Hannah's List (Blossom Street #7)(87)

Alix shrugged. "Her own experience. That, and because she's talked to so many young wives with similar problems."

"Sounds like you married into a great family."

Alix nodded in agreement. "Jordan's a good husband and he'll be a wonderful father." Alix relaxed in her chair and folded her hands over her stomach. "Talking with Susan helped me confront my fears about motherhood, too. Like I said earlier, I might not be a perfect mother, but I intend to be the best one possible."

"I think your baby's fortunate to have two loving parents."

Winter's compliment produced a huge smile from Alix. "Thank you, Winter."

"And thank you for these ideas. Hey, if you ever decide to change careers--not that I want you to--you could be a counselor."

Still smiling, Alix left the office, and Winter got up to close the door. She returned to her computer and sent Pierre a message saying simply that she looked forward to their meeting next week.

Then she began to plan her first stand-up dinner with Pierre.

Chapter Thirty-Two

T he week passed quickly. I was busy and so was Macy. She had a couple of radio spots that paid the bills for all her animals' vaccinations. She was also helping her friend Sherry Franklin at a local craft show. Sher was a potter who relied on Macy at these events; one day soon, I hoped to see her in action, charming hordes of people into buying Sher's cat-shaped mugs and bowls. Macy had done some work on the mural, but I didn't mind that its completion was delayed by these other commitments. It just meant I'd have her at the clinic longer. In any case, we'd managed to talk every day and see each other three separate evenings. Thursday, the night before the awards dinner, Macy showed me the dress she planned to wear. She sat me down on her sofa, and with all three cats around me, one on each side and Snowball on the back of the sofa, I waited patiently for the grand unveiling. Sammy rested at my feet, his chin on my shoes. It was a characteristic posture of his and one that, according to Macy, signified his approval of me.

When Macy appeared I nearly slid off the sofa. In a word, Macy's dress was stunning. I'm not much for fashion and I couldn't name a designer if my life depended on it, but I knew this dress was out of the ordinary. She'd purchased it at a tremendous discount while modeling for a catalog shoot.

Seeing Macy in that dress took my breath away. "I'll be the envy of every man there," I told her. "You could walk on the red carpet at the Oscars and not be out of place."

Macy blushed with pleasure.

At one time I'd dreaded this whole outing, but now I regarded it with a pleasurable sense of anticipation. I'd be proud to have Macy with me tomorrow evening. Ritchie had purchased tickets for himself and Steph, and Patrick would be at my table, as well as his wife, Melanie. So would our third partner, Yvette Schauer, and her husband. This would be the ideal opportunity to introduce Macy. And of course, I had the ring for later. I pictured Macy and me toasting each other with champagne, imagined slipping the diamond on her finger...

Macy stroked the dress. "It hardly cost anything and I bought it on faith that one day I'd have somewhere special to wear it."

Apparently, buying things on faith was a habit of hers. "Faith, not trust?" I asked.

"No, faith," she insisted. "The way I figured it, if this dress came to my attention, then there'd be an occasion when I'd need it." She fanned out the skirt at her sides. "Now I do have an occasion to wear it. Same with the dog food."

"Dog food? What's the connection between this dress and dog food?"

"There isn't one. But you see, about a month before I found Sammy, I happened upon a closeout sale on dog food and bought a twenty-five-pound bag. Naturally I didn't know at the time that Sammy would turn up in my life, so when he did, I was prepared. Well, sort of."

"Sort of?" I wondered where this answer would lead our conversation. Macy was unlike anyone I'd ever known and she saw the world in what I could only describe as a very individual way. The more I was around her the more I was enthralled. I'd grieved for Hannah so long and so intensely that I'd forgotten how addictive joy could be.

"Well," she went on to explain, "the night I found Sammy I'd forgotten about the dog food and fed him the same thing I do the cats. He was too hungry to be choosy, but all along I had that twenty-five-pound bag of kibble on the back porch and I'd completely forgotten about it. I remembered it the next afternoon. He was a happy camper after that."

I had to laugh. "That explains it, then."

"Will the dress do?" she asked, whirling around one last time to offer me a full view.

"It's perfect." And it was.

She made an elegant little curtsy in response.

"Shall I pick you up at five-thirty?" I asked, reaching down to pet Sammy. "The dinner starts at seven, but there's a social hour first."

"Could you come at five forty-five?" she asked.

I frowned, suddenly suspicious. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

She avoided eye contact. "The shoot for the TV commercial is tomorrow."

I exhaled slowly as understanding dawned. I remembered now. Of course this new job was important to Macy, but tomorrow's dinner was important to me. Important to both of us, although she didn't know that yet. "You're afraid the taping might run late?"