His chest squeezed at Susan’s words, even as he reminded her, “She’s Whitney’s sister.”
Susan clucked her tongue at him. “Which means that she knows her best. When you add in the fact that she’s a psychologist, I’m confident she can help you navigate the obstacles in getting over Whitney.”
Susan was only trying to help, but Whitney’s sister was the last woman in the world he should ask for help. Not when he couldn’t stop noticing how the deep red of Paige’s sweater made her auburn hair shine and that the gentle curve of her hips in jeans was mouthwatering.
And definitely not when every second that she’d been reading him the Riot Act in the dining room, his urge to kiss her had grown to near irresistible proportions.
Chapter Four
Paige grabbed her coat and stepped outside to enjoy the snow. She was a California girl, so the only snow she ever saw was up in Lake Tahoe. Unfortunately, she didn’t get up to the mountains often enough.
Standing on the deck beneath the overhang, she gazed out over the backyard, the porch lamps bathing the snow with a soft blue light. The snow-covered lawn was pristine, with only the tiny footprints of a squirrel running from one side to the other. Flakes fell gently, floating in the air like wisps of magic.
The beauty of the scene reached deep inside her, easing the tension of the past weeks. She loved the career she’d chosen—helping families come together again, teaching people to see the good in their lives instead of only the bad, watching the growth of their spirits. But none of that happened overnight, and the process could sometimes be draining. When Paige added in her own personal issues—including not only the devastation Whitney’s lies had caused, but also Paige’s unrequited feelings for Evan—she had ended up feeling more than a little plowed under herself.
Thankfully, the serenity of the snowy night restored her. It also helped that Evan had spent the past couple of hours making his rounds inside, giving apologies and explanations about all that had happened. He was doing the right thing. Surely he would have gotten around to it even without her putting his feet to the fire, but she was glad he’d done it tonight so that nothing left a blemish on the wedding tomorrow.
Behind her, the sliding glass door opened, but she didn’t turn at the sound of footsteps. She already knew it was Evan. He had a subtle scent all his own, something that always made her heart beat faster. As he stopped beside her at the railing, all it took was his nearness to heat her up.
For a long moment, they stared out at the yard that was as pretty as a calendar picture. She’d been angry before, but now she was simply glad to stand in the silence with him.
Finally, he said, “Thank you for your advice.”
“It wasn’t advice. It was righteous indignation.”He laughed softly. She hadn’t realized how good his laugh could sound when it had been absent for so long. Or that it would fill her up in the places where she’d felt so empty this past month.
He put his hand on hers for a brief moment. “I’m sorry, Paige. It wasn’t fair of me to put you in the position of having to explain to everyone what happened. And I shouldn’t have left you to handle Whitney alone either.”
Over the last month—at least until her sister had left for the south of France just before Christmas—Whitney had called several times, always trying to convince Paige that she was in the right—and Evan was at fault. For her part, Paige took her sister’s calls out of hope that she could get Whitney to see the terrible betrayal in what she’d done, to convince her that she had to change, that she needed to atone. But that hadn’t happened…and, if Paige was totally honest with herself, it likely never would.
Instead of going through the play-by-play of the last weeks, however, Paige simply told Evan, “Her calls came less often when she realized I wasn’t sympathetic.”
“She tried to punish you for my kicking her out, for wanting a divorce, didn’t she?”
After a moment, Paige admitted, “She said my mother wouldn’t have been surprised that I’d failed her yet again.”
“Your mother wouldn’t have approved of what Whitney did.”
“She certainly wouldn’t have,” Paige agreed. But her mother would have made excuses for her sister anyway.
Because Whitney was the baby of the family, her parents had indulged her. Buying her toys when she cried, rationalizing when she behaved poorly, giving her money instead of insisting she earn it herself.
Their mother had passed from cancer three years after Whitney married Evan. As she lay dying, she’d made Paige promise to take care of her father and sister. “You’re all they have now,” her mother had said.
Paige had only just started her family therapy practice, and while she was still in the weeds of her new business, somehow her father had floundered before she even realized it. He hadn’t taken care of himself, and when the flu turned into pneumonia, he wasn’t strong enough to fight.
After horribly failing her vow to look after him, Paige had sworn she would do whatever it took to support Whitney. She’d stuck with her sister no matter what, listened to Whitney’s complaints, given advice she knew her sister wouldn’t take, even made excuses for Whitney when she was cruel, selfish, or hurtful.
But once her sister betrayed her husband in such a monumental fashion, Paige had to finally draw the line.
“Apart from being angry with me,” he said softly, “how are you doing?”