Secret Agent Groom (The Bridal Circle #2) Read online

How did they get on this subject? Heather fiddled around, pouring the lemonade carefully before bringing the glasses over to the table. Then she got out the animal crackers and sat down herself.

  “I’m not afraid of him,” she said brightly. “I don’t know where you got that idea.”

  Toto reached for a handful of cookies. “Maybe because you used to practically faint if you had to talk to him.”

  “That’s silly.” She pulled a cookie out of the bag and concentrated on nibbling on its toes. “Besides, we’re not in junior high anymore.”

  Why was Alex bombarding her life this evening? She had lived next door to him for almost a year now and she’d hardly been aware of him. Now, this evening, she couldn’t seem to get away from him. She decided to take charge of the conversation, too. It wasn’t as if Toto’s life were in order.

  “I think you should go to Paris,” she told Toto.

  He looked startled, stopping a gorilla cookie halfway to his mouth. “To Paris?”

  “Sure,” Heather said, warming to the idea. “Why not? You haven’t taken a vacation in years. It would do you good.” Plus maybe in a romantic place like Paris, he’d realize that he and Dorothy were meant for each other.

  “I can’t afford it,” he said. “I just bought the house, you know.”

  And let the woman he should be sharing it with walk out of his life. “Come on, Toto,” Heather said. “How much can it cost? Stay with Dorothy and let her show you the sights.”

  “But I’d need a passport. And probably shots.”

  “Maybe,” Heather said. She wasn’t exactly a seasoned traveler herself. A trip into Chicago was a big deal for her. “Ask at the travel agency.”

  “I don’t know.” He sighed and sat back in his chair. “Dorothy probably wouldn’t want to see me anyway.”

  “Would you stop being so scared of everything?”

  “I’m not scared of anything,” he snapped. “And besides, you’re a fine one to talk. When’s the last time you did something without worrying for half a lifetime over it?”

  “I do lots of things without worrying,” she insisted.

  “Catching stray cats doesn’t count.”

  “I do other things, too.”

  “So name one.”

  She would, just to show him. Except she couldn’t think of any offhand. “Maybe I don’t want to.”

  “Maybe you can’t.”

  Heather frowned at him. Why hadn’t she noticed what a pest he could be? “Maybe I think this whole conversation is silly.”

  He leaned forward, an annoying gleam in his eye. “You do one really brave thing and I’ll go to Paris if you want me to.”

  This was insane! “You’d let your future happiness depend on my bravery?” she asked.

  “Isn’t that showing how brave I am?”

  “No, how crazy.”

  He got to his feet with a grin. “You never would take a dare, would you?”

  She looked down at the animal cookies spilling from the bag, and chose a lion, popping it into her mouth. “I’ve taken lots of dares,” she said though she couldn’t presently think of any. “And I’ll take this one. Better start working on that passport.”

  He actually looked surprised. “It has to be something good, not some wimpy thing.”

  “Stop putting restrictions on me,” she said. “When I do it, I’ll let you know.”

  “And I think it should have to do with Alex.”

  “I said no restrictions.”

  “I’m just clarifying what I mean by brave.”

  “You’re just trying to weasel out of this,” Heather said and got to her feet. “But I’ll show you.”

  He laughed, obviously believing she was going to chicken out. “Sure you will. I know you, Heather.” He leaned over and pecked at her cheek. “Take care. Call if you need anything.”

  Heather watched as Toto walked to his car and drove down the street. He was so sure she couldn’t do anything brave concerning Alex. So positive. She was going to have to prove him wrong. For Dorothy’s sake. For Toto’s sake. For the sake of their future happiness together, she had to prove him wrong.

  One really brave thing with Alex. How hard could that be?

  Dorothy bit into her croissant with a sigh. She was having breakfast at a tiny café near her apartment. The buildings were full of history, the neighborhood was full of culture, and the café was filled with the most delectable smells. In the distance, through the early morning mist, she could see the Eiffel Tower, looming in the day’s first shadows. And she even had a line on a job at little art gallery a few blocks from her.

