204 Rosewood Lane. Debbie Macomber

of you.” She realized she was rambling and stopped abruptly.

      There was no response.

      “Would you be interested in attending the party?” she finally asked. “You’d be under no obligation.” She wanted that understood. “Basically, you’d be doing me a favor.”

      “By meeting this friend of yours.”

      “Yes.”

      “The one who enjoys a good meal.”

      “Yes. Her name’s Terri, and she’s a lot of fun. I think you’d like her.”

      “You’d be there?”

      Maryellen sighed. “Yes, of course. I’d introduce you to Terri. So—what do you think?”

      “Can I let you know later?” he asked after another long pause.

      “Of course.” She figured she should feel encouraged that he hadn’t rejected her outright.

      “Then I’ll be in touch.”

      “Great.”

      “Listen, before you go, did you get a chance to look over my pictures?”

      “Oh, yes, and they’re fabulous! I’ve sold every one of them already. I was hoping you’d be bringing me more.”

      “I’m working on it.”

      “That would be great.” This was by far the longest and most involved conversation of their three-year working relationship.

      “You haven’t come into André’s,” Jon said. “I was looking forward to cooking for you.”

      “I appreciated the invitation, really I did, but I’m worried about giving you the wrong impression. Like I explained, I’m divorced and I’m not going to remarry and this party is just a friends thing…. If you came, that would be fabulous but only because I want you to meet Terri. Oh, did I mention we’re holding it at The Captain’s Galley, in the bar?” She managed to get all that out in a single breath. “Halloween night,” she added.

      “I’ll get back to you.”

      Maryellen thought that was fair enough.

      After two glorious days and nights with her husband, Justine no longer had any doubts about her marriage. She was more in love than she’d dreamed possible.

      Flying up to Alaska on the spur of the moment like that, without making any arrangements, had been preposterous, and yet she’d found Seth. Justine considered it a sign. Seth was truly meant to be her husband.

      In a few weeks he’d be home, and they could discuss the future and make the necessary plans for their lives together. There had been so many pressing questions she’d wanted to ask him. But once they were together, none of them had seemed all that important. The only thing that mattered was lying in Seth’s arms, sharing their love.

      Justine vowed that if Seth asked it of her, she’d live aboard his sailboat for the rest of her life. But she suspected he’d probably want to move in with her. Staying in her apartment was more practical than living at the marina.

      She’d told him about sleeping on his boat at her most desperate moments, seeking to feel closer to him. From his reaction, she knew he’d been touched by her fears. He’d kissed her again and again as she described her doubts, all the while whispering reassurances and promises. Justine had left Alaska feeling deeply loved.

      The following Friday night, Justine dropped by her mother’s house on Lighthouse Road. She hadn’t been avoiding Olivia, but she hadn’t sought her out, either.

      By the time Justine pulled up in front of the large two-story house with the wide wraparound veranda, her mother was at the door, waiting for her.

      “Hi, Mom.”

      “Justine! I’m so glad to see you,” Olivia said, hugging her tight. “You haven’t come to the house in ages.”

      “I’ve been busy—in fact, last weekend I flew up to Alaska to see Seth.”

      “You were in Alaska? You might’ve let someone know.” The disapproving edge was back, but Justine chose to ignore it.

      “You’re right, I should have,” she agreed mildly. She wasn’t here to fight with her mother.

      “Come inside,” Olivia insisted, wrapping her sweater more snugly around her. “It’s cool this evening.”

      Justine obediently followed her mother into the house. The kitchen was the most comfortable room and it seemed natural to sit there. “Tea?” Olivia asked. It was one of their long-standing rituals.

      “Please.”

      Her mother turned away as she put water on to boil. “How is Seth?”

      “Wonderful. He’ll be home soon. I miss him so much. That’s the reason I flew to Alaska—I just couldn’t stand being so far away from Seth and I had all these air miles from my credit card. I called the airline, got a seat and off I went—without even knowing if I’d find him or not. I was afraid to tell you what I was doing for fear you’d try to change my mind.”

      “You went through all that to be with your husband?” her mother asked.

      “Oh, yes. I really am in love with him, Mom.”

      Justine expected this news to be exactly what her mother wanted to hear. Instead Olivia was frowning.

      “What?” Justine asked.

      Olivia pulled out a chair and sat across from her. “Does Seth know you had lunch with Warren?”

      So that explained it. Her mother knew. For that matter, so did Seth, and while he hadn’t asked her not to see Warren again, she could tell he wasn’t pleased that she’d accepted his invitation to lunch. Justine had been a bit surprised by that, but she wouldn’t do it again.

      “Warren wants you back, doesn’t he?” her mother said when she didn’t immediately respond.

      “Did I mention that Maryellen Sherman and I met for lunch earlier this week?” Justine said, pointedly changing the subject. Warren was off-limits as far as she was concerned. “She wanted to congratulate Seth and me.”

      Her mother set the bowl of tea bags in the center of the table. “So you’d prefer not to discuss Warren.”

      “That’s right.”

      Olivia squared her shoulders and nodded firmly. “Then we won’t. Tell me about Seth. When will he be back?”

      Justine filled in the details. The longer she spoke, the more relaxed her mother became—and Justine understood why. Her mother finally had complete confidence in her love for Seth. Olivia now knew that nothing Warren said or did was going to change the way Justine felt about her husband.

      “How is Maryellen?” Olivia asked as she poured them each a second cup of tea. “I see Grace every week at our aerobics class, but we seldom have a chance to talk.” She laughed. “Actually we need all our energy just to breathe. Did Maryellen tell you Grace filed for divorce?”

      Justine nodded. “By the way, what happened with Maryellen’s marriage?” It’d never occurred to her to ask before. Justine had only been fourteen at the time. All she remembered was her mother and Grace, her best friend, talking on the phone a great deal. Maryellen had moved home for a while, and she’d taken back her maiden name as if she’d never been married at all.

      Her mother stirred a teaspoon of sugar into her tea. “I don’t think anyone really knows, not even Grace. When Maryellen got married, I remember Grace telling me she didn’t feel Clint Jorstad was a good match for her daughter.”

      “Apparently she was right,” Justine said. Then a frightening thought occurred to her. “What do you feel about Seth and me?” she asked, raising hopeful eyes to her mother, trusting her judgment and wisdom.