Summer Kisses (171 page)

“Hi, hell,” she snapped. “I was afraid some serial killer had chopped you up into tiny little pieces and was calling me from your cell phone.”

Tears stung her eyes. It was so good to hear a familiar voice, even if that voice was edged with anger. “Nope. All body parts still intact.”

“They won’t be once I get my hands on you. Where the hell are you?” she demanded from the other end of the line.

Kelsie shifted the cell phone to her other ear. She couldn’t blame Nanci for being a little pissed at her for leaving the way she had. She would have felt the same way if she’d been in her place. “Up north.”

“Up north where? As in Alaska?”

“Not quite that far, but I did go out of town.”

“I sort of guessed as much.”

“I left messages on yours and my mother’s answering machines so you wouldn’t worry about me.”

“Yeah, we got them. Messages saying that you had to leave and weren’t sure when you’d be back. No mention whatsoever of destination or why you were leaving and we weren’t supposed to worry?”

“I didn’t even know where I was going at first,” she said with a soft sniffle. “When I finally found a place I didn’t want anyone to know where I was.”

“Are you okay?”

Kelsie brushed a tear from her cheek. “A little confused.”

“Obviously, or you wouldn’t have taken off the way you did. Your mom and I have called your cell phone about a zillion times, but we keep getting your voice mail; which is full by the way.”

“The ringer was shut off.” She was afraid Cole would try to reach her and she couldn’t bear to hear the hurt she’d caused him in his voice. “I needed some time alone to sort things out.”

“Well, I hope your little getaway is helping you because your mom and everyone at the office, myself included, have all been worried sick about you.”

She felt terrible that she’d had everyone so worried, but she’d done what she had to do at the time. “It’s helped a lot actually.”

“So when are you coming home?”

“Maybe in a day or so.”

“You can’t stay away forever.”

“I know.”

“So are you going to tell me where you are or do I have to hire a private investigator to hunt you down?”

She hesitated, not wanting to put Nanci in the middle. If she told Joe then he might tell Cole. “I don’t want anyone else knowing where I am.”

“Your mother included?”

“Especially her,” she replied. “She’s part of the reason I’m in this situation.”

“Tell you what,” her friend said, “I’m off tomorrow. How about I meet you wherever it is you are and we spend a little time helping you to sort things out tonight?”

“I don’t want you dropping everything to come babysit me.”

“You’d do the same for me. And I won’t tell anyone where I’m going,” she promised, her tone one of genuine concern. She supposed Nanci had a right to be concerned, considering how her best friend had taken off without a word to anyone and hadn’t called for days.

“Okay,” she finally relented. “But it’s a little bit of a drive up here.”

“Where is here?”

“Kelley’s Island.” She and her mother and Nanci usually went there every fall when the leaves were changing to tour the wineries. It was the first place she thought of when she’d driven out of town.

“I should’ve known. I’ll throw a few things in a suitcase and be there in a few hours.”

Kelsie gave her the name of the bed and breakfast she was staying at before hanging up. Then she poured herself a glass of the wine she’d picked up on the island and walked out onto the balcony.

The view of Lake Erie from the spacious Victorian Suite was beautiful. She’d been lucky to even find a room available at that time of year, but someone had cancelled last minute and she was at the right place at the right time. It was costing her an arm and a leg to stay there, but it was money well spent. The tiny town’s relaxed atmosphere helped to soothe her frazzled nerves.

