The Love Letter (15 page)

Sabrina easily pictured a young Meredith tossin
g and turning in his small bed, hating that he was alone. She wished she could have been there with him, and then had to laugh at herself. Not satisfied with wanting to be with him in the future, now she wanted to insert herself in his past.

“
I agree. People always think of the obvious activities married people share, but it’s the smaller things they do together that keep them from growing apart.”

“That’s a great observation about marriage, Sabrina. I like it.”

“Are you going to use it in one of your books?” she teased. “If you do, please credit me with its creation.”

“I could
, but I’d rather incorporate a napping scene. No one would see that coming.”

“I’m not sure it would fit the types of stories you write.”

He chuckled softly. “I’ll leave the romance writing to someone else.” Meredith paused for a moment and then he asked, “Have you ever considered writing?”

“Is this a serious question or a
n allusion to the one example you have of my ability in that area?”

“I have
other examples besides the letter. I did grade a few of your papers.”

“And thanks to the photographic memory, you can remember them,
can’t you?”

“Of course. The paper on the effect of setting on characters wasn’t bad
, and then there was the essay on Shakespeare where you tried to convince me that a person of his humble background couldn’t possibly have authored all those plays.”

Sabrina eyed him with amazement. “I can’t believe you remember all that! It’s
fascinating and frightening at the same time.”

“For me, too, sometimes. It’s a blessing and a curse.”

“I feel sorry for Juliet. You must be a formidable opponent in an argument.”

“
I never argue with Juliet.”

“Never? You must not have been together very long.”

He sent her an amused glance. “I’ve known her for more years than either of us cares to admit.”

This comment
confused Sabrina more than ever. If he and Juliet had been together so long, why didn’t they get married? Meredith didn’t appear to have any particular aversion to marriage. Perhaps it was Juliet who preferred a less binding relationship.

“We’re making excellent time. Do you mind if I make one unplanned stop?”

“I’m just the passenger. Stop wherever you like,” she retorted with a grin.

“
It’s an antique store. I discovered it during my many trips between Tybee Island and college. Since I was coming this way, Juliet wanted me to check out their oak umbrella stands.”

“
Where did you go to college?”

“
The same place you did. I loved the location and the campus. It made sense to teach there.”

“What
took you so far from home?”

Meredith looked at her strangely. “You really don’t know anything about me, do you?”

Sabrina’s eyes fell from his. “No, not really. I never allowed myself to get too curious about you. I always knew there was no place for me in your life, so I was content to admire you from afar and not probe too deeply into your personal life.”

“You’ve got to be the most unselfish person I’ve ever run across.”

She waved that away with a small flip of her hand. “It wasn’t so much being unselfish, as being realistic.”

“
Under all that realism is a romantic. Why do you hide your true nature?”

Sabrina chuckled at this. “Maybe I only hide it around you.”

“That’s understandable. Here we are – the place doesn’t look like much from the outside, but they have some really nice antiques among the junk. You can come inside with me or stay here. I’ll leave that up to you.”

“I’
d like to look around; I love antiques.”

Again, h
e held the door open for her. “The bigger items are in the back; that’s where I’m headed.”

Thinking he would prefer to look around on his own, Sabrina nodded. “Go ahead; I’ll find you later.”

As she walked down the narrow aisles, Sabrina could hear Meredith’s deep voice talking to the store owner. He was describing the place where the umbrella stand was needed; she realized after a moment that the room under discussion was the foyer of his house. A stab of pure envy went through her. She didn’t want to think about Juliet helping to furnish Meredith’s new home. That was too close to the reality of her living there with him.

M
eredith finished his own business and returned to where she stood admiring a silver tea set. “Find anything you can’t live without?”

“Oh, yes. This place has some really lovely things.” She held up the bag dangling from her fingers. “I found an exquisite lace runner that Casey can use in the inn’s parlor.”

“Nothing for yourself?”

“I don’t need anything.”

Meredith laughed softly. “Rare is the woman who can say that. If you’re done, we can be on our way.”

Once they were back on the highway, Sabrina asked him something
she’d been wondering since she learned about his new career. “Did you get some kind of scholarship related to writing?”

He
shook his head. “No, I was lucky enough to receive a baseball scholarship.”

“
That explains why you listened to an entire game including the three extra innings to break the tie. Do you still play?”

“I occasionally play on adult leagues, but with my schedule it’s tough to commit to anything like that.”

“Now I know how you manage to stay in such good shape.”

The
wicked smile he sent her way took her breath. “Is that what you were thinking when I gave you my shirt to wear?” The smile grew wider when her cheeks flushed with color.

“I’m sorry for staring at you like that.
You took me by surprise.”

“
You weren’t the only one being surprised that day. That’s one afternoon I’ll never get out of my head.”

Sabrina
looked at him wistfully. “Neither will I, though not for the same reasons.” Then she turned away from him and to her horror, her lips started trembling. If she didn’t do something quickly, she would be crying.

Meredith was horrified. What had he said to upset her? H
e supposed his comment wasn’t the most tactful thing to say, but he’d been teasing. Well, partly teasing, anyway; surely she realized that. After a long moment, Sabrina removed a book from the bag at her feet. Apparently, she’d had enough of their conversation.

