by Cindy Kirk
Sylvie closed her eyes briefly. The trip down memory lane had dumped her spirits into the basement. Would it really be so horrible to drive off? No one had seen her. There was still time for a quick getaway.
The only reason she hesitated was that this party was for Josie. Her friend had made it clear she wanted her maid of honor to attend.
Giving in to the inevitable, Sylvie opened the van door. She stepped out, careful not to brush up against the dusty side of “Ethel,” the 1996 Dodge Caravan she’d purchased shortly after arriving in Jackson Hole.
Though some of the light blue paint had peeled and there was a dent in the back from a shopping cart gone wild, the van started like a dream. Once she’d had the seating in the back removed, it had a good-sized cargo area for hauling cakes.
As Sylvie gazed over all the shiny vehicles lining the street in this affluent Jackson Hole subdivision, it struck her that Ethel didn’t fit in here any more than she did.
Sylvie glanced down at her skirt with its orange, red and black diagonal stripes and hesitated. For tonight’s festivities she’d coupled the skirt with gladiator sandals and a black tank. Skin showed from a few inches above her belly-button ring to just below her navel.
This barbecue would bring together the movers and shakers of Jackson Hole. She’d be as out of place here as she’d have been in Andrew’s world.
Coming tonight had been a mistake.
Sylvie was reaching for the door handle when Tim and Cassidy Duggan pulled behind her van in a shiny red SUV, boxing her in. She heaved a resigned sigh, then walked over to greet Cassidy and her husband.
Marriage and motherhood hadn’t changed Cassidy. The hairstylist wore a bright blue skirt with an animal-print tank. The bold pairing eased Sylvie’s trepidation about her own outfit.
Though Cassidy was married to a prominent pediatrician, from what Sylvie knew of the woman’s background, it mirrored her own humble beginnings.
After an exuberant greeting, Cassidy looped her arm through Sylvie’s on the walk to the house, asking if she’d brought a cake to the barbecue.
“No cake, but I whipped up a batch of cupcake burgers.” Even though Poppy, the hostess, had insisted she didn’t need to bring anything, Sylvie had dropped off the novelty treats earlier in the afternoon.
She’d told Poppy it was so she didn’t have to bring them with her tonight. The truth was, delivering the promised treats early had left the door open to skipping the party.
Cassidy’s husband, Tim, dressed conservatively in khakis and a navy polo, cocked his head. “Cupcake burgers? Sounds like something Esther and Ellyn would enjoy.”
Esther and Ellyn were Tim’s twin girls from his first marriage. A widower, Tim had raised the girls alone until he and Cassidy had married last year.
“I bet they’d love ’em. They sound so unique and fun.” Cassidy tapped a finger against her lips. “Are cupcake burgers difficult to make?”
“Super easy. You start with vanilla cupcakes and a tray of brownies.” As they covered the short distance to the porch, Sylvie explained how she cut circles of brownies for the burger and used colored frosting for the mustard, ketchup and lettuce wedged between the vanilla cupcake “bun.”
“You’re amazingly talented.” The sincerity in Cassidy’s voice had warmth flooding Sylvie’s heart, even before the stylist added, “Not to mention you look absolutely stunning tonight.”
The simple compliment was the confidence booster Sylvie needed as Poppy opened the door. Despite being seven months pregnant with baby number two, the hostess looked elegant in gray linen. She greeted them warmly, giving each of them a quick hug.
Sylvie lost Cassidy and Tim on her way to the back patio. She’d expected to see a grill or two, maybe several picnic tables and a few lawn chairs. Instead an outdoor barbecue “kitchen” embellished with stone accents was the focal point of the large patio. Tea lights hung on brightly colored ribbons from thick branches of leafy trees that provided an umbrella of green.
A pergola extended over an outdoor kitchen bar, where the buffet had been set up. Bouquets of brightly colored flowers sat amid a multitude of decorative bowls filled with a variety of salads. Sylvie spotted her cupcakes with the other desserts. The nearly empty baking-sheet-turned-decorative-fabric-tray told her the cupcakes were a hit.
Benedict and his father, John, manned the grill, which filled the air with the delicious scent of roasting meat. Poppy seemed to be the official greeter while her mother-in-law, Dori, was making sure everyone had a drink and mingled. Unlike parties where hired help did the serving, this barbecue appeared to be a family effort.
Sylvie accepted something called a Crazy Coyote Margarita from Dori, then caught sight of the bride-to-be across the yard chatting animatedly with several women. Josie saw her at the same moment and motioned her over. The excited smile on her friend’s face told Sylvie that coming to the party this evening had been the right decision.
With a spring in her step, Sylvie stepped off the flagstone patio and onto the lush green grass. She had paused to take a sip of her drink when the back of her neck began to prickle.
An instant later, a hand closed around her arm and a familiar masculine scent washed over her.
“Hello, Sylvie.”
She turned and stared into the brilliant gray eyes of Andrew O’Shea.
Chapter Two
From the second Sylvie walked through Ben Campbell’s front door, Andrew didn’t take his eyes off her. Running into Ben, a friend from prep-school days, had been fortuitous. Other than Sylvie, he hadn’t expected to see anyone he knew in Jackson Hole.
