Until I Found You (28 page)

“True.”

“Just not everything.”

Leona chuckled softly. “Sometimes I think God lets us handle the small things just like we let children choose between chocolate and vanilla ice cream. But the big stuff is all His. Children are born or not. Couples split up. Careers start
and end. We become old and ill; we fall and get hurt. And, sadly, people die. The list goes on and on. And no matter how hard we try, we can’t control any of it.”

“But we control some of it,” Kate argued. “For instance, healthy living reduces the risk of heart disease.”

“I suppose,” Leona said. “But when all is said and done, the biggest pieces of this life are beyond our understanding. In the end, we’re left with a choice. We can think life is a string of random events, or we can believe God has a plan for our lives. That’s the lesson of the journal.”

“I can see it in your life but not in mine. You talk about trusting God, but what does faith
look
like?”

“It looks like this—” Leona swept her arm to indicate the sky and the trees, Mount Abel, and the grass on the hill. “Faith is what allows us to see the daffodil in an ugly seed, the chick in an egg. We don’t understand how God works, but if we look, we see His handiwork everywhere—even in the mirror. Experience changes us, whether we want it to or not.”

Kate had to agree. She wasn’t the same woman who’d swerved to avoid Condor Number 53. Even that condor had a story to tell. She now had a name—Wistoyo—and she had battled lead poisoning and spent months recovering at the zoo. Kate knew from Nick that Wistoyo was at the launch site and almost ready to return to the wild.

Leona laid a gnarled hand over the journal. “You have a choice to make about working for Eve Landon.”

“I do.” With her shoulders straight, Kate watched a squirrel eating a nut. “I love the work, but it’s hard to juggle the job with a personal life.”

“How does Nick feel about it?”

“He seems okay.”
But only on the outside
. Kate thought about the phone calls when she had babbled about skin cream, then asked Nick about his day. She was sorry his book didn’t
sell, but he assured her he was at peace with it. They talked a lot about the
Clarion
, but he didn’t say much about Eve’s Garden. The few times she had pushed for his opinion, he always said the same thing.
“What I think
doesn’t matter right now. You need to decide for
yourself if the job’s a good fit.”
He still encouraged her, but something was amiss.

A soft hum indicated Leona’s concern. “It’s hard to build a relationship when you’re going in different directions.”

“Yes, but it can be done.” Kate was on firmer ground now. “Eve’s very supportive of her employees when it comes to family.”

“That’s a plus.”

“Definitely,” Kate agreed. “Working for her is a dream come true, but I worry about fitting the pieces together.”

“Which ones?”

“I’m asking a lot of Nick, and Eve can be demanding. She’s used to getting what she wants. I want to do more for the
Clarion
, but Eve always has an idea that can’t wait. Twice I’ve canceled plans with Nick at the last minute.”

“That’s not fair to him.”

“No, it isn’t.” Kate had apologized profusely, and he’d been understanding, but she’d heard a new distance in his voice. “He won’t say it, but I wonder if Eve’s whole philosophy bothers him. She talks all the time about personal power. She says it’s up to each of us to make our own happiness. I don’t know what to think. Sometimes Eve is the most generous person I’ve ever met, and other times she’s just plain selfish.”

Leona flicked a stray leaf off her lap. “It’s complicated, isn’t it? You have to balance what you believe with what Eve believes, and you and Nick need to agree on how to be a couple.”

“That says it.”

“Do you have any idea at all about what he thinks?”

“I just know he’s been too quiet.” Kate’s stomach did a nervous little flip. “We’ve both been working long hours, but things should settle down after tonight.” She glanced at the sun. Instead of enjoying the warmth, she grimaced at the tick of her mental clock. “I better go. I have a lot to do before the party.”

Leona looked up as Kate stood. “I know you’re planning to drive yourself, but maybe you should call Nick. Drive down together.”

“I’d like that, but I can’t.” Tonight her job came first. “We’re planning to spend tomorrow together.” It was April ninth, the official end of his sabbatical, and she wanted to celebrate with him.

Leona didn’t say a thing, but disappointment was evident in her slight frown. “Have a good time, honey. I’ll be thinking of you both.”

T
he gala
was in full swing
when Nick strode through the Eve’s Garden lobby and headed to the ballroom. He maneuvered past clusters of men in tuxes and women in long gowns, scanning the sea of faces for Kate, the only person he truly wanted to see.