  So why wasn’t she ecstatically happy?

  “Dorothy!”

  She looked up to see Penny weaving her way through the outdoor seating area. “Oh, Pen, it’s so great to see you,” Dorothy cried, getting to her feet to hug her friend. “Gosh, I can’t believe you and Brad are really engaged.”

  “Sometimes I can’t either,” Penny said with a laugh as they sat down at Dorothy’s table. “How have you been?”

  “Just great,” Dorothy said, conveniently ignoring the loneliness that followed her like a shadow. “It’s everything I dreamed it would be and more. How’s the conference?”

  “I don’t know. Brad had to go check in. I’m going to meet him later. I’m so glad you left a message at the hotel for me to meet you here. I’ve been dying to talk to you.” Penny sat down at Dorothy’s table, nodding as the waiter brought over coffee.

  Once he was gone, Penny leaned forward. “So, have you heard from Toto?”

  “Toto?” Dorothy didn’t have to pretend confusion. “Why would I hear from him?”

  “He went after you the night you left,” Penny told her. “But he got to Chicago too late. Your plane was already gone.”

  Dorothy didn’t know what to think or feel or say. She put her croissant down carefully and tried to gather her thoughts. “What did he want?” she asked.

  Penny shrugged. “He said he wanted to say goodbye and wish you luck, but who knows what he really wanted.”

  Good old Penny. Always trying to make everything right for everybody. Except sometimes she just couldn’t, no matter how hard she tried.

  “What else would he have wanted?” Dorothy asked, her voice brisk enough to keep the hurt at bay. “We’ve been friends for twenty years. I’m sure he does wish me well here.”

  “There’s lots of other things he might have wanted to say,” Penny replied. “I was hoping he would have called you since he missed your plane.”

  But Dorothy just watched an old man riding his bike down the brick street, his basket filled with freshly baked bread. When he turned onto another street and disappeared from view, Dorothy turned back to her friend. She’d had enough time to know the truth.

  “It’s over,” she told Penny. “Or maybe it never was. If Toto and I were in love like you and Brad, we’d have known it ages ago. It was time for me to move on and this was the right place. I love my new life here.”

  “Yes, but...” Penny sighed, a sad smile on her face. “I know. Everybody’s got to find their own way. But I just want you to be as happy as I am.”

  “And I will be,” Dorothy assured her. “Just give me a little time to find the Jacques of my dreams.”

  “But you and Toto are so perfect together,” Penny wailed.

  How perfect a couple could they be if they let an ocean come between them? “Jacques and I will be more perfect,” Dorothy declared.

  She only wished her heart believed it, too.

  Chapter Three

  Alex decided to run another mile, following the path around the lake instead of heading for home. It was early—the morning traffic had barely gotten started—and he had energy to burn. Along with some irritation.

  That episode with Heather last night had been mildly amusing. A little diversion that should have put a lightly humorous end to the evening. Instead, he kept reliving it—or reliving parts of it—all night long. Everytime he fell asleep he was ba
ck in the garden, pulling his gun and almost shooting her.

  The whole thing was crazy. He was a professional. He had never shot anybody accidentally, or the wrong person, or an innocent bystander. Yet in his dreams, he kept thinking he was in danger and then it would turn out to be Heather. Insane.

  He passed the old boathouse and headed into the dense trees, the path weaving around old oaks and elms and maples. He’d always liked it here by the small lake on the edge of town, but the early morning was the best. There was no one around, the world was his.

  He’d started coming here when he’d been twelve, after his dad died, finding the solitude a blessing. Every place else he’d gone then, people seemed to be watching him. Pitying him. Trying to take care of him. He’d hated it. He’d tried to tell them all that he was all right, but no one had listened. And that pity had stayed in everyone’s eyes. So he’d done what his dad would have wanted—he gave them something to look at. He climbed everything in sight, trees, water towers, silos. He jumped from roofs and branches and windows. He drove down the steepest hills, raced around the sharpest curves and spun into the wildest turns until no one had known what to expect from him. It had been just what he’d wanted.

