relax. Today had brought her no closer to a decision about the job in St. Louis, but this evening had certainly made her question whether or not she truly wanted to leave Paducah and her good friends—and Max’s blue cheese encrusted filet, which was to die for.
“So when do you think you’ll get the office open?” Bart had wolfed down a thick cut pork chop while Kyndal was only on her third bite of her scrumptious entrée.
“We’re aiming for the first of February,” Rick answered, “but we have a lot of remodeling to do, and the weather could slow us down.”
“But Rick will be overseeing the remodeling project, so he’ll be moving to Paducah next month.” When Denise expressed joy, her voice wasn’t nearly so obnoxious, and tonight she’d been thrilled with everything.
Kyndal watched the two couples wistfully. This is the way it’s supposed to be.
She took another bite as Jaci nudged her in the thigh, her hand hidden by the tablecloth, and Kyndal answered the nudge with a questioning look. Jaci’s wide eyes darted toward the window at Kyndal’s back.
Kyndal shifted back in her chair to gain the same vantage point of the street Jaci had, and instantly wished she hadn’t.
Chance, eyes crinkled in laughter, hair tousled by the wind. His perfectly tailored suit and crisp white shirt
enhanced his dark features. He looked as if he’d stepped directly from the pages of GQ magazine.
Kyndal’s heart leaped to her throat at the sight of him and then plummeted to the pit of her stomach as he held the door to the bar open for a young woman and followed her inside.
Kyndal had told herself this might happen, seeing Chance with someone else. Paducah wasn’t a metropolis, so the probability was high. She’d thought she was prepared—had told herself it wouldn’t be pleasant, but the discomfort would pass.
It wasn’t the first time she’d underestimated her reaction to Chance.
Her heart felt as though it had been ripped out and a block of ice hung in its place. The weight and the cold pressed the air out of her lungs making breathing difficult and speech impossible.
She was afraid to swallow. There was no way the bite of steak in her mouth could make it down her constricted throat, but that was the only way she could keep from bursting into tears. She slipped the bit into her napkin by means of a subtle cough. She reached for her drink to get some moisture into her suddenly dry mouth, but her hand trembled too violently to raise the glass.
This was insane. It was crazy to put herself through this, and these extreme reactions couldn’t be good for the baby. She shuddered at the thought of facing Chance this way for another seven months. Who was she kidding? This was going to be her reaction for the rest of her life. Chance was going to fall in love with someone and get married. The effect he had on her was one of those things time would never heal.
Jaci’s hand clutched hers, supportive and strong…and in it, Kyndal found the strength to do what needed to be done.
She cleared her throat and rapped lightly on her water glass with her spoon. “I have an announcement of my own.”
“Kyn…” Jaci’s voice said don’t do this and Kyndal gave her a look that answered I have to.
She forced a smile as she scanned their small group. “I’ve been offered a job as a pathology photographer at St. Mark’s Hospital in St. Louis, and I’ve decided to take the job.”
Jaci’s chin quivered and she took a gulp of wine as the others offered their congratulations.
The questions flew at her then as her friends wanted to know all the details. She concentrated on them, answering most of them to herself for the first time.
“I have friends who live in the Clayton area of the city.” Denise reached across Rick to pat Kyndal’s arm. “Let’s contact them and solicit their help to find you a nice place to live.”
Kyndal murmured her thanks, knowing she wouldn’t be able to afford anything one of Denise’s friends would be familiar with.
The waiter took the dinner plates and Kyndal breathed easier. Soon, she would be able to get out of there. Chance and his date were still in the bar, so maybe, if fate was kind, she wouldn’t have to face her misery again.
But why would fate want to start being kind now?
“I have a very special surprise dessert,” Denise announced as she signaled the