“A week ago I’d have no idea what you were talking about.” He studied her a moment, less tense and annoyed. He surprised her with a smile. “Didn’t your piano teacher call you incorrigible?”
“I was eleven. Aren’t all eleven-year-olds incorrigible?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
“I wouldn’t, either, but I’m going with it.”
He leaned close to her. “It’s been good seeing you, Felicity.”
“You, too. Are you staying another night?”
“That’s the plan. I don’t know what time I’ll be back. Are you sure you won’t join—”
“I need to do a few things,” she said, interrupting him.
“All right. If you see a fire outside, that’ll be me.”
He opened her Land Rover door for her and shut it once she climbed in behind the wheel. He stepped back, waiting as she backed out, turned around and headed down the driveway to the road. She probably should have made one last check at the barn, but she knew everything was fine.
As she started up Carriage Hill Road, she glanced back at Gabe and noticed a protective air about him, as if he was worried he’d missed something—knew he’d missed something but couldn’t put his finger on exactly what it was. She suspected it was the residual effect of Nadia’s intrusive behavior. Gabe felt guilty, even if he knew he wasn’t responsible for this woman’s conduct. Felicity felt a little of that same guilt herself. When she arrived at her house and got out of her Rover, she welcomed the coolness of the river and the quiet rustle of a breeze in the trees. Just as well she’d have some time to herself tonight.
She almost knocked over a bottle of wine on her doorstep. A note was tied to it with a red ribbon, just like the one on the covered-bridge towel. Felicity recognized Nadia’s handwriting:
Door’s locked or I’d have left it in the fridge to chill. Congrats on a great day!
Xo
Nadia
Felicity shivered, unsettled. She quickly checked Nadia’s earlier text messages. She must have left the wine before she’d sent them. Keep it as a surprise, maybe? She’d expected Felicity to accept her invitation to get together, at which point she would have suggested meeting back here.
Kind of pushy but not really creepy and dangerous.
Felicity picked up the wine. It was a decent New Zealand sauvignon blanc. It’d been in the shade, so it wasn’t hot. Nadia had some boundary issues going on, but the situation hardly warranted smashing a perfectly good bottle of wine on the rocks. Felicity took the wine inside, keeping it with her as she checked the house in case her wannabe new best friend had given Russ the slip, doubled back to town and was hiding under a bed.
But she didn’t find anything—she hadn’t seriously expected to—and put the wine in the refrigerator. She’d let it chill while she took a shower.
In the bathroom, stripped to her skin, she received another text: Russ followed me out to the highway. He’s quite the stud. Did you get the wine?
Felicity debated. Pretend to be in the shower already, or answer?
“Get it over with,” she muttered, and typed her response: I did. Thanks!
Lovely.
Safe travels.
I hope our paths cross again soon.
Felicity didn’t respond.
She got into the shower, welcoming the lukewarm water. If nothing else, today had reminded her that Gabriel Flanagan wasn’t the teenager she’d known in high school—or even the man he’d been three years ago. He’d worked hard for the life he had now. He’d turned his dreams into reality. He’d had the drive, the commitment and the focus to be the kind of entrepreneur the attendees at today’s boot camp had wanted to hear from. Felicity had her own business, but she didn’t have any ambition to turn it into anything but what it was. That had been part of the point in moving to Knights Bridge, hadn’t it? She’d wanted to work for herself, on a variety of projects, and still have time for a life.
She shut her eyes and let the warm water soothe her fatigue and tension. She’d done her job today. Gabe had done his job. Their paths in life had diverged from their days hanging out together out here on the river.
When she emerged from the shower, she slipped into yoga pants, a T-shirt and sandals. She decided that drinking Nadia’s bottle of wine might not be a good idea given her mood. She’d give it to friends who didn’t know Nadia or Gabe and could just enjoy it.
Instead she opened a bottle of inexpensive pinot grigio, poured herself a glass and took it outside to the deck, where she sat alone and listened to the river course downstream.
Thirteen
Gabe returned to Felicity’s house after dark, expecting to find her tucked in bed. Instead he spotted her sitting cross-legged on her quilt in front of the fireplace, watching the fire die down. He walked over to her and stirred the coals. She didn’t say anything. He added a log to the fire and sat next to her. “Sleepy?” he asked.
“Mmm. I was just about to go in. I keep dozing off. The fire’s nice.” The flames were already picking up. “How was dinner?”
“Low-key. Everyone was tired. Olivia went to bed early. We met at her and Dylan’s house.”
“Quite the place, isn’t it?”
“That brother of mine is good at his work, but they had a vision of what they wanted.”
“Just like this place,” Felicity said, uncurling her legs. She was barefoot, dressed in yoga pants and a baggy hoodie. “You and Mark had a vision of what you wanted.”
Gabe pulled off his shoes and set them in the grass, away from her and the fire. “You could say that. Russ made sure Nadia got to the airport.”
“She’ll get home to Malibu and get on with whatever is next for her, especially with an offer on her grandmother’s house. My guess is she got out here and started flailing with all that’s gone on in her life lately.”
“Doesn’t excuse her behavior.”
“We don’t have to talk about her. The post–boot camp reviews are
