Deliver the Moon (16 page)

Watching Louisa now as she took in the sights along Water Street from the sun glittering off Admiralty Inlet, to the magnificent houses on the hill, Gabe knew it had been worth the wait for her. Her eyes were wide as they passed quaint shops and galleries. She stopped in front of practically every window, keeping a running commentary on which places she wanted to return to after lunch.

“Remember how we used to talk about moving out here?” he asked when she paused to admire some intricate Native American jewelry in one of the shop windows. “You’d read somewhere that Port Townsend was a haven for artists. We even dreamed of opening up a gallery. Remember?”

The store window in front of them reflected her frown. “We had a lot of dreams, Gabriel.” Her voice was quiet, her tone clipped.

Dammit. She’d just begun to relax and be herself around him when he had to open his big mouth and bring up the past.

They moved away from the shop window and continued down the street, looking for a place to eat. He hoped the walk would improve Louisa’s mood. It didn’t.

At the end of the block, they found a café that wasn’t too crowded. Once seated, Louisa propped the menu on the table, shielding her face from his view. After he figured out his order, Gabe rested his chin in his hand and tapped the back of the laminated plastic with his index finger. She lowered the menu just enough to peer over. Her eyebrows arched in question.

“You’re not comfortable with this, are you?” he asked.

“If by
this
you mean spending time alone with you after not seeing you for five years, thus making us strangers to each other, then no, I’m not comfortable with this.”

“You think we feel like
strangers
, Lou? We’ve moved beyond that this past week and a half, don’t you think?”

“No. I don’t.” She disappeared behind her menu again.

He rubbed the space between his eyebrows then reached forward and pulled the menu down, holding it flat on the table with his palm. “Come on, Louisa. You know you don’t really feel that way.”

“Look. I was just beginning to feel comfortable with you being back, thinking maybe we could be friends again. But then you brought up all that nonsense about fate and made that comment about sharing a room.” The apples of her cheeks flamed red.

Ah, the shared room comment. He’d wondered if that had affected her. Apparently, it had. “We could never just be friends, Lou. You should realize that by now.”

“Then I guess this weekend is a waste of time, because that’s all I hope to accomplish by Sunday. Before I go back to Evan.”

Shit, she was stubborn. He nodded at her hand. “You’re not wearing your engagement ring.”

A furious blush lit her face, and she quickly deposited her hands into her lap, out of his sight. “I, uh, didn’t think it was appropriate to wear it.” She reached for the menu.

It paused halfway up her face when he asked, “What did you tell Evan about this weekend anyway?”

“I told him the truth. I don’t like to have secrets between us.”

“You told him the truth, and he still let you come with me?”

“He didn’t
let
me do anything. Our relationship doesn’t work that way. He doesn’t want me to go into our marriage with any doubts or wondering about the past.”

Gabe cocked his head and raised an eyebrow, wondering about the other man’s intelligence. Or lack thereof.

She slapped the menu onto the table. “Insulting Evan isn’t going to make me come running to you.”

He stared into her angry eyes and leaned forward onto his elbows. “I didn’t say a word about your fiancé.”

“You don’t have to say it. But I know what you’re thinking.”

“What am I thinking?”

“You’re thinking that if you and I were an item, you wouldn’t want me running off with another man for the weekend.”

“Yeah, I’m kind of funny that way,” he said, unable to hold back a chuckle.

A grin tugged at her mouth. “Okay, I walked right into that one. But the thing is, Evan trusts me. He knows nothing is going on between you and me. And nothing will be.” Her humor disappeared again as she lifted her chin and stared down her nose.

When she raised the damn menu again, he tried another tactic. “Look, Lou. We’re never going to get anything resolved between us if we continue to be at each other’s throats. The whole point of this weekend, besides getting Arty and Sarah back together, is to relax and get to know each other again. And I don’t see how can we do that if you keep hiding behind a menu.”

The brightly colored laminate dropped to the table. Another hint of a smile curved her mouth. “I’m not hiding.”

“You’re suddenly near-sighted?”

She made a face and picked up her menu. He thought she was going to hide behind it again. Instead, she biffed him over the head.

