Love Overboard - By Janet Evanovich Page 0,56

nine hours. It seemed like nine days. She’d gone home to Jersey City to regroup and think things through, and had found out that home was no longer in New Jersey. It was nice to see her parents and friends, but she’d been a visitor. Her home was in Maine now, and she’d been anxious to return.

Anxious to return. The phrase stuck in her mind as she slowly drove through the town of Camden, over the Megunticook River, and north on High Street. She decided that anxious was exactly the right word to describe her feelings.

She’d left without much of an explanation to Ivan and wasn’t at all sure what she’d find waiting for her at Haben. She’d simply said she’d needed to get away, and she’d headed south, smarting under the realization that she’d been manipulated by strangers, friends, and relatives. She’d probably looked like a blithering idiot, not even recognizing her own water heater!

By the time she’d reached New Jersey, she’d gone over every detail and was laughing out loud. The whole scheme had been outrageous. And doubting Ivan’s love had been equally insane. Several times she’d started to call Ivan from New Jersey but had hung up even before she’d finished dialing. The telephone seemed inappropriate for the message she wanted to convey. Now she was going to see him, face-to-face, and she was nervous.

The nerves disappeared when Haben came into view. Someone had decorated the front porch with pumpkins and Indian corn, and a cutout of a ghost had been taped to the front door for Halloween. This is the real Haben, she thought. It wasn’t staid and stuffy, and she’d be foolish to try to force her preconceived ideas of stately elegance on the big old house. It was daily disasters and fun on holidays, and it probably really did have a ghost who broke toilets. Ivan was right when he said it was a house that needed children and dogs and an orange cat. She glanced down at the small ball of orange fluff sleeping on the seat next to her. It was a step in the right direction. Maybe next month she’d get a dog. The kids might be harder to come by.

She pulled into the driveway, slung her purse over her shoulder, and cuddled the kitten in the crook of her arm. She wasn’t surprised to find the front door unlocked.

It all felt very right. As if the house were waiting for her. And she knew Ivan would be waiting for her, too, because Ivan loved her. It was a love she would be able to count on for the rest of her life. A love she would return.

The foyer floor had been freshly polished, pots of mums decorated tables and cozied up corners. The clocks ticked in cadence as if they were the heartbeat of the house. A sliver of golden light shone under the closed kitchen door. Stephanie pushed the door open and found Ivan standing at the counter, chopping vegetables. He wore khakis, a bulky sweater, and loafers. His hair had been cut and his beard shaved off, but he was still heart- stoppingly handsome and frighteningly virile. He seemed as at home in the kitchen as he’d been at the helm of the Savage.

“Making supper?” Stephanie asked.

He turned at the sound of her voice, the surprise apparent on his face. He recovered quickly and smiled at her, and the smile said it all. Welcome home, I missed you, I love you. It took her breath away, and she wondered how anyone could say so much with a simple smile.

“I’m making an omelet. Are you hungry?”

“Yeah.” She smiled back at him. “I’m starved.”

He took the kitten from her and held it up for inspection. “Is this a new boarder?”

Stephanie nodded. “It’s a wing chair cat.”

“What’s its name?”

“Whiskers.”

“Are you hungry, Whiskers?” he asked the cat, taking a bowl from the cupboard. He filled the bowl with milk and set the bowl and the cat on the floor. Then he gathered Stephanie into his arms and kissed her. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too.”

“Yeah?”

She laughed softly because he was so obviously pleased. “Why isn’t Lucy making supper?”

“Lucy and Melody haven’t moved back. They weren’t sure they were welcome.”

“Hmmm. I see that didn’t stop you.”

“My rent is paid through May.”

Stephanie wrinkled her nose. “Sorry I left in such a huff, but it was a little embarrassing to discover a whole town had conspired to get me married. I can hardly wait to