The sound of the door closing seemed to reverberate off the walls of the silent hotel room after Kate left. Rick stood stock still, facing the window but he didn’t see the view before him. Kate’s words had cut him to the quick. “I love you,” he heard her voice say.
A knock on the door brought him back to reality with a start.
Barry popped his head in. “Is it safe to come in?”
“Yeah, come on in,” Rick said. He went back to the desk where he had been working all morning and threw himself into his chair.
“So? How’d it go?” Barry asked. “Did she apologize?”
Rick shook his head. “No. She said – she said she had nothing to do with that picture being leaked to the press.”
Barry regarded him for a moment, taking in his friend’s shell-shocked face. “Do you believe her?”
Rick shook his head. “No, of course not. I mean, it had to have been her – right?”
Barry shrugged and sat on the edge of the desk. “Who else could it have been?”
“Exactly,” Rick stabbed the air with his finger. “She is the only person who would have had that picture. And she would be the only one to gain if it got out.” He looked at his friend. “Right?” he asked again.
Barry fidgeted on the edge of the desk. “There may be another possibility,” he said. “I mean, it just occurred to me that maybe Kate wouldn’t be the only person to gain something from the article.”
“Who? My sister?” Rick snorted. “I don’t think so.”
Barry stood up and paced the room. He’d had a nagging feeling about this for the past day or so, but Rick had been so positive that Kate was to blame, he hadn’t bothered to mention it.
“Think about it, Rick,” Barry said. “Try to look at this objectively for one minute and you might realize that there are other people involved here. Who would have something to gain from you blaming Kate? Who would do anything to break you two up? Who has a proven track record of using people to get what she wants?”
Rick’s face drained of color as Barry’s point hit home. His jaw clenched and his hands balled up into fists. “She wouldn’t,” Rick said. But they both knew that she would. When it came to getting what she wanted, Evangeline Marchessa was capable of anything.
“Barry, let me see that magazine.”
Barry tossed it to him and Rick analyzed the picture. “There,” he said, pointing to an object in the corner. “See that?”
Barry leaned over his shoulder. “Yeah,” he said. “It looks like a table.”
“Not just a table,” Rick said. “That’s the edge of a booth at Shelley’s Diner. See? You can just make out the edge of the red vinyl seats.”
Barry held it up to his face. The picture was grainy but Rick was right.
Barry looked at Rick as though he’d lost his mind. “So?” he asked. “What does that prove?”
Rick rubbed eyes wearily. “It means I might have made a colossal mistake. That’s what it means.”
“Because they were at the diner?” Barry asked, clearly confused by the sudden turn in the conversation.
“Is your car parked out front?” Rick asked as he led the way to the door.
“Why? Where are we going?” Barry asked.
“To do what I should have done when you showed me that picture in the first place. I’m going to figure out who sold out my little sister.”
****
Shelley was just closing up for the night when Rick and Barry showed up.
“Sorry, kids,” she said. “No more dinner tonight. If you’d like I could warm you up a nice slice of pie though.”
“Thanks, Shelley,” Rick said. “But we’re not here to eat.”
She stopped wiping off the tables and wiped her hands on her apron. “What can I do for you?”
“We just wanted to ask you a couple of questions,” Rick said. “You remember Evangeline Marchessa, don’t you?”
“Why, sure I do,” Shelley replied. “She was a sweet young thing.”
“You met her at Kate’s, right?” Barry asked.
Shelley nodded. “That’s right.”
“Did you see her again after that night?” Rick asked.
Shelley nodded. “Sure did. She stopped by here not long after that night asking me all sorts of questions about Rockville’s history.”
Rick and Barry exchanged looks. “Did she ask you anything about Samantha, my little sister? Did she ask you about the summer that she stayed here?”
Shelley smiled knowingly. “Yes, she did. She told me how close you two are and how much she adores your sister. She couldn’t wait to hear all about what she was like as a little girl.”
Rick forced himself to speak as casually as he could through his painfully clenched jaw. “And did she — did she ask to see pictures?”
Shelley nodded but she was watching him in concern. “Yes, she did,” she said. “Rick, are you all right? Would you like some water? Or some tea?”
Barry saw that Rick was no longer paying attention to the older woman. “Uh, no thank you, ma’am. Rick and I need to be heading out.”
Rick was already halfway to the car by the time Barry said their goodbyes.
“Hey, wait up!” Barry called. “You drove, remember?” Rick’s car sped out of the driveway, leaving Barry with no choice but to eat some of Shelley’s world famous pie.
****
“You’re sure you don’t mind?” Ellen asked for the millionth time.
“Positive,” Kate said, practically pushing her friend out the door. “Now go on. Tony’s not going to wait out there all night, you know.”
