Winter Can Wait: A Novella (Seasons of Summer Novella Series Book 2)

by Melissa Baldwin

  Crap. I hate when this type of stuff happens. Jake was an important part of my life, and when he broke up with me, it turned my world completely upside down. Now we’re stuck in one of those awkward public moments in the middle of Whole Foods.

  “I don’t know,” I tell him. “I really do wish you well, but I’m not sure we can be friends, at least not yet.”

  He looks down at the ground. “I understand.”

  As I’m standing here with him, I realize that I will always care about him even though I’ve moved on.

  “You make sure that Alexander guy takes good care of you,” he demands. He turns to walk away but stops and turns around again. “Summer, if you ever need anything, I will be here for you.”

  After he finally leaves, I walk aimlessly through the store. Talking to Jake makes me think about Alexander and Helena’s situation. They were together and married for longer than Jake and I were together. They’ve been able to move on and remain friends. Maybe after I have a little more time to heal, Jake and I will get to that point, or something like that.

  On a positive note, at least Brad Cooper knows we’re no longer together. Now that he knows I’m hopeful the subject won’t come up again because I really don’t want to talk about it anymore.

  Chapter Seven

  Another good thing about moving is that I won’t have to live on the second floor anymore. It takes me a few trips to bring my groceries in. I try to bring them all on one trip but things started falling out of bags, so I decided to give up my dream of being superwoman today.

  After my two exhausting trips up the stairs, I’m unpacking the bags when I hear six knocks on my front door. I know that’s Mrs. Rothera; she says she knocks six times because that’s her lucky number. She must have heard me huffing and puffing while I climbed the stairs.

  I take my time answering the door, and sure enough, she’s patiently waiting when I open it.

  “She’s alive,” she yells as if she was announcing it to the world. “I wish you would have asked me to help you carry your bags.”

  I shrug my shoulders. “It’s okay. I’m just putting away my groceries, if you give me about a half hour I will be happy to look at your selections for the apartment and hopefully we can knock it all out.”

  She gives me a curious look. “Trying to be done with me, are ya?” She starts laughing hysterically, but I have no doubt she believes it.

  “No,” I say defensively.

  “Have you had any luck finding a house?” she asks, changing the subject. I know she’s watching me for my reaction. At least I can give her an honest answer, and the truth is, I’ve had no time to house hunt.

  “I haven’t even started looking,” I tell her. “And about that, I promise you I was not keeping that from you. I just didn’t get the opportunity to talk to you, and of course Melanie got to you first.”

  She nods her head. “Yes, I know that.” She gives me a thoughtful look. “There’s obviously a lot of tension between you and Melanie.”

  I laugh loudly. “You could say that. That woman hates me.”

  I would go into detail about Melanie but I’m not sure I want to give Mrs. Rothera any information. With Melanie coming to see her for readings, I have no doubt they’re building a close bond. I wish I could ask her what she has to say about Alexander, although there’s probably some kind of patient/psychic confidentiality agreement. I’ve never heard of such a thing but you never know.

  “She doesn’t hate you,” she says flatly.

  Hah. I find that hard to believe. I’m guessing Mrs. Rothera now feels the need to protect her because she’s coming to see her professionally.

  “Hmmm . . . well, I’m not so sure about that. Things have been awkward since the first day I started working for Alexander.”

  She nods slowly. I get the impression she wants to say something else.

  “Is there something you want to say?” I ask.

  She tightens her lips.

  “Do you want me to?” she asks with a gleam in her eye.

  Aha. I know what she’s trying to do by turning this back on me. It may be some form of manipulation or maybe even mind control. At the same time, I am curious to know more about Melanie.

  “Why not,” I say sarcastically.

  She gives me a smug look. I guess she thinks I’m taking a step toward coming to her for help.

  “Of course I’m not able to go into much detail, but I can tell you that Melanie feels threatened by you. I’m sure you already knew this, though. She feels that after Alexander’s marriage ended she finally had her time with him and then you came along.”

  I roll my eyes. “What do you mean by her time? She works for him.”

  She nods. “Yes. I reminded her of that and also let her know that there would be no future for her and Alexander.”

  Aha. I admit there is a tiny sense of satisfaction in hearing that.

  “Oh, I’m sure that didn’t go over too well,” I exclaim.

  She shakes her head. “No. It didn’t, but if it makes you feel any better, she doesn’t dislike you as much as Alexander’s ex-wife.”

  “Helena.”

  She gives me a shocked look. “Have you met her?”

  I hesitate. “Yes.”

  It could be my imagination but she looks very uncomfortable all of a sudden.

  “Surprisingly, she’s not as bad as I thought she’d be,” I tell her. “What does Melanie say about her?”

