She leans forward, grin stretching across her face. “Speaking of cute small towns, who is your college friend from Eden, Evie? I’m sure I know her or her family. It would be hard not to in a town that size.”
This bitch.
I match her smile. “Regina West. She’s got a younger sister, Matilda, and an older brother, Nathan, you may have known. We stayed at her house while we visited but I couldn’t tell you the street or neighborhood.”
Let’s see how good she is and just how thorough the packet she was given on me was. Regina West was a girl I went to school with, but her family moved away in seventh grade. We were best friends growing up, and I would love to find out how much of my past Mr. Smith knows. Nathan moved back to Eden about five years ago after he finished med school and opened a walk-in clinic there. There aren’t many family doctors in that area, so he is very well known and respected in the community.
Her brow creases as if she’s struggling with how to answer me. “That name does sound familiar . . .” She trails off, leaving the rest of her sentence unfinished.
Nope. I’m docking points. She obviously didn’t do any of her own research and relied only on what Mr. Smith gave her. And she would have been briefed on Nathan if my early friendship with Regina had been discovered, because we were inseparable before she moved. I’m guessing Mr. Smith didn’t uncover anything on me earlier than high school.
“Is Eden still where you call home?” Ryan asks. “I would think your company wouldn’t send you so far away for work.”
“I live in Raleigh now. Eden is a great place but it’s just really small, you know?” She shrugs then looks at me as if I’ll agree with her. “My company is short-staffed, so we’re all stretched a little thin. I’m sent where I’m needed.”
“Both of you girls have moved around a lot,” James says with a loud laugh. “Evie, I’m guessing if you moved in with Ryan, you plan to stay awhile. No more bouncing around? Or is this just a temporary stop?”
“James, you’re putting her on the spot.” Ryan’s voice has a hint of the bite I heard a few days ago in his office in Glenview.
She squeezes his hand hard enough that James squeaks out an “Ow!” And then under his voice he says to her quietly, “Thought you wanted to know if she’s staying.”
Yeah, there’s no way he works for Mr. Smith too. He’s not even remotely good at this, and she needs to do a better job of keeping her pawn in line.
“It’s a fair question,” I say, ignoring his last comment. “I wouldn’t have accepted Ryan’s invitation to move in if I had plans to move on.” Ryan’s thumb brushes softly across my leg, so I know he’s pleased with my answer.
“Once she sees the plans I’m working on for the vegetable garden and greenhouse, she won’t be going anywhere. It will be a two-person operation, so she can’t abandon me.”
My attention snaps to him. “You’re putting in a garden?”
He shakes his head slowly and his smile widens. “No.” A short pause and then he says, “We’re putting in a garden. You said you always wanted one.”
The blush that blooms across my face is genuine, and I wish I didn’t have to share this moment with the two other people at the table.
She leans forward, breaking the spell between Ryan and me, and asks, “Can you point me to the closest powder room, Evie?”
But Ryan is already standing up. “I’ll show you. I’m heading in to grab the steaks. Need to get them on the grill now or we’ll be having them for breakfast.”
She follows him inside, and I know she’ll take this moment to snoop through our stuff. It’s exactly what I would do, but more importantly, it’s what I want her to do. I’ve left a little something for her to find that I know she’ll report back to Mr. Smith. It’s a dangerous play, but I need him to put all his cards on the table. I’m sick of surprises.
The interesting thing about this situation is that I really can’t tell if she knows I’m here on a job, just like her. Or is she working me like she would any unsuspecting mark? Did her set of instructions tell her the mention of Eden, North Carolina, would set me on edge?
“James, how do you like yours cooked?” Ryan calls out as he steps back onto the deck holding a platter of marinated steaks and wearing an apron that says You don’t have to kiss me but you could get me a beer.
“Medium rare,” he answers, then moves to the grill.