It Started With A House: Lizzie. Book 1 (The Westport Mysteries) (10 page)

Chapter
Ten

I
was awoken Tuesday morning by my phone ringing. I knew it would be Mum.

“Happy
Birthday, Love!” she yelled. She thought as she was the one who had to endure
the pain and suffering of my birth then it was her right to be the first to
wish me happy birthday.

“Thanks, Mum,”
I mumbled. A sleep-in would’ve been good.

“Now, I know
you’re heading over to Danny today for your make-over, so I’ve left your
present there. Dad and I are going to be a bit busy so I thought that would be
best.” She sounded a bit worried about this, so I quickly reassured her it was
fine.

“Thanks, Mum,
that would be great.” I listened to her story about the Bridge tournament
before hearing my call waiting. A quick look at my phone told me it was Molly.

“Mum, Molly is
trying to call me on the other line, so I’ll have to go.”

After saying
our goodbyes, I spent the next half an hour lying in bed talking to Molly. Danny
had asked her to leave sometime free on Thursday for a surprise and she was
bugging me for some clues. While chatting to Molly, I heard Riley arrive and
let himself in. He closed my bedroom door on his way past. I had to remember to
talk to him about that door again. Even though he’d changed the lock, I still
woke up every morning to an open door.

I’d had particularly
restless night thinking about all of those poor dogs left at the refuge and
about Avis, but mostly about Scott. I was feeling a bit uneasy about tonight,
actually. Yes, I was really excited about seeing a show and a night out in the
city, but Mum wouldn’t be right would she? I really hoped he wouldn’t propose. I
just wasn’t ready to answer. A year ago I would have jumped all over him if
he’d given me an engagement ring, but a lot had changed in the last few months.
After hanging up from Molly, I took the box containing Avis’s engagement ring
out of the drawer next to my bed. It really was extraordinary. Lying there, I
wondered why Avis hadn’t married Will. Was he still alive? Had he married
someone else? Who the hell was he?

So many
questions, so few answers.

I didn’t have
to be at Danny’s until lunchtime so I decided to stay in bed and re-read the
letters looking for any clues we might have missed the first time round.

None of the
letters were dated, so there was no chronological order. Reading them made me
really sad. They were full of pain, heartache and strength. The first ones at
least, were full of hope. Whatever the obstacle, they were determined to jump
it. The last letter was different though.

My Darling Avis

I’m sorry. I cannot do this anymore. I love
you too much to see the pain I cause you. Of course my heart wishes things were
different. That life had given us a different path. But I realize now this was
not to be. I see the pain our choices have left you and it breaks my heart. I
have to end this, before it destroys us both.

I love you enough to let you go.

I pray life will be kind to you and you have
all you deserve.

With all the love in my heart, I’m saying
goodbye.

Will

The tears were
running freely down my face. I couldn’t imagine what all-consuming love felt
like. I’d never experienced it— especially not with Scott. Does everybody
get a chance at that kind of love? And if so, why did fate not allow them to be
together? It broke my heart to think the universe showed them their soul-mates
only to take the chance away again. Fate really did play cruel jokes on us at
times.

With my puffy
eyes and soggy tissues, I crept over to the bedroom door and snuck into the
bathroom. That way I wouldn’t accidently run into Riley and be humiliated once
again when he saw what I looked like in the morning.

The feeling
left with me from the letters did not want to leave. It hung in the air like a
bad smell. Putting my head under the hot water, I tried to drown my mood. It
was my birthday. I should be happy.

After I’d
completed the usual morning routine of shower, hair and makeup, I headed down
to the kitchen, my mood only slightly brighter than before. I stopped in the
doorway as a bouquet of flowers sitting in a vase on the table, caught me by
surprise. The card had my name on it. Opening it I read:

You brighten my day, happy birthday Lizzie.

Riley x

Wow, this man
really knew how to take my breath away. Hugging the card to me I took a closer
look. It wasn’t a huge bouquet but it contained the brightest pink flowers I’d
ever seen. It was so happy looking I couldn’t get the smile off my face.

“I thought I
heard you walking around.” I turned and saw Riley standing at the door looking
a bit sheepish. His eyes smiled even when his lips weren’t.

“Oh my, these are
really lovely. Thank you.”

“It’s not much.
I saw them at the shop this morning when I got the paper and I thought of you.”
He shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal.

Funny, it
didn’t feel like a big deal. It felt like a
huge
deal. There were so many butterflies in my stomach, I thought they must be
having a party.

“What’s
happening with you
today?” I asked, looking
away from him and trying neutralize the electricity seemed to be floating in
the air all of a sudden.

“Busy day
fitting a toilet. Then it’s on to the painting,” he smiled. “The new carpet is
being laid Thursday so you’ll be able to have your office furniture delivered
by Friday.”

“Really? That’s
so good.” Even though I’m one year older, and the day had started on a bit of a
downer, right now the world seemed like a really amazing place.

* * * *

I
spent the next few hours in the salon with Danny and Andrew, and I have to
admit they were true miracle workers. By the time they’d finished, I looked
like a completely different person. My unmanageable curls were now sleek, soft
and sexy. Now, for all of you out there with curly hair, if you’ve ever had it
straightened you will understand the feeling of the swish. If you swish your
head from side to side your hair moves strand by strand, not in a solid mass. For
those lucky members of society who already have this hair, please, count your
blessings. Swishing my head from side to side, I walked to my car and headed
home noticing a storm had started to build.

Of course it
had! I had straight hair and couldn’t get it wet or—like Cinderella—I
would turn into a pumpkin. Let’s hope the storm blows away. Pulling into my
drive, I noticed my neighbor had had their car fixed as it was now parked back
in the same awkward spot. I couldn’t go and speak to them about it today though.
I was worried my hair would get rained on.

