Seaside Avenue (Cedar Cove #7)(108)

Angel hesitated. “Gary and I are going to a movie with friends tonight.”

“Go,” Emily said, waving her out the door.

Wandering around her husband’s office, Emily looked at the books in his bookcase and the objects on his desk. He seemed to accumulate books the way some women did shoes.

His favorite jacket hung on the door. Apparently he’d forgotten it at the office this morning. Taking it off the hook, she draped it over her arm and then heard something hit the floor. Whatever it was rolled beneath the desk.

Getting down on all fours, Emily discovered a woman’s earring. It looked expensive. Diamonds? She checked the pocket; there wasn’t another one. If this was a surprise anniversary gift, then there’d obviously be two. They’d be in a jeweler’s box as well. These were elaborate and somewhat old-fashioned—certainly not her style. Dave would know that.

An eerie sensation came over her. Surely Dave wasn’t seeing another woman. He couldn’t be—could he? Her mind flashed back on the last few months, and she was startled to realize that their love life wasn’t what it had once been. When had this happened? Six months ago? A year?

She suddenly grew cold as she recalled a recent visit by Sheriff Troy Davis. He’d come to question Dave about Martha Evans and her missing jewelry. Could this earring have belonged to the wealthy old woman? There was a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

She heard the church door open. “Emily?”

“I’m here, Dave,” she called.

Hurriedly shoving the earring in her purse, Emily forced a smile and went out to greet her husband. As she did, she wondered for the first time in her life if she really knew this man.