She took a sip of her wine, certain she had made the right decision in telling Nanci where she was. Her best friend was never short on advice and that’s exactly what she needed right now.

~~~

A knock at the door had Kelsie racing towards it. Nanci had called from the parking lot to say she had arrived and get the room number. She threw open the door, her eyes filling up with tears again. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

Nanci dropped her overnight bag onto the floor by her feet and held out her arms. “Give me a hug before I’m tempted to strangle you for what you’ve put me through.”

Kelsie hugged her friend and then stepped back to smile at her friend. “How was the drive?”

“Long, but worth it. At least, I can see with my own eyes how you’re doing. And I’m going to start by telling you how bad you look.”

“Thanks.” Always the honest one.

“I’m serious, Kels. Football players wouldn’t have to paint black stripes under their eyes if they had your dark circles.”

“They’re not that bad,” she argued as she turned to eye her reflection in the gold filigreed mirror hanging on the wall a few feet away.

“Have you slept at all since you’ve been here?”

“A little.”

“Not enough.” Nanci picked up her bag and carried it into the room, setting it on the floor by the bed. “You are getting some sleep tonight, even if I have to ply you with wine until you pass out.”

“Speaking of wine, can I pour you a glass? You can probably use it after that drive.”

“Just give me the bottle,” her friend said with a grin.

“And waste the opportunity to use the gorgeous antique wine glasses that came with this very expensive room? Not a chance.” Kelsie walked over to the mini-bar and poured Nanci a glass of the semi-sweet red wine she’d picked up at the winery the night before. Then she refilled her own glass.

“You know,” Nanci said as she scanned the room, “if you’re going to pick somewhere to wallow in misery, you might as well choose a place like this to do it in.”

“I wasn’t...” she started to argue then stopped. There had been a good amount of wallowing going on since she’d arrived. “Thanks for the sympathy,” she said, handing Nanci her glass of wine.

“You’ll get that later. First, I intend to make you pay for stressing me out. If I get gray hair prematurely I’m blaming it on you.”

“I’ll pay for the dye job,” she told her with a smile. She was feeling better already.

“Before you ask, because I know you will, I didn’t tell anyone where you are. I did, however, tell them I was going to see you.”

“Nanci,” she groaned.

“I had to, or else they’d be worried about me, too. Joe’s got enough to worry about with Cole.”

Kelsie bit her lip to keep from asking, but the need to know won out. “How is he?”

“Let’s see, the last time he called me...”

“Cole called you?”

“Multiple times. He’s convinced I’m hiding you somewhere. What the hell happened between you two? Everything seemed great at the picnic.”

“It was,” she said with a sigh.

“So how do you go from perfect to leaving town?” Nanci asked.

Kelsie walked over to the window, looking out over the lake. “I panicked,” she admitted, her voice catching. “The next thing I knew I was running.”

“I pieced some of that together from Cole’s phone calls. What’s going on with you? What was so bad that you felt the need to leave town without a word to anyone?”

She turned to face her friend. “Cole and I made love again.”

“Gee, that would make me run, too.”

“Do you want to hear this or not?” she said with a frown.

“Sorry. Go on.”

“That night with Cole was... Well, it was the hottest sex I’ve ever had in my life.”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

“No, it was incredible.”

“So let me get this straight. Sex with Cole was so good it sent you running out of town? Glad I’ve never had sex that good.”

“It had nothing to do with the sex,” she explained, her frustrating growing.

“Then why?”

“I panicked because Cole told me he thought he was falling in love with me.”

Nanci’s eyes widened. “No shit!”

She nodded.

“Oh my God. I can’t believe you. You have this incredibly gorgeous man, one who according to you is fantastic in bed, tell you he thinks he’s falling in love with you and what do you do? You leave him standing in your dust.”

“I admit I could’ve handled the situation better than I did,” Kelsie said as she stepped out onto the balcony, wine glass in hand.

Nanci followed her outside. “Maybe you should think about getting some sort of counseling. I mean if─”

“He said he thinks,” she said, cutting her friend off.

“What?”

“Cole
thinks
he’s falling for me. That’s not the same as being in love with me.”

“For a man it is.”

“And what if I’m right?” she asked, sipping at her wine. “What if Cole thinks he’s fallen for me? Then after a few years of us being together he suddenly realizes he’d thought wrong?”

“He’s not Kyle.”

