The View from Alameda Island - Robyn Carr Page 0,37
a hard time.”
“Because I haven’t had a hard enough time today?” she countered, lifting one brow.
“How do you make your eyes that color?”
“Believe it or not, it’s real—violet. It’s rare. Elizabeth Taylor had violet eyes. It’s a mutation, I’m told. It can also be done with contacts, which explains why we’re seeing more of it.”
He was looking into her eyes, not talking. Then he took a sip of his wine and seemed to gather himself up. He swallowed. “Men must have fallen in love with you all the time,” he said.
She looked away from his intense gaze. “Not that I noticed,” she said. Not since Brad. Brad had said, I just want to look into those eyes for the rest of my life. She’d fallen for it and it turned out not to be true.
“Well, maybe you’ll notice once you’re not going through the upheaval of divorce. You’re a beautiful woman, Lauren. I think your life is going to take a nice turn after the storm.”
“And is yours?” she asked.
“It was pretty slow and easy until Pamela decided she wanted to save our marriage, then it started to get rough again. It’ll pass. After she’s gotten everything she can get.”
“Oh God, I can’t even think about all that,” Lauren said.
“I hope you got yourself a good lawyer,” he said.
“I had to. I’ve always known my husband would be terrible. He’s been kind enough to warn me. Do you? Have a good lawyer?”
He nodded. “She has an amazing track record and a great reputation, but she looks like my grandmother. She says it’s her secret weapon.”
In spite of herself, Lauren laughed. “And my lawyer has a reputation as a barracuda, but she’s always been very nice to me. Where it all breaks down is when it’s time to do something ruthless. And I can’t. I’m not that person. I never have been.”
“Me, either. Oh brother,” he said. “We’re screwed, aren’t we?”
“Kind of sounds like it.”
He looked at his watch. “I’m going to get out of your hair. Do you need anything before I go?”
“I think I’ll get by just fine. I’m glad you stopped by. Maybe everyone needs a divorce buddy.”
“That’s very cute, Lauren,” he said, standing. “You have my cell number. If anything comes up, if you have a problem or if you’re worried about something...”
“I’m fine. Really. I need to make a couple of phone calls.”
At the door he paused. Hesitated. Then he gave her a brief hug. “Hang in there.”
“You, too.”
* * *
Lauren called Cassie first, told her she was fine and they’d talk the next day. Beth had been chomping at the bit to know how she was. “He must know I’m serious because he isn’t showing his hand,” Lauren told her sister. “He likes to think he’s smarter than everyone and capable of a sneak attack. Even after all these years, it’s impossible for me to anticipate Brad.”
After that, she pulled a blanket out of a box, put her pajamas on and reclined on the sofa with her last glass of wine and her laptop. She checked her mail, listened to some local news and before she knew it, her eyelids were drooping. Using one of the sofa throw pillows for her head, she curled up on her new couch and went to sleep.
She slept like a baby. When she woke, birds were chirping and the sun was streaming into the living room windows.
How is this possible? she asked herself. After the stress of the day, how could she sleep like that? She thought she’d be awake all night, worrying about her daughters, dreading Brad’s anger, hearing odd noises... But she was strangely at peace. She couldn’t remember her dreams this morning but she thought there was a familiar presence there. She thought it was Beau, smiling that reassuring smile. What a surprising gift he was—a friend who understood what she was going through just when she needed that most. A divorce buddy was not a bad notion. When she got to know him better, she might be able to talk him off the ledge just the way he had for her.
She checked and saw there were no missed calls on her phone. The world was at peace. She showered, dressed in jeans and sneakers and roared into her day, starting with the nearest Starbucks. She treated herself to a sausage biscuit and called Cassie from the store patio. She listened to her daughter’s concerns, then told her firmly, “Don’t let your father or anyone make