by Nora Roberts
The event had been written up in the Washington Post, with enough detail in the archives Gloria had looked up on-line to make her claim smooth. “How is she, and your father?”
No, Dru thought, she wasn’t a snob. She was simply a good judge of character. But she spoke evenly. “They’re both very well, thank you. I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name.”
“It’s Glo. Glo Harrow,” she said, using her mother’s maiden name. “Hell of a small world, huh? Seems to me the last time I talked to Kath, you were engaged. She was over the moon about that. Guess it didn’t work out.”
“No, it didn’t.”
“Well, men are like buses. Another one always comes along. You know, my mother’s friendly with your grandfather.” And that was true enough, though “acquainted” would have been more accurate. “The senator, he just keeps trucking along. A regular institution.”
“He’s an amazing man.” Dru spoke coolly now.
“Gotta admire him. A man his age still active the way he is. Then you figure with the family money, he never had to work a day in his life, much less dedicate himself to politics. Tough arena, even for a young man, the way people like to sling mud these days.”
“People have always slung mud. My family’s never believed that financial advantage means letting someone else do the work.”
“Gotta admire that, like I said.”
When a man walked in, Dru bit down on her rising irritation and turned toward him. “Good morning.”
“Hi. Hey, don’t mind me, just finish what you’re doing. I’m not in a rush.”
“Would you like to look around some more, Ms. Harrow?”
“No.” She’d spent more than enough time on this visit. “Why don’t I take a dozen of those . . . what was on special?”
“Carnations.” Dru gestured to the holding vase where she’d arranged samples in every color. “Would you like any specific color or combination?”
“No, no, just mix them up.”
Gloria read the sign under the display and calculated it was a cheap enough price to pay for the up-close look. She took out cash, laid it on the counter.
Now that the contact had been made, Gloria wanted to be gone. She didn’t care for the way the guy who’d come in was watching her and trying to pretend he wasn’t watching her.
“I hope you enjoy them.”
“I already am. Give my best to your mom when you talk to her,” Gloria added as she started out.
“Oh, I will.” Dru turned to her new customer. Some of the temper that had begun to simmer leaked out on her face.
“Bad time?”
“No, of course not.” She readjusted her thoughts. “How can I help you?”
“First, I’m Will. Will McLean.” He offered a hand.
“Oh, you’re Aubrey’s friend.” Seriously cute, Aubrey had said. And with perfect accuracy, Dru decided as they shook hands. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“You, too. I just got off shift, figured on swinging by to see Aub—maybe catch up with Seth, before I go home and crash in a dark room for a few hours. Those flowers Seth got my girl a few weeks back were a really big hit. Can’t let him get an edge on me. What’ve you got that’ll knock her out, and make up for me working doubles most of the week?”
“How’s your budget?”
“Just got paid.” He patted his back pocket. “Sky’s the limit.”
“In that case, wait right here.” She paused, reconsidered. The morning jolt wasn’t going to spoil her plans for a more open Drusilla. “Better yet, come on back. If you like what I have in mind, you can sit down, get off your feet for a few minutes while I put them together for you.”
“I look that bad?”
“You look exhausted.” She gestured him back. “Go ahead, have a seat,” she told him while she went to a refrigerated unit. “Delivered fresh this morning,” she said as she took out a single long-stemmed rose in cotton-candy pink. “A dozen of these are guaranteed to knock her out.”
He sniffed it when she held it out. “Smells great. Maybe I should make it two dozen. I’ve had to cancel two dates in the last ten days.”
“Two dozen will put her in a coma.”
“Perfect. Can you put them in one of those fancy boxes?”
“Absolutely.” She moved to the work counter. “You and your brother are becoming my best customers. He bought me out of yellow roses about a week ago.”
“He got himself engaged.”
“Yes, I know. He was floating along about six inches above ground. You and your brother and Seth have been friends a long time.”