“I know that.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“I never felt for Kyle the way I feel for Cole. I thought I knew what love was before. What if I’m wrong again and I’m not really in love with Cole?”

“You’ve hardly given Cole a chance to...” Nanci choked on her wine. “Hold on. Back up! What did you just say?”

Kelsie turned to her, leaning back against the railing. “I said I never felt the−”

“Not that part,” her friend said, cutting her off. “The last part.”

She had to think for a moment of what it was she’d said. Then it sank in. Granted she’d thought about her feelings for Cole more than once since running out on him, but having spoken the words aloud made them real. “I’m in love with Cole,” she said, feeling a bit dazed. She looked to her friend. “I love him. Oh, shit.”

“Oh shit? Love is supposed to be a good thing. Not an ‘oh shit’ thing.”

When it was something as huge as this was it was definitely an ‘oh, shit’ moment. “What have I done?”

“I can tell you what you didn’t do. And that’s tell Cole you were in love with him when he opened up to you about his feelings? Am I right?”

“I didn’t really know how deep my feelings were for him until...” She groaned. “I’m in love with Cole.”

“This is sooo great!” Nanci exclaimed. “I thought I’d never hear you say those words. And it couldn’t be with a better guy. Cole’s perfect for you. And patient. A huge requirement for a guy you’re going to spend the rest of your life with. Just remember when we go to pick out bridesmaid dresses that I look like hell in blues and yellows. Any other color─”

“Nanci,” she groaned, interrupting her friend’s animated rambling.

“What?”

“Don’t get too excited. For all I know it might be too late for hope for a future with Cole. All things considered.” She just prayed that it wasn’t.

“You are kidding me, right?”

Kelsie shook her head. “I wouldn’t blame him if he never wanted to see me again.”

“The man’s been doing everything he can to find you. Calling me. Calling your mother, who you really should let know you’re okay.”

“I can’t,” Kelsie said with a worried frown. “Not yet. She’ll ask too many questions. Ones I might not even have answers for yet.”

“Tell you what,” Nanci said. “How about I call and tell her I’ve heard from you, no details whatsoever. I’ll simply tell her you promise to call her when you get home tomorrow.”

“I’m not sure I’m ready to go home yet.” With the realization that she was in love with Cole, her life as she’d been determined to keep it - man-free, had changed. Her biggest fear now was that she’d pushed him too far this time. She couldn’t really blame him if he chose not to give her another chance.

“Do you love him?”

Tear of happiness filled her eyes. “Yes.”

Nanci smiled. “Then go home tomorrow and get your man.”

Kelsie walked into her apartment, feeling lighter emotionally than she had in years. It was a beautiful, sunny morning and she was in love with a man who knew what trust and commitment meant. And he loved her back. Or at least he had before she’d left. Now it was up to her to make things right.

She tossed her purse onto the kitchen counter and walked over to her answering machine where the message light was blinking rapidly.

Pressing play, she listened to her messages one by one. Most of them were from Cole, calling to make sure she was all right and asking her to call him at the station when she had time. Just hearing his voice made her stomach flutter with excitement.

As expected, several of them were from her mother demanding Kelsie call her as soon as she got home. There were two from Nanci that had been left before her friend had come to the island to help her sort through things.

The last call, however, came as a surprise. A really big one. It was from an editor at one of the publishing houses she’d sent OPERATION: DATE ESCAPE to. She loved the whole date escape guide concept and wanted to make an offer on the book.

Heart racing, she played that last message over again, certain she hadn’t heard it right. Truth was she never expected anything to come of it.

Stunned by the news, sank down onto one of the kitchen chairs. Her bad date book was actually going to be published. Who would’ve ever thought that would happen? Certainly, not her.

“This is what you wanted,” she reminded herself, her stomach in knots. To help all those women out there who find themselves stuck on a date from hell. It was why she’d suffered through all those awful blind dates her mother, and sometimes Nanci, had set her up on after her divorce.

Every miserable moment she’d spent out with men who were not even close to being her ‘type’ had been done in the name of research. And it had all paid off. She was actually going to have a book out there that people would pay money for. How unreal was that?

Kelsie sighed. She’d just gotten an offer on her book. She should be more excited by the unexpected news. But for the first time since she’d started writing her bad date survival guidebook there was something more important in her life. Make that someone. Cole.