A quick glance at the clock told her it was close to three that afternoon. She picked up her desk phone’s receiver. “Hey, Karen? Any chance of a cappuccino before I leave for the next showing?” She’d taken to handling as many of the showings as possible in person. There was no time to lose, and she’d given her team plenty of opportunities to prove themselves. It wasn’t that they hadn’t done a decent job, it just hadn’t been fast enough. Not everyone could close the way she could. It’s why the listing was in her name.
“It’s already here,” Karen said. “I sent Billy ten minutes ago.”
“This is why we make a good team.”
“About that raise?”
Devyn laughed. “On my to-do list. Building sold first. Karen’s raise next.”
“Speaking of selling the building, Carrington’s, the department store, is looking for a unit, preferably on a high floor, for an executive who is relocating to open up a downtown store here in Philly. Their agent called this morning.”
“Then I have the unit for them. A penthouse, in fact. Set up a showing? I’ll handle it myself.”
“Consider it done.”
Devyn replaced the receiver and inhaled as she looked over the pile of contracts. If nothing else, they’d kept her mind busy and off other topics. Just the way that limiting her time in bed kept her from dwelling on how empty it felt. She gave her temples a rub to free her head of the image of Elizabeth’s eyes gazing into hers from one pillow over. What had she done to herself? She shook her head.
“Not doing this,” she muttered, and took a trip across the room, hoping the movement would knock her out of that mode.
The trip home to Dreamer’s Bay seemed so far away now, yet it had left an indelible mark. She’d felt bad about not calling Elizabeth when she got herself settled in. She couldn’t. Too dangerous. Too terrifying. Elizabeth had become incredibly important to her in just the span of one season on the calendar. But she hadn’t called, because if she had, she’d crumble. She’d lose her focus, her momentum, herself all over again. She couldn’t very well leave one foot in Dreamer’s Bay if she planned to fully reestablish herself into her old life, which was where she belonged. She had to be realistic about all of this. Once the building was sold, she could relax. Maybe she’d call then.
For now, it was full steam ahead.
* * *
Elizabeth had waited patiently. The days since Devyn left had crept by one at a time. They were up to six. She hadn’t expected to go six whole days without hearing from Devyn. She’d left the ball in her court, but that had proven not only disastrous but telling. Maybe Devyn didn’t miss Elizabeth as much as she missed Devyn. No. That didn’t seem possible. There had to be another explanation for Devyn not calling, and maybe it was time to test the waters. The thought had her more nervous than she would have anticipated. This was just Devyn, after all. Yet at the same time, this was Devyn. The stakes were high.
It was now or never. Why hadn’t she had a beer first?
She picked up her phone, sucked in a deep breath, and placed the call. The line rang once. Elizabeth’s heart thudded. Twice. She glanced up at the ceiling, forcing a smile so that her voice sounded chipper, unaffected when Devyn answered. A third ring. She swallowed. A fourth and voicemail. Here went nothing.
“Hey, there. Just calling to see how you’re doing.” A pause. “I haven’t heard from you, so I’m guessing you’re pretty busy with work. At least I hope that’s the reason. Okay. Well…” Another pause. “Give me a call if you get a chance. I miss you.”
She clicked off the call and lowered the phone.
Hollow. That was how she felt, and very, very small. She scratched her dog’s ears. When Scout looked up at her with such love in her eyes, she crumbled a little. “She’ll probably call,” she told Scout. “I think she will.”
* * *
It was after midnight when Devyn, bleary eyed and exhausted, slipped out of her heels as she arrived back home at her apartment. She shrugged out of her suit jacket and dropped it over the back of her couch. Sheldon had the place in pristine condition and had left her a note on the counter that said there was Chinese take-out in the fridge for heating up, should she be hungry. She was and she wasn’t. There was a voicemail waiting for her. It was all she could think about. The third from Elizabeth since she’d left the Bay, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t bring herself to listen to it. The other two had paralyzed her, and she couldn’t take that kind of setback, emotionally. Elizabeth’s ability to yank her right out of the here and now was too powerful to combat, and Devyn needed to feel whole again. Listening to that message was a bad idea.
