Part 11 (1/2)

s.h.i.+fting her handbag more comfortably across her shoulder, Kate walked over to the bar and waited for the solitary barmaid to notice her. A few moments later, a buxom brunette with friendly brown eyes sauntered over, a smile of welcome on her brightly painted lips.

”Hey, if it isn't Kate Watson. I heard you were back in town. How have you been? You look like-wow! You look fantastic!”

Kate shuffled through her dusty collection of high school memories and tried to put a name to the face.

”It's Sonia Sevil. We were in the same year.”

Kate shook the woman's outstretched hand and returned her smile hesitantly.

”Not that I'm surprised,” Sonia continued. ”You always were a stunner. I was so jealous of all that long blond hair.”

”Really? I had no idea,” Kate murmured, already regretting her decision to come here.

Sonia grimaced. ”Yeah, that was the problem. You were always so freaking nice about everything, we couldn't hate you even when we wanted to.”

”Why would you want to hate me?” Kate asked, genuinely surprised.

”Because you had it all-looks, brains, boys galore drooling after you; h.e.l.l, you were even captain of the athletics team. There wasn't anything you didn't excel at.” She leaned across the bar and smiled. ”So, tell me, did you really kiss Justin Cooper behind the girls' toilets?”

”What? Justin Cooper? No way!”

Sonia's eyes gleamed. ”I knew it. Even way back in high school that son of a b.i.t.c.h couldn't lie straight in bed.”

Kate shook her head, nonplussed. ”Why would Justin Cooper tell you he'd kissed me?”

”I guess he was trying to make me jealous. I had a thing for him back then, but there was no way I was going to let him know it. I think it was his awkward, screwed-up way of letting me know he liked me.” Sonia rolled her eyes. ”Men! You know how they are.”

Kate answered with a mini-smile. She wasn't used to making girl talk, but she found she was enjoying the growing feeling of camaraderie between them.

Sonia smiled back. ”What can I get you to drink?”

”Um, a gla.s.s of white wine would be great.”

”House wine, all right?”

”That would be lovely.”

Sonia winked at her. ”Coming right up.”

Within moments, a gla.s.s of chardonnay was placed in front of her. Kate picked it up and took a sip. The ice-cold wine slid down her throat. She breathed in the fruity smell and waited for the tingling feeling to glide through her veins. She'd never been a big drinker and alcohol of any kind always had that effect on her.

”What brings you back to town?” Sonia didn't try to hide her curiosity.

Kate couldn't blame the woman. Her departure a decade ago had been rather dramatic. She could only imagine the rumors that had pa.s.sed from one teenage mouth to another.

But that was a lifetime ago. Her past had been buried so deep not even Sherlock Holmes would find it. And that's the way she wanted it. As long as she could find her mother, alive and well, and take her back to the UK with her, things would go on as normal. She'd return to London, settle her mother into a flat nearby and then pick up the threads of her successful life. She'd continue forward as if Watervale and her past no longer existed.

Aware that Sonia was still waiting for an answer, Kate settled on the truth.

”I've come to visit my mother. She used to email me all the time, but a little over a month ago, she stopped. Not even a phone call. I just want to make sure she's all right.”

A frown creased Sonia's forehead. ”Actually, come to think about it, I haven't seen her around lately. Not that she's ever been one to get out and about much, but I usually see her sitting in her front garden every now and then. I drive right by your folks' house on my way home.”

Kate's heart skipped a beat. ”Really? Do you remember the last time you saw her?”

Sonia looked thoughtful. ”Yeah, it must have been at least a month ago, come to think about it. That big old oak tree right near the driveway was still as bare as a slab of concrete. Your mom was sitting in her wheelchair with a laptop balanced on her knees. I remember thinking what a with-it kind of woman she was. My mother wouldn't even know how to switch a computer on.”

”Was anyone with her?”

”No, I don't think so, but I was driving. I only saw her for a moment.”

Kate's mind whirled. Her mother hadn't exactly sounded unhappy in her last few emails, but it was what she hadn't said that had led Kate to conclude her mother's relations.h.i.+p with Darryl had become strained.

Previous emails had often mentioned Darryl and what the two of them had been up to, but the later ones, the emails she'd received right before they'd ceased altogether, hadn't referred to him a single time. That was odd-as odd as her abrupt disappearance.

Despair settled on Kate's shoulders and she sighed under its weight. She wished she had someone to turn to, someone who would listen-really listen-and take her side, just once.

The familiar, tantalizing, masculine smell of expensive cologne teased her nostrils and accelerated her pulse. Then she noticed the change of expression on Sonia's face-as if a lamp had been switched on behind her pupils. The barmaid's teeth shone in the dimness and she turned away for a second or two of covert primping in the mirrored gla.s.s behind the bar.

Kate looked sideways. Riley pulled up the stool beside hers and lowered himself onto it with effortless athletic grace. His sleeve brushed hers and her insides clenched on a flutter of nerves.

He turned and smiled at her. A slow, s.e.xy, thoughtful smile that darkened his eyes to the color of Old Gold Chocolate.

She averted her gaze, fighting the pull she felt when she looked into his eyes. A ball of heat unfurled low inside her.

”What's a gorgeous-as-all-get-out girl like you doing in a place like this?”

She rolled her eyes at his awful Bogart imitation. Despite her best intentions, a giggle spilled out. Then another. She lifted her gaze to his. She couldn't help it. Her lips widened on a smile.

He was funny and enthralling and s.e.xy in his dark, French-barista kind of way. And he was genuine. She could see real caring in his eyes. In the way they darkened when he looked at her, and the tenderness in his smile. Her belly fluttered again and she was suddenly lost for words.

He spared her from having to formulate a reply by ordering a beer from Sonia, who hovered nearby.

”Crown Lager, right?” Sonia replied. ”Big and busty and full of flavor, just how you like it.” The barmaid winked and ran the tip of her tongue over the glossy fullness of her bottom lip.

Kate lowered her gaze and fumbled for some money in her handbag. The kernel of desire she'd felt moments before died a quick, merciful death. Embarra.s.sment burned her skin. Oh, G.o.d, Sonia had something going on with him. She should have guessed. If the woman leaned any closer to Riley, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s would fall right out onto the bar.

Seizing a ten-dollar bill, she plunked it down in front of her and scrambled off the stool.

”Look, I have to get going,” she mumbled, turning away.

”Hey, don't go rus.h.i.+ng off.” Riley stood, towering over her, the strength and breadth of his body at once both rea.s.suring and intimidating.

Her gaze darted around the room and bounced between patrons, pool tables, the jukebox, the heavy wooden entrance door-searching for an escape.

His hand was warm and firm on her arm. ”Stay. Please, Kate.” His eyes probed hers, seeking, searching, as if delving for secrets she could never divulge.

She shook her head, panic close to the surface. ”No, um... Please, I have to go.” The words came out in a rush. She couldn't meet his eyes.