  Maybe it had been the beginning of his undercover work, he thought with a smile as he followed the path around to the street. Or maybe it was his true nature taking over. Yeah, that was more like it. He’d always been a private person and so it was only natural that he choose a profession that let him stay private. He cut across the library parking lot to his street, slowing to a jog to cool down. More people were stirring now, but even at it’s busiest, Chesterton was a sleepy little town. An easy place to fool.

  Now why should that suddenly seem bothersome? He spotted his elderly neighbor getting her morning newspaper from the front sidewalk and waved as he turned into his drive.

  He felt so much better. All that earlier nonsense was just tension about the upcoming job. Not that he was worried about it. No, it was the waiting for things to get rolling. He picked up his paper and went around the side of the house.

  And ran smack into Heather.

  “Ack!” she screamed and jumped about ten feet, clutching at her heart.

  Alex reached out and grabbed her arms, afraid she was going to fall over. She didn’t exactly. It was more like she crumpled slightly and he suddenly found himself holding her as she lay against his chest. His arms folded around her of their own accord—not that his brain disagreed. He couldn’t have her collapse on his sidewalk, after all. But his heart continued to race, mocking his avowed good intentions. And his senses seemed overwhelmed by her faint scent of flowers.

  “Gracious, I am so sorry,” she said, pulling back from him. Her face was flushed and her voice unsteady.

  He had the urge to pull her back into his arms, part of him not at all certain she wasn’t about to faint But the stronger part of him took a step back from her. To where the air was easier to breathe.

  “Are you all right?” he asked. “I didn’t trample you too badly?”

  “I’m fine,” she said though her voice still sounded strangled and her eyes seemed to be having a hard time meeting his. “I should have been watching where I was going.”

  He could feel the heat of her embarrassment even a few steps away and felt the irrational need to ease it. But what was irrational about it? She was a nice person, had never done anything to anybody. Easing her embarrassment was only a gentlemanly thing to do.

  “How’s the kitten this morning?”

  An uncertain smile peeked out on her lips as she looked up at him. “She’s the sweetest thing. Still pretty scared but coming around.” She seemed to take a deep breath, then rushed on. “Would you like to come see her sometime? She said she’d like to see you again.”

  “I...uh,” he stammered.

  Heather looked so damned fragile, so damned vulnerable, that he couldn’t speak. Refusing would crush her, yet he couldn’t afford to accept. He was a loner. Always was, always would be. To accept and let her believe otherwise would just hurt her more in the end. Damn the agency for thinking Chesterton was such a good idea.

  He cleared his throat and hoped his words were gentle. “I’m afraid I—”

  “Oh, of course not,” she said quickly, those wide blue eyes darting away from his again. “I wasn’t thinking straight. You’re much too busy.”

  “It’s just that I’m going to be traveling a lot,” he told her. “Another professor and I have been discussing rhyming couplets in Shakespeare and may do a paper on it. We’ll need to get together a lot for the collaboration.”

  “Sure. Of course. It was just a silly thought anyway.” There was something in her voice that belied her words and tore at his heart. “Actually I just came by to return this. You dropped it yesterday.”

  She shoved a small piece of paper into his hand. It was the address for the gambling operation’s headquarters.

  He just stared down at it, his stomach churning. Damn. How could he have been so careless? This kind of mistake could have dire consequences for him and his partners. Where had his mind been? He had better be more careful.

  He closed his hand around the paper. That’s exactly what he would be from now on—more careful. Extremely careful. Extraordinarily careful. He would take this as a warning that he had been letting his edge slip and he would force himself to be more attentive.

  “Thanks,” he said with deliberate lightness. “I’d never locate my Shakespeare colleague without this.”

  “We wouldn’t want that.” She edged around him slightly. “Well, I need to be going. I’ll see you around.”

  “Yes. Of course.”

