It was a restless night, but somehow Evie managed to get some sleep. First thing in the morning, she called Joanne, the mom of Jonah’s best friend, and arranged for a him to hang out with her son Brandon for the day. Jonah needed some time with his buddies, having fun in the sun, and Evie definitely needed some time to think and figure out what was happening.

Russ Vince had called her back the night before, but only to tell her that he would look into what was going on first thing in the morning. He hadn’t heard anything from Tony’s lawyer, at least not yet, so as far as they could assume, Tony’s desire to move was only a coincidence and didn’t have anything to do with Evie or more specifically, Jonah.

Evie knew it wasn’t a coincidence, but she couldn’t keep making herself crazy with what-ifs so she’d decided to go into the store early and make sure all the new merchandise had been properly organized by April the night before.

She lost herself in the work, and soon enough it was time to open. Evie flipped the sign on the door over promptly at ten and only ten minutes later, the bells over the door jingled to signal a customer.

Evie looked up to see a tall woman with a severe ponytail pulled back tight and high on her head. She was wearing a bright-blue halter top and shorts that even from a distance, Evie could see, left very little to the imagination. The woman looked around a moment before her eyes landed on Evie, who smiled sweetly.

“Hi there,” Evie said. “Can I help you find something?”

“I think you can.” The woman seemed almost predatory as she crossed the shop floor toward the desk where Evie stood and Evie had to force herself not to back up. “Are you the owner of this shop?”

Alarm bells went off in her head, but still, she stayed calm. It could be someone interested in small business or who’d heard of Live, Love, Lake. Evie kept the smile on her face. “I am.”

“Evelyn Rose?”

The bells rang louder. “Can I help you with something?”

“I’m Tony’s wife.”

The bells in her head turned into sirens. She was consumed by noise in her head, and it took everything she had to stay standing and somehow maintain her composure, although for the life of her, she couldn’t think of anything to say.

“My name is Lauren. Lauren Clarke.” She emphasized her last name as if Evie would care. But clearly she did.

“Hi.” Unsure of what else to do, Evie extended her hand. “It’s…well…hi.”

Lauren took her hand and squeezed. In an instant, the woman’s demeanor changed as whatever shields she had up melted. “It’s so nice to meet you.” Lauren pumped Evie’s hand. “I didn’t think you’d want to. But I’m so glad you—”

Evie didn’t have a chance to register anything the woman said because the door to the shop opened and the bells jangled loudly, announcing someone else.

“Lauren!”

The woman dropped Evie’s hand, which Evie immediately tucked up, crossing her arms protectively over her chest as Tony Clarke sauntered toward them.

“I thought I asked you to wait outside?” He chastised his wife before he turned to Evie. “Evelyn, it’s good to see you. I hoped to make the introductions myself. I didn’t want it to be uncomfortable.”

Uncomfortable? As if anything about this situation could be anything but uncomfortable.

“It is a bit of a surprise,” Evie said. “You didn’t tell me you were coming.”

Neither of them mentioned the fact that they hadn’t actually spoken in years. Their communication had been reduced to the direct deposits into Evie’s bank account and the twice-yearly package she sent to him with pictures of their son.

“Well, it was one of those things.” Tony wrapped his arm around Lauren and pulled her close. “We just got it in our heads that we wanted to come for a visit. It’s been a long time since I’ve been here.”

“Almost nine years.”

The smirk fell off Tony’s face at her candid reply.

“I heard you were doing a lot more than visiting.” She stood straight, challenging him. She didn’t know what he was playing at, but if it involved her son, she’d be damned if Tony was going to think he had the upper hand in anything. He may have surprised her by showing up, but that would be the last surprise.

“Word travels fast.”

“It’s a small town.” She stared into his eyes, so much like Jonah’s. There were other similarities, too. Jonah had inherited his thick, dark hair and olive-toned skin from his dad’s Italian heritage as well. She’d forgotten how handsome Tony was, and the years had treated him well. He’d grown from a boy into a man.

But some things hadn’t changed.

She didn’t trust him. She hadn’t trusted him then, and she certainly didn’t now.

“What are you doing here, Tony?”

He didn’t answer right away, looking instead to his wife. “Lauren, why don’t you go wait outside? There’s a bakery down the street.”

“Dream Puffs,” Evie provided.

“Dream Puffs,” Tony echoed. “Wait for me there.” She pouted so he added, “Please.”

Lauren looked as though she wanted to say something, but instead, she gave Tony a kiss on the lips that was borderline inappropriate and left them alone.

As soon as she was gone, Evie turned to him and asked again, “What are you doing here?”

“I want to see Jonah.”