“Since we were kids,” Will concurred. “I can’t believe he’s been back a month and I haven’t been able to catch up with him. Dan says Seth’s been pretty tied up himself between his work, the boatyard and you. Whoops.” The crooked smile flashed as he rubbed his eyes. “Sorry. Tongue gets loose when I’m brain-dead.”
“That’s all right. I don’t imagine it’s a secret Seth and I are . . .” What? “Seeing each other,” she decided.
Will did his best to stifle a yawn. “Well, if we ever get our schedules aligned, maybe the six of us can do something.”
“I’d like that.” Dru laid the roses and baby’s breath in the tissue-lined box. “I’d like that a lot.”
“Good. Ah, can I ask you something? That woman who was in here before? Was she hassling you?”
“Why do you ask?”
“I don’t know, just a feeling. Plus there was something about her. I think I know her from somewhere. Can’t put my finger on it, but it doesn’t feel right. Do you know what I mean?”
“I know exactly what you mean.” She glanced over at him. He was a friend of Aubrey’s, of Seth’s. The new, more open Dru was going to consider him a friend as well.
“She claimed to know my mother, but she didn’t.” No one, Dru thought, absolutely no one referred to her mother as Kathy. It was Katherine, and on rare occasions, Kate. But never Kathy, never Kath. “I don’t know what she was after, but I’m glad you came in when you did.”
“You want me to stick around awhile, in case she comes back?”
“No, but thanks. She doesn’t worry me.”
“You called her Harrow?” Will shook his head. “Doesn’t ring any bells. But I know her from somewhere. When I come up with it, I’ll let you know.”
“I appreciate it.”
IT was a mistake to call her mother. Dru realized it immediately. But she hadn’t been able to get the morning customer out of her mind. The only way to check out the story was to ask.
Her mother had breezily told her she knew no one named Glo Harrow, though she did know a Laura Harrow, and a former Barbara Harrow. Dru was lulled by her mother’s cheerful mood, and the news that she and Dru’s father were reconciled.
For the moment, at least.
But the conversation had soon shot down its usual paths. Why didn’t she come home for the weekend—better, for the summer? Why didn’t they all go spend a few days at the family enclave in North Hampton?
Reasons were brushed aside, excuses ignored, until when they hung up, Dru had no doubt her mother was just as irritated and unhappy as she herself was.
It reminded her to leave bad enough alone.
But she discovered even that was too little, too late, when her mother walked into the shop ten minutes before closing.
“Sweetheart!” Katherine threw out her arms as she rushed to the counter, then wrapped them like ropes around Dru. “I’m so happy to see you. Just so happy.”
“Mom.” Dru patted Katherine’s back and hated herself for the desire to pull away. “What are you doing here?”
“As soon as we hung up, I realized I just couldn’t wait to see you. I miss my baby. Just let me look at you.” Katherine eased back, stroked a hand over Dru’s hair. “When are you going to grow this back? You have such beautiful hair, and here you go around with it chopped off like a boy. You’re so thin! You’re losing weight.”
“I’m not losin
g weight.”
“I worry about you not eating properly. If you’d hire some household staff—”
“Mom, I don’t want household staff. I’m eating very well. I haven’t lost an ounce since I saw you last month. You look wonderful.”
It was invariably true. She wore a beautifully cut pink jacket over pearl gray trousers, both perfectly draped over a figure she maintained with scrupulous diet and exercise.
“Oh, I feel like a hag these days.” Katherine waved a hand in dismissal.
Dru softened. “No, you don’t, because you have very keen vision and any number of mirrors.”
“You’re so sweet.”
“Did you drive down alone?”
“Henry,” she said, referring to her chauffeur. “I told him to take half an hour, walk around a bit. It’s a charming little town, really, for a holiday.”
“Yes, it is.” Dru kept her voice pleasant. “Those of us who live here are very grateful tourists find it as charming as we do.”
