She’d known plenty of people with the same coiled energy inside, but sitting at a child’s tea party with one of them unsettled her. Besides, the few times their gazes had connected in the past, he’d turned away as if he had no interest in other people...or even in common courtesies.
But she gave the guy credit for one thing—he was obviously a hardworking businessman, yet he was willing to sit on the floor and have a tea party with his motherless child. Whatever other faults he might have, she found that admirable.
Nonetheless, she quickly finished her tea and cookie as soon as Livvie was done with hers. She noticed that Simon did the same—perhaps hoping his daughter’s guest wouldn’t stay long.
“Thank you, this has been lovely,” Rachel told her small hostess. “I enjoyed it, but I’d better go.” She untangled her legs and stood.
“Do you have to?” Livvie asked plaintively.
“Afraid so. I have things to do before going out tonight.”
Nicole had invited everyone to her house for a barbecue and Rachel had offered to bring a couple of salads. Had Nicole and her fiancé, Jordan Masters, finally settled on their wedding plans? Of course, Adam was now engaged to Cassie Bryant so they might have a similar announcement. What’s more, the agency’s office manager, Chelsea Masters, who also happened to be Jordan’s sister, was seriously involved with a grade school teacher. The next year could be busy with all the weddings of people at Moonlight Ventures.
Rachel had wondered if Nicole and Adam both getting engaged would change the dynamics of their friendship, but it was working out all right. After the couples were married, the four business partners probably wouldn’t hang out as often in a group, but they had never spent every minute in each other’s pockets, anyhow. Besides, Jordan and Cassie were great.
Cassie was the legal guardian to two of the agency’s clients. She designed websites and had revamped Moonlight Ventures’ website. Jordan was a reporter, which was how he and Nicole met, or rather met again. They’d known each other growing up, but hadn’t been in contact until he was asked to do an article about her changing careers from modeling to being an agent.
“I’m really, really, really glad you came.” Livvie walked her guest to the door, a proper little hostess. “Can we do things together sometimes?”
Rachel smiled at the sweet, hopeful face, aware that Simon had followed with a closed expression. “Maybe, if it’s all right with your daddy.”
“We’re neighbors and neighbors should be friends,” Livvie said with her oddly adult air. It probably wasn’t unusual for an only child who’d been homeschooled, though earlier Gemma had explained Livvie was now enrolled in a private school with kids her own age. Maybe it would help her be less lonely.
“Thanks again for the tea,” Rachel repeated when Simon stayed silent.
She took the stairs down, aware of the heavy security door snapping shut behind her. Nobody except the Kesslers could access the top floor of the Carthage. A special key was needed for the elevator and cameras monitored the third-floor staircase.
The setup seemed slightly paranoid, but maybe Simon Kessler was a fanatic about his privacy. Rachel understood, and the penthouse was undoubtedly a nice home. She’d only seen a small part of it, but visible from the living room was an actual garden, with a deck, flower boxes, a tiny area of grass and trees in large planters. High, spotless heavy glass enclosed the space, ensuring Livvie could play with no chance of falling.
Rachel let herself into her condo and felt as if she was reentering the real world.
She would have loved having a house and garden like the one Nicole had purchased, but the muscles in her left leg weren’t as strong as they’d been before the accident, especially if she made unusual or twisting movements. So rather than hire someone to do the yard and other exterior work, she’d decided on a condo with a balcony large enough to host small groups. She couldn’t have found a better location under the circumstances. The neighborhood was in a historic town, tucked into the greater Seattle area. It enjoyed some preservation from further development along the lake by protected green space on either side. There was even a mom-and-pop type of grocery store up the block, complete with an old-style deli.
While she vacuumed the living room, Rachel thought about Simon Kessler. Livvie must take after her mother, except for her eyes, which were as dark as her father’s. But the little girl’s eyes were eager and hopeful, unlike Simon’s.
Rachel could understand. In pictures of her taken after the accident, her eyes had conveyed the same sense of bottled-up emotions she saw in Simon’s gaze. Only slowly had she lost the self-conscious pain she hadn’t wanted anyone else to see.
Simon’s wife had died a little over two years ago. Maybe that was why he seemed so intense, struggling to keep himself under tight control... He was a man who had lost the woman he loved and was trying to navigate this new world as a single dad. Having a girlfriend in New York didn’t mean he’d figured things out; it could just have been part of the process.
Rachel pushed the thoughts aside to prepare lettuce and other vegetables for a Thai noodle salad.
At five she drove out to Nicole’s house. Jordan opened the door and took the box of food she carried.
“Mmm.” Jordan sniffed. “I smell onions, peanuts, roasted sesame... Must be Thai.”
“Is that your favorite?”
“Whatever you cook is my favorite. I haven’t tasted anything you make that I haven’t loved.”
“That’s for sure,” Nicole agreed, overhearing them as they walked into the kitchen. “And I’ve been eating your cooking a lot longer than Jordan.”
“I’ve been wondering if you’d like me to fix a meal for after your wedding,” Rachel said. “Or the rehearsal dinner.”
Jordan put the box on the counter and exchanged a look with his fiancée.
Nicole sighed. “Actually, we’ve decided against a formal wedding. We considered giving it a try, but there are too many George and Masters family bombs threatening to go off. It would be the Hatfields and McCoys, Seattle-style.” She clutched her forehead in mock horror.
“Oh, dear.”
Rachel knew that Nicole’s mother didn’t get along with Jordan’s mom, a long-time feud that the engaged couple had hoped would be put aside, at least for their wedding. Obviously that wasn’t going to happen.
Jordan shrugged. “The fight runs too deep, and neither side wants to give up being angry. Maybe someday. But if it doesn’t, at least we live two states away.”
“I hope the battle doesn’t extend to the two of you.”
“Nope. Mom has decided Nicole is perfectly wonderful—despite everything—and Nicole’s mother says she can’t figure how I turned out so well with parents like that.”
“Yikes.” Rachel could imagine the battle scenes if the two families got together.
“Right.” Jordan put the salads she’d brought into the refrigerator. “It’s our own version of the Cold War and we don’t want it to heat up.”
“Then what are you doing