All the air pushed from her lungs and for the briefest moment, Evie thought she would pass out. Somehow she managed to find air and fill her lungs again and find a breath. She’d known the day might one day come, but she’d always assumed it would come from Jonah when he got older—that it would be his determination that drove the meeting. Tony had never shown any interest.

“Lauren and I are trying to start a family, and it’s important to her, to us, that Jonah’s part of that.”

That made more sense. It wasn’t coming from Tony at all. But his new wife.

“So you’re moving here?”

“We were thinking of it, yes.” Tony paced to the other end of the store. “It’s a good place to raise a family and from all accounts, it’s booming. Could be lots of opportunity here. You’ve realized that, haven’t you?” He waved his arms to encompass her store.

She didn’t bother answering him. Instead, she set her mouth in a line and glared at him. He couldn’t intimidate her with his confident swagger and arrogant attitude about everything.

“I want to see Jonah, Evelyn.” His voice was softer this time. If he was trying to appeal to her human side, it was working. Not because she felt any sort of goodwill to Tony at all, but because letting Jonah meet his father was the right thing to do. She knew that. And she also knew Jonah would want to meet him.

“Okay,” she said. The word was sour on her lips.

“Good. Thank you.”

“But just once and it has to be supervised and…” She searched for another condition to add to her agreement. “You can’t tell him you’re considering moving here.”

“Okay,” he said. “The first visit will be supervised but there will be more, Evelyn. He’s my son. I want to see him and I want him to be part of our lives.”

Evie could feel her hands starting to shake, so she tucked them farther under her arms.

“Tomorrow,” Tony said. “Five o’clock. At that bakery. I’ll buy him a cinnamon bun.”

“That’s before dinner.” She knew she was hanging on by a thread, making ridiculous objections, but it was all she had. “We’ll figure something out. But not tomorrow.”

He looked as if he would object, but instead he nodded. “Okay, I’ll give you a day to figure it out, but no longer. I want this, Evie. I want Jonah to be part of my life.”

“Okay.” Her mind raced. She’d figure something out, but she wouldn’t be able to put Tony off indefinitely.

Tony moved to leave. But before he did, he turned around again. “And Evelyn, just so you know. I meant it when I said I want Jonah to be part of my life. I think it’s time to readdress our custody arrangement.”

What? She opened and closed her mouth but no words came out.

“I’ll have my lawyer get in touch with yours. The sooner we get the details worked out, the better.”

And with that, he was gone. The bells over the door jingled and the sound echoed in her head as she stood in place and her whole world crumbled.

---

“What can I do?”

Evie didn’t know how long it had taken to compose herself, but when she finally snapped out of her stunned state, she went to the door, flipped the sign to read Closed and went straight to her cell phone to call Russ Vince.

“He can’t have custody, Russ.” She struggled to keep her voice even. “There’s no way. I won’t let it happen. I can’t.”

“Calm down.” Russ spoke slowly. “We’ll figure it out. I just got off the phone with Tony’s lawyer and what he said is true—he does want to go after a new custody arrangement.”

“What kind of new arrangement?”

Russ paused, and Evie knew she wasn’t going to like what she heard. “Well, it’s actually quite aggressive.”

“Aggressive?”

That word should never be used when it came to discussing child custody arrangements. There should absolutely be nothing aggressive about where Jonah lived. He lived with her. That was it. End of story. There was no way Tony could waltz into town after eight years and demand anything different. Tony was a lot of things, but he wasn’t delusional.

“He’s going after full custody.”

Her knees buckled and she fell to the floor. “What?” Her voice was barely a whisper.

“I don’t want you to panic.”

How could she not? He’d just told her the worst possible news. How was she supposed to stay calm?

Evie swallowed hard. “How can he do that? I’m Jonah’s mother. He can’t possibly have any right to that kind of arrangement.”

“He doesn’t.”

She took a full breath.

“Well, he shouldn’t,” Russ continued. “Honestly, I think they’re going after this hard because they intend to settle for a fifty-fifty split.”

Evie shook her head. No. She would not share him. She couldn’t. “How is that fair? To Jonah? To me?” She turned so she was leaning against the counter. “He’s been with me for eight years. He doesn’t even know his father. How does it make sense to let him have split custody? This is crazy.”

“I agree, it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen before,” Russ said. “But I’ve been hearing more and more about these types of situations where fathers are demanding equal treatment.”

“But…it…”

“I just need you to stay calm, Evie.” Russ’s voice did help to soothe her, but not enough for her to be anywhere near calm. “We’ll figure it out. In the meantime, we need to present a strong case for why being with you is in the best interest of Jonah.”

That was ridiculous. She shouldn’t have to make a case for her parenting. She’d done a great job for the last eight years. Jonah was a great kid. Everyone knew that. She told Russ as much.

