The Strength of the Pack (Suncoast Society #30)(18)

She burst out laughing, almost choking on her coffee. “Oh. My. God. I’m right. You really like her.”

“What if I do?”

She let out one of those “bless your heart” kind of little-sister sighs she used on him when she had to explain something to him. “That’s not a bad thing. It’s a good thing. It means she must be a special person. And you went Brit on me there for a minute. That means I know I’m right because you know I’m right.”

He couldn’t help it that his formative years learning swear words were spent in England. Compared to American profanity, they had some bloody brilliant turns of phrase.

Unfortunately, it was an apparent tell he had that Cherise had picked up on as a kid. He sometimes reverted to the comforting feel of those original blasphemies when she’d pinned him down.

He rode the rest of the way to the office in silence while Cherise wore a smug smile and sipped her coffee.





Today and tomorrow were work days for Eva. She would take Laurel to school before heading to work, and Jesse and Leo would pick her up.

Laurel was her usual chatty morning self all the way in to school. Eva’s normal routine was to sip her coffee and nod at the appropriate times. She was not a morning person despite her child’s proclivities.

In that way, yes, Laurel was definitely Daddy’s girl.

Eva and Jesse both had in common the desire to sleep late.

This morning, however, instead of just tuning Laurel out, Eva was thinking about last night.

About Nate.

She’d even dreamed about him. And not the longing, sexy kind of dreams she’d had about Leo since he’d left, either.

These had been vague, gauzy dreams, nothing she could hold onto in the light of day, but they’d left her feeling calm and soothed.

Much like the man in real life.

I am sooo not jumping into another relationship right now.

Friendship, however, she would not refuse.

When she took a long, hard look at her life, yes, she had friends. Friends she’d made while married to Leo. And yes, they were still there…but in all honesty, if it hadn’t been for Leo, they wouldn’t have been her friends in the first place. She likely never would have met them.

She really didn’t have any friends of her own. Even her new Suncoast Society friends were friends because of Leo and Jesse.

Not that she was complaining, because she felt beyond grateful for their love and support over the past three months.

But it would be nice to have a friend who was…hers. Just hers. Well, not just hers, but someone she initiated a friendship with and kept up her side of that exchange.

From the conversation last night, she knew Nate wasn’t looking for a quick fling, either. He seemed stable, solid, calm, and without any ulterior motives.

And she found him to be a genuinely nice guy.

It might disappoint Tilly all to hell if Eva didn’t get into a romantic relationship with the man, but Eva didn’t want to make another big mistake. Especially not with Laurel in the picture.

If things were meant to progress with Nate, they would. She wouldn’t rush them, would fight tooth and nail to not engage in wishful or magic thinking about the situation, and she would take her time and closely question herself honestly about her motivations.

She’d also bounce things off Leo and Jesse, knowing they would give her complete honesty.

She’d held back some last night. Although she trusted June and Scrye, she hadn’t wanted to get right to the source of her hesitation in front of others. She wouldn’t even tell Nate the full story yet. He didn’t need to know it. Not unless or until she let him into her life.

But she also wanted to clarify her position with him. Make sure she didn’t lead him on. Wanted him to know he shouldn’t have any expectations of her other than friendship.

Maybe it would mean risking he met someone else, but she couldn’t live her life in fear. Not anymore. She married Leo out of fear. Not fear of him—fear of everything else, seeking safety and solace in his solid, firm presence.

Look where that had gotten them. He’d been afraid to reveal the truth to her, and she’d been tightly—futilely—clinging to him until he couldn’t ignore it any longer.

None of that had been good for Laurel.

Eva still felt a lot of shame over the way she’d treated Leo during the divorce, trying to use Laurel as a bargaining chip against him to keep him there, to coax him back.

Fortunately, he’d been the bigger of the two of them and hadn’t played tit-for-tat with her. And he’d managed to shield Laurel from Eva’s idiocy.

Another reason she would be forever grateful to her ex-husband.

Maybe Laurel would never know how she’d tried to manipulate Leo into reconciling.

She could only hope.

“Mommy?”

Laurel’s voice snapped Eva back into the present. “Yes, sweetie?”

“Did you have fun at dinner last night?”

“Yes, I did. Thank you for asking. Aunt June and Uncle Scrye say hello.”

Laurel brightened. “Oh. Why couldn’t I go?”

“Because sometimes adults need to have child-free conversations. Daddy and Poppa go out with their friends, sometimes, and you stay home with me. It’s no different.”

Eva still had to get used to calling Jesse “Poppa.” Laurel had dictated that since Leo and Jesse had gotten married, he couldn’t be her “uncle” anymore and she had decided what she would call him.