“I’m sorry you’re going through a tough time.”
“It has been difficult, I admit. Is Gabe coming for the book-launch party? He and Russ Colton hit it off, and his brother lives in Knights Bridge, too. And you’re here, of course.”
Felicity decided to dodge Nadia’s question. “The party will be fun, whoever is there.”
“Yes. I’m sure.” Nadia smiled, as if to take the edge off her clipped response. “I’ll see you later, then.”
She yanked the door shut before Felicity could respond and quickly got the car started and pulled onto South Main Street. Felicity gave the departing car a slight wave, but she hoped Nadia would change her mind and not return for tonight’s party. In the meantime, Felicity knew, she needed to let Gabe and Russ know about Nadia’s visit.
Felicity wasn’t surprised when Russ Colton fell in next to her as she returned to her car. He shook his head and sighed. “You walked Nadia Ainsworth to her car? Felicity...”
“What was she going to do, throw a bag over my head and shove me in the trunk?”
“I can give you a long list of things unbalanced, obsessed people can do before they even know they’re going to do it—never mind the stuff they plan.”
“I was about to text you. Nadia was here for a change of scenery. She’s in the midst of selling her grandmother’s house and needed a break from the emotions.”
“That’s at best a white lie,” Russ said.
“What?”
“Her grandmother’s house is under contract. Nadia’s father accepted the offer. She has no say. She came out for one last look at the house before the new owners took possession, but she and her grandmother weren’t that close. Nadia’s parents moved to California when she was in high school. She’s forty-two now, so it’s been a while. Her mother died five years ago. Her father remarried two years ago. He retired to Whidbey Island near Seattle.”
Felicity blew out a breath. “Why would she mislead me about something like that?”
“To get empathy and rationalize her behavior.”
“She doesn’t need to save face with me. I don’t have any relationship with her. Maybe the offer on the house fell through.”
Russ shook his head. “It didn’t. I spoke with her father, Felicity. Gabe told me she was back East. I felt that was enough to justify checking in with the father. He said he saw her a month ago. They had a pleasant visit at his place. He said she’s taking it easy, enjoying her freedom from a bad marriage and not pushing herself so hard. He approves. He did say she’s wanted to come back here to visit and now has the time.”
They came to Felicity’s Land Rover. “Nadia could have exaggerated her situation to create a sympathetic cover story—to make things easier for everyone, including herself.”
Russ nodded. “Now she’s stuck with it. Point is, we don’t know. Gabe, Dylan McCaffrey, Noah Kendrick and Kylie are all people she could want to curry favor with, or at least find out what they’re up to.”
“She didn’t need to lie.”
“Most people don’t, but that doesn’t stop them.”
Felicity glanced across the street at the common, as if she might see Nadia sneaking through the shade trees. She turned back to Russ. “You got here fast.”
“I was at the country store.” He smiled. “Words I assure you I never thought I’d say.”
More relaxed, he asked Felicity to repeat her conversation with Nadia. He’d obviously dealt with worse than a wealthy entrepreneur at a loose end, inserting herself into a small New England town.
“Gabe says he’s staying at your place again,” Russ said. “Is that right?”
Felicity shrugged. “As far as I know.”
“Tell him to lock up, too.”
She made no comment. Russ started across the street to the common, but not before she saw his knowing grin. Given that he was relatively new to Knights Bridge, he could have misinterpreted her relationship with Gabe.
“You kissed Gabe at the swimming hole,” she muttered, climbing into her Rover.
But their kisses hadn’t meant anything, any more so than their night together as teenagers. Friends going too far with each other. Hormones. Didn’t matter. It was done. It wasn’t happening again.
When she arrived at her house, Felicity brought a carafe and water glass into the guest room. She debated picking a few wildflowers and putting them in a vase on the bedside table, but she decided that was going too far. Gabe would know he’d gotten to her and she hadn’t put his last visit behind her.
So. No flowers.
She fixed herself a glass of iced coffee and took it out to the deck to go through her checklist for the party. She couldn’t wait, really. If Nadia behaved and Gabe wasn’t a huge distraction, it would be a fun evening.
* * *
“That’s a lot of badgers,” Gabe said, stepping onto Felicity’s deck. He pointed at the lineup of mini stuffed badgers on the table. “Mark said the ladies at Rivendell sewed them for tonight.”
She nodded. She’d heard his car in her driveway but hadn’t gotten up, figuring he’d find her. She’d just gotten back from picking up the badgers at Rivendell. “I should have gotten them started sooner, but they dove right in. Audrey Frost said some of the men helped, but they’d never admit it.”
“Different generation. I’d admit it.”
“Audrey said they did the manly things. Her words.”
Gabe pulled out a chair and sat in the shade of the umbrella. “My grandfather didn’t try to sew private parts onto the guy badgers, did he?”
Felicity bit back a laugh. “No, he did not. He and the rest of the men there were perfect gentlemen. They helped staple and glue and fetch things, and they provided moral support.”
“They’re invited to the party?”
“Absolutely. We’ve got tickets and arranged transportation for anyone who wants to attend, and we’ll bring goodies to
