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was trying to apply balm to the
gaping wounds that threatened to tear his marriage and his life
apart. He’d wanted to beg her to come home since she left, but he
knew she would never forgive herself if she wasn’t there for her
aunt when Sharon needed her the most. Since he was no stranger to
regret, he hadn’t forced her to make an impossible choice.
    “Um, why don’t
I grab my stuff from the car? Then we can talk, if you still feel
like it?” He’d thought it was too presumptuous to bring his
suitcase in until they’d had a chance to talk, but after witnessing
the exchange between his wife and the inn manager, he wouldn’t
leave until Eve kicked him out.
    “Do we have
anything left to talk about, Alex?”
    He scanned her
face, hoping she would retract the question when she saw how much
it hurt him. “Of course we do. When you’re ready. I know now’s not
the time to talk about… us. We have to think about your aunt and
the best way to honor her memory. If you want me to handle the
arrangements—”
    “No, I’ll take
care of it. I owe it to her.”
    He wanted to
help her, to let her know she wasn’t alone. “Is there anything I
can do?”
    “No.” She
watched a blue sedan pull up the winding gravel drive.
    No doubt a
neighbor who’d heard the news and come to pay their respects. Alex
knew the house would soon be flooded with people who loved Sharon.
They had been a part of Eve’s life since she was a child, yet they
would view him as a stranger. He was just the man who took her away
from the people who loved her. Alex was on Dan’s turf; they were
his people.
    “There’s
nothing anyone can do.” Eve looked him in the eye, catching him off
guard with the intensity of her stare. “It’s too late.”
    He wanted to
ask her what she meant, but fear paralyzed him. He watched her walk
down the path to greet her guests, and he couldn’t even bring
himself to grab her wrist and haul her in for a hug. Had they
really grown that far apart?
     
    ***
     
    Eve felt as if
she was in a fog as late afternoon slipped into evening. Neighbors
and friends came and went, offering words of love and support, but
she could barely focus on their condolences. Her husband was rarely
more than a few feet away. She wanted to believe he was being
attentive because he cared, but she suspected it had more to do
with Dan. He was jealous that another man was showing interest in
his wife, and he was intent on staking his claim.
    It broke her
heart to realize she’d been reduced to another possession in his
mind, but she couldn’t continue to deny the obvious. Alex hadn’t
even touched her since he’d arrived. She’d almost leaned into him
half a dozen times, lured by the familiarity of his scent that
reminded her of when he’d belonged to her and she to him, body and
soul. Dan stood beside her, his hand on the small of her back
serving as a reminder that her husband should be at her side.
    “Thanks for
being here,” she said to the elderly next door neighbor. She’d
played with his granddaughter when they were kids and swapped
stories with her about their boyfriends when they were teens.
    Each and every
person in the room meant something to her, but the person who meant
the most seemed the furthest away, and she was losing hope that she
would ever get him back. The part of her that had been holding on
to the notion that her marriage was still worth fighting for was
slowly and painfully slipping away. Alex was there in body, but his
heart was obviously back home.
    “You should eat
something,” Dan said, reaching for a plate from the buffet
table.
    So many people
had come bearing food when they heard about her aunt’s passing that
the staff set up a buffet table in the dining area. Eve just wanted
to retreat to her childhood bedroom, lock the door, and cry her
eyes out, but those people loved her aunt too. They deserved the
opportunity to mourn her and celebrate her life. Of course, the
formal service would be in a few