“But what do you find to do? Oh, don’t get angry. Don’t get angry.” Katherine waved a hand again as she wandered to the front window. “You’re so far away from the city. Everything it offers, everything you’re used to. Darling, you could live anywhere. Though God knows, I’d go mad if you moved away any farther than you have. But seeing you bury yourself here just hurts my heart.”
“I’m not buried. And Saint Christopher isn’t the end of the earth. If I wanted whatever the city had to offer, I could be there in an hour’s drive.”
“I’m not speaking geographically, Dru, but culturally, socially. This area’s very picturesque, but you’ve cut yourself off from your life, your family, your friends. My goodness, darling, when’s the last time you had a date with an eligible man?”
“Actually, I had one just last night.”
“Really?” Katherine arched her brow much as Dru herself was prone to do. “What did you do?”
She didn’t bother to bite her tongue. “We had pizza, and sex.”
Katherine’s mouth opened into a shocked O. “Well, my God, Drusilla.”
“But that’s hardly the issue. I wasn’t satisfied with my life, so I changed it. Now I am satisfied. I wish you could be happy for me.”
“This is all Jonah’s fault. I could just strangle him.”
“No, he’s only one minor pebble in the bowl. I don’t want to go over and over this again with you, Mom. I’m sorry we don’t understand each other.”
“I only want the best for you. You’re my whole life.”
Dru’s head began to throb. “I don’t want to be your whole life. I shouldn’t be your whole life. Dad—”
“Well, of course, your father. God knows why I put up with the man half the time. But we do have twenty-eight years invested in each other.”
“Is that what your marriage is? An investment?”
“How in the world did we get off on such a topic? This isn’t at all why I came down.”
“Do you love him?” Dru demanded, and watched her mother blink.
“Of course I do. What a question. And however we disagree, we both have one perfect point of agreement. You are the most precious thing in our lives. Now.” She leaned over, kissed Dru on both cheeks. “I have a wonderful surprise for you.” She gripped Dru’s hand. “We’ll run over to your little house right now so you can get your passport, pack a few essentials. No need for much, we’ll take care of the wardrobe when we get there.”
“Get where?”
“Paris. It’s all arranged. I had this wonderful brainstorm after we talked this morning. I called your father, and he’ll be joining us in a day or so. The plane’s waiting for us at the airport. We’ll spend some time in Aunt Michelle’s flat in Paris, shop—oh, and we’ll throw a little dinner party. Then we’ll drive south and spend a week at the villa. Get out of the heat and crowds.”
“Mom—”
“Then I think you and I should run off and have a nice girls’ weekend. We never spend any real time together anymore. There’s this marvelous spa not far from—”
“Mom. I can’t go with you.”
“Oh, don’t be silly. It’s all set. You don’t have to worry about a single detail.”
“I can’t go. I have a business to run.”
“Really, Dru. Surely you can close down for a few weeks, or ask someone to take care of it. You can’t let this hobby of yours deprive you of every bit of fun.”
“It’s not a hobby. It deprives me of nothing. And I can’t blithely close down so I can trot around France.”
“Won’t.”
“All right, won’t.”
Tears sprang into Katherine’s eyes. “Don’t you see how much I need to do this for you? You’re my baby, my sweet baby. I worry myself sick thinking about you down here alone.”
“I’m not alone. I’m almost twenty-seven years old. I need to make my life. You and Dad need to make yours. Please don’t cry.”
“I don’t know what I’ve done wrong.” Katherine opened her purse, pulled out a tissue. “Why you won’t take a little bit of your time to be with me. I feel so abandoned.”
“I haven’t abandoned you. Please—” When the bells jingled, Dru looked over. “Seth,” she said with desperate relief.
“I thought I’d come by before you . . .” He trailed off when he saw the woman sniffling into a tissue. “Sorry. Ah . . . I’ll come back.”
