Fool Me Once (27 page)

The
smell of freesia perfumed the air. The bouquet, like the rest of the wedding
was simple and elegant. The entire day had been a resounding success.

* * *

Escaping
at last, Olivia rounded the corner of the house and slipped off her shoes. A
row of spreading beeches offered welcome shade, and she stopped for a moment,
enjoying the heavenly sensation of cool grass on her feet. From the opposite
side of the house, music mingled with the faint sound of voices. Confident that
she would not be missed, she continued at a slower pace.

The
greenhouse loomed ahead. Like everything else these days, it reminded her of
Josh. With a twitch of irritation, she stood in the doorway. Would he haunt her
for the rest of her life? She sighed. When she was stronger–perhaps in a week
or two–she’d deal with her feelings for him. In the meantime, her memories were
so vivid it was as if he were right beside her.

She
placed her shoes and Justine’s bouquet on the potting bench, and then wandered
toward the orchids. Here in the greenhouse, Josh’s presence was so strong her
knees quaked, and she clung to the bench for support. How could she have been
so foolish? She had walked away from the one man who embodied everything she
valued. The delicate orchids on the end of their long graceful stems blurred,
and her shoulders shook with grief as she cried silently for everything she had
lost.

* * *

“My
brother was the one who knew about flowers.”

Olivia
stilled. She was dreaming, and was afraid to break the spell.

“When
he was young, he helped my mother in the garden, and even after he grew older,
he never lost interest.”

She
lifted her head. Was her imagination playing tricks on her? “Josh?”

Sunlight
filtered through the jungle of plants, picking out the golden sparks in his
eyes. “What are you doing here?”

Moving
toward her, he pulled a cotton handkerchief from his pocket. Cupping her chin,
he tilted her face, staring into her eyes with an intensity that took her
breath away. Tenderly, he dabbed at her eyes and then stepped back, still
searching her face.

“I
came to tell you I’ve been a fool.”

“Is
that all?” She smiled up at him through the tears.

“Feeling
better are we?” He was struggling to keep a straight face, but the light in his
eyes gave him away. “No, that’s not all. I came to tell you I love you. But
then, I think you already know that.”

“How
could I know that?” she whispered, her pulse pounding erratically. “You never
told me. And anyway, what about The Rules?”

“Ah
yes. The Rules.” He reached out for her hand, and pulled her closer. “Rule
number one. I love you.”

“And
rule number two?”

“There
is no rule number two. Rule number one is the only one that matters.”

“Oh
Josh!” She buried her face in his chest. “You can’t imagine how sorry I am that
I ran off like that. It’s just…”

“Shhh.”
Holding her gently, he combed his fingers through her hair, soothing her
wounded spirit. “It was a terrible way to learn that we’d used you.”

“I
was hurt, Josh, and confused. Because I love you.” She touched his face. “I
went to see Colin and he told me about Zach. I understand now what this mission
meant to you.”

“I
want to tell you about Zach. He was a wonderful kid, and he didn’t deserve to
die the way he did.” The pain in his eyes lingered for a heartbeat and then he
smiled. “But we’ll have lots of time for that later.”

“How
much time?” Her eyes were clear and direct.

“The
rest of our lives, I hope.” He reached into his pocket and drew out the
diamond. It threw off splinters of brilliant light. “I love you, Olivia
MacMillan. Will you marry me?”

The
ring slid onto her finger and she regarded it gravely. It sparkled with the
promise of a new life. “Yes, Josh Morgan. With the greatest of pleasure.”

“I’ll
make sure of that,” he murmured, sweeping her into his arms.

“Cowboy,”
she murmured, raising her lips, “take me home to Montana.”

*
* * The End * * *

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Please
continue reading for an excerpt from

Fixing
Freddie

Chapter
One

“What
a day!” Lauren shook her umbrella and stomped her feet. “It’s pouring out
there!”

Samantha
kicked out the chair on the other side of the table. “Come on, it’s not that
bad.” Sometimes her BFF could be so negative. “Anyway, you know what they say
about April showers.”

“Who
needs May flowers?” Lauren tossed her bag onto the chair and hooked her
umbrella over the back. “I’ll just grab a coffee and be right back.” She
paused, smiled for the first time. “Want anything?”

“No
thanks, I’m fine.” Today probably wasn’t going to be the best time to tell
Lauren about her doubts. Samantha sipped her latte and looked around the busy
coffee shop. Were any of these men faithful? That one over there in the corner,
for example. The one with the wedding ring. He was definitely on the make,
judging by the way he’d looked at her when she came in. Her gaze drifted around
the room. Maybe she was being unfair. Just because Cody was acting suspicious
didn’t mean every man in Vancouver was cheating. Take for example the guy
sitting at the bar in front of the window. He had his nose stuck in some sort
of electronic device and his hair looked like it hadn’t been cut for six
months. He probably–

“So
what’s up?” Lauren lowered her lanky frame onto the chair. Samantha looked
fondly at her friend. Perhaps lanky wasn’t the right word to describe her. She
was tall and rather elegant when you got right down to it, but she could be so
damned prickly! It took very little to send her off on a rant that could last for
minutes. Her friend was definitely a take no prisoners kind of gal. Maybe
that’s why they got along so well. Opposites and all that.

“So,
we’ve got that wedding next weekend?” Lauren cradled the coffee cup in both
hands, staring into it as though it had offended her in some way. “Do you
realize Ashley’s only the third girl in our class to get married?”

“I
hadn’t thought about it, but in my opinion that’s a good thing. It wasn’t long
ago that girls got married right out of high school.”

“Yeah,
well that’s because they were knocked up, or wanted to be.”