As she heated the cardboard container of chicken fried rice, did her overexhausted brain wonder what Elizabeth was doing? Yes. Did she picture her in her home, reading a book, or tugging on a toy with Scout? Sigh. Absolutely. The quieter moments, when she found herself on her own, were the hardest. She took out her phone and stared at the voicemail notification, her thumb hovering over the Play button. She couldn’t do it. Didn’t have the emotional strength.
Devyn was a coward, and hated herself for it.
* * *
The annual Summer Solstice Dine and Dance was off to a boisterous start at the Bay’s Convention Center. Round tables in white linens were topped with floating candles with adorable yellow napkins at each place setting. Plates had gone for a hundred dollars a pop, and Elizabeth was happy to see that attendance was even larger than last year. The community clinic could use the extra supplies, and they were going to get them.
She’d been assigned the silent auction portion of the fund-raiser and was pleased with the bountiful donations she’d managed to snag from local businesses. Even Thalia had donated a free champagne facial for two. Elizabeth walked the space, smiling at those she passed, even Cricket and Heather, two of her least favorite people.
“Hi, guys,” she said, and kept walking.
“Elizabeth?” She turned back at the sound of Heather’s voice. She hadn’t walked fast enough, apparently. “I haven’t seen Devyn around.” She made a big show of looking around the room. “Is it true she left?”
Elizabeth smiled. “She’s gone back to Philly. Her job.”
“Oh,” Cricket said sympathetically.
Elizabeth wanted to return it. She didn’t want Cricket’s pity.
“She didn’t really have much of a choice, or she’d lose a very important client.” Elizabeth nodded several times, feeling the need to say more. “Which would lead to other lost clients. It’s a whole…thing.”
Heather nodded. Cricket nodded. They exchanged a look that said “sure.”
Elizabeth didn’t appreciate that look. It hurt her feelings. No, more than that. In fact, it irked her. That’s right. Irked.
“Hey, guys? What does that mean?” she asked, forcing a follow-up smile. She should have let it go, and the Elizabeth of any other time period in her life would have. This one, heartbroken, missing Devyn, and still licking her wounds, needed an explanation. “Why did you look at each other like that? You did it very quickly. But I saw it.”
Cricket sent her another poor-thing smile. “I’m sure she did have to get back. If it weren’t for her job, she’d be here. With you.”
“Oh.” A pause. “I see. You think she just told me that, to what, get away from me without any drama? She wouldn’t have had to lie.” But it was starting to seem like she had. Elizabeth didn’t share that part.
“No,” Heather said, and then passed Cricket a look again. She eased her too-long blond hair behind her ear. “Of course not. We would never assume.”
“There,” Elizabeth said. “You did it again. See? Why do people have to do that?” She was off her own self-imposed leash now and could feel herself let go. “Can’t we just support one another without judgmental glances? I think that might be a nice thing.”
Cricket squinted and touched Elizabeth’s forearm. “I feel like you’re having a hard night.”
“Well, yea
h. Objectively. But that’s not why you should be nice to people. You just should, that’s why.”
“Everything okay over here?” She turned at the sound of a friendly voice and exhaled slowly at the sight of Jill moving toward them with her cane in one hand and Charlie not far behind.
“We’re not sure,” Heather said in an overly delicate voice. “We’ll let you two talk. Seems like maybe there are some unresolved feelings at play.”
Elizabeth gasped audibly as Heather and Cricket turned and walked away in unison, almost the way the cheerleading squad would exit the field, walking in step.
“Hey, you all right?” Jill asked quietly.
Elizabeth nodded. “Just don’t understand why people have to be mean. It makes no sense to me.”
Jill gave a head shake and rolled eyes combo. “They used to stay the night at our place growing up, and it was all I could do to stand them for one night. Those girls would spend the whole time trying to one-up each other while wearing green face masks and watching America’s Next Top Model. It was awful.”
