Crossroad To Love (Fab Five Series) (26 page)

“Welcome back. I’ve made you a scrumptious lunch. Thought we
could eat on the patio. We have the house all to ourselves for the rest of the
weekend. Jordan is camping with friends.”

With tears in her eyes, Marianne walked into the house with
her dashing doctor husband to begin the process of repairing a damaged
relationship.

Meanwhile, at ‘Chloe’s Place,’ Ryan sat at one of the tables
in the private dining room with a mug of strong, black steaming coffee in front
of him. He was staring at the wall. Chloe walked in and sat down across from
him.             

“This is where I spent my last happy time with her, Chloe.”        

“I know, Ryan, but you can have more happy times. Just wait
and see.”

“Her plane took off a little while ago. I just couldn’t
bring myself to tell her goodbye.”      

“Y’all need to call her soon about coming back down to work
on the designs. That will give you the excuse you need to talk to her.”

“I will, but not just yet. Chloe, I really love her.” He looked
at his sister-in-law with sadness in his eyes.

“I know, Sweetie, and for what it’s worth, I think she loves
you too. You just need to work through all of the unresolved feelings of guilt
you’ve been harboring for all these years.”

The handsome Irishman sighed as he took a drink of his
coffee. “Katy, my love, I am so sorry, but I am afraid we can never be.” He
spoke under his breath as his sister-in-law left the room quietly.

He picked up his cell phone and dialed Katy’s number. He
left her a voice mail telling her that he hoped she had a good flight and he
would be in touch with her soon about working on the expansion. He said nothing
more.

When Katy arrived home, she dropped her luggage in the
foyer, kicked off her shoes and checked her messages. Ryan had called. She held
her breath as she listened to his message. It was brief and to the point, with
no emotion whatsoever.

“I will not give up on us,” she said aloud as the tears
rolled down her cheeks. “Our story was written in the stars ten years ago, before
we ever met. And it is a love that will not be denied. I am sure of it.”

The next few weeks flew by in a flurry for Katy. She
prepared her work for Angie to review, had gotten sample swatches, a color
wheel for paint shades and felt more than ready for her meeting with her friend
and client. The ideas had flowed and she had really thrown herself into her
work. She would be driving from Chicago to Davenport and staying in Angie’s
hotel for the meeting. She had met with her attorney to consult with him on
setting up the business and he had supported her wholeheartedly in her venture.

Alex had been home for a weekend. He felt sad for his
mother. Even though she put on a brave front with the excitement of her new
career, he could tell she was missing something in her life. And he had a good
guess that it was the man she had met in Texas. She had told him that it just
did not work out, but Alex could tell that she had wished it had, no matter how
cheerful she tried to be.

She was packing for her trip to Iowa when the phone in the
bedroom rang. She walked over and picked up the receiver. “Hello.”

“Katy, this is Ryan. I just came from a meeting regarding
the new restaurants. It’s definitely a go and going to begin sooner than we
anticipated. Chloe asked me to call you. She is about ready to have you come to
Dallas. She wants to work with you on the décor of the new restaurants. She
thinks the party room ideas you had are pretty great. So she wants to get
started on the rest of the places.”

He sounds so cold and businesslike, not personal at all.
So is the way we are going to play this game?

 “Hello, Ryan, good to hear from you. Actually, I am leaving
in the morning to spend the week in Davenport working with Angie. But I could
get to Dallas in a few weeks, if that’s okay. I’ve gotten a few ideas ready for
Chloe.”
Two can play this game. If
it’s strictly business he wants,
then it’s strictly business he’ll get.

“I think that’ll be fine. Do you need me to make
reservations for you?”

“I’ll arrange for my plane reservations before I leave for
Angie’s in the morning. And I’ll be staying at Jon and Mari’s house in McKinney
while I’m in town, so one of them will pick me up at the airport. You needn’t
be concerned. I know you’re busy right now.”

“All right, let us know your final plans, when you’ll be
arriving and all. Then we’ll schedule a meeting for after you get here.”

