“Not so much. Or maybe we were, and that’s the problem.”
“What do you mean?”
She shrugged. This was too new a revelation to talk about, and frankly, too embarrassing. If she was right, and she and CJ had more or less deserved each other, that couldn’t be a good thing.
“How long were you married?” she asked instead.
“Nine years. Good ones.”
“I really am sorry. Was she ill for a long time?”
“Nothing like that. We were fishing in our boat. Fishing was Karen’s greatest passion.” He smiled a little, as if he were remembering something good. “After Olivia and me, of course. A storm blew up while we were on our way back. I thought about trying to put in to a closer marina, but Karen was sure we’d be fine. If I’d had any idea how bad it would get, and how quickly, I would have sought the closest shelter. But like Karen, I thought we could make it.”
He fell silent.
Tracy wished she hadn’t asked. “I’m sorry.”
“The waves got huge. Once we turned over, I managed to hold on to the side of the boat. Karen didn’t. As the storm was ending, a larger boat found me. Karen’s body wasn’t found for two days.”
“That’s awful.”
“Afterward I tried to figure out what Karen would want me to do. Before she died, I’d just quit my job to take a position in Atlanta, a big step up. We were all looking forward to it. But when the accident happened, I told the company I couldn’t come. I couldn’t possibly move Olivia after everything, or abandon Alice, so I looked for something here in the area with a schedule I could work around the needs of my ladies. That’s how I ended up selling houses for Maribel.”
“She’s glad to have you. That’s obvious.”
“I’m finding I like it, and I’m good at it. I may stay in real estate if the market improves.”
She thought Lee had done that neatly. He had dispensed with the sad parts quickly, as if he knew she needed the history. But he hadn’t used her as a sounding board or a dump, the way other men might have. The man was pretty amazing. Not only was he a huge treat for the eye, even a simple conversation with him was seductive.
She edged closer. “How are you and Olivia doing?”
“We’re getting there. Alice is the one to worry about.” He snapped his fingers. “Which reminds me. I did ask her about the Krause fellow. She said he didn’t talk about himself.”
“I’m not having much luck.” Tracy thought of the chess players. “Worse than that, actually. I’m having bad luck. But I do have a possibility in Kentucky. I talked to one of Herb’s former landlords, and he gave me the name of a preacher Herb used as a reference. But that was almost fifteen years ago.”
“The preacher’s still preaching?”
“Retired now, but I was given a new phone number for him by the church and left a message. We’ll see if he returns my call.”
The wine arrived with a flourish of ceremony, and the mushrooms came a moment later to perfume the table. Tracy realized she was hungry. Really hungry. Not a handful-of-walnuts kind of hungry.
“Maybe it’s the ambience, but I feel like I could eat my way through their kitchen.”
His gaze moved over her, warm and approving and sexy as hell. “Good, because the chef is first-rate. They stole him from one of the big restaurants in Miami. But I think you’ll feel at home here. It’s your kind of place.”
It was. Certainly not as exclusive or world-class as Tracy was used to, but a place where she might belong. She had missed that, and now she knew how much. She had also missed being with an exciting man.
“There’s Carol.” Lee got to his feet and beckoned to a middle-aged woman who seemed to be making the rounds. She wore a striped cotton blazer over a red dress, and her blond hair was cut in layers that looked as sensible as the rest of her.
Lee took the woman’s hand when she reached them; then he leaned over to kiss her cheek. “Carol, I want you to meet my friend Tracy Deloche,” he said. “I told you about her yesterday, remember?”
Tracy held out her hand, and they exchanged greetings.
“Carol is our event coordinator.” Lee gestured to an empty chair. “Will you join us a moment?”
Carol sprawled in the chair as if hours had passed since she’d sat