  Again, I’m not sure about the confidentiality rules, but I’m especially interested now being that she doesn’t hate me as much. Whatever that means.

  “She didn’t say too much. Only that Alexander’s wife tried to get her fired on multiple occasions and that she’s a conniving evil woman.”

  Well, this is interesting. I have no doubt that Helena wanted Melanie gone, especially if she was anything like she is now with Alexander and me. I’m not even Alexander’s wife and I’m already irritated by her presence. And as far as Helena being conniving and evil . . . well . . . the jury is still out on that.

  “I can understand why Helena would do that. Melanie is way too involved in Alexander’s life. It’s completely over-the-top, even for an assistant.”

  Mrs. Rothera is quiet for a few seconds. “Is it really? I mean, if Alexander doesn’t mind, then why should it be a problem? It sounds to me like he’s perfectly content with her, um . . . involvement in his life.”

  I snort. “Well, not completely.” I pause. “He certainly wasn’t happy when she took it upon herself to tell you about me looking for a realtor.”

  She gives me a half smile. “Yes, I would agree that Melanie did that on purpose.”

  We’re both suddenly quiet until Mrs. Rothera speaks up again.

  “Does it bother you that Alexander has kept her around?” she asks. “Even when his wife tried to get rid of her, she stayed.”

  I would be lying if I said her constant presence doesn’t get to me sometimes.

  “I care about Alexander, but I’m in no place to force him to do anything,” I tell her. “Melanie has worked for him for a long time and I respect that. And not only that, you just told me that she would never have a future with Alexander. I would say that’s more than enough reassurance for me.”

  She shrugs her shoulders. “Yes, I did. But . . .”

  “But nothing,” I interrupt her. “Can we please change the subject? How about you show me what you’ve chosen for your apartment?”

  She tightens her lips again. “Yes, we can. There is just one more thing.” She pauses. “Not everything is how it seems. Just be careful.”

  I’m about to ask her what she means when she begins talking about her apartment. Unfortunately, I’m only half listening. It hits me that if things continue to progress with Alexander I may have to put up with Melanie for a long time. I wonder if we will ever be rid of her. Obviously, Helena never was.

  Hmmm . . . not everything is how it seems? I refuse to let this worry me. I will just have to keep my g
uard up—as usual.

  ~*~*~

  “The lighting fixtures have arrived and the electrician is on his way. I will be here most of the afternoon.” I give Nick a rundown of my list for today. The restaurant is coming along really nicely despite a few tiny issues, and we’re on right on schedule for the Valentine’s Day opening.

  Caroline sent me an email with a few small yet very important changes that “absolutely needed” to be done. (Her words not mine.) Those small, important changes she was referring to were the accent pillows for the couches in the waiting area. I honestly think she was purposely looking for something she didn’t like and that was all she could find. There have been no more lunch invitations since the last one. Not that I was expecting one. Thankfully, I’ve been extremely busy for the past week so I haven’t had much time to obsess over Mrs. Rothera’s latest warning. Don’t get me wrong, I have thought about it, but at least it hasn’t consumed me . . . yet. I didn’t tell Alexander about it because he would remind me not to let her get in my head.

  I’m sitting at a corner booth with my laptop in front of me when I get an email from Helena. Thankfully, she’s only reached out to me once since our impromptu lunch because I still haven’t made a decision. Alexander said he was fine with whatever I decided so unfortunately that leaves me to make the decision on my own. All of a sudden, a random thought pops in my head. Maybe I should ask Melanie about Helena . . . or should I ask Helena about Melanie? Seriously. Why are there so many women in Alexander’s life?

  I look over Helena’s requests. Hmmm . . . maybe I should at least look at the apartment. For professional reasons of course . . . and maybe I’m a tiny bit curious to see where Alexander used to live. I send Helena a message letting her know I want to see the space.

  I think I use my time very wisely. While “working” at the restaurant, I order a few items for the Cooper project and I catch up on emails. I also got a message last night from Chantel and Levi that they want to wait until the spring to begin their apartment, which makes me somewhat relieved. The contract is signed so I know they aren’t going anywhere. I really need to focus on finishing Mrs. Rothera’s apartment, and more importantly, I have to search for a new place to live.

  A few hours later, Helena sends me a message inviting me over for tea later this week. (Tea?) I could be walking into a trap but here goes nothing. After I accept her invitation, I remind myself that it’s for business. Sometimes we do things for our careers that we may not like. Now I just have to figure out how to tell Alexander that I will be joining his ex-wife for tea.

  Chapter Eight

  After a long day in the city I just want to sit in front of a warm fire under a blanket. Have I mentioned how much I hate the cold? I honestly don’t know how I’ve made it this long in the north. I think at some point I may need to move to Florida. I would even be willing to put up with those super-hot summers.