The invitation to a barbecue was appreciated, as was Ben’s warm handshake. Yet Andrew had been fully prepared to offer an excuse until Sylvie’s name was mentioned. Ben had been telling some story about his sister, and Andrew had been stunned when his former fiancée’s name popped up.
Congratulating himself on keeping his cool, Andrew had asked if that was the baker who’d recently been featured in an article on Jackson Hole’s Wine Auction.
At Ben’s assurance that they were speaking of the same person, Andrew steered the conversation back to the barbecue and learned Sylvie would be there. He’d accepted the invitation on the spot.
Now she was standing in front of him, looking as beautiful as ever. Her hair was different, not as curly and now with blond tips, but it was her.
While he’d had the advantage of knowing their paths would cross this evening, the look of shock in her eyes mirrored what he was feeling. It made him glad that, at least for the moment, they were alone.
A polite mask settled over her elfin features, and her eyes now gave nothing away. “Andrew. What a surprise. I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Ben and I went to school together.” Hating that he felt as gauche and unsure as a sixteen-year-old, Andrew shoved his hands into his pockets and willed his heart rate to slow.
It didn’t help that she had on the same perfume she’d worn when they were together: a slightly citrusy scent that made him think of orange groves and lovemaking. His pillow had retained the scent for days after she left him.
The hurt that had taken root in his heart since he got her text—a damn text—telling him the engagement was off and she was leaving was still there. But right now that hurt was mixed with an unholy anger that seared his veins.
“I best go back inside.” She spun around and might have escaped through the door, if his reflexes hadn’t been so good.
His hand shot out, closing around her bare arm like a vise. “Don’t walk away. Not again.”
Displaying surprising strength, Sylvie jerked her arm back.
Andrew had been poised for battle until he saw tears pooling in those large violet eyes. Resisting a nearly overwhelming urge to wrap his arms around her, he stepped back and held up his hands.
If she bolted, he wouldn’t stop her. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t get his answers; it just wouldn’t be this evening. He could wait.
“I agree we need to talk.” She brushed back a strand of hair from her face with a hand that trembled slightly. “But this isn’t the time or place. This is a celebration of Noah and Josie’s engagement. I don’t want anything to spoil the evening for them.”
Andrew couldn’t help thinking of the last party he and Sylvie had attended. It had been held at his parents’ home in Boston. Though not a formal engagement party, it had been a family celebration to introduce her to Andrew’s extended family. It had been elegant and tasteful, and Sylvie had hated every minute of the gathering. Andrew suddenly recalled that she’d offered to make a cake for the event, but his mother had demurred that it would offend the caterer.
Both he and Sylvie had known the real reason. His mother was worried about the kind of cake Sylvie would make. He’d let Sylvie down that night, Andrew realized. At the time, it hadn’t seemed a big thing.
But this wasn’t about recriminations and who had dealt the other the biggest slight; this was about achieving closure. “I’m available later.”
The second the words left his lips, he realized it had been a lame thing to say. And when her lips quirked in a slight smile, Andrew realized something else. Her smile still carried quite a punch.
“Tomorrow?” she asked.
He nodded. “Lunch.”
It struck him just how blasted civilized they were being.
She gave a nod.
He pulled out his phone. “Give me your number.”
Sylvie glanced back toward the house and shifted from one foot to the other. “I’ll call you.” She paused. “Unless you’ve changed your number.”
“No change.” His eyes met hers. “You changed yours.”
Sylvie lifted one thin shoulder but offered no excuse. When he cocked his head expectantly, she recited her new number while he keyed it in and then read it back to her.
While the tightness around her eyes revealed her stress, when she spoke, her voice was casual and offhand. “Appears you and I are reconnected.”
They’d been very connected once until she’d abruptly severed the tie he’d been convinced would last forever. She’d done it with a single text. A handful of typed words that said she didn’t love him, couldn’t marry him and didn’t want to see him again.
Yes, they’d once been connected. Not anymore.
* * *
Sylvie wrapped her mouth around a juicy hamburger with avocado relish and peppered bacon and wondered if she could possibly be dreaming. She’d had vivid dreams in the past, all involving Andrew.
Not a single dream had concerned food or a barbecue. Most slipped in during the night hours and were of a sexual nature.
In those dreams, she felt Andrew’s smooth lips against her mouth, her throat and her breast, and his touch heated her body to a boiling point. When she awakened, usually right before full consummation, she was filled with an ache that brought tears to her eyes.
The ache was never simply physical. That Sylvie could easily have handled. The intense longing for the man she’d loved—that was not so easily put aside. Those vivid dreams would drag her down and wreak havoc on her emotions for several days until she became strong enough to put her focus back on the here and now.
If she’d learned one thing from thirteen years with an addict mother and subsequent years in foster care, it was that sometimes just getting through each day was a victory.
“Your friend is really hot.” Josie sidled up beside Sylvie and slipped her arm through hers. She took a sip of her margarita and slanted a sideways glance. “Why is it you never told me about him?”