****

After lunch, Louisa and Gabe explored the downtown in greater detail. She dragged him into as many of the shops as he could stand. He, in turn, wanted to explore the galleries. By late afternoon, Louisa was physically and mentally spent. She and Gabe seemed to have reached an unspoken truce, but it didn’t erase the undercurrent of tension. She knew exactly what he wanted to develop out of this weekend. He’d made his intentions very clear. And although she could barely admit it even to herself, that thought excited a part of her she’d forgotten existed.

It also scared the hell out of her. She needed time to think. She couldn’t be rational or reasonable when she was with him. She needed to be alone.

“Listen, Gabriel,” she said as they trudged up the hill toward Smith House. “I’m exhausted. I’m going to see how Sarah’s doing, maybe take a nap.”

He held open the white-picket gate for her.

She entered the yard with him right behind her. “We’ll meet you at six where we discussed. Act surprised to see us.” She gave a little laugh but knew it sounded forced.

His eyes narrowed as he watched her, then he finally nodded. She marched up the veranda steps and into the big house.

****

Louisa stared at the ceiling in her room, knowing there was no way she could nap. Her mind was going about a million miles an hour.

Damn, Gabriel
. He had a way of creeping into her every thought, day and night, and it frustrated the hell out of her. She was engaged to Evan! Okay, so they’d sort of separated, but it was only temporary.

So what if she was still attracted to Gabe? So what if deep down inside, a traitorous little part of her was excited he wanted her back? So what if deep down inside, a sexy little part of her hoped this weekend turned into a love fest as Evan had suggested?

Gabe might be exciting and just about the most attractive man she’d ever met, and maybe he had a way of turning her legs to jelly with just a glance, but she couldn’t depend on him.

But Evan, well,
there
was a dependable man.

As she laid there waiting for Sarah to return from wherever she’d disappeared to, she told herself dependable was good.

It was.

Chapter Eleven

Louisa set down the book she hadn’t really been reading as Sarah came into the room.

“You look horrible,” Louisa told her.

“Gee, thanks.”

“No, I mean you look like you’ve been crying. You okay?”

Sarah shrugged and sat on the edge of her bed. “Not really. I took a long walk, hoping to work things out in my head, figure out what to do.”

“And?”

She flopped onto the mattress. “And nothing. I’m still angry, I’m still hurt, and I still can’t believe he hasn’t called.” She pulled her cell phone her purse and checked for messages. “Nope. Nada.”

“He’s upset, too, Sarah,” Louisa said gently.

Sarah flung a crooked arm over her face. “I know. But he didn’t even let me try to explain, he just stormed out.”

“He’s a stubborn man. I remember one time in high school he got mad at Dad and didn’t speak to him for nine days.”

Sarah lifted her arm enough to peer over at her friend. “Seriously?” At Louisa’s nod, Sarah groaned. “Oh, great. I can’t wait that long.”

“Maybe…you should call him.”

“No. I’ve already thrown him a bone. Hell, I threw him several bones. It’s up to him to make the first move.” She rose up on an elbow, mimicking Louisa’s position. “I just wish I wasn’t so far away from him. I mean, what if he calls me and wants to see me?”

“You’re not so far from him, Sarah.”

Sarah laid back on the bed. “I suppose you’re right. And absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?”

Louisa sighed. “So I’ve heard.”

****

“So, what are you feeling about Gabe right now?” Sarah asked as they walked down the hill toward town a while later.

“What do you mean?”

Sarah nudged her, and Louisa stumbled. “Don’t play dumb with me, girlfriend.”

Louisa shrugged. “I wish he wasn’t moving back.”

“That’s because you like having him around.” Before Louisa could answer, Sarah stopped in her tracks. “Oh. My. God.”

Louisa spun around. “What? What’s wrong?” She glanced every which way, thinking Sarah had spotted Gabe and Arty.

“You’re not wearing your ring.”

Louisa’s hands clenched. She’d forgotten about that. “Um, I, uh—”

Sarah grasped her arm. “Did you and Evan break up?”

“Sort of.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

Louisa glanced away, staring past the rows of lovely Victorian homes. “We’re just…taking a step back. For the moment.” She cleared her throat. “For, um, a few days.”

