Getting Lucky
Page 32
The wonder and awe in her voice brought a sheen to Melina’s eyes. That was how she’d felt with Sebastian. She’d thought she was the luckiest woman around. Turned out she was merely the biggest sucker around.
She swallowed the lump in her throat and forced an excited whoop. “Of course he loves you, darlin’. The only one who doubted it was you. Congratulations! After we find the kids, we’ll celebrate properly. Now I’ve got to go and pack before I turn pea green with envy. I’ll see you in a few hours.”
After disconnecting, she sat motionless on the stoop. She was the one who’d announced not long ago that she wanted to settle down, get married, and have kids, and Lynda had been cynical. They were modern women. They had careers, money, travel, and excitement to keep them happy. They didn’t need men or marriage. Now the cynic was getting married and would probably be pregnant before she could say “impending motherhood,” and the wanna-be bride was farther from commitment than she’d ever been.
Life just wasn’t fair.
But if it was, she would be out of a job that paid very well and supported her in the way she wanted to be supported. After all, it was the schemers and deceivers who kept her in business.
As she reentered the kitchen, Livia looked up, subjecting her to a moment of study before her full mouth flattened. “Something’s come up, and you don’t even have time for a bite of food with your family. What is it this time? Another straying husband? A bad-check artist? Someone stealing from wealthy old women?”
“Three missing kids.” She knew that would silence any complaints from Livia. Though her mother adored Lynda, Melina also knew not to tell her about the engagement. She found a man in that burg where she lives? Livia would complain. And you can’t find one in the entire city of Buffalo? That’s all it takes, you know. Just one. “I’m going to head out the back. Make my apologies to Papa and everyone, will you?”
“You be careful. And keep in touch with your mother, you hear?”
“I will, Mama. Love you.” Slipping out the back door, Melina made her way around the house and down the street, where her Bug fit right in with the second-hand cars that surrounded it. It was a classic car, older than Melina, a convertible, and in better shape than most people its age. Though she could afford virtually any car on the market, the Bug had been a sixteenth-birthday present, and she loved it dearly.
Above her, the sun went behind a cloud, cooling the air briefly. That was why she felt a shiver down her spine, Melina told herself. Not because this new case involved children, and kids-in-danger cases were always tough. Not because it involved Ben’s kid, and she adored Ben and would have married him herself if Lynda hadn’t accepted his proposal. And certainly not because she was going back to Bethlehem, where she could conceivably run into Sebastian long before she was emotionally ready to face him again.
But she wasn’t going to run into Sebastian. He was pretty much a loner, and his only daughter was too young to be a friend of Alanna Dalton’s, and surely, after his behavior last week, he would be no more eager to see her than she was to see him. The rest of her life might be filled with surprises and unexpected events, but she was pretty sure it was never going to be filled with Sebastian again. He didn’t want her.
He’d made that painfully clear.