The Last Time I Saw You

by Liv Constantine

  Harrison jumped from his chair and ran to her, but Kate pushed him away. Simon stood, looking helpless.

  “Mommy, what’s wrong. Are you sick?” Annabelle looked close to tears.

  “It’s all right, Annabelle. Come with me. I want to show you something,” Hilda said, leading her from the room.

  Blaire went to Kate and drew her into her arms. She could feel Kate’s heartbeat pounding against her as she held her, the extreme sharpness of her shoulder blades under Blaire’s hands. “It’s okay. I’m sure you’re right. It’s some sort of mistake. We’ll get to the bottom of this,” Blaire said.

  It was just like the Kate of that long-ago summer, when she had slid into that deep dark place. If this reign of terror didn’t end, Blaire wasn’t sure Kate could come back this time.

  Kate had gone to lie down before Christmas dinner. Blaire had stayed in her bedroom with her until she fell asleep. The others, too, were napping, and Simon was just coming up the stairs as Blaire was headed down.

  “How is she?” he asked, civil for a change.

  “She’s sleeping.”

  “Good. I’m going to read a while before dinner.” Simon continued to the landing.

  Blaire returned to the family room, where the presents had been neatly stacked under the tree. Someone must have straightened up. She stretched out on the sofa and checked her phone, disappointed to see that she hadn’t had a call from Daniel yet. She’d tried him earlier, but it had gone directly to voice mail. She called him now, but again had no luck. They’d probably gone to church in the morning and were now in the middle of getting everything ready for dinner. Blaire had always helped her with the cooking, feeling like part of the family.

  Daniel had grown up in Forest Glen, a beautiful suburb of Chicago. His mother was an English professor at Loyola University, and his dad a successful ad executive. The first time Daniel took Blaire to meet them and spend the weekend, they’d immediately made her feel welcome. Barbara, his mother, had enveloped her in a warm hug, taken her hand, and pulled her into the kitchen so they could “get to know each other better.” At first Blaire had thought Barbara wanted to grill her, but she relaxed when she saw how open and friendly she was. His parents were affectionate with each other and with Daniel, and it was apparent that they shared a great relationship. She could tell by the way Daniel and his family interacted that they really enjoyed being together, and it reminded her of Kate’s family and all the good times she’d shared with them.

  She’d been thrilled when Daniel’s family had become hers too, and over the years, it felt like they loved her as much as they loved him. She knew that yesterday and today Barbara would be cooking everything from scratch—from the biscuits to the pies—while Neal, Daniel, and Daniel’s sister, Margo, kept her company and chatted about everything from literature, sports, local events to world affairs.

  She sighed, wondering if they were finished opening their presents and when they might be sitting down for dinner. Blaire missed all of them so much. She hated to think of them enjoying the day without her. She couldn’t continue to lie there and think about how far apart they were, so she got up and walked into the dining room, which was painted a dark red with an elaborate white chair rail running along the walls.

  The table had been set plainly for their meal. She ran her hand along its polished burl wood. She’d expected an elaborate table—the kind Lily had always set, with exquisite china, crystal goblets, and monogrammed silverware. Lily had countless sets of china for different occasions. Blaire would never forget the first time she had dinner with Kate and her parents. Harrison had asked Blaire to pass the salt, and she’d done so, passing the shaker to him. Afterward, privately, Lily had taken Blaire aside and told her that when someone asked for salt or pepper, the polite thing to do was to pass both. There were so many things Lily had taught her about manners and etiquette, things that Shaina, and certainly Enid, hadn’t had a clue about.

  Blaire felt a tightening in her chest, and the pain of loss ripped through her. A sob escaped her lips, and she gripped the chair in front of her while taking deep breaths. There was so much she wanted to say to Lily, so much she needed to say. But some monster had taken Lily’s life, and with it Blaire’s last hope of ever seeing her again.

  After a few minutes, she felt composed again and moved back from the table. It was set simply, six settings on festive placements, no candles, crystal, or greens. There wasn’t even a centerpiece—but then again, Blaire realized, setting a nice table must be the last thing on Kate’s mind.

