Secrets on Cedar Key (7 page)

I
had left the yarn shop at three after being prodded by my mother and Chloe to go home, relax, and then get ready for Worth to pick me up at seven.

I had poured myself a glass of sweet tea and decided a luxurious bubble bath might be fun when the phone rang.

“Bella,” I said after hearing my friend's voice. “How are you?”

Her laugh came across the line. “Better now that I made my deadline. My manuscript is finished and I feel like I can breathe again. But how are
you
doing?”

I realized that we hadn't spoken for a few months. She had been busy working on her next novel and I had been busy trying to adjust to being a widow.

I let out a deep sigh. “God, where do I begin? A lot has happened since we last spoke. But I'm doing okay . . . or as well as can be expected, I guess.”

“I know. I'm sure it's hard being without Andrew, but it sounds like more is going on than just losing him.”

You have no idea,
I thought and proceeded to bring Bella up to date.

“Wow,” she said when I finished. “I almost don't know what to say. And you haven't made any contact with the daughter yet? Do your boys know? How did they take the news that they have a half sister?”

“No, I've made no contact. I just can't bring myself to make that call. And, no, I'm ashamed to say that I haven't said a word to John or Jason about this yet.”

“Hmm, well, there's no hurry on telling them. They'll find out from you eventually, but you might want to consider calling this girl to gain more information. Especially since it's up to you to sign those documents if that's what you decide to do.”

I let out another sigh. “I know.”

“So all of this happened the summer he went to teach in Amherst, huh? I came back to Gainesville to spend a week with you while he was gone, remember?”

I did remember. I also remembered the long, comforting conversations we had in the evening over wine after the boys had gone to bed. I remembered being grateful that I had a close girlfriend I could confide in, one who never judged me. And even though I had opened up to her about my less-than-perfect marriage, she had never once said
I told you so
. Like I knew she wouldn't now.

“Yup,” I told her. “That was the summer it happened. You and I both know that Andrew and I were having problems, but I sure as hell didn't think he was off screwing another woman.” Just like that I felt my anger flaring again. “Much less getting her pregnant. I mean, God! They weren't even responsible enough to use protection.”

“You know I'm on your side, Marin, but that's not necessarily true. Contraception can fail, but at any rate, a child was the outcome. And now . . . Andrew is gone, the mother is gone . . . and it looks like, my friend,
you
are the one that's left to deal with this. And deal with it you will.”

“Don't be too sure of that,” I retorted.

Bella's soft laughter came across the phone, and I could almost see a smile crossing her face. “Oh, but I am sure of it, Marin. You seem to forget. I knew you when. I knew you before you even met Andrew. When you took chances, when you knew where you were going, and when your strength was one of your best qualities.”

I shook my head. “That woman is gone.”

“No, she's not. You just have to find her again. And you will. I'm sure of it.”

“Tell me your news,” I said, tired of my own drama. “What's going on in your life?”

“Well, as I said, my manuscript is finished. So I have a few months to catch up on other things. Oh, and after the first of the year I'll be traveling to Tuscany, the setting for my next novel, so I'll be over there for a few weeks doing research.”

“Tuscany? Really? Gosh, that's great, Bella. Are you going by yourself?”

I heard her laughter again. “Oh, yes. Just me. That's one of many things I like about being single. I don't have to check with anybody. I can go where I want, when I want.”

Bella was extremely attractive and she had male companions, but she had always preferred companions to a spouse. And knowing her as I did, I could verify that at age fifty-seven, she never once regretted having no husband or children. She had a lovely town house in Savannah and three dogs that meant the world to her, and Bella had always been one of those women who created her own happiness and felt fulfilled doing so.

“Oh, by the way,” she said. “Any chance I could get an invitation to Cedar Key for Christmas? Do you think your mother would let me have that guest room?”

I jumped up from the stool in the kitchen. “Are you serious?” It had been a while since anything had caused me to be this happy. “Oh, Bella, of course you can come. I'd love to see you. I haven't seen you since Andrew's funeral . . . and that certainly wasn't a visit. When will you be here?”

“Well, you know I have to bring my babies, but they'll get along just fine with Oliver, so we were going to drive down on that Sunday, the twenty-second. I'll stay five or six nights if that's okay.”

“Of course it's okay. Gosh, you've made my entire month with this news.”

“Okay, well, great. Oh, I meant to ask you. Why are you home so early on a Friday afternoon? I meant to call the shop first but dialed this number instead. Isn't the shop still open till five?”

I smiled. “Yeah, it is, but my mom and Chloe are there. Besides . . . I'm going out for dinner this evening. Getting picked up at seven.”

“Getting picked up? Well, now, that sounds interesting. I'd say you have a lot more to tell me. We're not anywhere near ready to hang up.”

Now I was laughing. “Ah, but we are. I have a bubble bath planned, and then I need to get ready. But I
will
tell you . . . his name is Worthington Slater, it's
just
a dinner, and I'll call you next week with details. Love you,” I said, hanging up before she could ask any more questions.

I was still smiling as I placed my empty glass in the dishwasher. I adored Bella, and I had always considered myself fortunate to have such a good friend. I saw that it was going on four o'clock, so decided to pour myself a glass of wine and then take it with me to relax in that bubble bath.

 

Turning in front of the full-length mirror in my room, I caught the doubtful expression on my face. I didn't exactly look bad, but I didn't look great either. Walking closer, I could see shadows under my eyes caused by lack of sleep. And when had those extra lines appeared near my jaw? Even my hair seemed to lack any luster. A medium brown, it fell in a nondescript style to my chin. I had chosen to wear tan slacks with a pale yellow blouse. My weight was in proportion to my five-four height, and I wore the outfit well, so that wasn't what was causing my doubts. I let out a deep sigh. It was the fact that at fifty-six I looked weary. I looked like a woman who had gone through a wringer and had emerged looking used, wrinkled, and dull.