Once they were within the city limits of Bristol, Meredith broke the silence that had fallen between them. “We’re only a few miles from your hotel. You don’t have to put up with me much longer.”

She glanced at him questioningly. “What does that mean?”

“Well, I obviously said the wrong thing back there
. You’ve been giving me the silent treatment ever since.”

Sabrina laughed slightly.
“You told me you didn’t want to be talked to death.”

“The few conversations we’ve had on this
eight hour trip don’t come close to the definition of talking me to death. Admit it, I either hurt your feelings or made you angry.”

“
You didn’t do anything, Meredith. It’s hard for me to explain without embarrassing us both. Just know that I try very hard not to make you uncomfortable around me.”

“
And you’ve been successful, or you wouldn’t be here now. When I first arrived and discovered you at the inn, I was worried about how we would get along, but it was unnecessary. You’ve handled a difficult situation with unusual maturity and dignity.

“Thank you,” she
replied quietly.

“
I would never have guessed you to be the author of the letter from your behavior toward me. Your reserve and composure don’t exactly coincide with those passionate lines. It’s like you’re two different people.”

“
Under the circumstances, isn’t it best that I keep whatever feelings I have for you to myself?”

“Well, yes, it’s more comfortable this way. But
you speak so calmly about things that must touch you deeply. I think most women in your position would have either chased me relentlessly or ignored me altogether.”

Sabrina smiled faintly. “You’re
not an easy person to ignore, and I’m not good at flirting or whatever you want to call it. I probably shouldn’t admit such a thing to you, but I prefer to be the one being chased.”

He grinned with rea
l appreciation. “I noticed you let David catch you on the porch the other night.”

Sabrina couldn’t look at him; her eyes dropped to her lap.
“Oh, you saw us?”

“Yes
, and I didn’t know whether to feel jealous or cheer you on.”

Her green eyes swerved to meet the amusement in his. “You were probably
relieved.”

“
Do I have reason to be? Am I slowly being replaced by another?”

“Meredith, d
o you think my feelings for David are something I should be discussing with you? Wouldn’t that strike you as very odd?”

“Yes, I guess it would. Sorry. Here’s your hotel. You can’t say I didn’t keep you entertained.”

He parked the car and got out to remove her luggage. When he would have accompanied her into the lobby of the hotel, she stopped him.

“That’s okay. I can get those. You need to get going.”

“Sabrina, I fully intend to carry your bags into the hotel and up to your room.”

“Is that necessary?”

“No, but it’s part of the service.”

Sabrina checked in, received her key and followed his broad back into the elevator. She never spoke a word, even when he took the key from her hand, opened the door and motioned her to precede him inside.
She watched as he put her luggage on the rack and hung her garment bag in the closet. She also knew she should be saying something, but as before, no words would come. He came to stand beside her.

“
I’ll pick you up around ten on Monday. Try to behave yourself.”

“I always behave,” she said as he walked
toward the door.

“That’s a matter of opinion. See you later.”

Before she could reply to that, he was gone. She wondered if she’d dreamed the entire trip. Meredith had been so unlike himself today. Was it possible that he didn’t dislike her anymore? The mere thought sent a chill through her body.

Sabrina dutifully c
alled Casey and gave a watered-down version of her day. Then she unpacked a few of her things and decided to take a shower. She had an entire evening to herself and wasn’t going to waste it.

Her phone rang just as she
shut off the water. Grabbing a towel, she went into the bedroom to answer it.

“What took you so long?” Meredith’s voice asked her.

“I was in the shower.”

“Guess where I am?”

“In your car or at your apartment.”

“I’m actually in the room next to you because my car decided to blow
a water pump and can’t be repaired until tomorrow.”

“O
h, Meredith, that’s awful. Can you rent a car or something?”

His
husky laugh came over the line and sent a wave of feeling through her. “You never disappoint me, Sabrina. Yes, I could have rented a car, but I decided it wasn’t worth the expense. Would you like to join forces again, or would you prefer to be alone?”

He could ask her that? Knowing how she felt about him?
“I’m sure you don’t feel like going out anywhere. You must be tired from driving all day.”

“
We still have to eat. I could order something to be delivered to my room or your room, whichever. There’s a menu laying around here somewhere. Listen, get dressed and I’ll be over in a minute. It will be easier to do this face-to-face.”

Sabrina slowly laid the phone down. She was going to have his company for a few more hours. Was that a good thing or not?

Hastily, she put on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, but didn’t bother with shoes. She wished she hadn’t washed her hair, but then again, he’d already seen her at her worst.

The knock on the door made her jump. She must relax; there wasn’t anything special about him coming over. What else was there for him to do in a strange town where she was the only person he knew?

“You look comfortable,” he remarked as he walked in. “Here’s the menu. Pick out something you like, and I’ll call it in. Being Friday night, we might have to wait a while.”

Sabrina looked over the menu,
amused by the fact that Meredith sat down on the bed and started flipping through the channels on the television. They might have been a married couple of many years the way he made himself at home in her room.

“The calzone sounds good. I’ll take that with some sweet tea.”