Sarah’s eyes narrowed. “You are so full of crap. It’s because of Gabe, isn’t it?”

It was on the tip of Louisa’s tongue to deny it, but then she snapped, “Yes. As a matter of fact it is. He barges back into my life, acting like he wants to pick up where we left off five years ago, but I want no part of that nightmare again, thank you very much. Like I really want the chance to have my heart broken again.” She shook her head. “No thanks.” She waved her arms as if to erase the idea and started down the hill again. “Of course Evan’s all jealous and is convinced I’m interested in Gabe again, which I’m not.”

“You’re so full of shit,” Sarah said again, catching up.

“Will you stop saying that? My whole life is in turmoil thanks to him. My relationship with Evan, which will lead to turmoil with my parents.” She shuddered at the thought. “My job’s in jeopardy, not to mention my very sanity. And I have Gabe to thank for all of that.”

“Uh, huh.”

Having an outspoken best friend was sometimes a royal pain in the ass, Louisa thought, ignoring her.

“You know what you need?” Sarah asked.

“I’m sure you’ll tell me.”

“You need to disappear with Gabe for a few days, see if the spark is still there. In fact, you should have him meet us here. You two could stay on after I leave.”

If she only knew. Louisa shook her head. “You’re nuts. I don’t want to spend time alone with Gabe for a few days.”

“I’m serious, Louisa. You’re obviously having doubts about you and Evan, and I can’t say I’m unhappy about that. Maybe if you and Gabe spent some time alone together, you could figure out if there’s anything still between you.”

“There’s not. End of discussion.”

Thankfully, Sarah dropped the subject. They reached the downtown a few minutes later. The sidewalks were crowded with tourists of all ages.

As they passed a little Mexican restaurant, Sarah grabbed Louisa’s arm, halting her forward progress. “Let’s eat here. I’m
dying
for chips and salsa.”

“No!” Louisa glanced at the restaurant then further down the street where she and Gabe had planned to “accidentally” run into each other at a fish and chips bar. At Sarah’s quizzical stare, Louisa explained, “I mean, I heard this place isn’t very good.” She crossed her fingers behind her back at the little white lie. “And those fish and chips I was telling you about are legendary.”

“I’ll take my chances here. How badly can you screw up chips and salsa?” Sarah tugged a reluctant Louisa into the darkened restaurant.

Crap
, Louisa thought. Now what? Taking a moment to let her eyes adjust to the dim light, she glanced at her watch. Maybe if they scarfed down the chips really fast, they could still catch up with Gabe and Arty.

****

Louisa waited until the shower sounded behind the closed bathroom door before she called Gabe.

He picked up the phone on the first ring.

“Can you talk?” she asked. As usual upon hearing his voice, her legs turned to mush. She sat on the edge of the bed to steady herself. “Sarah’s in the shower, so I only have a minute.”

“What happened? I kept Arty down there for as long as I could without making him suspicious.”

“She insisted on Mexican food. I did everything I could to change her mind, I even told her I’d heard the place was awful.”

“Was it?”

“I don’t know. I was too stressed out to eat.”

“Maybe we should just be upfront with them, tell them what we tried to do.”

Louisa shook her head. “Sarah is still pretty upset. She alternates between being really sad and missing him, and taking out her anger on him.”

“Boy, they’re not making our little plan easy, are they?”

“Maybe we’re not cut out to be matchmakers,” she said wearily. Hell, she couldn’t even figure out her own love life. Why did she think she could fix someone else’s?

The shower turned off. “I gotta hang up,” she whispered into the receiver.

“Can you meet me by my car in five minutes?”

“Okay.” She hung up just as the bathroom door opened.

“Who was that?” Sarah asked, her voice hopeful.

“Uh, wrong number.”

“Oh.” Sarah tightened the sash of her robe and rubbed her hair with the towel.

Louisa slipped her feet into sandals.

“Where are you going?” Sarah finger-combed her wet hair.

“Oh, I, um, didn’t eat much at dinner but I’m hungry now, so I thought I’d walk downtown and grab something.”