keep her mouth shut—but, oh, no, not her. She’d wanted to prove her point, show him the error of his ways. She still believed he was wrong—well, mostly wrong—but now she felt petty and mean.
When the elevator stopped at the first floor, the doors slid open and K.O. got out. The first thing she did was collect her mail and her newspapers. She eyed the elevator, wondering if she’d ever see Wynn again, other than merely in passing, which would be painfully unavoidable.
After unpacking her overnight case and sorting through the mail, none of which interested her, she walked across the hall, hoping to talk to LaVonne.
Even after several long rings, LaVonne didn’t answer her door. Perhaps she was doing errands.
Just as K.O. was about to walk away, her neighbor opened the door just a crack and peered out.
“LaVonne, it’s me.”
“Oh, hi,” she said.
“Can I come in?” K.O. asked, wondering why LaVonne didn’t immediately invite her inside. She’d never hesitated to ask her in before.
“Ah...now isn’t really a good time.”
“Oh.” That was puzzling.
“How about tomorrow?” LaVonne suggested.
“Sure.” K.O. nodded. “Is Tom back?” she asked.
“Tom?”
“Your cat.”
“Oh, oh...that Tom. Yes, he came home this morning.”
K.O. was pleased to hear that. She dredged up a smile. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, then.”
“Yes,” she agreed. “Tomorrow.”
K.O. started across the hall, then abruptly turned back. “You might care to know that the Raisin Bran got it all wrong.”
“I beg your pardon?” LaVonne asked, narrowing her gaze.
“I think you might’ve read the kitty litter wrong, too. But then again, that particular box accurately describes my love life.”
LaVonne opened the door a fraction of an inch wider. “Do you mean to tell me you’re no longer seeing Wynn?”
K.O. nodded. “Apparently we were both wrong in thinking Wynn was the man for me.”
“He is,” LaVonne said confidently.
K.O. sighed. “I wish he was. I genuinely like Wynn. When I first discovered he was the author of that loony book my sister read...” Realizing what she’d just said, K.O. began again. “When I discovered he wrote the book she’d read, I had my doubts.”
“It is a loony book,” LaVonne said.
“I should never have told him how I felt.”
“You were honest.”
“Yes, but I was rude and hurtful, too.” She shook her head mournfully. “We disagree on just about every aspect of child-rearing. He doesn’t want to see me again and I don’t blame him.”
LaVonne stared at her for an intense moment. “You’re falling in love with him.”
“No, I’m not,” she said, hoping to make light of her feelings, but her neighbor was right. K.O. had known it the minute Wynn dived under the Christmas tree to save her from the not-so-rare African brown-tailed mouse. The minute he’d waved down the horse-drawn carriage and covered her knees with a lap robe and slipped his arm around her shoulders.
“Don’t try to deny it,” LaVonne said. “I don’t really know what I saw in that Raisin Bran. Probably just raisins. But all along I’ve felt that Wynn’s the man for you.”
“I wish that was true,” she said as she turned to go home. “But it’s not.”
As she opened her own door, she heard LaVonne talking. When she glanced back, she could hear her in a heated conversation with someone inside the condo. Unfortunately LaVonne was blocking the doorway, so K.O. couldn’t see who it was.
“LaVonne?”
The door opened wider and out stepped Max Jeffries. “Hello, Katherine,” he greeted her, grinning from ear to ear.
K.O. looked at her neighbor and then at Wynn’s father. The last she’d heard, Max was planning to sue LaVonne for everything she had. Somehow, in the past twenty-four hours, he’d changed his mind.
“Max?” she said in an incredulous voice.
He grinned boyishly and placed his arm around LaVonne’s shoulders.
“You see,” LaVonne said, blushing a fetching shade of red. “My psychic talents might be limited, but you’re more talented than you knew.”
Chapter Eighteen
K.O. was depressed. Even the fact that she’d been hired by Apple Blossom Books as their new publicist hadn’t been enough to raise her spirits. She was scheduled to start work the day after New Year’s and should’ve been thrilled. She was, only...nothing felt right without Wynn.
It was Christmas Eve and it should have been one of the happiest days of the year, but she felt like staying in bed. Her sister and family were expecting her later that afternoon, so K.O. knew she couldn’t mope around the condo all day. She had things to do, food to buy, gifts to wrap, and she’d better get moving.