Raindrops on Roses: Book One of the Favorite Things Trilogy (17 page)

"Oh, is this your first time in Mayfair?"
asked Jodi.

"Yeah, even though I just live over in
Steeple Springs, this is the first time I've actually crossed the
bridge. It's pretty exciting."

"Well, we're glad to have you," Priscilla
said as she took her leave, waving goodbye.

Walking into
Well Arranged
, she saw
her mother organizing some cashmere sweaters on a display stand in
the center of the store. She hadn't seen Priscilla come
in.

Taking the moment to observe her mother
unnoticed, Priscilla now realized that all she saw was a woman
simply at work. A woman who was doing her job. Her dark hair had no
hint of gray and was pulled into a neat and sophisticated bun.
Diamond teardrop earrings glittered from her ears and she looked
very nice in her black slacks and shimmering teal blouse.

Why can't she stay this
way?
Priscilla thought.
This normal.

Turning on her heel, she quietly stepped out
of the shop and continued down the hall to HR.

•
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
•

"A
mber, it's me. I'm returning your call. Look, I will speak to
Michael about all this, so stop worrying, and don't bother coming
by the office anymore. And
do not,
I repeat,
do not
contact Priscilla Bauer! Let me handle this. If
you phone her, it's possible we could lose their business, and I
would not thank you for that and neither would Michael, for that
matter. So I'm telling you now that that is
not
a good idea. Again, let me talk
to Michael, all right? Call me back when you get this
message."

Clicking off the voicemail, Amber looked
expectantly at her mother. "See? You heard what he said. So now
what?"

"Send the text," said Julie Holland, shaking
her head. "Just send her the goddamn text, 'cause if you want to
break them up, that's the surest way to do it."

"But what if she already knows about us,
Mom?"

"Good point," said Julie. "But what if she
doesn't?"

Amber ran a hand through
her bob. "But if they lose that account...you heard what he said.
This could backfire and just push Michael even
further
away."

"Well, he can't really get much further away
than he is right now, can he?"

Amber placed a hand on her chest,
practically bursting with nervous energy. Things were getting out
of control much faster than she could've anticipated. Losing
contact with Michael was unfathomable, and she still couldn't
believe any of this shit was happening.

Out of sheer desperation,
she had finally called her mom over after Elaine had told her it
was time to give it up. "Are you fucking crazy?" she'd practically
yelled at her cousin. "That is
not
an option." So of course Amber had felt she had
no other choice but to fill Julie in—they needed to figure out what
to do next, and if anyone knew how important this relationship was
to Amber, it was her mother. So she would think of
something
.

And she certainly had.

"Am," her mom said now. "What the hell's all
this stuff doing out here in the living room?"

You should've seen it an
hour before you got here
, thought Amber.
"It's just the stuff he didn't take with him. I was planning to
burn it all."

"Never mind that now,"
said Julie with a huff. "You have to be
smarter
than that. Michael can buy
all this stuff back, but he won't get that
bitch
back if she doesn't know he
was living with you the whole time."

"But, Mom, if they lose
the Bauers' business, I'll be the one who gets the blame—not
you
."

"Honey, that's just a risk
you're gonna have to take. Larry Frost can try to talk to his son
'til he's blue in the face—Michael isn't gonna listen to him and
you know it. You have to go after your man, Amber.
Fight
to get him back.
Too bad if the fight gets dirty, but Michael only has himself to
blame. He should never have cheated on you in the first
place."

"Exactly." Amber was
practically trembling. "
He
betrayed
me
, but I'm the one being treated
like dirt." Her eyes turned hard. "He has to pay for this, Mom. You
should've seen how he brought those cops here...as if I were just
some stranger off the street. I did
not
deserve that. It was
humiliating.
Humiliating
."

Julie gave her daughter a
shrewd look that said,
Well, you know what
you have to do
.

With a burst of
determination, Amber snatched up her cell phone. And suddenly she
knew exactly how to maximize the effect. "I have to make sure she
takes me seriously," she said, almost to herself. "He can't
have
any
wiggle
room."

Composing the text, she sharpened the blade
and hit send.

Before Julie Holland left
the apartment, she hugged her daughter and wiped away her angry,
bitter tears. "Listen, don't fall apart on me, okay? Just keep your
eyes open and focus on what you had all these years and I
guarantee
the two of you
will get back together. Michael might be upset at first, but once
this girl doesn't want him anymore, he'll be back. He can't just
walk away from the ten years you've been together. You're a part of
him, Amby, and he loves you more than that. He
has
to."

Amber nodded. "I know he
does. But somehow that
bitch
got her claws into him."

"Yeah," said Julie as she turned away and
headed down the steps. "But I'll bet you've just pulled 'em right
back out."

•
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
•

T
his is perfect
, Michael thought,
looking around the spacious new house. It was in a nice, swanky
neighborhood and he liked it a lot. There were three bedrooms and a
great outdoor set up in the back. He could see Priscilla
being
very
much
at home with him here.

Making a good offer, he took a few pictures,
thanked the realtor and left. He had a few rush mock-ups due in at
the office before the end of the day.

Since the house was only about ten minutes
from The Renaissance, he made it back to his room quickly and got
right to work at the large desk.