  But she was gone before he barely got the words out, scurrying across his driveway and through her side door as if she were being pursued. The world was suddenly silent. No, it was filled with sound—the chirping of the birds, the distant sound of traffic and rustling of the wind in the trees. But they felt more empty than anything. Mocking sounds of a world filled with contentment.

  What nonsense! He must have inhaled auto fumes, or been splashed by a strain of lake water that caused hallucinations.

  He yanked open his back door and the first thing his gaze stopped at was the light of his security system. It was blinking at him. Damn. Not again.

  He walked over to the security panel. Someone had been at the back door three minutes ago. Heather. After resetting the system, he went over to the phone and dialed the number.

  Casio answered. “What the hell is going on?”

  “Nothing,” Alex snapped. “I’m fine. Everything’s fine. The system’s too sensitive.”

  “Too sensitive? You’ve lived there for ages and it rarely goes off. Now it’s gone off twice in twelve hours.”

  “Look, nothing’s wrong,” Alex repeated. “I’ll be leaving for Chicago in a few hours.”

  Heather Anne, she told herself as she fluffed the skirt of Karin’s costume, you are an absolute, total failure.

  She hadn’t accomplished her brave deed. She hadn’t even made a start. Yeah, she’d given Alex back his note and had invited him over, but she had made a fool of herself in the process.

  Thanks goodness she had to go to Chicago to do a fitting on Karin’s Oz Festival costume. With luck and all the costumes Heather was making, she wouldn’t run into Alex for the next three centuries.

  Heather sat back on her heels and frowned at the Glinda the Good Witch costume. “It doesn’t fit as well as it did last time,” she said. “It looks tight around the waist.”

  Karin looked down at her stomach. “Can you let it out?”

  “Sure, but do you think we need to?” Heather asked. “Maybe you just had a big lunch. You know, you shouldn’t eat that hospital food.”

  Karin laughed, but it didn’t sound as if there was much humor in it. “Don’t I wish it was that simple,” she said and sank into a nearby chair. “I’m afraid it’s little longer lasting than a big lunch of bad food. Nine months longer lasting.”

/>   “Nine months?” Heather repeated, stunned. Could she have misunderstood? “You’re pregnant?”

  “Surprised, huh?” Karin made a face. “Didn’t think I was human enough to fall for some jerk’s sweet talking, did you?”

  “No, that’s not what I meant.” A baby! How wonderful! But Heather took in Karin’s drooped shoulders and the shadows under her eyes. “I take if you aren’t as excited about the idea as I would be. How does the dad feel?”

  “Dad? What dad?” Karin said. “He denies even being there that night.”

  “Oh, Karin, what a bummer.” No wonder she was depressed. “If there’s anything I can do, just tell me. Anything at all.”

  Karin’s lips twisted into a bit of a smile as she got to her feet. “Well, there is one thing, besides not telling anyone just yet,” she said.

  “Sure. Just name it.”

  “Let the costume out, will you? My mom is so proud that I’m grand marshall of the Oz festival she’s about to burst. Can’t have me not fitting into my costume now, can we?”

  Heather got to her feet and hugged Karin. “You got it, girl. One maternity Glinda costume coming up.”

  Heather worked on the costume for another hour or so, then Karin left to check on a patient she was operating on the next day. It wasn’t until Heather was back on the expressway that she realized Karin’s news had driven all thought of her foolishness with Alex from her mind for a while. Long enough for the embarrassment to fade and excitement over Karin’s news to take its place. A baby. Karin was so lucky. Having a baby would be the most wonderful thing ever.

  Heather awoke from her thoughts to realize that traffic was slowed ahead of her. It looked like a truck had stalled in her lane and the tow trucks were blocking the two other lanes. Nothing she could do but wait. She frowned and tapped the steering wheel nervously. She hated driving in heavy traffic—people cutting in and out, trucks breathing down her neck, road debris appearing out of nowhere. All around her, accidents were waiting to happen. And then she’d be the one in need of rescue.

  The traffic inched forward. She glanced up at the green-and-white exit signs stretched over the highway. How unbelievably eerie. The next exit was for Poplar, the street that was on Alex’s piece of paper.