“Give Chloe my love and tell her I’ll have lots of ideas
ready for her.”

“That I can do, I’ll see you in a few weeks, then. Goodbye,
Katy.”

“Bye, Ryan.” Click. He had hung up. She stared at the
receiver in her hand disbelievingly.
I guess he was serious when he had said
we could work together, because he
intends to act as though those nights
in Dallas
never took place. How can he so easily forget how he told me
he fell in love with me at first sight? How can he ignore the fact that we
almost made love?

Perhaps he’d decided that he had never really loved her,
that it was just a chance meeting between two people with a connection to the
past. Whatever he was thinking, Katy would prove to him and everyone else that
she could be just as professional and businesslike as he could. She did not
need Ryan when she went to Dallas. She had Chloe and Marianne and work to keep
her occupied. She would not get in his way at all. He could go back to being
the playboy bachelor of Dallas. Determined as she was, Katy felt a twinge of
jealousy at the thought of him and other women. He was supposed to be hers.

A short time later, she had pulled herself together and
finished packing. She called the airport and arranged her flight to Dallas in
two weeks. That would give her a week after she returned from the Quad Cities
to work on designs for Chloe and prepare for the trip.

After a simple meal of vegetable soup, Katy pulled out the
bath beads she had bought at the mall that last day of the trip and indulged
herself in a warm, jasmine bath. Once she was clean, relaxed, and dry, she lay
on the bed and decided to call Mari and let her know she’d be coming to Dallas.
Marianne was elated to hear from her. She listened as Katy told her about the
phone conversation with Ryan.

“I’ve not seen him in the society pages like I used to, so I
don’t think he’s gone back to his old ways, Katy. Maybe it’ll be better when
you get out here and see him in person.”

“Have you talked with Chloe since we all came home?”

“Yes, we did have lunch one day. She’s very busy with the
new restaurants. We plan to get together for dinner, but it hasn’t happened
yet. Jon is busy too, as is Shane.”

“She didn’t mention if Ryan was dating?” Katy gingerly
asked.

“No, she didn’t, Honey. She’s still hoping for the two of
you to get together. She’s probably cooking up a good matchmaking scheme as we
speak. She is a hoot, that one.”

“She is a lot of fun. I can’t wait to work with her.”

“And I can’t wait to see you again. Let me know what time
your flight arrives and one of us will pick you up. No need for you to rent a
car. You can drive one of ours while you’re in town. You’d better get some
sleep if you’re driving down to Davenport in the morning, Sweetie.”

“Yes, you’re right. I need to go. I’ll call you the day
before I arrive and give you the details. Looking forward to seeing you. Give
Jon and the boys my love.”

“I will, and you tell Angie and Michael I said hello.”

“Will do. Goodnight.”

“Sleep well, my friend.”

The drive to Davenport, Iowa the next day was pleasant and
uneventful. The leaves on the trees were almost all gone and the early November
chill had settled in the Midwest. Katy had no problems finding the resort. She
gave the valet her keys and walked inside to her first view of the lobby. It
was very posh and as she looked around, she was already forming new ideas in
her head to go with the briefcase full of designs she’d developed in the weeks
before.

She checked in at the desk in the lobby and went on up to
her room. The bellhop followed with her bags. After placing a generous tip in
his hand, Katy looked around the room. Very nice, she thought. Sage and heather
blended to make a gorgeous color scheme for the room. Everything matched, from
the drapes to the coverlet on the bed to the pictures on the wall. The
furniture was cherry, very traditional and finely crafted. A king-sized bed
looked inviting after her drive, with its luxuriously thick comforter and
pillows, but there was not time for a nap.

There was a small fireplace in the corner, a sage and
heather floral loveseat, a table and two chairs in front of the fireplace, and
on the other side of the room, a cherry desk. There was an armoire for her clothes
and a flat screen television set. 

