Third Time's a Charm (Holland Springs #3)(88)

Rose smiled back. She had always liked Daisy and had admired her for keeping her business open through a struggling economy. “That’s wonderful.”

“It’ll be even more wonderful when I hire someone to be my assistant.”

“I’ll keep an eye out for you,” Rose said as Daisy moved behind the counter and called out her thanks.

Rose looked at Ivy. The baby sat in a highchair, gnawing on a bagel and drooling like crazy. Just last week her first tooth had popped through, but she still hadn’t said her first word. Mainly Ivy liked to coo and babble at the rabbit Sasha had bought for her.

A hunk of bagel fell to the floor and Ivy leaned over to look at the mess. Grinning, she threw the rest after it and gurgled with glee.

Rose smiled. “Guess you’re done with that.” She used a paper napkin to clean up the baby’s mess.

After wishing Daisy a Merry Christmas, Rose bundled Ivy up and headed outside. She walked along Broad Street, stopping every so often to point out holiday displays to Ivy.

Turning onto Ivy Lane, she squared her shoulders and adjusted the baby on her hip, trying not to notice Sasha’s fake store. It was an empty space except a ‘for sale’ sign had been in the window since the end of November. The clothes and money he raised had been split between Gabriel’s organization and the women’s shelter.

According to Jemma Leigh, that had been Sasha’s doing and he wanted to keep things quiet. So, of course, the realtor told everyone. Jemma Leigh Jackson had never kept a secret in her life.

Rose’s heart pinched as she thought of Sasha. What he was doing for Christmas? Who would he spend it with? The woman inside of her shouted that it should be Rose. That Rose should woman up, find out where Sasha was and go to him. Obviously, the woman inside of her had lost her mind.

Or had she?

She froze in her tracks. Maybe that’s exactly what she should do. She could call Sasha’s cousin, Christian, and ask him. Then go online, get some tickets and find a hotel. Her body trembled with excitement and she started for her store.

“Rose Holland?”

She turned, unease racing down her spine as she found Christian Romanov standing in front of her, his famous smile nowhere to be found and his pale eyes serious.

Gasping, she clutched his hand. “Has something happened to Sasha? To his momma?”

Christian nodded. “We buried Phoebe a month ago.”

She stood on the balls of her feet, looking over Christian’s shoulder for some sign of Sasha. “Is he okay?”

“Alexander’s not…himself.” Christian rocked back on his heels.

“Take me to him,” she said without hesitation. Fate was smiling down on her today. Excitement zipped through her, making her knees wobbly. She steadied them and smiled.

“Brilliant.” Christian clapped his hands and rubbed them together, a gesture so familiar that it made her body ache. “Let’s go.”

A black Mercedes with sleek lines idled by the curb, its driver waiting by the back passenger side door. Rose let Christian guide her by the elbow.

“Where are we going?” She didn’t know why she bothered to ask. Nothing matter but getting to Sasha.

Ivy waved her arms at Christian, making happy noises.

“To merry old England.” He grinned and tweaked Ivy’s nose.

Reality crashed over her, making her shoulders droop. “But I don’t have a passport and neither does Ivy.”

Christian ushered her into a waiting car, the warmth of the heater a welcome changed from the frigid winter air. “It’s all been taken care of.” He sat down on the seat across from her and handed her two thin, blue booklets.

“But what about tickets?”

“Taken care of.”

The limo driver turned the Mercedes onto a private airfield, a white jet with the words Romanov Industries painted on the tail waiting at the edge of the runway.

“Why didn’t I think of that?” she mumbled and pressed a kiss to Ivy’s head.

Not until they were halfway across the Atlantic did she start to panic. “We don’t have any clothes, or a car seat…or extra bottles. I only have the stuff in my diaper bag. And who will feed Blackbeard?”

Christian played on his phone, not bothering to look up. “It’s been taken care of.”

“’Course it has.” Dazed, she settled back in the leather seat. “How did you know I’d say yes?”

“Call it a man’s intuition,” Christian said and she rolled her eyes.

With only three hours until Heathrow, Rose made herself take a nap with Ivy in one of the bedrooms on the plane. A circle of pillows corralled the baby on all sides.

The next thing she knew, the sun was shining through her window and a flight attendant was knocking on her door while saying, “We’re about to land, Ms. Holland.”

Ivy stirred. Rose quickly changed the baby’s diaper before finding her seat. Christian still sat in his, his head lolling to one side. He mumbled something about angry birds and thieving pigs in his sleep.

The first bounce woke Christian.

The second had her clutching Ivy to her chest, until they disembarked the plane.

“Happy Christmas Eve.” Christian guided her to yet another waiting Mercedes. There was a car seat for Ivy. Hot chocolate steamed in the cup holder by the window.