The doorbell interrupted my thoughts. Grabbing a sweater and my bag, I headed to the living room to open the door.

Despite what I had been thinking a few minutes before, when I saw Worth standing on the porch wearing jeans, an open-collar shirt, and a navy blazer, I felt good. I'm not sure if it was the way his eyes quickly scanned my body or the sexy smile on his face, but not only did I feel good, I knew for certain that Chloe had been right about him being hot.

“All set?” he asked.

“I am.” I hollered to Oliver to be a good boy and take care of the house. “My mother's gone to a friend's for dinner,” I explained.

It was then that I noticed the vehicle parked in the driveway. A silver Porsche Carrera convertible. I looked at the car, looked up at Worth, and blurted, “Is that
your
car?”

“Yeah, but I can put the top up if you'd prefer.”

Here was a car worth more than four hundred thousand dollars and he thought I was worried about the wind? I recovered my composure and said, “Oh, no. That's fine. It's just . . . I thought you drove a truck. I saw the truck parked in front of the yarn shop.”

He threw his head back and laughed as he opened the door for me to slide in. “Oh, I use the truck for work. I went to Ocala this afternoon and brought the car back with me. Would you have preferred I kept the truck?”

I glanced at him as he walked around the car and got in. He was serious, not joking.

“Oh, I didn't mean that. No. This is fine.”

Fine?
I thought as he backed out of the driveway and headed toward Gulf Boulevard. Oh. My. God. I had never been in a car this luxurious. Or expensive. I settled back in the leather seat and allowed myself to soak it up. The speed limit was only twenty, but the wind still managed to blow through my hair and make me feel incredibly carefree.

“Were you busy this afternoon at the shop?” he asked, making me realize that this magnificent piece of machinery was simply a means of transportation to him. Here I was just about drooling and he was asking about my afternoon.

“Yes,” I said, now focusing on him. “Yes, we were. Fridays usually bring the tourists. Was everything okay at your home? You hadn't been there for a while, had you?”

“Right. A little over a week, but everything is fine. I have a woman who comes in to check on things and clean.”

I shifted in my seat to get a better look at him, and that was when I became aware of the close proximity we were physically sharing. And I liked it.

“Will you be going back to Ocala tonight?” I asked as he pulled into the parking lot at the Island Room.

“No. I'll be working on the shop again tomorrow and I'll head back to Ocala on Sunday to drop this off and get my truck.”

Before I had my seat belt unclipped, Worth had walked around and opened my door.
He doesn't just drive a killer car; he's also a gentleman,
I thought as I stepped out to join him.

Walking into the restaurant, I felt his hand at the small of my back guiding me through the door, and I stupidly almost tripped as we approached the podium to be seated.

His hand shot out to grab my arm. “Are you okay?”

“Just feeling dumb,” I said and laughed. “My heel caught on the carpet.”

We were directed to a table outside and I was grateful for the cool air on my flushed cheeks.

After we gave our order for wine, Worth leaned back in his chair, smiled across the table at me, and said, “This is nice.”

He was right. Sitting across from him, just the two of us, it
was
nice. I returned his smile. “It is, and thank you for inviting me to dinner.”

He leaned forward with his elbows resting on the table edge. “My pleasure. Now . . . tell me about yourself.”

I laughed. “I have a feeling you probably know way more than you ever wanted to.”

“That's not true, but I mean tell me about you. What you like. What you don't like. Your favorite books or movies. Those sorts of things.”

I was reminded of Andrew and how I always felt like I was boring him when I wanted to share any of those subjects with him.

“Oh . . . well.” I paused as our wine was brought to the table and Worth told the server to give us some time before we looked at the menus. “Let's see. Favorite books? I have a variety of favorite authors, so my reading tastes are a bit eclectic. But my favorite book is probably
To Kill a Mockingbird
.”

Worth nodded. “Good choice.” He lifted his glass to touch mine and said, “Here's to a long and lasting friendship.”

I smiled and took a sip. “And favorite movie? That would have to be
Casablanca
.”

“Another good choice. Favorite type of food?”

“Hmm, definitely French, with Italian as a close second.”

“I agree. And how about flowers? What would be your favorite?”

Without hesitating, I said, “Oh, yellow roses. I adore them. But I also love lilacs and lily of the valley. My turn—favorite book and movie?”

“I'm afraid I'm not quite as decisive as you are. I read a lot of nonfiction, history, politics, and I have read all of Saxton's mysteries. I enjoy his novels a lot. And believe it or not, my favorite movie is also
Casablanca
.”

I smiled. It would have been easy for him to fib, but I knew that he hadn't. I was beginning to realize there were a few things I definitely liked about Worth, and his genuine sincerity was one of them.

By the time we'd ordered dinner, both of us choosing escargot and duck confit, I marveled at how comfortable I felt in his company. There had been no groping for a topic to discuss, no nodding of the head to be polite, no awkward silences. We discussed a variety of topics, and I discovered I loved listening to him, but even more surprising was that he never took his eyes from mine and he made me feel special.

Dinner was followed with coffee as we finished off the last of the wine. I realized he hadn't questioned me at all about speaking with the attorney on Wednesday, but I knew it wasn't because he wasn't interested. It was because he knew it was up to me if I wanted to share the information.

“The dinner was wonderful, Worth. Thank you again.”

He nodded and glanced out to the water and the lights now twinkling on Dock Street. “I'm glad you enjoyed it, because I did too.”

“I spoke with the attorney,” I said as I twisted the napkin in my lap.

“Hmm, and how did that go?”

“Well, I was right. Fiona Caldwell is Andrew's daughter.”

He nodded but said nothing.