a pink bike helmet and a wrinkled school uniform. Jogging behind her in a running tank was Evan McCallum. Even red-faced and sweaty, the man made something odd rise up within her. He raised a friendly hand as she passed them, a small twitch of his lips fading as quickly as it appeared.
Ellery glanced into her rearview mirror as he jogged around the corner, following behind his daughter. The view was pretty dang good, which made Ellery even angrier at herself. He was an older man with a kid. And she had a fiancé.
“Stop being a stalker,” she muttered, wondering if she had indeed done something totally stalkerish. Did driving all the way to Deacon Point, Texas, in order to catch a glimpse of Evan qualify as stalking?
No. That was ridiculous. She had needed to get away from her world and think, and One Tree Estates was right off the interstate. Buying good wine for her birthday was on her list anyway. Surely her mother would do something fun for her birthday—she always did. Ellery’s mouth watered when she thought of the Texas chocolate sheet cake with bright sprinkles Daphne always made. This time Ellery would bring the wine, so her trip had nothing to do with her inordinate interest in a man who was too old for her. Had nothing to do with the fact she felt ignored by the man she was supposed to love.
Supposed to?
No, did.
She loved Josh. They were going to have the perfect life together just as soon as he got through this first year of school. The first year was always the hardest, so all she had to do was hold it all together for one year. By the time May rolled around, she would have the perfect new job, and Josh would move to his second year. They’d both be closer to their ultimate goal—a successful power couple living in a gorgeous house, doing meaningful things, and being their most fabulous selves.
Looking at the clock, she mentally calculated the time it would take her to get back to Shreveport, take a shower, and make it in to work. She had to work until 8:00 that night in the miniscule couture section of Selber’s. Today they would have gotten in new shipments. She’d snagged a pair of funky velvet slippers to display with the leather designer jeans they were getting in. She wanted something edgy in the display for the boutique clothing, paired with something more conservative. Something Saint John–ish. Maybe she’d add several strands of gold from the Roberto Coin jewelry collection.
Just the thought of designing a look for the winter displays soothed her. This was where she felt in control. Creating tasteful designs and hand-selling Stella McCartney and Rag & Bone were easy for her. She could see what worked for what customer, sell the dress a woman would wear time and again, pair the best accessories, and find the perfect statement pieces. Ellery Witt had been made to create and sell clothes. J.J. Krause had missed the boat.
And as Ellery angled her college graduation present onto the interstate, she remembered the wineglasses she’d left behind the desk of the gift shop.
But she wasn’t going back.
Her phone rang. Her mother.
Ellery sighed and pressed the Bluetooth button on the steering wheel. “Hey, Mom, what do you need?”
“Hey, baby. I just put the peas on. You and Josh are coming to eat tonight, aren’t you?”
“Oh shit. I forgot to tell you. I switched shifts with Margaret. I’m working tonight,” Ellery said, changing lanes. Her mother had decreed Thursday night a sort of family night. Ellery resented that her mother had tried to revive something they’d done when they had actually been a family. They weren’t a family anymore, so why bother to pretend something that wasn’t there? Besides, she saw her mother nearly every day now that she worked as her assistant. Wasn’t like they needed any more time together.
Part of her not wanting to be with her mom all the time was because Daphne was suffocating. When Ellery was in that house, she still felt like a little girl, like her mother was still mopping up after her. Ellery hated herself for letting Daphne assume control, she hated herself for taking the job her mother had offered. She wanted to be independent, but being her mother’s assistant had been easy money and something she could use on her résumé. And it wasn’t hard to do.