The Bakery Sisters (24 page)

“Words to live by,” Wyatt muttered, then stood. “I gotta make a call.”

He walked out into the cool night and pulled out his cell phone.

“It's me,” he said when Nicole answered. “I need to talk to Claire and don't tell me I can't. This isn't your business.”

“I agree, but you still can't talk to her. She's not here. She left a couple of hours ago.”

He went very still. “For where.”

“New York.”

He couldn't believe it. “She left without saying goodbye?”

“You made it clear you didn't want to have anything to do with her. She believed you. The fact that she left shouldn't be a surprise at all, Wyatt. It's what you wanted.”

C
LAIRE LEFT
the practice studio shortly after one. It was a perfect early-summer day—sunny, but not too warm. She considered getting a cab, but decided the walk would be good for both her and the baby.

She'd been in New York about two weeks and was surprised at how easily she'd slipped back into her old routine. Practice every morning, lessons a couple of times a week, then meetings with Lisa. They were still putting together the fall tour and deciding which CDs she wanted to be on. The two for charity, of course, but there were other artists who had interesting ideas Claire wanted to explore.

She'd had her first doctor's appointment the previous week and had been pronounced perfectly healthy. She was eating well, sleeping great. Life was good…or it should have been. Despite the fact that she hadn't had a single panic attack or even a hint of one, despite Lisa acting like they were partners and actually listening, despite having everything she'd always said she wanted, she felt…wrong.

It was as if nothing would come completely into focus. No matter how she turned her head or squinted, she was missing something just out of view.

The music was great. She loved the music. She'd asked Lisa to find her somewhere to play over the summer so she could make sure she'd really chased away her demons. There was a charity concert in a little more than a week, which was exciting. But still not enough.

She paused by the newsstand. “Hi, Billy.”

The old man looked up. “It didn't come today, Claire. I called around and found it for you, though.” He gave her an address. “Ike there is holding you a copy.”

“You're the best.”

“I know.” He grinned. “That's why you women can't get enough of me.”

She hurried down three blocks and over one to the newsstand he'd suggested. After introducing herself to Ike, she took the copy of the
Seattle Times
he held out and gave him five dollars.

“Keep the change.”

“Oh, sure, now I know why Billy likes you so much.”

Claire laughed. “You mean it's not my dazzling smile?”

“I'm sure that helps. Have a good day.”

“You, too.”

Claire found a Starbucks, ordered a decaf latte, then settled in the corner with the paper.

It was silly, she knew. Yet she felt compelled to find out what was happening in Seattle. As always, she read a few articles, then turned to the real estate section and looked at houses for sale.

“I'm just daydreaming,” she reminded herself. But if she
were
buying a house, it would be relatively close to Nicole's without getting in the way. She'd want a big deck and maybe a view. Lots of trees and a basement. A yard for kids.

She sighed when she realized she was describing Wyatt's house. The house she couldn't forget, owned by the man she still loved.

Had he already moved on? Did he think of her at all? Did she haunt him the way he haunted her? Did Amy still think about her? She missed the little girl nearly as much as she missed Wyatt.

Everything was different now, she reminded herself. A few short months ago she'd been practically agoraphobic, hiding out in her apartment, terrified of everything. She'd been alone. Today she had her life back and so many people she loved. She also had a baby. She'd been lucky and blessed…so why wasn't it enough? Why did she want the one man she couldn't have and how was she supposed to fall out of love with him?

“Am I interrupting?”

Claire looked up and saw Lisa standing by her table. “Not at all. What are you doing here?”

“This is my neighborhood. I live over there.”

She pointed to a tall building. Claire knew her manager had moved a couple of years before, but as they didn't socialize, she'd never been to her place. Lisa always came to her.

“You seem to be settling in,” the other woman said before sipping on her coffee.

“I'm happy to be back.” Sort of. “I've missed playing.”

“How was practice?”

“Good. I'm working on the pieces I'll play for the charity concert. Nothing is new, so it's more about refreshing my memory than anything else.”

Claire wondered if her manager felt the faint sense of awkwardness between them. Despite having known each other for years, everything was different now. They were going to have to create a new relationship as they went.

Lisa glanced at the paper. “Still missing Seattle?”

“More than I thought I would.” She touched the real estate section. “I meant what I said before. I want to buy a house there.”

“What I saw of the city was very nice. And it has to be cheaper than here. Would you keep your apartment for yourself or sublet it? I suppose you could sell it, but you'll still be coming back to New York.”

Claire didn't realize how she'd braced herself until she began to relax. Despite their conversations and Lisa's promise to treat her like a partner, she'd expected her manager to protest. “I don't want to sell it,” she said. “Or sublet it.”

“You can afford to keep it for when you're in town.” Lisa set down her coffee. “This may shock you, but I'm glad you're making changes. I had a lot of time to think after my first visit to Seattle. I didn't know if you were coming back or not. What with you being my only client, I panicked. What was I going to do with myself? How would I survive?”

Claire swallowed guilt. She'd never meant to leave Lisa hanging.

“I took a long look at my life.” Lisa smiled. “I'm fifty-six. I've never been married. I don't even have houseplants. My life has been my clients. You for the last sixteen years, but others before. I've worked hard, seen the world. Many would envy my life. It does make for excellent cocktail conversation, but I'm ready for a change.”

“You're quitting?” Claire asked, not sure how she felt about that.

“You won't get rid of me so easily. But I am going to be taking time off. A vacation or two. Or five. According to my accountant, I don't have to worry too much about money, even the way I shop. I'm nowhere near ready to retire, but cutting back sounds very good.” She touched Claire's hand. “You went looking to find yourself and you did. Now it's my turn.”