  She went to join the others when she heard Annabelle’s chirpy little voice. Kate looked sleepy, but she was definitely less agitated when Blaire entered the family room, where everyone was now gathered.

  “Feeling better?” Blaire asked Kate.

  “A little. There’s eggnog in the fridge,” Kate blurted suddenly. “Would anyone like some eggnog? Dad, would you get the eggnog? Grab a cup for Annabelle too—there’s no rum in it.”

  Blaire studied her. Kate was still on edge, jumpy. The Valium seemed to have helped a little, but not enough.

  “Of course, sweetheart,” Harrison said, his eyes troubled as he left the room.

  Kate twisted her hands in her lap and stared straight ahead. No one spoke. As Harrison returned with a tray of eggnog, the doorbell rang.

  Kate looked startled. “Who could that be?”

  Simon shrugged. “Must be someone we know, if security let them past. I’ll go see.”

  When he walked back into the room with Sabrina next to him, Blaire almost spit out the eggnog she’d just sipped. Sabrina looked stunning, in a body-hugging black dress that Blaire recognized as a Victoria Beckham, her lips painted a hot pink to emphasize their sexy plumpness. She held a large Neiman Marcus shopping bag.

  “Merry Christmas, everyone. I don’t mean to interrupt your Christmas, I just wanted to drop some gifts by on my way to my friend’s house,” Sabrina announced.

  Simon gave Kate a plaintive look, and Blaire gripped her glass more tightly. Wow. She had some gall. Interrupting Christmas. And dressed like that?

  “Hello, Sabrina,” Kate said flatly. “Please come in.”

  Simon, visibly tense, offered her a drink.

  “I’d love one,” she said. “You know what I like.”

  Kate shot Simon a dirty look, but he was clearly avoiding eye contact with her. Blaire watched as he mixed up a martini. He handed Sabrina the drink, and she took a tiny sip and then put it down on the coffee table, not taking care to make sure it didn’t splash onto the table, which it did.

  Kate huffed and stood, blotting up the liquid and placing a napkin under the glass.

  Sabrina looked at Kate. “Sorry, Kate. Didn’t mean to wet your table.” Without waiting for her to answer, she walked over to Annabelle.

  “Hi, my sweetie, I have a gift for you.”

  Her sweetie? Blaire couldn’t believe that Kate was just standing there, saying nothing.

  “What is it?” Annabelle asked, smiling at her.

  Sabrina handed her a box decorated in green foil, with a red velvet ribbon tied around it.

  “Thank you,” Annabelle whispered.

  She opened it to reveal a Truly Me American Girl Doll. She had blond curls and brown eyes, like Annabelle.

  “She looks like me!” Annabelle said.

  “Sabrina, you didn’t need to buy Annabelle a gift,” Kate said, her voice strained.

  Sabrina didn’t bother looking up at Kate, but brazenly pushed back a curl from Annabelle’s eyes. “I wanted to. Isn’t she pretty, Annabelle?”

  “What a nice gift,” Simon said. “How thoughtful, Sabrina.”

  Blaire looked over at him. What a bastard. Parading his mistress right in front of his wife and his father-in-law. It was almost like he was getting a sick kick out of it. Blaire could imagine the two of them laughing about it later. She was going to unmask him, no matter what it took. How dare she play up to Annabelle like that! Blaire wanted to rip the do
ll out of her hands. The heat rose to her face as indignation and fury filled her.

  Annabelle hugged her to her chest. “I love her!”

  “There’s more!” She reached in the bag and pulled out another box. This one wasn’t wrapped—a box of Godiva chocolates. “Here you go, Kate. I know how much you love chocolate.” She placed it on the table in front of her.

  “Thank you, but we didn’t get you anything,” Kate said.

  Sabrina smiled at her. “No worries, your friendship is enough. You and Simon have been so kind over the past few months. This is my first Christmas without my father. It’s been hard . . .”

  Kate gave her a strained smile back. “Yes, well, thank you so much for the gifts, it was very thoughtful,” she said, her manners intact. “I’m sure you’re eager to get to your own celebration.”

