Summer on Blossom Street (Blossom Street #6)(23)

“Where were you?”

She whirled around to f ind Clark standing directly behind her.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded. No way was she answering his questions.

“What do you think I’m doing here? I’ve been waiting for you for the last two hours. Phoebe, this can’t go on. I’m miserable without you. I need you.”

“Clark…”

“Hear me out. Please.”

She had to close her eyes for fear of being inf luenced by the expression on his face, the pleading in his voice. “Don’t do this.”

To her great relief, the elevator arrived and she dashed inside.

“Just go!”

Clark stuck his arm between the doors, effectively keeping them open. “Answer me one thing and then I’ll leave.” His gaze beseeched hers. “Tell me that while I sat here for two hours, you weren’t out with another man. I couldn’t bear that, Phoebe. I could take anything but that.”

What he couldn’t take was losing, she thought. After a moment’s hesitation, she decided it was best to tell him the truth.

“I…I’m not seeing anyone else.”

He nodded and whispered “Thank you.” Then he stepped back as the elevator doors slid closed.

Chapter 8

Anne Marie Roche

They’d been home for a week, but Anne Marie was only now rediscovering the routine of her life. She sat in her small off ice at the store and paid the bills that had accumulated in her absence, although her mind drifted frequently from the task at hand. Memories of Paris were still with her. Sainte Chapelle had taken her breath away. A visit to the magnif icent Nôtre Dame had humbled her and the ride up the Eiffel Tower had thrilled her. Boat trips on the Seine, the Louvre, meals at charming little bistros… The trip had been everything Anne Marie had dreamed and more.

Ellen had barely been able to absorb it all, and Anne Marie felt the same mixture of awe and wonder. Now that she’d had the experience, all she could think about was returning. Anne Marie was delighted by Ellen’s ability to learn French. She picked it up with ease, hearing words once or twice and remembering them. Anne Marie wanted her to retain as much as possible and Ellen practiced every chance she got, especially on Baxter. Because of their special communication, the dog seemed to understand her, no matter what language Ellen spoke. It was the modulation in the child’s voice that cued the dog, or so Anne Marie assumed. In any case, Baxter had quickly learned assis for “sit” and parle for “speak.”

During the remainder of the summer Ellen would be going to the day camp associated with the Free Methodist church around the corner. The program was reasonably priced and Ellen seemed to like it. Cody Goetz attended, too. So did Casey, Lydia and Brad’s foster girl, although that was only supposed to be for just a few more days. The church camp sponsored frequent f ield trips, plus craft classes and sports activities. Jordan Turner, Alix’s husband, headed the program, with the assistance of several young staffers.

Shortly after the adoption, Anne Marie and Ellen had started going to Sunday school and morning worship services. As a new mother, even if her baby was almost nine at the time, Anne Marie felt it was the right thing to do.

She’d fallen out of the habit of church attendance after she’d separated from Robert. Later, when the husband she loved had died—as they were on the verge of reconciling—Anne Marie had been angry with God. So angry…

However, she knew that a strong religious upbringing was something Ellen’s grandmother had wanted for her only grandchild. Dolores Falk had loved her granddaughter deeply, and Anne Marie felt a responsibility to do as Dolores had requested. Anne Marie understood that Dolores’s love had protected the girl. Fortunately Ellen’s birth mother, Dolores’s daughter, who’d fallen into a life of drugs and crime, had surrendered all parental rights. This had made it possible for Anne Marie to adopt the child.

Teresa stuck her head in the off ice. “He’s back.”

Lost in her thoughts, Anne Marie glanced up. “Who’s back?”

“The man.”

“What man?”

“The one who came by when you and Ellen were in Paris,”

Teresa said, sounding a little impatient.

“Oh.” Anne Marie hadn’t actually forgotten but she’d relegated the matter to the bottom of her list. “Has he asked to speak to me?”

“Not yet, but I guarantee that’s what he’s here to do.”

“Okay.” Anne Marie pushed away from her desk and rose to her feet.

Teresa remained standing in the doorway. She winked outrageously at Anne Marie, then lowered her voice. “He’s still hot.”

“Teresa! You’re a married woman.”

Her friend grinned from ear to ear. “True, but I’m not blind.”

Anne Marie came around her desk and stepped quietly out of the off ice. Sure enough, a man stood at the counter, a man whose gaze went instantly to her face. Over the course of her life, men had often looked at her. She knew she was reasonably attractive and yet the look this man gave her expressed more than casual interest, more than mere appreciation. His gaze was intent, meaningful, even expectant. Anne Marie felt confused by it.

She moved behind the counter by the cash register. “Can I help you?” she asked, keeping her voice cool and yet polite.