That made Elizabeth smile, which helped. So did seeing Jill, who was such a kind soul. “How have you been?”
“Started back at school this week. The first day took a lot out of me, but I’m getting into the swing of things again. The kids have been so gentle and take such great care of me.”
“You have a good group. And everything else?” Do not ask. Do not ask. Do not ask.
Jill softened. “You mean Devyn. Well, we talked last night. Sounds like she’s burning the midnight oil to make the sellout happen. They’re getting close.”
Elizabeth nodded enthusiastically. “Very cool. I’m so glad to hear that.” She wasn’t glad to hear it. It crushed her. She’d not heard from Devyn. Not once, and she’d left a handful of hopeful, pathetic messages. Yet she was calling her sister. The message was clear. Confirmed. Devyn was done with her, and she was not only heartbroken but horribly embarrassed for having believed… She couldn’t finish the thought. Everything inside her crumbled.
“She asked how you were,” Jill said gently. Elizabeth nodded again, not really finding her voice very strong in the moment but trying her best to appear upbeat. She wondered how that was going. “Look, Liz,” Jill stared off to the side, as if to zero in on the right words, “I don’t know what she’s told you, but you made an impact on my little sister. Like no one has before.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not so sure about that myself,” she admitted. It was an understatement.
Jill squeezed her hand and caught her eye. “I’m sorry. But maybe, give her time? She’s new to this whole vulnerability thing.”
She nodded and heard the words but couldn’t hang on to them. Devyn had gone off the grid. As much as she had hoped for a different outcome to all of this, the writing was on the wall. They’d had their fun and now it was over. Elizabeth just had to figure out how to go back to being the person she was before. It actually didn’t seem possible.
She looked down at her green off-the-shoulder gown, and at the people scurrying around the silent auction table. She’d keep herself busy, go through the motions, until eventually the pieces of her heart came together again. She’d forget Devyn Winters had ever set foot in Dreamer’s Bay. Picking up her skirt, she headed over to the auction table.
Life had to go on. She’d make sure of it.
* * *
Seven exhausted faces looked back at Devyn from around the conference room table. She didn’t blame her team for their fatigue, but this was the home stretch. They had a huge event coming up that could take this thing home for them and allow Devyn to walk away victorious, on to more projects with fewer complicating factors. She’d been back for a little over three weeks now and was beginning to find her stride.
“Sixteen units remain,” she told them. “One of them is a penthouse.”
“Seventeen,” Donna said with a wince. “The funds from the all-cash offer on 14F fell through. They just called.”
Devyn closed her eyes briefly but didn’t flinch. “Seventeen units. Doesn’t matter. We can handle this.”
Her team nodded. They were prepped for a lavish cocktail hour in the very penthouse they needed to sell, and no detail could go unattended to.
“Ashley, you’ll be there at six to let the caterers in?”
“I will.”
“Sven, did you make sure the Ketterman Group will be in attendance? I hear they have several buyers up our alley.”
He nodded. “Talked with them this morning, and they’re excited to see the unit.”
“Perfect.” With the details in place she could relax and prep her notes for the event. She would make a brief speech and then spend the evening schmoozing and giving tours. If all went well, their inventory should cut itself in half within the next forty-eight hours.
Once the meeting wrapped up, she turned to Karen. “Did my sister call back?”
Karen winced. “Not yet.”
“I’ve left her two messages. It’s weird.”
“Want me to try her again for you?”
Devyn eased her attaché onto her aching shoulder. “Please.”
As her car service drove her to Twenty-Four Walker, she ruminated on her last conversation with Jill two nights prior when she’d been on a high from the Summer Solstice fund-raiser.
“You should have seen the ballroom,” she’d said excitedly. “Decorated to the hilt with yellow and orange fabric drapes schwooping from the ceiling.”