  A nervous laugh escaped Simon. “Sabrina, thanks for stopping by. I’ll see you to the door.”

  The sound of low voices drifted in from the hall, but it was difficult to discern what they were saying. Everyone sat in strained silence, waiting for Simon to return. Finally Kate stood and smoothed her skirt. “What’s taking him so long?” she asked, striding toward the hall just as he came back in. Her eyes were slits.

  “Nice of you to join us. What took you so long?”

  Simon shrugged. “I was just seeing her out.”

  Kate pointed to a bulge in Simon’s pocket. “What’s that?”

  He sighed. “Can we talk about it later?”

  Blaire looked at Harrison, wondering if he was feeling as uncomfortable as she was.

  “What did she give you?” Kate’s voice rose.

  Pulling something from his pocket, he handed it to her. “It was her father’s. She thought I’d want to have it.”

  Kate took it and opened the small box. Her mouth dropped open. “A ring? She gave you a ring?”

  “I told you it was her father’s. You know how close I was to him.”

  Blaire could tell Kate was ready to explode, and she couldn’t blame her. That woman had a hell of a nerve.

  “We’ll discuss it later. I’m going to see to dinner.” Kate’s voice had an icy edge to it. “And Hilda,” she said, looking back as she left the room, “get rid of that candy. It’s not safe for me, which Sabrina probably knew.”

  After she left the room, Harrison walked over to Simon, and the two of them spoke too low for Blaire to hear. She imagined he must be taking Simon to task over what had just happened. Blaire was still so angry she could spit nails.

  The pall over the rest of Christmas Day never abated. When it was finally time for bed, Blaire was relieved to retreat to the peace and quiet of the guest room next to Kate’s bedroom. It was a large room with one entire wall of floor-to-ceiling windows, along which hung light gray silk curtains. A white deep-cushioned chair and ottoman sat in one corner, across from the king-size white sleigh bed. The colors were soft, muted shades of gray and white, giving the room a feeling of peace and tranquility, and the fireplace was the crowning addition on this cold December night. Blaire took a bath and had just slipped into bed to read when she heard the sound of angry voices coming from outside her room. She sat up and tried to decipher the words, but it was no good. She held herself that way for a few minutes, but as quickly as the voices had begun, they ceased, and she lay back and picked up her book once more. Her phone dinged and she picked it up, thinking it was Daniel. It was a Facebook message from Carter.

  Thanks for the friend request ☺ Any chance you’re free to meet for dinner? Would love some uninterrupted time to catch up xo

  She smiled and began typing.

  Love to. How about Prime Rib tomorrow night?

  Seconds later he answered.

  Can’t wait. Meet you at 8:00?

  It’s a date.

  UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE

  HarperCollinsPublishers

  ....................................

  21

  The next morning, the events of Christmas Day came rushing back to Kate. She felt the rage course through her again at the memory of Sabrina coming to their house. Who did she think she was, giving Annabelle that doll? A Truly Me doll was not a spur-of-the-moment gift; she had to have ordered it ahead of time.

  Kate picked up her cell phone and dialed Detective Anderson.

  “Anderson,” he answered on the first ring.

  “I want you to take another look at Sabrina Mitchell.”

  “Dr. English?”

  “Yes, it’s Kate. Did you hear me?”

  “You sound quite upset. Has something else happened?”

  “That woman came over to my house yesterday with presents for my husband and my daughter. She actually gave my husband a ring. A ring!”

  “What kind of ring?” he asked.

  “It was her father’s signet ring. She said some baloney like she knew her father would want Simon to have it. But I know what she’s up to. She’s acting like Simon is her husband. I told my mother she was trying to come between us.” The words were pouring out fast now. “My mother was going to talk to Simon—she knew about Sabrina and him. What if they planned it together?”

  “I’m on my way over.”

  She opened her door and was furious when she saw no one was standing outside the bedroom suite. Where was Alan? “Annabelle! Hilda!” she called as she ran downstairs to find them.

  The guard in the hallway—was it Scott or Jeff? —called out to her. “Is everything okay, Dr. English?” She stopped and looked at him, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror behind him. She was in her nightgown, her hair wild. She looked like a crazy woman. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to slow down. “Where is Alan?”