Although Michael's private
life was in transition, it seemed to be doing wonders for his
imagination and creativity—he was now producing some of his best
work
ever!
He'd
just designed a custom logo for
Reva
Lai
, a major fashion designer who'd been
looking to rebrand. They had accepted his first draft with no
requests for changes, which was rare.

You're just getting better
at this
, he thought, shading the neck of
the swan he'd drawn as the focal point of his current project. He
spent the rest of the afternoon working until he was satisfied with
the drawings, then he got them scanned on his portable and sent off
to Lynn at the office.

The distance from his father was great and
he was really enjoying it. He could breathe, and he appreciated
that Larry had indeed backed off. It was giving them both the space
they needed to hit the reset button on their relationship. And it
also gave Michael a better hope for their future as father and
son.

With his work done for the day, Michael
ordered up a dinner of sea bass and potatoes, then sent a
sweetheart text to Priscilla, letting her know she was on his mind
and he was looking forward to the movie. Aside from the Academy
event at the hotel and the coffee shop that morning, this would be
their first real date out in public so he was definitely looking
forward to it.

After the devastating loss she had suffered,
being able to contribute to her healing meant the world to him. As
he jumped into the shower, looking forward to the evening, Michael
realized right then, that he had long since fallen in love with
Priscilla. And loving her was already making him a better man.

•~•

Dressed smartly in slim-fitting black slacks
and a pinstriped blazer, Michael drove across the causeway into
Mayfair wondering how Amber was doing. He imagined that once she'd
had some time to calm down and accept the break up, he would go
ahead and give her a call so they could talk and try to part as
friends.

He was still feeling the aftershocks of
their split, but he was determined to smooth the jagged edges, to
make things right. He felt he owed her that.

When he arrived at the theater, he turned
his car over to the valet and went up to the box office to buy
their tickets. He thought about showing Priscilla the pictures of
the house when she got there, since he was so eager to start
folding her into his life and couldn't wait to hear what she
thought of the place.

Tickets in hand, Michael
bought a cappuccino from the
Sweets &
Seats
across from the theater entrance,
then texted Priscilla that he would be waiting at one of the
umbrella tables outside. They had agreed to meet at 7:00 p.m. and
he was early, having wanted to ensure the rush hour crunch on the
highway wouldn't make him late.

As he waited, he sipped his coffee and
people watched. It was always one of Michael's favorite pastimes
when out in public, observing people who didn't know they were
being observed.

When he next glanced at
the time it was 7:12. He decided to give her a call and got her
voicemail, twice.
Her phone can't be
off
, he thought.
Maybe she's just in a dead zone.

Babe, are you on your way?
— M. Frost —

Ten minutes passed with no response.
Concerned, Michael tried calling again. "Hey, Cilla, where are
you?" he said at the beep. "At least let me know you're on the
way...haven't heard from you all day so I'm getting a little
worried."

He sent another text and
sat there waiting somewhat patiently until 7:40 when the movie was
supposed to start. Then he thought,
Okay,
something has to be wrong
.

Deciding to drive over to Emerald Leas right
away, he left the table and went to collect his car.

When Michael pulled up to the guardhouse ten
minutes later, he sensed immediately from the look they exchanged
that he wasn't going to be let in.

Eager to find out what was going on, he let
down his window. "Hey, gentlemen. Michael Frost here to see
Priscilla."

The guard with the goatee gave him an
apologetic smile. "Sorry, we can't let you in."

"Why?"

"We've been instructed not to."

"Not to let
me
in, specifically?
Michael Frost?"

"Yes, sir."

He was completely floored. "When?"

"Excuse me?"

"
When
were you told not to let me
in?" He was now thoroughly confused.

"Sir, we can't open the gate. I have to ask
you to drive forward and make the U-turn."

What the hell's going on?

He hastily drove up and made the damn turn,
then pulled off to the side of the road and tried Priscilla's phone
again. "Priscilla, what's going on?" he said on her voicemail. "Why
have the guards been told not to open the gate for me?"

He clicked off and stayed put, waiting for
an answer. But after two more messages and twice as many hours, it
became very obvious there would be no response—but Michael didn't
leave. He sat there well into the night, unable to drive away.

•~•

It was after midnight before he finally
started the car and drove back to Stuart, in a semi-fog. He'd seen
a couple of cars come and go, but he had no idea whom they were.
Cilla never used the main entrance.

Something had gone very
wrong, and Michael had come to the conclusion that there was only
one answer:
Amber
. She's the
one
reason Priscilla would be shutting him out so abruptly. And
so
severely
.

But what exactly had she
found out? Had Amber come here to see her? He didn't dare
call
Amber
to ask
anything, so that meant he
had
to find a way to reach Priscilla. He had to get
her to talk to him so he could find out exactly what had happened
and address it.

Back at the Renaissance, Michael lay awake
that entire night, unable to stop thinking about Priscilla and the
magical weekend they had just shared.

As he lay there in the comfort and safety of
his hotel room, he had never felt more uncomfortable—or more afraid
of losing someone—in his entire life.

•~•

The next morning, Michael was back at
Emerald Leas before breakfast. He had resisted the urge to continue
calling or texting, but nothing would stop him from showing up.

This time he saw only one of the guards, the
heavyset one. "Sorry, Mikey," he said with a smirk.

"Can you at least phone up to the house and
tell her I'm out here?"

Running a hand across his nose, heavyset
shook his head. "It's a no-go, man. You need to leave."