
The dam between them had burst the night of Will’s Halloween party. When Paige arrived at the house, dressed in that sexy, mind-altering Cleopatra getup, Whitney had gone ballistic.
He could still hear her voice screeching in his memory. Why does she have to go everywhere with us? When is she going to get her own life instead of living off mine?
She’d stalked to her room and slammed the door. He’d planned to apologize to everyone at the party for her absence, but he was so damn sick of making excuses for her. He was terribly sorry for her pain—for the pain they both suffered over the babies they’d lost—but he was also tired of explaining away the horrible things she said and did in the name of her disappointment and grief.
Something had to give. Because Evan couldn’t stand any more. At this point, he wasn’t even sure he wanted to be married to her. Correct that—he was sure he didn’t want to be married to the woman she’d become.
On Halloween night, he’d finally seen beneath Whitney’s rage. And it was Paige herself who’d changed things, the sister who was always overshadowed, the sister who got the second look, never the first.
That night Paige had become a sultry seductress in her costume, bringing men to their knees.
And she’d made him look twice.
Not only because she’d been gorgeous, but because where Whitney had never fit in with the Mavericks, Paige made everyone laugh and listened when you needed to talk something through.
Paige.
Why couldn’t he stop thinking about her?
Why couldn’t he stop looking, even now that Halloween was long past?
As he glanced her way, the smile she gave him touched something deep inside. And he couldn’t stop the unforgivable thought that he’d picked the wrong sister eight years ago.
o;Well,” she said brightly, trying to dispel the momentary blackness he’d dragged into the room. “Can you believe how much our group has grown in one year?” She waved a hand toward the assembly in the living room. Last year, there’d been only Mavericks, including Susan, Bob, and Lyssa.
“Now we’ve got Harper and Jeremy,” Lyssa enthused.
Harper had dressed Jeremy in a tux, and he looked fantastic. And happy. Which was Jeremy’s constant state as well as Will’s these days. By the new year, Will would be married to the woman he utterly adored. The look on his face was both proprietary and humble, as if he knew how lucky he was and didn’t take a moment for granted.
“Of course, there’s Charlie and her mom too,” Lyssa said, like a laundry list of the Mavericks Who’s Who.
Francine Ballard, Charlie’s mother, perched on the end of the couch. Charlie had given her a golden paper crown, calling her the queen for the day. Instead of tossing it away, Francine enjoyed every moment, popping it on her head and giving queenly waves every now and again. Evan felt a great admiration for her. Even with her gnarled fingers, she was always smiling, always with a sweet word to say, never mentioning her pain or the inability to do all the things she loved. She forced herself to walk a mile every day using her walker. How many people could say they tackled the hardest things in their lives—and beat them? Bob and Susan were tucked around her on a chair and the sofa, avidly detailing all the wedding preparations.
A loud squeal rose from the far end of the room where Noah was playing jets with Jorge and doing a damn good job of simulating the ear-piercing sound of engines. Evan thanked God that Whitney had flown the coop for this celebration. She’d definitely have made a scene.
“Ari’s friends Rosie and Chi are a hoot, aren’t they? It’s so nice to have people my age to hang out with at these parties instead of all you old fogeys.” All the Mavericks felt like they’d practically raised Lyssa, and she loved to tease them about the ten-year age difference. “Seriously,” Lyssa said, “have you ever seen Matt so happy? Ari is so good for him. She told me she’s teaching part time in the mornings at Noah’s school now. Did you know she has a degree in child development?”
Ari truly was the best thing for Matt and Noah. And she would make a fantastic teacher. Gideon Jones, on the other hand…
“What do you think about her brother?” The man stood by himself, his gaze moving over the group, from one to the next, watching, always on alert.
“He’s all broody and masculine,” she said dreamily enough that Evan looked down at her in surprise. “I overheard him say to Ari that she’d tapped into the mother lode with Matt.”
Evan’s hackles rose, though he was shocked Ari would have agreed with something like that.
He must have tensed, because Lyssa whispered, “Down, boy. I might have been offended when Ari agreed. Except that she wasn’t looking at the priceless paintings or the huge house. She was looking at Matt and Noah. And—” Lyssa sighed just like a woman dying to fall in love. “The look on her face was so adoring. She said she finally felt like she mattered to someone and that they meant absolutely everything to her. It kind of made me sad for what her life must have been like before.”
“I never thought it was about the money for her.”
“I’m sure it isn’t for Gideon either,” Lyssa went on. “Matt says he’s been asking around about work. But seriously, Evan, how do you tell whether they want you for the money or for yourself? I mean, it was easy for you with Whitney because you didn’t have any money back then. But now, it would be really hard to know for sure.”
Eight years ago, he’d been twenty-six and Whitney barely twenty. His first million was still a couple of years off. His first billion further out still. But Whitney had wanted him even without the money.
At least, that’s what he’d always wanted to believe.
But life with Whitney had become unbearable. They barely spoke—and when they did it was usually to argue about something. She did her own thing, and he did his. Even when they attended a party together, they were separate, she with her crowd, he with his.
He knew how badly the miscarriages had affected her. They’d affected him too, and those bad times had somehow become as huge between them as the Hoover Dam.
Whitney had never been what anyone would describe as sweet, but once upon a time she’d been fun and sexy. Until the aching loss of the children they hadn’t yet been able to create turned her cruel and mean. Now she had her own bedroom, and they hadn’t come together since that last miscarriage at the beginning of the year. He’d thought she needed time, but time had only made things worse.
The dam between them had burst the night of Will’s Halloween party. When Paige arrived at the house, dressed in that sexy, mind-altering Cleopatra getup, Whitney had gone ballistic.
He could still hear her voice screeching in his memory. Why does she have to go everywhere with us? When is she going to get her own life instead of living off mine?
She’d stalked to her room and slammed the door. He’d planned to apologize to everyone at the party for her absence, but he was so damn sick of making excuses for her. He was terribly sorry for her pain—for the pain they both suffered over the babies they’d lost—but he was also tired of explaining away the horrible things she said and did in the name of her disappointment and grief.
Something had to give. Because Evan couldn’t stand any more. At this point, he wasn’t even sure he wanted to be married to her. Correct that—he was sure he didn’t want to be married to the woman she’d become.
On Halloween night, he’d finally seen beneath Whitney’s rage. And it was Paige herself who’d changed things, the sister who was always overshadowed, the sister who got the second look, never the first.
That night Paige had become a sultry seductress in her costume, bringing men to their knees.
And she’d made him look twice.
Not only because she’d been gorgeous, but because where Whitney had never fit in with the Mavericks, Paige made everyone laugh and listened when you needed to talk something through.
Paige.
Why couldn’t he stop thinking about her?
Why couldn’t he stop looking, even now that Halloween was long past?
As he glanced her way, the smile she gave him touched something deep inside. And he couldn’t stop the unforgivable thought that he’d picked the wrong sister eight years ago.