Back on Blossom Street (Blossom Street #4)(56)

“He did.”

“Good.” Jacqueline looked pleased. “You’ll thank us later, Alix. Just wait and see.”

Alix’s cell phone rang and she knew without checking that it was Jordan. She turned it off.

“You made the right decision,” Susan assured her. “You’ll have enough to think about on your wedding day without worrying about the cake.”

Alix murmured agreement. Only she was seriously beginning to wonder if there’d be a wedding day.

CHAPTER 20

Colette Blake

C olette glanced at her watch. She was meeting Steve Grisham for dinner at seven-thirty; it was only ten after now. She’d arrived at the restaurant early. This Italian place was new to her and because she’d walked, Colette had given herself an extra fifteen minutes.

Actually, it’d been her idea to meet Steve here rather than have him pick her up. Susannah’s husband, Joe, had recommended the restaurant. It was romantic with small, intimate enclaves, dim lighting and flickering candles. The pungent scent of garlic drifted from the kitchen. If the food was half as good as it smelled, she’d be in epicurean heaven.

Colette wasn’t sure why she hadn’t wanted Steve to come to her apartment. He had before, several times. It just seemed more convenient to meet him here, she told herself.

The waiter brought her iced tea and she thanked him and paid for it. This was the fourth time she’d gone out with Steve. She enjoyed his company but didn’t feel any real attraction to him or any strong sense of connection beyond friendship, and a fairly casual friendship at that. He’d been Derek’s friend more than hers. She didn’t know if anything had happened between them, but the men had begun to grow apart, although the two couples had still socialized fairly often. Derek and Steve were partners for a few years and then Derek had started a new assignment. Colette had assumed the reassignment came from headquarters. She was no longer so sure of that.

She felt uneasy with Steve but couldn’t explain precisely why; to some extent, she blamed the fact that she was keeping such an important secret. If they continued to see each other, she’d have to tell him. However, she couldn’t really imagine doing that and wondered if it was such a good idea to go on seeing him. Although Steve hadn’t said anything overt, he’d made it plain that he’d like to deepen their relationship. Colette didn’t want that. Thinking about it, she decided the main reason she’d accepted his invitations was his link with Derek. Her husband was their most consistent topic of conversation. They’d exchanged memories of Derek as a rookie and laughed about the day Steve had helped them move; it’d been midwinter and the men had accidentally killed most of Colette’s houseplants, leaving them in the cold truck for hours. They’d recalled happy times, like the New Year’s Eve after Steve’s first daughter was born and the four of them had stayed up all night, delirious with exhaustion. Steve sometimes talked about the end of his marriage, too.

What she and Steve had in common besides their memories was their pain. But was this a solid basis for the kind of relationship he seemed to want?

Colette forced herself not to consider these uncomfortable thoughts for the moment. Since she had a few minutes to wait, she decided to check her mail, which she’d slipped into her purse on the way out. The first two envelopes contained bills. The following three or four pieces were junk mail and the last was a card, addressed to her. She immediately recognized the handwriting as Christian’s.

The night before, Colette had dreamed of him. She’d awakened around three that morning and hadn’t been able to get back to sleep. Those dreams shouldn’t have surprised her, though. Christian constantly turned up in her thoughts. She was in love with him and she worried about his future. She hadn’t told his great-aunt any of what she knew. How could she disillusion this woman who loved him so much?

It annoyed and perplexed Colette that she was always looking for him. A man would walk past Susannah’s Garden and for a split second she’d think it was Christian. Her heart would race with excitement—and then she’d recognize that she’d made a mistake.

Reading the handwritten return address on the card, she frowned. In all the years she’d worked for Christian, she couldn’t remember him ever sending a card. But then she wouldn’t, would she? He could mail out a thousand such cards and she’d never know it.

Feeling nervous, she delayed opening the envelope. Then she couldn’t stand to wait another second. Steve wouldn’t be there for five or ten minutes; she had plenty of time. Eagerly she tore open the envelope and withdrew a small card, a single sheet of heavy deckle-edged paper.

She read the short note he’d written. I wish you only happiness, Colette. But I’m not sure Steve Grisham is the man who will give it to you.

A comment like this was so unlike Christian that Colette just stared at the card. As he’d promised, Christian had stayed out of her life—until now, until this.

She still believed Christian Dempsey was a man of his word. Once she’d told him she didn’t want to see him again, he’d made no attempt to contact her. That he’d done so now meant he knew something about Steve, something he felt she needed to know. Otherwise he would never have broken his word; Colette was positive of that.

“You seem very absorbed,” Steve murmured, standing beside the table. He kissed her cheek before pulling out a chair to join her.