“Schwooping, huh?” Devyn tried to imagine it and not wish too badly that she’d been there herself.
“Yes. The place felt entirely summery. I loved it. They also employed this specialty lighting concept that effected a very specific glow. It looked just like sunshine. You should have seen it.”
“That sounds amazing. I need that for one of my brokers’ opens.”
“You do,” Jill said. “Oh, and Elizabeth wore a beautiful green gown that was not only gorgeous on her but radiated in the midst of all of the summer décor. Have you talked to her recently?”
“I haven’t. I need to.” Devyn closed her eyes tight. She could see Elizabeth just as Jill described. She’d kept her as far from her mind as she could, but the second she let the tiniest thought invade, she felt the squeezing in her chest. It was near painful how much she missed her. She’d still not called her back and hated herself for it, but the fear of backsliding into an emotional shambles had her walls firmly in place. As the days crept by, she wondered how she’d ever explain herself now. Hearing Elizabeth’s name alone brought it all rushing back in a breathtaking gut punch.
“Shall I drop you in front of the building?” her driver asked. “Or would you prefer the side entrance?”
“The front would be great.”
She checked her phone. No return call from Jill, which was so unlike her. She shrugged it aside and forced herself to brighten as she exited the car. No telling who could be watching, and it was important that she walk with confidence and grace, no matter how much turmoil shifted inside her, no matter how much she dreamed of a woman in a green dress, radiating.
* * *
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
Devyn swatted the bee away from her face, turned to Elizabeth, and laughed. “Man. I think he’s got a thing for me.”
Elizabeth grinned and raised an eyebrow. “You know what? I don’t blame him at all.” She leaned in for a kiss just in time for: Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Devyn bolted upright, disoriented. She blinked and looked around, running a hand through her damp hair. She was sweating. She was also in her bedroom. Sunlight streamed in from the picture window. She closed her eyes and swallowed, her throat dry. That’s right. She’d taken a long morning after the party to give herself a chance to catch up on sleep. She glanced at her nightstand where the phone continued to buzz.
“Yes?” she said, without bothering with the readout.
“Devyn. It’s Charlie.”
She searched her brain for which of the brokers had been named Charlie. “
How are you, Charlie?” she said, already on and in professional mode. “What can I do for you?”
“I’m calling about Jill.”
Devyn went still, and her brain stuttered, trying to catch up. If nothing else, the mention of her sister’s name woke her up entirely. This was Charlie Charlie. Liquor Store Charlie. “Is everything okay? Jill hasn’t returned my calls.”
“That’s not good.” He paused on the line. “I was calling to see if she was in Philadelphia with you. Haven’t seen her in a couple days.”
She blinked. “No. She’s not.”
“Okay.” Another pause. “Just checking. Let me know if you hear from her. I’m sure she’s fine.” Devyn wasn’t. What if she’d fallen somewhere with her cane and needed help? What if she’d run off the road a second time? It could happen. Lightning had been known to strike the same person twice, after all. She didn’t even hesitate, threw off the covers in a panic and looked for her bag. Not again. No, no, no.
Chapter Twenty-One
Devyn didn’t notice the scenery this time. She didn’t allow nostalgia to weave its way to her that afternoon. She was all action and adrenaline. Maybe suffering from PTSD from that last time she’d almost lost Jill, Devyn drove faster than she should have, hell-bent on a mission.
She’d called Charlie’s phone again, but he’d not picked up. Jill’s voicemail box was full. Panicked, she’d even tried Elizabeth but clicked off the call the second it went to voicemail. She just had to get there, plain and simple.
When she pulled in front of Jill’s house nearly three hours after leaving Philadelphia, it was dusk. She exited her car and stared in confusion at the house. It wasn’t dark and closed up the way it had been last time. No, in contrast, a warm glow of light emanated and she could glimpse Jill’s form in the kitchen moving about. Relief arrived like air to the suffocating. She placed a hand on her chest and waited for her heart rate to slow. Once it did, confusion layered in.
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