  Melanie is still at Alexander’s when I arrive. They’re discussing his upcoming travel when I walk in.

  “Hey, babe,” he says, jumping up from the table to embrace me. I see Melanie scowl. “How was your day?”

  “It was really good,” I say after he gives me a big hug. “Just freezing.”

  He laughs. “There’s a surprise.”

  I watch how Melanie’s demeanor completely changes when I enter the room. Truthfully, if looks could kill, I would have been dead a long time ago.

  “Nick says the restaurant is almost finished and they’re still shooting for Valentine’s Day?”

  I nod. “Yes, that’s the plan. And Valentine’s Day is around the corner.” Hint!

  Alexander’s phone starts ringing and he excuses himself to take the call, leaving Melanie and me alone. She doesn’t look up from her phone and I start to make myself busy as well. It occurs to me that this may be my chance to ask her about Helena. I’m not sure what she will tell me, but I have nothing to lose.

  “Um . . . can I ask you something, Melanie?”

  She gives me a side-glance, barely looking up from her phone.

  “It’s about Helena.”

  And that’s all it takes for her to give me her undivided attention.

  “What about her?” she asks curiously.

  I decide to go all in because I’m sure she will find out about it eventually anyway.

  “Well, she’s asked me to decorate her apartment.” I hesitate. “I don’t know her very well, so I guess I’m asking for your advice.”

  Ugh. I have to practically spit those words out. Who would have thought I would have to turn to Melanie for advice?

  “My advice would be to stay the hell away from her,” she demands. “Helena Williams is awful, one of the most selfish, conniving people I’ve ever met. The best decision Alexander ever made was to get divorced.”

  My mouth hangs open, probably because Melanie is actually talking to me like a normal person. Of course, I can’t help but remember what Mrs. Rothera said about her hating Helena much more than she hated me.

  “I thought their decision to divorce was mutual?”

  She nods. “It was, however, I’m sure Helena Williams will come around again. As soon as she gets tired of her new toy of course. And by new toy, I mean the new man.”

  “You mean come around to Alexander?”

  She rolls her eyes. “Yep. She will want him back, you just watch.”

  “So sorry about that,” Alexander says, interrupting our conversation.

  He looks back and forth between Melanie and me.

  “Everything okay?” he asks with a worried look on his face.

  I look at Melanie.

  “Of course,” she says nonchalantly. “I was just about to take off for the day.”

  I try to process what she said about Helena. I need to remember that she may hate Helena but she definitely doesn’t like me either. I know she doesn’t want me to be with Alexander. It’s very possible that she could be trying to get in my head to scare me away from him and his big, bad ex-wife. I have no doubt that she and Helena have a rocky past but that doesn’t mean that Helena wants to reconcile with Alexander.

  “What was that all about?” he asks after Melanie leaves.

  I know he’s skeptical and I can’t blame him. He’s walked in on some heated moments before.

  I wave my hand. “Nothing actually. We were just talking.”

  He raises his eyebrows. “I could see that. Are you going to tell me what you were talking about?”

  I cringe because I don’t really want to tell him, but on the other hand, I don’t want to keep anything from him either.

  “We were actually talking about Helena,” I say finally.

  He makes a face. “Oh no. I can only imagine what she had to say.”

  I force a smile. “Well, I’d say it’s pretty obvious that Melanie isn’t a fan of Helena’s.”

  He snorts. “That’s an understatement. Those two despised each other. It was a very stressful time for me because I was always stuck in the middle.”

  I nod. Listening to him makes me feel guilty because my issues with Melanie probably bring up a lot of the same memories for him.

  “Of course I sided with my wife and that made work difficult at times,” he continues. “And there were times Helena was in the wrong and I told her she was. But, I loved her and was going to stand by her regardless.”

  I don’t say anything. I can understand where Helena was coming from because I have now been on the receiving end of Melanie’s wrath and her, um . . . feelings about Alexander’s personal life.

  “I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but Melanie seems to think that Helena will want to reconcile with you at some point.”

  He stares at me for a second and then starts laughing.

  “She has said that since we separated and it’s absolutely ridiculous. Helena and I are much better as friends and there will never be anything more.”

  I feel a sense of relief after hearing that. One of the reasons I told him was to see what kind of reaction
he would have at the possibility. Watching his expression was exactly what I wanted to see.

  “Would you think bad of me if I told you I was relieved to hear that?” I ask.

  He smiles. “Not at all.”

  I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him. Our kissing becomes more intense by the second.

  A few minutes later, we are wrapped around each other and I’ve finally warmed up from my excursion in the frigid cold.