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"I know but—"
"But nothing. I want to spoil you. Let me."
Christmas was only a few days away now, and even though Everett had offered to fly her back to Carolina Cove for Christmas, the showcase was two days after Christmas, and she had too much to do to prepare. She'd informed her family, and they'd all agreed that Christmas was when they were together, not a date, so they'd celebrate after her return, when she'd be home for their annual New Year’s Eve party. "I just wish… What do I get the man who has everything?"
He lowered his head and kissed her. "I can think of some things,” he said against her lips, moving to her ear to whisper them.
Christmas came and went.Everett had purchased several things for Isabel to have under the tree come Christmas morning, focusing on items she might find endearing rather than over-the-top.
During their shopping trip, he'd noticed her eyeing several sketchbooks but choosing instead a more common notebook for the showcase. While she went on shopping, he'd purchased a leather-bound sketchbook, set of watercolor pencils, as well as a platinum charm bracelet featuring an artist palette. To that he'd added a palm tree and Las Vegas charm, along with an apple for New York. And last but not least, he'd carefully selected and purchased a negligee, a silvery-emerald color that made her eyes pop and brought all sorts of ideas to mind.
His gaze shifted to the small, framed portrait across from him on the mantel. Isabel had gifted him with a painting of him and his mother. It was a favorite photo kept on his bedside table, one she'd noticed and copied. His heart squeezed when he looked at it, noting Isabel's extreme talent for depicting emotions with paint. His mother's head was tilted back, eyes sparkling and half-closed as she laughed. He was on her lap, looking up at her with all the love a boy has for his mother.
The painting was now one of his most prized possessions. That and the portrait of Isabel in his arms.
A knock sounded on his home office door, but before he called out, the panel opened and his father stepped through.
"There's my boy. Jacob let me in."
Everett grinned and stood to accept his father's hug. "How are you? How was the honeymoon?"
"Ah, well, you know how things go."
Everett's gut clenched as he took a step back and returned to his seat, watching warily as his father paced across the room to the bar on the far side of his office. "It's a little early for that, isn't it?"
His father ignored Everett's question and poured a double. "Dad? What's going on?"
James Everett Sr. sucked back half the drink before answering.
"I really thought she was it."
Everett grimaced and covered his curse with his hand. "What happened?"
"The pool boy. That's what happened," his father growled.
Yeah, well, considering she was twenty-three to his sixty-seven, could he really be surprised? "I'm sorry to hear that."
"Onward. Right, my boy?"
If that meant the next woman, Everett sincerely hoped not.
"So what have you been into while I've been gone? Did I see you in the papers with a woman on your arm? Normally you're careful not to let that happen. Gives 'em too many ideas."
Everett shifted in his chair and sat forward, bracing his elbows on the desk in front of him. His father's statement was true. In the past, he was careful to keep his private life private. He attended social events alone, choosing to go solo rather than have his date think too much of the invitation and attention. "Her name is Isabel. She's an artist."
"Ahhh, that explains it. You found yourself a Dharma to your Greg."
The reference to the old television show did nothing to soothe Everett's mood. He had a couple days left before Isabel's return to Carolina Cove for the holidays, and he wasn't sure how he felt about it. Things had been going well with them. Well enough that she hadn't mentioned their divorce for a week. "If you say so," he said simply. "So things are in motion for divorce number eight?"
"Yeah. I guess there's just no replacing your mother."
Everett stiffened and sat back in his leather chair. "Maybe you shouldn't compare them—and find someone your own age."
His father's loud chuckle echoed throughout the room. "Women my age have too many issues and make me think about my own. It's the young ones that make you forget," James said with a wink.
Recognizing a losing battle when he saw it, Everett shrugged. "I hate to cut this short but I have a meeting in a bit." The meeting was him going to where Isabel's showcase would be held to help her any way he could, but he didn't want to tell his father that and have him ask to tag along. "Did you need something?"
"Nah, just checking in now that I'm back. Maybe we can have dinner tonight so I can meet your lady friend."