“I agree,” he said. “But it’s not enough. The judge will want to see a strong family situation. Tony is presenting his case as a stable family for Jonah. He’s married and they have plans to expand their family. The court likes to see siblings kept together as a complete family unit.”

Evie almost choked. Siblings? Complete family unit?

She was Jonah’s family.

There was a knock on the glass that distracted her momentarily.

Declan McCormick stood at the glass, a paper bag and a coffee cup in his hand. He smiled and she lifted her hand in a weak wave.

On the phone, Russ was still talking about family units and children and husbands. “Wait,” Evie stopped him. “What did you just say about a husband? What does that have to do with anything?”

“Well…”

“Russ, just tell me. Please.”

He sighed audibly. “It’s just that you’re a single mom, Evie.”

“I know that.”

“Of course you do,” he continued. “It’s just that lately, there’s been a leaning toward families that can provide a stable environment for the children. Judges prefer to see a two-parent household. I know it’s not progressive or whatever you want to call it, but the theory is that children really need two parents and with Tony having a wife and—”

“Don’t say it.”

“I’m sorry, Evie. I’m just trying to let you know where we stand. That being said, I don’t think he’ll get full custody. Not after eight years of being absent. But we should try to be ready for every eventuality. I think it might be different if you were married or in a serious relationship. Not different so much,” Russ continued. “But it would help you build your case for a solid family environment for Jonah. I know it doesn’t seem fair, but…”

He kept talking, but Evie stopped listening. Instead, she was looking out the window at Declan McCormick, who still stood outside. She couldn’t be sure he was there to see her, but he was still there chatting with passersby as he lingered at her doorstep.

He was a nice man.

He was handsome.

He seemed to like her.

She liked him.

The idea formulated so quickly she didn’t have time to think about whether it was a good one or not. She simply opened her mouth and said, “Would it matter if I was engaged?”

“Pardon?” Russ sputtered and almost choked over the word. “Engaged? As in, to be married?”

She nodded, her eyes not leaving Declan. “Yes. I don’t know why I didn’t think to tell you earlier, Russ. Maybe because it all happened so quickly, but I’m very recently engaged.”

The lie slipped out easily. Too easily.

“Oh. Well. How recently?”

“Earlier this morning, actually. He asked right before I called you. It’s all still quite hard to believe.”

“Well,” Russ said again. “I guess congratulations are in order. Can I ask, who is the lucky gentleman?”

Evie swallowed hard and smiled when at that exact moment he turned around and made eye contact through the window. “Declan McCormick.”

---

“Good morning,” Dec said when Evie finally opened the door to her shop. “I’m sorry if I interrupted something. I thought you were open at ten.”

Evie waved away his apology and led the way into the shop. “I am,” she said. “I just needed to make a phone call so I thought I’d take a few minutes so I could have some privacy.”

He’d seen her on the phone. Sitting on the floor while she was on the phone. It was strange to say the least, but Declan was used to strange behavior from women. At least, his little sister Chelsea had some strange habits as well. But with Evie, he’d gotten a sense that maybe something was wrong. She hadn’t looked happy with whomever she was talking to on the phone.

Declan didn’t ask, because after all, it wasn’t any of his business. Besides, she was smiling now. Even if she did seem a little preoccupied.

“I’m glad you came by.” She leaned against the counter. “I’m really sorry I had to rush out of lunch yesterday. It was so nice of you and your mom to let us sit with you.”

“It was our pleasure. We really enjoyed it,” he said. “But that’s actually why I came by.” He handed her the bag and the coffee. “This is for you.”

“For me?” She took the bag.

“Well, you rushed out of there so quickly yesterday you didn’t get any dessert yourself.” He grinned as she opened the bag and saw the cinnamon bun. “I know it’s not from Scott’s Stop and I’m sure Scott has some great desserts, but how can you beat one of Suzy’s cinnamon buns, right?”

“Thank you.” She closed the bag and set it aside. “That will be a delicious reward later after getting some work done. It was really sweet of you.”

“It was nothing.”

But it wasn’t nothing, because seeing the smile on Evie’s face and knowing he’d been the one to put it there was everything. As much as he tried to tell himself to stay away from the woman, she had an irresistible pull that kept him coming back for more.

“It was really sweet.” She swallowed hard and he could see she was struggling with something. “In fact,” she said after a moment. “I was wondering if maybe you’d like to…”

Dammit. If she was going to ask him out, he wasn’t sure he had the willpower to say no. He wanted more than anything to take her out on a proper date and maybe at the end of the evening he would have the chance to slide his hands through her hair, cup the back of her head and pull those sweet lips toward—no.

He couldn’t let that happen. He could not mess with a single mom. It wasn’t fair. Not to anyone.