Seeing the speculative gleam in her friend’s eyes, Sylvie dropped the burger to her plate and waved away the question with a careless hand. “The only hot man we should be discussing tonight is your fiancé.”
A softness filled Josie’s eyes as her gaze strayed to linger on the lean dark-haired man currently speaking with Josie’s father. She gave a little laugh. “Did you ever imagine me with a neurosurgeon?”
“I recall you saying once that I should slap you silly if you ever so much as gave any doctor a second glance.” That conversation had taken place shortly after she and Josie became friends. “Then all of a sudden you’re dating Noah. Now you’re going to marry the guy.”
“What can I say? The heart wants what it wants.” Josie’s tone waxed philosophical. “I can’t imagine my life without him, Syl. I just overlook that he’s a doctor.”
Sylvie chuckled, even as an ache filled her heart. When she was with Andrew, she’d done her best to ignore that her boyfriend was not only a doctor but a zillionaire heir to O’Shea Sports.
She’d been fooling herself, thinking a mutt from the wrong side of the tracks could be a good match with a Boston purebred.
“What’s the matter?” Josie’s hand settled on Sylvie’s shoulder, the touch as gentle as her voice. “Tell me.”
Almost immediately, Sylvie lifted her lips in a well-practiced smile. “I’m thinking of everything I need to get done this week. I have a last-minute party for the Sweet Adelines I snagged when their previous caterer poofed. An upsurge in business is a good thing, but when you’re a one-woman show, it can feel a bit overwhelming.”
“If there is anything I can do to help...” Josie’s eyes were dark with concern.
“It’ll be fine.” Or it would, Sylvie thought, once Andrew O’Shea went back to Boston. Back to his world, back where he belonged.
* * *
After a restless night, Sylvie rose early and immediately pulled out her phone. She stared down at it. She didn’t want to call Andrew. She’d moved on. Why dredge up the past? If she opened that door, she feared all the feelings she’d worked so hard to submerge these past months would rush to the surface.
Still, she couldn’t dis him. She couldn’t be that cold. Not to someone she loved—er, had once loved.
Even if fairness and compassion weren’t issues, there was the matter of the ring. It didn’t belong to her. When Andrew had proposed, she accepted the diamond as a symbol of the pledge they’d made.
Today, they would make their peace. She would return the diamond and close the door on that piece of her past.
The truth was, she’d felt like a coward running off in the middle of the night. Fleeing under cover of darkness was too reminiscent of what her father had done when she was four, and what her mother had done nine years later. Except with them there had been no note or texts.
They’d simply disappeared from her life and she’d never heard from either of them again. When she’d left Boston, she told herself what she was doing was different, that it was for Andrew’s own good. She still believed her leaving was best for him.
But thinking it over now made her wonder if that was what her father, and her mother, had believed.
After placing the call, Sylvie spent the remainder of the morning deciding what to wear. Five clothing changes later, she pushed open the door of the Coffee Pot Café. Her fingers clenched and unclenched as she glanced around the crowded restaurant. She spotted Andrew at a small table by the window.
The moment he saw her, he pushed back his chair and stood.
Always the gentleman, she thought with a bitterness that made no sense.
After lifting a hand in acknowledgment, she zigzagged between the tables to him. Though Sylvie had met many people in the months she’d been in Jackson Hole, she was grateful none of them were in the main dining room. The last thing she felt like doing was making small talk.
As she drew close Sylvie realized that, as always, Andrew looked perfectly put together. While he might have left his suit and tie back in the hotel room, he still managed to look elegant in dark pants and a
gray button-down cotton shirt, open at the collar.
Suddenly conscious of the casualness of her simple peasant skirt and ribboned lace top, Sylvie lifted her chin and reminded herself this was Jackson Hole, not Boston. They were having lunch at the Coffee Pot, not one of his private clubs.
He pulled out her chair as she drew close. “You look lovely.”
Sylvie took a seat and glanced around. A baby wearing a pink crocheted hat several tables over met her gaze and began to cry.
Andrew didn’t appear to notice the wails. His entire focus remained on her.
“I may have miscalculated.”
He resumed his seat, his brow furrowed slightly. “How so?”
“I didn’t realize the place would be so busy.” Or that the seating was so tight. The table next to them was scarcely two feet away. Though Sylvie didn’t recognize the couple sitting there, that didn’t mean they didn’t know her. “Hardly conducive...”
She let her voice trail off, not surprised when he nodded. With Andrew she’d never had to complete thoughts. From the moment he walked into the Back Bay Bakery, where she’d been working after graduating from a New York City culinary school, they’d been on the same wavelength.
They kept the conversation centered on the weather until the waitress had taken their order. Sylvie ordered a salad, though she wasn’t sure she’d be able to eat. Not with the way her stomach pitched.
Once the waitress left, Andrew’s gaze returned to her and she felt the impact of those gray eyes all the way to her toes. “That was an impressive article on you related to Jackson Hole’s Wine Auction.”
Sylvie traced her finger around the water glass, absently wiping away the condensation. “Is that how you located me?”
“I knew where you were within a week of you leaving Boston.”
Startled, she dropped her hand and looked up. “You knew where I was, yet you didn’t come after me?”