Once inside, I
ran to the bathroom and decided to do the smoldering sexy eye thing to match my
now straight, sexy hair. So, it was after about an hour of primping and
preening that I put on my new dress. I’d bought myself an off-white, calf
length gown with shoestring straps that draped across my body to my hip and
then fell on the bias towards the floor. It hugged me where it was supposed to
hug me and fell loose where I needed it. With a quick spray of my favourite
perfume, Dior Jadore, I grabbed my wrap and felt like a million dollars as I
headed down stairs to wait for Scott. I’d noticed over the last hour or so the
storm had built and was now quite black and menacing. Just my luck Scott would
be held up. Riley was standing in the kitchen when I walked in. He turned and
stared for a few moments before clearing his throat.

“Wow…you look…
um… stunning,” he whispered.

“Thank you,” I
smiled. The air thickened and I could feel the electricity bouncing around, but
that could be from the storm. I’m not really sure what was going through his
mind but I could see his breathing get more rapid. He hadn’t taken his eyes off
me since I had walked in. The silence seemed endless as I waited to hear what
he was going to say next.

“I hope Scott
appreciates what he’s got.” His voice was low and his gaze felt very intimate.

All indication of
a smile had vanished as the energy in the room intensified. My pulse quickened
and the butterflies were at it again. Could he really like me? No, of course
not, I was imagining things. Before I could respond though, my phone started
ringing.

Feeling all fluttery and grateful for the
distraction, I quickly turned and picked it up. It was Scott’s office.

“Hello Lizzie, this is Brenda speaking.” Brenda
was Scott’s assistant-slash-secretary. With her short blonde hair, silicone
implants and regular trips to the Botox clinic, she kept herself pretty well
maintained for a woman of her age. Personally, I always thought she resembled a
puffer fish after those treatments, but whatever floats your boat really. Each
to their own.

“Hi Brenda,
what’s up?” I asked feeling a bit irritable and uneasy. I could feel Riley’s
gaze on my back as I walked into the hallway to get a better phone signal.

“Sorry Lizzie,
Scott’s been tied up in a meeting. He’s going to be late and wondered if it was
possible for you to meet him at the restaurant?”

I felt Riley
brush past me as he headed out to his car, never once looking back. The back of
my throat had started to close and my eyes were stinging with tears. I really
had to try and figure out what my emotions were all about.

“Sure Brenda,
whatever suits,” I said quietly. The storm outside had really started to blow. Lightning
flashed across the sky and thunder shook the house. Now I had to drive in this…great.

* * * *

By
the time I got to the restaurant, I was exhausted. The storm had raged the
whole way, with lightening striking around me, thunder crashing and rain
pelting my little car. I felt very relieved to hand the keys to the attendant
in the valet parking at the restaurant and was looking forward to sitting down
with Scott.

This was the
In
place to be seen at the moment and I
have to admit it was very nice, if a bit flashy. Personally, I preferred
somewhere a bit quieter and more intimate, but I appreciated the effort he put
into tonight. Walking up to the front desk, I announced who I was and was told
that Scott had not arrived yet but I was welcome to wait in the bar. Crap, I
really hated waiting in the bar on my own. You always got approached by single
men on the prowl looking for easy prey. Never mind, nothing I could do about it
now, so I walked in and found a quiet table in the corner.

The crowd was
mostly young professionals networking. The accounting firm I worked for was
really upmarket, with very high profile clients, so I should really feel at
home here and be networking myself, but it just wasn’t my scene.

The waiter
approached and I ordered a diet coke. A drink would have been quite nice. I was
feeling a bit worked up and anxious after my drive in, but I remembered I had
to drive home again. The five minutes I’d spent in the kitchen with Riley had
me a bit confused, but that was something I’d have to analyze when I had more
time. I sent Scott a text letting him know I was waiting and then sat back and crowd-watched
until he arrived. Thankfully, only one sad soul approached me, eyes locked on
my cleavage and offered to buy me a drink. When I politely refused, he actually
asked me if I was only into women. I mean, he obviously thought the only way a
girl would turn him down was if she was a lesbian! I told him, that no, I just
wasn’t into him. With this, he left me alone. Thank God Scott arrived not long
after.

“Sorry I’m
late, Elizabeth,” he said placing a kiss on my cheek. “I’m sure you can
appreciate I had to finish my meeting. I couldn’t keep a client waiting.” No,
only his girlfriend. On her birthday.

“That’s okay. I
understand.” Of course I didn’t bloody understand but what was I supposed to
say?

“What are you
drinking?” he asked as he signaled the waiter to order me another. Telling him
it was just a soft drink, he responded, “Of course, you’re driving aren’t you? You
had better stick with the coke so you’ll be okay to drive home tonight. I know
you’re not much of a drinker,” he laughed.

Well, I guess I
wasn’t staying at his place then.

Scott had me
pretty much up-to-date on the comings and goings at the office in no time. It
didn’t sound like I was missing much. He always told me the boring stuff about
which client was doing what and never the interesting stuff like who was doing
who. Hey, bookkeeping was really boring. I at least needed the office gossip to
keep me going. After receiving a very dirty look from Scott for asking this
very question, we moved to the dining room and ordered our meal. I ordered the
chicken salad as I remembered I was supposed to be losing some weight, and
Scott ordered the steak. I figured I could sneak in a dessert seeing how it was
my birthday and had my eye on the tiramisu when the waitress came to take our
order. I watched as Scott looked at her, his eyes starting on her face and then
slowly working their way down the length of her body and then all the way back
up again, lingering longingly on her legs. He did this quite quickly and if I
hadn’t have been watching his face, I would have missed it altogether. I didn’t
miss the look of admiration in his eyes.