“Evie. I really like you,” he said before she could continue her thought. “And I really like spending time with you, but I think you should know that I’m really not the relationship type and I’m afraid that going out with you would be the start of something that wouldn’t end in a way that would be very…” He couldn’t finish because as he spoke, her pretty face had crumpled and tears slid down her face. Her entire body shook but she didn’t make any effort to console herself.

Guilt flooded through him. Declan hated to hurt people. Especially people as sweet and wonderful as Evie. In fact, that was exactly why he was doing what he was doing. He didn’t want to hurt her.

He took two steps across the floor and put his arm around her slight shoulders. “Evie.” His voice was soft. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…well, I didn’t mean to upset you or hurt you. I just can’t—”

“No.” She slipped away from him and sniffed as she wiped at her eyes. “It’s okay. You had no idea what I was going to ask, and now I don’t think I should ask at all, but…” She turned and put her hands on the counter behind her as she dropped her head. “I just don’t know what else to do.”

Wait?

She wasn’t going to ask him out?

He was relieved. But more than that, to his surprise, he was disappointed. If things were different, he’d already have taken Evie out.

But he couldn’t worry about that now. Whatever she was going to ask him was obviously important. Important enough for her to cry over it. If it wasn’t a date, then whatever it was, he could help.

He’d do anything in his power to help. And he told her as much.

“What were you going to ask me?” Declan reached out for her shoulder and squeezed gently until she turned around again. “I’m sorry, Evie. I just thought…well, it doesn’t matter. If you need help with something, please. Let me help you.”

“Really?” Her eyes lifted. “You would help me?”

He chuckled a little. “It’s kind of what I’m known for.” He shrugged. “I help people. It’s what I do.”

“But you don’t want to go out with me?”

Declan inhaled deeply, letting his chest rise and fill with air. He exhaled slowly and made an effort to explain. “It’s not that I don’t. In fact, I think you’re beautiful and smart and sexy and…well, any man would be dammed lucky to go out with you.”

“Just not you.”

“It’s not that I…Evie, I like you. A lot. I just don’t think it would be a good—”

“Marry me.”

Declan dropped his hand as if it were on fire. He took two steps backward, crashing into a rack of clothing. He didn’t bother looking to see whether he’d knocked anything over. He scrubbed his hands over his face. Had he heard her correctly? Before he could ask, she was talking again.

“Not really,” she said. “I mean…just for pretend. I need you to be my fiancé. Just for a little while. Just until…well…” She dropped her head. “This is such a mess.” Her hands covered her face and her delicate shoulders started to heave with sobs.

Declan looked around desperately. For what? He wasn’t sure but he was less sure as to what was going on in front of him. He’d gone from bringing Evie a cinnamon bun to declining a date to being proposed marriage. To say it had been a confusing ten minutes was putting it mildly.

He took a breath and reached for Evie again. “Hey,” he said softly, giving her a gentle shake. “What’s going on? I can’t believe you actually want to marry me. I mean, I know I’m a pretty awesome guy and all, but…”

That elicited a small giggle from her, just the way he’d been hoping for.

“And if I was the marrying kind, I wouldn’t hesitate to marry you for a second, Evie.”

Why had he said that?

Her head whipped up. “Do you mean that?”

Declan swallowed hard, but he nodded. “Absolutely. But Evie, I’m not the marrying kind and I don’t believe you really want me to marry you. What’s going on?”

“It’s Jonah. His dad is back.”

“His dad?” Of course Declan had assumed that Jonah had a father, but he’d never stopped to think about what that looked like for Evie or what his involvement was in his son’s life. No doubt it was complicated. At least, judging by how upset Evie was, it was clearly complicated. “What does that mean?”

So they wouldn’t be interrupted, Evie once again flipped the sign on the door to Closed and led Declan to the seating area she had by the changing rooms where she proceeded to tell Declan all about Tony, Jonah’s dad, and how he’d returned unexpectedly to make a bid for custody, ending with how she’d just lied to her lawyer about being engaged to Declan.

When she was finished talking, Declan leaned back in his seat, stretched his arms over his head and took a deep breath in.

“Say something. Please, Declan. I know it’s a lot and I know it’s absolutely crazy, but…I’m just totally out of options and I don’t know what to do. I don’t know why I told Russ that we were engaged. It’s just I saw you standing there and you’re such a good guy and…well…”

“It’s okay.” He sat up and looked her in the eye. He’d never seen Evie look so ruffled before. She always looked so calm and perfectly put together in her easy, natural style. Seeing her so upset was worrying. But then again, it was her child and his future on the line—of course she’d be upset.

He’d built a career on helping people. It was what he did. Granted, those people had usually been the victims of some natural disaster, and he helped by providing shelter and clean drinking water, not marriage. But this was Evie. And she needed him.

“I’ll do it.”