“You’re
awful, you know that?”

“I
know, but I’m just telling the truth.” Lauren took a sip of coffee and for a
moment her face softened. “It
is
a good thing though, being independent.
I hope she’s happy.”

“It
sounds like her parents are sparing no expense for the wedding. Imagine booking
an entire hotel for the guests. I’ve never heard of anything so extravagant.”

“A
brilliant idea, though. I think Zach and I will take them up on their offer of
a room. That way we won’t have to drive all the way back from Whistler. I
looked up the place on the net and it’s
très
exclusive. Right on the
waterfront and everything.”

“I
guess we’ll stay too.” Samantha sighed. “If Cody and I are still together, that
is.” So much for not unloading.

Lauren
narrowed her eyes. “Has that idiot been screwing around again?”

Samantha
lowered her head. “I don’t know. I don’t have any proof, but there are so many
times I can’t reach him, and his excuses are beginning to sound like…well,
like excuses.”

“I
told you he couldn’t keep it in his pants. I told you that from the beginning.”
Lauren set down her mug with a bang, sloshing coffee on the table. “He’s not
good enough for you, Sam. Think about it. If he’s sleeping with other people,
he could bring home something that doesn’t wash off.” She grabbed some napkins
and started mopping up the spill. “He’s such a loser.” She tossed the sodden
napkins in a nearby trash receptacle.

“Speaking
of losers,” she continued without missing a beat, “did you see who’s sitting in
the window?”

“Who?”
Samantha was reeling from her friend’s outburst. Lauren was probably right
about Cody, but her point on STDs was more than a little unsettling.

“Freddie.
You remember…Freddie Howard. He was in our class, not that anyone noticed.”

“Freddie?
The guy who was constantly sketching?”

“Yeah,
and he’d never show anyone what he was working on.” Lauren made it sound like a
personal affront. “Either that or he was playing those stupid electronic
games.”

Samantha
looked at the man sitting with his back to them. “Looks like he’s still doing
it.’ Her thoughts wandered into the past. “He wasn’t so bad, though. I remember
one time before that girl Stella got expelled. She was harassing me and he
stepped in and stopped her.”

“Freddie?”

Samantha
frowned. “I can’t recall what he said, or even what happened afterward. But I
do remember that he stood up for me. She never bothered me again.”

“Huh.”
For a few seconds Lauren was speechless. Then she leaned on the table and
lowered her voice. “You know what the guys called him, don’t you?”

Samantha
shook her head. “What?”

“They
called him Tripod.”

“Why
would they call him…?” She caught the look in Lauren’s eye. “You’re kidding,
right?”

“Would
I kid about that?” Lauren wore her most lascivious expression.

In
spite of herself, Samantha felt a sharp tug of arousal. What was that all
about? Besides, Freddie Howard was definitely not her type. “How come I never
heard about that?”

“Would
you have wanted to?” Lauren was laughing at her now.

“No,
probably not.” She glanced back in Freddie’s direction. “Was I really that much
of a prude?”

“More.”
Lauren started to gather her things. “I think I’ll talk to him on the way out.”

“No!”
Samantha almost shouted it. “Don’t, Lauren. You’ll say something awful.”

Her
friend looked down at her, one eyebrow raised. “Okay then,
you
do it.
Promise me you’ll at least say hello, or I will.”

“I’ll
do it, I’ll do it.” Anything to avoid a scene. Who knew what would come out of
Lauren’s mouth? “I promise.”

Samantha
breathed a sigh of relief when Lauren left. She had no idea what she’d say to
Freddie, or how she’d stop herself from checking out the rumour. Oh, Lord, what
had she gotten herself into?

She
glanced at the wall clock. Time to go to work. She took a deep breath and walked
toward the door.

“Samantha?”
He slid off the stool and held the door for her. She’d forgotten how tall he
was, or maybe he’d grown since she last saw him. She had to look up at him.
Dark brown eyes looked down at her through glasses that needed cleaning, but
they were friendly and gentle. “I saw you sitting with your friend, but I
didn’t want to disturb you.”

“I…ah…you
remember Lauren, don’t you?”

“Pretty
hard to forget her.” He smiled. “Her height, you know?”

“Oh,
good.”

“What
does that mean?”

“I
thought for a moment you were referring to her caustic tongue.”

He
grinned again. “That too, but I didn’t want to sound negative, especially since
she’s your friend. So how are you?” He fell in beside her.

“I’m
doing fine. I’m a legal secretary with a big firm in the Bentall Centre.”

“Do
you like it?”

“Not
really, no, but the money’s good, and there are worse jobs.” She looked up at
him. “How about you?”

“Oh,
I dabble in IT. Nothing too exciting.”

They
walked along in silence. She noticed how he’d moved to the outside of the
street. It was a sweet, old-fashioned gesture and she liked it. “So, where do
you work?” she asked. A Don’t Walk sign was flashing crossly at the
intersection.

“I’m
a few blocks over in that direction.” He nodded toward the east. “I usually
bike.” He looked up as it started to rain again and she wondered how he could
possibly see out of his glasses.

The
light changed and Samantha stepped down. Freddie pulled up the collar of his
light jacket and followed her. “It was nice seeing you,” he said, and a blush
coloured his cheeks. At least she thought he was blushing; it was hard to tell.
They hustled across the street.

“You,
too.” They stopped on the other sidewalk, a small island of two in a stream of
morning commuters.

He
took off his glasses and rubbed them against his jacket. That explained why
they were such a mess. His eyelashes were remarkably long. Her gaze was drawn
to them as they misted up with rain. No guy should have lashes like that…it
just wasn’t fair.