Eternally Yours by Jennifer Malin Page B

had to be capable of seeing reason about her house. Maybe her problem with it boiled down to disliking the Victorian style--but if so, then why didn’t she move somewhere else? And he still couldn’t explain her indifference about the secret room.
    His questions continued to bother him, and by the time he paid for the paper he’d resolved to see her again. The only thing he didn’t know was when he’d feel up to facing her. He started for home, debating how soon he could stop by without being too much of a pest.
    “Mark!” a familiar feminine voice called from behind him before he’d gone half a block.
    Karen . Without looking, he knew it was her. For an instant he considered pretending he hadn’t heard, but that would have been childish--and probably useless.
    Slowly, he turned around and saw her hurrying toward him. She looked clumsy mincing in her high heels and mini suit. The contrast of Lara’s casual dress and graceful movements flashed in his mind. She seemed so much more down-to-earth than his ex. They really couldn’t be much alike.
    “Hi!” Puffing from the exertion, Karen smiled up at him. “I’m so glad I ran into you.”
    “Hello,” he said, wondering why she wanted to talk to him. They hadn’t had any contact in weeks, and he felt oddly detached from her, as if she’d become a stranger. Maybe he was finally coming to realize that he’d never truly known her in the first place.
    “I was just visiting my friend Paula at Town Hall, and an interesting thing happened. By any chance, have you met a Lara Peale in connection with the historical society?”
    He stared at her, startled to have Lara’s name brought up when he’d just been thinking about her. His surprise quickly evolved into annoyance that Karen hadn’t even asked how he’d been doing. She’d dumped him less than two months ago, but she acted as though they were on perfectly friendly terms. “Yeah. Why--how do you know her?”
    “Well, I met her briefly at a party a couple of years ago, but that’s beside the point. She was in Paula’s office just now, and she mentioned having talked to the historical society about her house.” She pushed back her short-cropped, dyed-red hair, though every strand fell back into the exact same position. “Frankly, Paula and I thought she was lying to us. I had to check with you.”
    Had Lara complained about him--but what did it matter anyway? His impatience with Karen outweighed his curiosity. “Why do you care, if you hardly know the woman?”
    She raised an eyebrow. “You seem defensive. How well do you  know her?”
    He frowned. If he hadn’t known better, he would have sworn she was jealous--but that was ridiculous. “I’ve barely met her. As she apparently told you, she has business with the society. She applied for a grant for some work she’s doing on her house.”
    “I see. That must be why she was applying for a building permit.”
    Lara had applied for her permit? Again, he was stunned. Where had she gotten the money for the addition? He tried to hang onto the tiny bubble of hope he had for her house, telling himself that maybe she’d come up with another plan.
    “Mark?” Karen interrupted his thoughts. “I was asking what you thought of her house.”
    “Oh, it’s very nice--in good condition.” He really had no desire to get into the topic with her. “I’m sorry. I can’t stay and chat. I have an appointment in half-an-hour.”
    “Wait a minute,” she said before he could get away. “If you’re going to be working with that Lara Peale, there are a few things you should know about her. Paula was telling me that the woman’s poor ex-husband lost his shirt to her in their divorce. Apparently, his family had owned their house for generations. Now it all belongs to her.”
    Of course he knew that, basically, but the remark struck a nerve, especially after the news he’d just heard. Lara’s house really would have been better off in the hands of her ex...but why