Page 63 of Did You See Evie

“Sounds like it,” Connor says, staring between the two of us. His eyes land on Nadia. “I hope you’ll make it to the wedding.”

“Please,” Nadia says, pouring more wine into her glass, “tell me all about it.”

“Taking place this summer at my family’s vacation home in Delaware. It’s going to be beautiful. Right on the shore.”

Nadia laughs. “You’re kidding, right?”

Connor makes a confused face.

“Cass hates the beach,” she says.

“I don’t hate it,” I say. “Travel has never been a big priority. I’ve only been to the beach a handful of times, but you should see this place. It really is gorgeous.”

“Well, you should be making travel a priority,” he says. “We have one hell of a honeymoon planned.”

“Do tell,” Nadia says, leaning back on her barstool.

“Right now, we’re going to be gone all of June and most of July. We’re going to start in Europe, hit all the big cities.” Connor cuts his eyes sneakily to me. “Of course, I’m hoping to push it further. I’d love to take about six months to travel, if I can get Cass to agree.”

“Come on,” Nadia says. “You mean to tell me you don’t want to travel the world?”

“I’m excited about the summer. And I’ve always wanted to go to Europe,” I say. “I just think six months is a little too long. It interferes with everything we have going on here.”

“What she means is it interferes with basketball season,” Connor says. “Everything in our lives revolves around that.”

“I guess that’s a good thing, right?” Nadia’s eyes move uncomfortably between Connor and me. “Cass has always wanted to coach.”

“Right.” Connor takes a sip of his wine just as the kitchen timer dings.

THIRTY-THREE

Nadia ended up sleeping over.

It’s not every day I invite a known thief to spend the night in my home, but we ended up having too much to drink, and by the time I’d cleaned up from dinner I was ready to pass out.

When I walk downstairs the next morning, I see Nadia under a pile of blankets on the living room sofa.

Connor is already dressed and in the kitchen, brewing coffee.

“Are you going to wake her before you leave?” he asks.

Nadia’s mouth is wide open, drool trailing out of the corner. It makes me laugh, reminds me of the days before she was always perfectly put together.

“She’s sleeping hard,” I say. “Let’s let her rest.”

“Are you sure?”

Connor looks at me apprehensively, and I wonder why.

Sure, I had my hesitations about letting Nadia stay over, but I know her past. And her present. Connor only met her last night. What vibe is she giving off to make him this uneasy?

“She’s my friend,” I say.

“You’ve barely spoken in more than a decade,” he says. “You don’t really know her anymore.”

Just then, I hear groaning come from the living room. I watch as Nadia’s hand stretches over the couch. She’s waking up.

“Cass, is that you?”