Walking into the bath, she could see that the décor matched
the bedroom right down to the sage and heather towels. A Jacuzzi tub was on one
wall and a large marble vanity was on the other, with a shower in one corner. A
door separated the commode from the rest of the bathroom. There was even a
phone and a small television set on the vanity. Whoever had done the original
designs for the resort had good taste. Katy was going to have her work cut out
for her if she wanted the new part of the hotel to be as swank as the original.
But she knew that Angie would never have trusted her with so large a job if
Angie had not thought Katy could do it, so she was confident. She glanced at
her watch. If she wanted to unpack and freshen up a bit after being on the road
for meeting Angie in her office, she’d better get a move on. The plan was for
her to call Angie’s office when she was settled in.

Katy slipped out of the jeans and sweater she’d chosen for
the drive and donned a pair of black dress slacks for her meeting. Adding a
pale blue blouse and stylish black jacket, she fastened a set of pearls around
her neck and slipped into black sling back pumps. She touched up her hair and
make-up and. looking in the mirror, gave herself an approving smile. She placed
a call to Angie’s secretary, telling her she was on her way down, got
directions to the office and prepared to begin working.

Grabbing her briefcase full of designs and the new Coach
purse she had treated herself to before the trip, she was on her way.

The week Katy spent working at the resort was very
satisfying. She and Angie were able to agree on the décor of the new rooms and
Katy felt good about the choices Angie had made. She felt the new rooms would
be every bit as nice as the original ones, but in a more contemporary style,
rather than the traditional style of the older portion of the hotel. Katy had
decided to go with the different style in her designs and Angie had thought
that was acceptable. After the work was finished for the week, Katy had a few
days to relax before driving home to prepare for her Dallas jaunt. She spent
some time reading by the indoor pool, indulged in some spa time, and did some
shopping while Angie was working. The evenings were spent having dinner with
her friend and catching up.

Michael was around the first part of the week, but had flown
to Texas mid-week to meet with Ryan and Shane, giving the girls some time to
themselves.

“What do you think Ryan’s reaction will be when he sees you,
Katy?” Angie ventured to ask.

“I can’t begin to imagine, Angie. He was so cold and
professional on the phone. As if we had never been anything more than business
acquaintances. I realize we only knew each other for a week, but it was a very
intense week.”

“And how do you feel about that?”

“I can be just as businesslike as he can. I’m a professional
now.”

“You go, girl. That’s the spunk coming out.”

“I just hope I don’t turn to mush when I see him. The longer
I’m away from him, the more I think I really did… do… love him. I thought after
I came back home, the feeling would fade away, but it has only grown stronger.
I miss him so and crave more time with him. It just wasn’t long enough.”

Angie felt bad for her friend. She was afraid Katy might
never get the time with Ryan that she craved. She patted her friend’s hand and
cleverly changed the subject, “Tell me some of your ideas for Chloe’s
restaurants.”

Katy spent the next hour telling Angie what she had come up
with so far. Her enthusiasm for her work shone through and Angie was glad that
Katy had the work to occupy her time. Otherwise, this ordeal with Ryan might
have been her undoing.

When it was time to go home, Katy hugged her friend and told
her she would call her when she was back from Dallas. “We can talk about
ordering the materials and furniture then.”

“Sounds good. You take care of yourself, and don’t let this
thing with Ryan bring you down. Enjoy your trip, regardless of what he does.”

Katy took her keys from the valet and started her journey
back to Chicago.

The next week was spent working. When she was finally on
board the plane, it was time to relax. Katy had worked long hours, night and
day, for Chloe. She wanted everything to be perfect when she presented her
work. She did not know if Ryan would be sitting in on any of the meetings or
not, but she was determined that if he was, he would know she was very serious
about her work and not just in Dallas chasing a fantasy.

She might have been a fool thinking she could have a future
with a man she had just met. But she had gotten a client out of the deal and
she intended to make the client happy, even if she could not make the man
happy. When she arrived at the airport, Jon was there to pick her up. “Mari is
working today. She should be home by the time we get there. She arranged her
schedule so that she can be off while you’re here, so that’s why she worked
today.” Jon smiled as he took her bags and walked her to the Lincoln. He loaded
her things, opened the door for her, and they were soon on the expressway.