The Shop on Blossom Street Page 0,74

thank you." He reached for his wineglass and raised it. "Shall I propose a toast?"

"Please." Happiness settled over her until she was nearly giddy with it. Until now, Jacqueline had lost hope that they might recapture the love in their marriage. She felt light-headed with anticipation as she lifted her wineglass and touched the rim to his.

"To the future," Reese said.

"The future," she echoed.

After a sip of wine, Reese picked up his fork. Jacqueline held her breath while he tasted his first bite, anxiously awaiting his reaction.

She knew she'd succeeded when he closed his eyes and murmured a soft sigh of appreciation.

"It's even better than I remember."

Jacqueline relaxed and took her first taste. The curry was as good as she'd hoped. In retrospect, she wasn't sure why she'd buried the recipe when she knew how much Reese enjoyed her meals - and how much she used to enjoy making them. Years earlier she'd done all their cooking, even for their many social events. More recently, she'd had her parties catered. She'd casually mentioned that in last week's knitting class when they'd started talking about memorable meals. To her surprise, Alix had said she'd like her own catering company one day. Alix of all people! This was a rather unexpected revelation, but it made her wonder. She owed Alix....

"I have a small confession," Reese said, breaking into her thoughts.

Jacqueline wasn't sure she wanted to hear it, but before she could stop him, he continued.

"You need to thank Tammie Lee for the roses. They were her idea."

Jacqueline picked up her wine. "Well, I didn't think you'd come up with that idea on your own."

"To Tammie Lee," Reese said, holding up his wineglass.

"To Tammie Lee," Jacqueline repeated.

The phone rang and she sighed.

"I'll get it." Reese was out of his chair before she could protest.

For once, just once, she wanted them to have a quiet dinner together. She wished now that she'd taken the phone off the hook.

Whoever was on the line certainly had Reese's attention. His brow furrowed and he frowned and then nodded curtly. Replacing the receiver, he muttered, "I have to go."

"Where?" Jacqueline asked before she would stop herself.

"Problems on the job." He grabbed his car keys and was out the door. "I'm needed at one of the sites. Not Blossom Street - the Northgate project. It appears we blew a circuit and the entire block is without electricity."

Sitting alone at the table, listening as Reese's car engine roared to life, Jacqueline felt numb.

A moment later, she flung her napkin furiously onto her plate and walked over to the sink. She grabbed the counter with both hands, biting down hard on her lower lip.

"He's needed at the site," she repeated, her voice cracking. She knew exactly who'd phoned and exactly where he'd gone and it wasn't to any job site.

CHAPTER 30

ALIX TOWNSEND

S unday morning, Alix found herself standing on the same street corner she had for the last few weeks, watching as people filed through the church doors. Ordinary people, some wealthy and some not. People like those in her knitting group. People like Carol Girard and her husband.

Having lunch at Carol's high-rise condo had been an eye-opening experience. Literally! The view was incredible, unlike anything she'd seen before. She might live in Seattle, but she certainly never saw it from this perspective. And Puget Sound was beyond fabulous. Alix felt as if she'd stepped right onto a page in one of those fancy home decorating magazines people left behind at the Laundromat. The condo itself was spacious. The furniture was simple and classic, and there were lots of warm, appealing touches. One thing was for sure. Alix had no intention of returning the invitation. She could just imagine what Carol would think if she saw the inside of her apartment. Especially now, since Laurel had taken to being even a bigger slob than usual.

Carol had made a lovely lunch of cold tomato soup - a Spanish recipe, she'd said - and a seafood salad. She'd set the table with beautiful matching dishes, complete with linen napkins. A few weeks ago Alix would have considered details like that pointless, but these days she was taking notice. This was exactly the type of thing she needed to know if she hoped to start her own business one day. Alix had been nervous at first, afraid she might commit some social blunder by using the wrong fork. If Jacqueline had been there, she would've been more worried, but Carol was a normal