On cue, a car horn sounded from the driveway.
“What will you do while we’re gone?” Ellen fretted.
“Exactly what I would do if you were here,” Kate said with a laugh. “I’m going to take a nice long bath, read my book and go to bed.”
Ellen bit her lip. She looked like she was going to change her mind about going out for a romantic evening with Tony.
“I’m looking forward to a night of peace and quiet,” Kate said. “Honest.”
“Yeah, but after your talk with you-know-who this afternoon and everything you’ve been going through, I just don’t feel right—”
Kate rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Ellen, I love you dearly but you are driving me crazy. I swear to you I will be just fine on my own. I don’t need a baby sitter.”
She laughed at her friend’s stubborn expression. “Fine,” Kate conceded. “I promise I will call you if I start to get lonely… or sad.”
“Or if you just need to talk,” Ellen added.
Kate nodded. “I promise. Now go have fun with your new boyfriend.”
Ellen grinned at that and ran off to the car where Tony had been waiting patiently for the past twenty minutes.
Alone at last, Kate thought as she climbed the stairs. She had meant it when she told Ellen that she was looking forward to a night by herself. She had driven home in a daze, and Ellen and Tony had been at her side from the moment she’d walked through the door. They’d listened quietly as she’d recounted her conversation with Rick and had spent the past two hours reassuring her that she had done the right thing, said the perfect words, acted beyond reproach. She had been glad for their support but she was desperately in need of some time to herself so she could wrap her head around everything that had happened over the last few weeks. She felt as though she had just stepped off an emotional roller coaster and her head was still spinning.
She eased into the hot water with a sigh of relief. She absently played with the bubbles that floated on the surface as she attempted to clear her mind. I love you. She could hear herself uttering those words and her heart ached at the memory. Had she really said those words out loud? Yes, she had. But that wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was, she had meant them. Like an idiot, she had fallen in love with the one man she knew she could not have. She sighed in resignation. What’s done was done. She couldn’t deny her feelings for Rick Salinger any longer. But that didn’t mean that she had to act on them. She was a survivor if nothing else, she reminded herself. Starting now, she would begin the long process of healing a broken heart. Luckily for her she had two months’ worth of guests to care for and entertain so she would have no time to wallow over a certain sexy director. Besides, she reminded herself. He had made it more than clear that he wanted nothing to do with her. As much as it pained her, his cruel words would make it that much easier to stay away. And she knew she could count on him doing the same. If she could just make it through the next few months without running into him, she would be fine. She hoped.
An incessant ringing pulled her from her inner pep talk. At first she thought it was her phone and made no move to leave the comforting warmth of her bathtub. Her voicemail could pick it up. But the noise didn’t stop and Kate reluctantly pulled herself out of the tub and pulled on her bathrobe.
When she got downstairs, she realized it was the doorbell and not the phone that had pulled her from her little sanctuary where she had been licking her wounds. She grumbled as she headed for the door. She knew that it was a well-intentioned friend or neighbor checking up on her. Word of Rick’s scene at the restaurant had spread like wildfire, and Kate had been besieged by concerned friends and nosy gossips.
Everyone wanted to know what was going on between their new celebrity and their old girl next door. Ellen and Tony had done their best to shelter her from the interest, but tonight she was on her own and whoever was at the door was not going to give up easily.
“I’m coming,” she called. “You can lay off the doorbell,” she added under her breath.
She pulled open the door and froze. “Rick,” she said. For one crazy instant, Kate thought that her overactive imagination had conjured him up. She couldn’t believe that it was really him standing there on her doorstep.
“What’s wrong?” she asked. “Is it Sam? Is she okay? Rick, answer me.”
Rick looked like he snapped out of a fog. “Sam’s fine. I didn’t mean to scare you. I needed to talk to you.”
“Oh,” Kate pulled her robe tighter around herself. It felt like déjà vu with him appearing on her front step late at night and her in her robe, having come straight from a bath. She wondered if Rick remembered that night as vividly as she did.
“Can I come in?”
“What?” she asked. “Oh, yes. Come in.” She moved aside so he could enter and pressed herself against the door frame, careful not to let any part of her body brush up against his for fear of what her body’s traitorous reaction would be. She may have made the decision to move on but her body clearly hadn’t gotten the memo. Just the sight and smell of him had made her weak in the knees.
Kate let him lead the way to the living room. “What do you want, Rick?” she asked when they had settled in front of the fire. She hadn’t meant to sound so harsh.
He had sat on armchair when he first walked into the room but now he jumped up and moved restlessly around the room.
“I came to apologize.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “You have?”