Claire liked the sound of that. She'd always been half-afraid of Lisa and for the first time, she finally saw her as a real person.

“Would you like to get dinner tonight?”

Her manager smiled. “I would. We can celebrate the changes we're looking forward to.”

 

W
YATT OPENED
his front door to see Nicole standing on his porch, leaning on her crutches.

He hadn't seen his friend in over a week and he'd missed her. “Tell me you didn't drive.”

“Don't ask, don't tell. It works for the military.”

“Nicole. You're still recovering from surgery.”

“Did you notice it was my left knee? I drive with my right leg.” She sighed. “I don't do it often, okay? I just wanted to see you.”

“I thought you hated me.” She'd been pretty clear on what she thought about him the last time they'd talked. And the time before.

“I thought you were a jerk. There's a difference. That doesn't mean we can't be friends.”

He stepped back to let her in. As she walked past him he said, “I've missed you.”

She paused next to him, then turned toward him. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

Hugging her felt good. Familiar. But it didn't do a damn thing for him. Too bad. Nicole would have been a whole lot easier to handle than Claire.

“I've missed you, too,” she grumbled. “Everyone's leaving me. Have you noticed that pattern? First Drew—”

“You threw him out.”

“Then Jesse.”

“You threw her out, too. You're right. There is a pattern.”

“Shut up. I didn't throw out Claire or you.”

“If you could have tossed me across the room, you would have.”

“Maybe,” she admitted, then made her way to the sofa and collapsed. “I'm back to work and maybe not taking it as easy as I should. I hurt.”

“Can I get you something?”

She looked at him. “How about Claire?”

“She'll come back if you ask her,” he said.

“That's not what I meant and you know it.”

He did. “She served me with papers saying I don't have to have anything to do with the baby if that's what I want. Just sign my name and it's like it never happened.”

Nicole raised her leg until she could rest her heel on the coffee table. “She told me. I let her think that would solve the problem.”

“It won't?”

She rolled her eyes. “You're about the most responsible person I know. You're not letting your own kid disappear from your life. You couldn't stand it.”

He'd been avoiding that reality, but Nicole was right. Even if he wasn't crazy about Claire, he wouldn't walk away from his child. He wasn't going to sue for custody, but he would insist they work something out.

“I don't know what to do,” he admitted. “I never meant for this to happen.”

“I assume you're talking about more than getting her pregnant.”

“Isn't that enough?”

“If we were only talking about the logistics of sharing child rearing, you would have already worked out a schedule.”

First Drew, now Nicole. Did everyone know him better than he knew himself?

“I miss her,” he admitted. “I miss seeing her and talking to her. I bought a couple of her CDs, so I can hear her music, but that's not enough.”

He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his thighs, and stared at the carpet. “She haunts me. I don't have to close my eyes to see her. I hear her voice in every moment of silence. Sometimes I think I should go after her, just get on a plane and fly to New York and drag her back here.”

“It would get the message across. What's stopping you?”

“A lot of things. My history with women.” He remembered what Drew had told him—that he'd broken the family bad luck streak in every other area of his life, why not this one. “Can I make it different with her?”

“You know you can,” Nicole told him. “Besides, it's not like Claire has a lot of experience. She won't be as picky as some women would be.”

Despite the aching hole in his heart, he smiled. “Gee, thanks.”

“I live to be helpful. What else?”

The next one was hard to admit. He sucked in a breath. “Do you know who she is? She's famous and rich. I'm a contractor. I do well. I have a successful business, but what do I have to offer her that she can't buy herself?”

Nicole slugged him in the arm. She didn't come close to hurting him, but she'd never hit him before.

“What?” he asked.

“It's not about stuff, you idiot. It's never about stuff. Why can't guys get that? Stuff is usually a substitute we accept when we can't get what we really want.”

“What do you really want?”

He noticed she didn't have to think about the answer. Were women born knowing this kind of thing, or did they come up with it as they got older?

“We want to matter,” she said. “We want to be the most important part of your world. We want to know you'd be lost without us, that you ache when we're gone and count the hours until we're back. We'll give you forever, if you just make us believe that.”

That was a lot, Wyatt thought. More than a simple “I love you.” It was about giving of himself, opening up to the possibility of handing her everything and still having her walk away. It scared the crap out of him.

“Is it too late?” he asked, not wanting to hear the answer, but knowing he had to.

Nicole sighed. “I should tell you it is, because you handled most of this pretty badly. But Claire loves you and I love her, so I'll tell you the truth. No, it's not. You can still win her. But don't expect me to tell you how. I've already given too much away.”

Amy ran into the room. She saw Nicole and squealed with delight. “You're here!” They embraced, then his daughter slid onto his lap and hugged him. “Hi, Daddy,” she signed.

There was so much affection and trust in her eyes. He could still pick her up and toss her in the air and she only laughed. It never occurred to her he could drop her or hurt her in any way. Because he never had and he never would. He would give his life for hers a thousand times over. She was his world.

Which is exactly what Claire wanted. To be his world. His everything. The woman of his dreams.

She was that and more. The problem was going to be convincing her.

 

C
LAIRE ADJUSTED
the headphones she wore before every performance. She did her best to get lost in the music, lost in the sounds and nuances of the piece. All around her, stagehands spoke into walkie-talkies, making sure the lighting was perfect, the stage cleared of everything but her piano, the curtains ready to open. Someone yelled that it was three minutes. She heard that much, then tuned out the rest of it.