Kate Hardy - One Night With Her Ex - The One That Got Away / The Man From her Wayward Past / The Ex Who Hired Her

Max eyed her narrowly. ‘So what’s in it for you?’

Evie shrugged. ‘A fascinating house guest, for a while.’ Max probably wouldn’t want to know this next reason but it was a definite plus to Evie’s way of thinking. ‘Exceptionally good sex.’

Max winced. ‘Is that it?’

‘Isn’t that enough?’ countered Evie.

‘Cold, Evie.’

‘Maybe,’ she murmured. ‘But I’ve decided that I can’t be in love with your brother, Max. Infatuated, yes. Willing to help him overcome a few demons, yes. But I can’t fall in love with him. That’d be beyond stupid.’

‘You know, I had this vision in my head that if I cut you free to be with Logan that your romance would progress in somewhat traditional fashion. Dating. Getting engaged. Marriage. What about marriage?’

‘Marriage is overrated.’

‘You’re selling yourself short, Evie. And my mother’s in town as of last night and she wants to have lunch with you.’

‘Pardon?’

‘Consider yourself forewarned. She’ll be here in about …’ Max glanced at his two-dollar watch. ‘Now.’

‘She’s coming here ?’ Evie had a sudden and irresistible urge to be not here. ‘I won’t be here. I’m heading out on site. Now. Right now. I’m already running late.’

‘Which site?’

‘The Rogers site.’

‘Mick’s already there.’

‘He needs help.’

‘He’s got help.’

‘ My help.’ And Evie needed to be gone when Caroline Carmichael arrived. ‘What does your mother want with me? I mean … if she’s after her ring back, I don’t have it.’

‘I found the ring, Evie. I spent half a day looking for that bloody rock. I gave it back to her.’

‘Oh.’ Evie digested Max’s words with a frown. ‘What did she do with it?’

‘I’m guessing she put it back where it came from. I didn’t ask.’

‘She hurt him.’ Hurt Logan.

‘Sometimes he brings it on himself.’

‘You’re defending her.’

‘No!’ said Max curtly. And with a twisted scowl, ‘Yes. She’s my mother, Evie. What do you want me to say?’

Good question. ‘Do you know what Logan’s father did to them? What he did to himself? What he did to his son ?’

‘Do you?’ asked Max quietly. ‘You know what Logan’s told you, Evie. That’s not the whole story. If you want another side of the story, best you get it from my mother. She’s not a bad person. It wouldn’t kill you to hear what she has to say.’

‘She hurt him, Max. By having you give me that ring she used you, confused me and stuck a knife in Logan’s heart. Anything she has to say should be said to Logan, not to me.’

‘He doesn’t listen to her, Evie. Maybe he’ll listen to you. You’re closer to him than anyone’s ever been.’

‘And yet I’m still so very, very far away.’ Evie ran a hand through her hair. ‘Max, I can’t fix this. I can barely fix what went wrong with Logan and me . You’re asking too much. Your mother is asking too much.’

‘And yet here I am,’ said a cultured, feminine voice and there stood Max’s mother. Logan’s mother too. Caroline Carmichael in her well-preserved flesh. ‘Asking for an hour of your time and an open ear. I want you to listen—I hope you will listen to what I have to say.’

‘This wasn’t fair warning.’ Evie eyed Max darkly. ‘You’re my business partner. We don’t bring personal matters here. Not to work.’

‘We’ve always brought personal matters here, Evie. We tangled those threads a long time ago.’

Maybe so, but she had never thought Max would ambush her like this. She glared at him some more and then at Caroline, who stood quietly by the door, wanting more from Evie than Evie had in her heart to give.

‘You’re here to tell me how you failed to protect your son?’ she asked acidly and felt a flush of shame when Caroline Carmichael looked her dead in the eye and said yes.

‘Everyone makes mistakes, Evangeline. Mistakes that shatter your world and lose you everything you love,’ said Caroline with quiet dignity and Evie felt the sharp sting of tears behind her eyes. ‘Please.’

‘I can’t help you repair your relationship with Logan.’

‘I’m not expecting you to,’ said Caroline. ‘I just want you to help my son be the best man he can be. I want him to realise what a good man he is. I want him to be happy.’

As far as manipulation went Caroline had nailed her good—or maybe Max had. Someone had.

‘One hour. Not a minute more,’ said Evie, and again Logan’s mother said yes.

‘Why did you make Max give me that ring?’ asked Evie when they were seated at a table for two on the shady terrace of a nearby restaurant. The table wobbled ever so slightly because of the convict-laid cobblestones beneath its feet, but the water was cold and the service was speedy, and, as far as Evie was concerned, speedy was good. ‘You knew Logan would recognise it.’

‘You have to understand,’ said Caroline. ‘Logan was a heartbeat away from walking out my door that weekend and never coming back. Because of you. Because of me. Because walking away is easier than staying and dealing and if there’s one thing Logan knows how to do it’s walk away,’ said Caroline. ‘Logan was about to turn his back on his family. I had nothing to lose.’

‘But why the ring? Why shove those memories in his face?’

‘Because I thought I could goad Logan into finally losing his temper with me. He never has, you know. He locks it all up inside. I’ve been thinking for years that if I could just shatter his self-control, just once , that he would realise that, no matter how deeply he feels betrayed, he will never raise his hand in anger. Never be the man his father was.’ Caroline sat back and raised an elegant hand to her neck, rubbing wearily before seeming to realise what she was doing. Her hand returned to her lap and she sat up straighter, the perfect image restored.

‘Do you have any idea how much courage it takes an abused woman to pick a fight, Evangeline? That’s how much I believe in the goodness of my son’s heart. That’s how strongly I believe that Logan’s fear of turning out like his father is misguided. He won’t. He will never raise his hand in anger. I believe that with all that I am.’

Evie ran a hand through her hair and nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

‘I’m sorry I used you, Evie. I used Max too and I’ve apologised to him as well. But you have to understand …

That weekend was the closest I’ve ever seen Logan to breaking. I thought that if I pushed him I could finally make it happen.’

Love wasn’t meant to be this complicated, thought Evie raggedly. It just wasn’t. ‘But he didn’t break.’

‘Not on me, no. Instead, you threw that ring away and cracked my son’s heart wide open. I’m calling that a win.’

‘You’re mad,’ said Evie.

‘Been called that before.’ Caroline Carmichael’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. ‘Mad and useless and pathetic. I used to believe it. I don’t any more.’

The waiter came with glasses and water and took their lunch order. Salad for Caroline and a sandwich for Evie. Food that wouldn’t take long to prepare, food that would get this luncheon finished with fast.

‘If Logan’s father was such a man as you describe …’ Evie couldn’t believe she was about to ask such an intimate question of a woman she barely knew ‘… why did you marry him?’

‘If I said I loved him once with all my heart you’d call me a fool. But it’s the only explanation I’ve got.’

Which was no answer at all and for some reason made Evie want to cry. Again.