He shook his head in regret. “I was wrong, Kate, and I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you. I mean, I accept your apology,” Kate said. Her voice sounded stiff and formal even to her own ears. “But, where is this coming from? I mean, what changed your mind? A few hours ago you were positive that I had—”
“I know,” he cut in. “And I can’t apologize enough for the horrible things I said and the way I acted.” He sighed and for a moment Kate’s heart went out to him. He looked tormented with regret. “You were right; I jumped to conclusions. I should have known that it was her but I didn’t think.”
Kate was confused. “Her? Her who?”
“Evangeline,” Rick answered. “She’s the one who leaked the picture and the story to the press.”
Of course. She should have figured it out, but she had been too caught up in her own part of the drama to give much thought to who the real culprit had been. She had recognized the photo, of course, but she had assumed that it had fallen into the wrong hands, namely, the paparazzi that had been skulking around town since Rick’s arrival weeks ago. It wouldn’t have taken much prying to get her talkative neighbors to share stories about little Sam Salinger.
“But how did she—?”
“She befriended Shelley,” Rick answered.
Kate sighed. “Don’t be angry with Shelley,” she said. “She’s very trusting… and very talkative. But she means well.”
Rick nodded. “I know. She clearly didn’t mean any harm. In fact, I think she thought she was doing me a favor by giving Evangeline that photo.”
There was an awkward pause while Kate waited for Rick to continue talking but he looked lost in thought.
“I’m glad you know the truth, Rick,” she said. “I really am. But it’s late and I was planning on heading to bed soon so if that’s all you had to say—”
“No, that’s not all.” He looked at a loss for words before he blurted out, “Kate, I love you.”
“What?”
“I love you. That’s what I came here to tell you.”
“You… love me?” The words sounded strange coming out of her mouth.
“Yes.” He was watching her reaction carefully.
Kate’s heart was pounding. “But… but all those things that you said. All those things that you believed about me–”
Rick’s face looked pained. He crossed the room and grasped her hands firmly in his own. “I was wrong, Kate. And I’m sorry. Ever since Evangeline left me – ever since she used me and my feelings for her…” He trailed off and tried again. “I guess I was jaded. And I couldn’t see something pure and innocent when it was right in front of my face.”
Kate shook her head, tears filling her eyes. “It would never work,” she said. “I-I can’t be with someone who doesn’t trust me. Or with someone who is so quick to think the worst of me. I’m sorry, Rick, but I can’t.”
“I know, I was horrible,” he continued. His eyes were pleading. “I jumped to conclusions just because you agreed to our arrangement for the sake of publicity. I thought that automatically meant that you and Evangeline were similar. But you’re not. I can’t imagine two people less similar if I tried—”
“Rick,” Kate cut him off. She felt it was important to reveal the whole truth. There was no room for secrets or pride, not anymore. Not now when all of the chips were on the table.
He was watching her closely. “What is it?”
“I have a confession,” she said.
He raised an eyebrow.
“I didn’t agree to the arrangement for publicity.”
“What? Then why did you?”
Kate shrugged. “I felt sorry for you. I thought you were still in love with Evangeline and needed the appearance of a relationship to keep her at arm’s length.”
“That’s why you agreed?”
Kate nodded and an impish grin crept over her face. “And I guess if I’m really honest with myself. Part of me did it for other reasons.”
His eyes narrowed in that way that made her heart race. “Such as?” he asked.
She blushed. “I guess a part of me wanted to be closer to you.”
“Is that right?” he said, letting out a pent up breath. “Well, I have a confession too,” he said. He leaned in closer until his breath mingled with her own. She struggled to keep her distance but it was a losing battle. She ached to lean into him and feel his arms wrap around her.
“What?”
“I didn’t need any help keeping Evangeline away,” he said. “Nothing could convince me to fall for that act again.”
“Then why did you pretend?” she asked, although she knew the answer.
“Because I desperately wanted to do this…” he leaned in and met her lips with his own.
Kate felt an explosion of joy as the full force of his words enveloped her body, heart and mind.
“You really love me?” she asked when he finally pulled away.
“I really do,” he said. “More than I ever knew possible.” He smoothed the hair from her face and gazed into her eyes. “I know it will take a while for you to forgive me and trust me. But I’m willing to do whatever it takes—”
Kate cut him off by kissing him. She pulled back and laughed. “Maybe we’re both a little to blame.”
The look of relief and love in his eyes mirrored her own, and she laughed in delight when he swept her off her feet and into his arms.
“Then I guess that just leaves us with one question,” he said.
“What’s that?”
“Is my room still available?”
She laughed. “Actually, it’s not.”
“Then I guess I’ll just have to share with someone, won’t I?” He nuzzled her neck as he carried her to her bedroom.