  “His shift ended at seven. Your husband told him it was okay to leave.”

  She was normally up by then, but still, she’d told Alan not to listen to anyone but her. She’d speak to him when he came back tonight.

  “Have you seen my daughter?”

  “I believe she’s in the kitchen with her nanny, ma’am.”

  She gave him a curt nod and ran back upstairs to get dressed. All these people in the house spying on her—it was maddening. She rushed through her shower, threw on a pair of jeans, grabbed a T-shirt, and ran a brush through her hair. Taking a look in the mirror, she nodded. Better.

  When she reached the kitchen, Annabelle looked up from her coloring book.

  “Hi, Mommy. You slept late. Daddy said you didn’t feel good.”

  “Where is Daddy?” she asked, looking at Hilda.

  “He’s in his office,” Hilda answered. “And Blaire was just in here. She’s doing some work in the study. She asked me to tell you to come find her when you got up. Can I get you a coffee?”

  Kate shook her head, already moving toward the door. She needed to talk to Simon, and then she’d go find Blaire. She stomped down the hallway and stopped at his door. Her hand was poised above the knob when she heard his voice. Who was he talking to? She put her ear up to the door, trying to make out the conversation.

  “Yes, I know. It’s just . . .”

  She leaned in harder.

  “Of course, but you have to understand . . .”

  He was talking to Sabrina. She opened the door and stormed in. “Hang up!”

  He looked up at her incredulously and touched a button on his phone.

  “Kate! I’m on with a client. What’s up?”

  “What’s up? Really? After that stunt your girlfriend pulled yesterday and now you’re in here whispering to her? Hang up the phone. We need to talk.” She plopped down in the chair in front of his desk, crossed her arms, and waited.

  He shook his head and held a finger up. “Barry, listen, something’s come up. Can I call you back in a few minutes? Thanks.”

  Simon put the phone down. “Kate, you can’t just barge in here like that. He’s an important client that we’ve come close to losing.”

  She waved her hand. “Yeah, right. No one works the day after Christmas. �
�� She was about to tell him that she knew everything, that she could see it was him and Sabrina plotting against her, but then she realized that would only tip him off. She had to pretend it was just about his unfaithfulness so that he wouldn’t know she was suspicious of him. “Listen to me, Simon. I wanted you out before all this happened, and I want you out even more now. I won’t live under the same roof with you any longer.”

  His face turned red. “There’s no way I’m going to leave you and Annabelle alone while a killer is after you.”

  “We have guards. And really, what have you done to protect us? We don’t need you here.”

  He shook his head. “Kate, please. I love you. I’m sorry about yesterday. I’ve told Sabrina she can’t come to our house again. And I told you, I’ll give the ring back. You mean everything to me. You have to believe that.”

  There was a time that she had. Before Sabrina came back into their lives, she’d have bet her last dollar that Simon would never look at another woman. Her friends were always joking that if they had a husband that looked like Simon, they’d never let him out of their sight, but he’d never given her a reason to feel jealous, always making her feel as though she was the center of his universe. In many ways, he’d reminded her of her own father and how attentive he was with Lily. Simon would send her flowers to the hospital for no special reason, just to let her know he was thinking of her. At parties, she’d often catch him looking at her across the room, his smile broadening when her eyes met his. Even after fifteen years of marriage, he managed to make her feel like he was seeing her for the first time.

  Before Annabelle was born, they’d easily spent a good part of each Saturday making love. At the beach, they’d often head back to the house in the afternoon and lie next to each other on the cool sheets afterward. As the sun would set, the French doors were opened, to let the salty breeze waft over their naked bodies. Then they would shower together, dress, and walk on the sand, holding hands and laughing, just enjoying each other’s company. Even after Annabelle, they’d managed to get an evening out alone every few weeks, determined to keep their relationship a priority. But then Sabrina moved to Baltimore, asked him for a job, and everything changed. When he looked at Sabrina, Kate saw that same sparkle in his eyes, that same look of love that before then he’d reserved only for Kate.