“No. No.” She had to force herself not to leap in front of the door to block his path of retreat. She knew nothing would dry her mother up as quickly as social introductions. “I’m glad you stopped in. I’d like you to meet my mother. Katherine Whitcomb Banks, Seth Quinn.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“And you.” Katherine gave him a watery smile as she offered a hand. “You’ll have to forgive me. I’ve been missing my daughter, and it’s made me overly emotional.” Now as she dabbed at her eyes, they began to sharpen. “Seth Quinn. The artist?”
“Yes,” Dru confirmed, brightly now. “We’ve admired Seth’s work, haven’t we, Mom?”
“Very much. Very much. My brother and his wife were in Rome last year and fell in love with your painting of the Spanish Steps. I was very envious of their find. And you grew up here, didn’t you?”
“Yes, ma’am. My family’s here.”
“It’s so important to remember family,” Katherine said with a sorrowful look at Dru. “How long will you be in the area?”
“I live here.”
“Oh, but I thought you lived in Europe.”
“I was staying in Europe for a while. I live here. This is home.”
“I see. Will you be having a showing in D.C., or Baltimore?”
“Eventually.”
“You must be sure to let me know when. I’d love to see more of your work. I’d be delighted to have you to dinner when it’s convenient for you. Do you have a card, so I can send you an invitation?”
“A card?” He grinned, quick and bright. He couldn’t help it. “No, sorry. But you can let Dru know. She knows how to get ahold of me.”
“I see.” And now she was beginning to. “We’ll do it very soon.”
“Mom’s leaving for Paris,” Dru said quickly. “When you get back,” she told her mother, and nudged her toward the door, “we’ll see about getting together.”
“Bon voyage.” Seth lifted a hand in farewell.
“Thank you, but I’m not sure I’ll be—”
“Mom. Go to Paris.” Dru gave her a firm kiss on the cheek. “Enjoy yourself. Have a wonderful, romantic holiday with Dad. Buy out Chanel. Send me a postcard.”
“I don’t know. I’ll think about it. It was lovely to meet you, Seth. I hope to see you again, very soon.”
“That’d be great. Have a good trip.”
He waited, tapping his fingers on his thighs as Dru walked her mother out. More like goose-stepped her out, he corrected. He saw, through the window, her loading Katherine into a cream-colored Mercedes sedan, with uniformed driver.
It reminded him of a small point he’d forgotten. Dru’s family was loaded. Easy enough to forget it, he mused. She didn’t live rich. She lived normal.
When she came back in, she locked the door, then leaned back against it. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For using you to wheedle out of a very uncomfortable situation.”
“What are friends for?” He moved to her, tapped her chin with his finger. “Do you want to tell me why she was crying and you looked so miserable?”
“She wanted me to go to Paris. Just like that,” Dru added, lifting her hands, then letting them drop. “She’d made all the arrangements without asking me, then drove down here expecting me to leap with joy, rush out and pack a bag and go.”
“I guess some people would have.”
“Some people don’t have a business to run,” she snapped. “Some people haven’t already been to Paris more times then they can count anyway. And some people don’t like to have their lives neatly arranged for them as if they were still eight years old.”
“Sugar.” Because he could feel her vibrating with anger and frustration, he rubbed his hands down her arms. “I didn’t say you should have, but that some people would have. Got you wound up, didn’t she?”
“She nearly always does. And I know she doesn’t actually mean to. She really thinks she’s doing it for me. They both do, and that makes it worse. She makes assumptions she shouldn’t make, makes decisions for me she no longer has the right to make, then I hurt her feelings when I don’t go along.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I got reamed by Cam this morning because I haven’t been around and forgot to do some stuff I said I’d do.”
Dru angled her head. “Did he cry?”
“He might’ve gotten a little misty. Okay, no,” he said, relieved when her mouth curved. “But we were on the verge of punching each other when Phil broke it up.”
“Well, I can hardly hit my mother. Did you work it out with your brother?”
“Yeah, we’re okay. I need to go by and grovel to Anna for a while, but I thought I’d drop off the boat design.” He nodded toward the large folder he’d set on the counter.