Tiny lights twinkled in every nook and cranny, and a jungle of jasmine, jonquils, and plumeria turned the ballroom into a scene out of
Tropical Moon
, one of Eve’s most famous movies. Tonight’s gala was in honor of the expansion of EG Enterprises, and posters of the coming ad campaign adorned the walls. The air pulsed with music from a Caribbean steel drum band, snippets of conversation, and the plink of glasses.

Nick knew this world well. People were elegantly dressed and dripping with money, but they weren’t any different from the people he met writing
CFRM
, or the men who hung out at the Black Dog Lounge on I-5. Or, for that matter, the smiling families at Sam’s church. People were just people—including Eve Landon. When he interviewed her for
California Dreaming
, she’d been surprisingly down-to-earth. On the other hand, he couldn’t agree with her personal philosophy
of self-fulfillment.
“At Eve
’s Garden, we help women to love themselves and rejoice
in their self-ness.”

Nick admired her spirit but not her beliefs. He’d done his share of reveling in his self-ness, and the result had been disastrous. He and Kate needed to talk—really talk—about the future. Was she at Eve’s Garden because she believed God wanted her here, or was she here for the security of being the old Kate?

Nick didn’t know, but he was certain of his decision to stay in the background while Kate searched for answers. He planned to stay in the background tonight, as well, at least until the party ended. After that, he wanted her to himself.

The crowd shifted and he spotted Kate across the room. Dressed in a champagne-colored gown with her shoulders bare and her hair up, she was stunningly beautiful. Knocked off his feet, he admired everything about her as he maneuvered through the crowd.

Kate didn’t see him approach. She had her back to him and her eyes on an ice sculpture of the
Venus de Milo
, an ancient Greek statue that paid tribute to female beauty in the form of an armless woman. When he was a foot away, Kate turned. Her eyes widened at the sight of him, and her smile lit up the room. In a blink they were embracing.

“I’ve missed you,” he whispered in her ear.

“I’ve missed you, too.”

He stole a kiss, then stepped back and skimmed his eyes over the dress a second time. In his mind it shimmered to wedding white, and he imagined proposing to her. Tomorrow was April ninth, the official end of his social sabbatical and ban on big decisions, but he didn’t want to propose just yet. Until they were agreed on Kate’s career and the future, a little more patience was in order. Even so, they planned to spend tomorrow together, and he wanted to take her to the top of Mount Abel.

“You look amazing,” he said to her.

She grinned. “So do you.”

The tuxedo was new, a purchase to please Kate. If she stayed with Eve’s Garden, he’d be wearing it again. Judging by the festive lights and the happy mood of the crowd, tonight’s gala was a feather in her cap.

“How’s it going?” he asked, glancing around.

“Eve’s pleased.” Kate blew out an exaggerated breath. “The caterers did a great job with the Caribbean food. The musicians were only a little late, and no one’s tripped or had a heart attack. I think I can relax.”

“Good. Maybe we can leave early.”

She reached for his hand and squeezed. “I’d like that. You and I haven’t had two minutes alone in weeks. After tonight, I want that to change.”

“So do I.”

They toured the room together, starting with a hello to Roscoe and his wife. Brad and his date joined them, and they chatted and joked until Kate guided him to another cluster of people who were friends of Eve. Kate performed the introductions, adding tags like “So-and-So was in such-and-such a movie.” For him, she said, “This is Nick Sheridan, a good friend of mine.”
Hint, ladies. He’s taken.
Then she’d say, “Nick wrote
California for Real Men
.”

He wasn’t proud of the book, but it no longer embarrassed him. Everyone had a past, and
CFRM
started conversations with the man he was now. Two years ago he couldn’t have known that tonight he’d be in a room full of men and women deeply rooted in the lifestyle he’d left. He understood the people in this place; he loved them, hurt for them—everyone from the man who’d had too much to drink to the no-longer-young woman in a barely-there dress.

The more he and Kate mingled, the more Nick wondered
if God was nudging him to leave Meadows and return to L.A. He loved the little mountain town, but he had to be open to change just as Kate had to be open to leaving Los Angeles.

“Kate!”

They turned and he saw Eve. Dressed in a sleek black gown and pearl choker, she radiated Hollywood glamour. Nick would have admired her elegance, but her eyes shifted to Kate and narrowed in a possessive gleam. Bracing for a kidnap attempt, he murmured into Kate’s ear, “I know you’re working tonight, but I’d like you to myself for a while.”

“Same here,” she answered.

Eve air-kissed them both, then grasped Kate’s hands. “I’m so glad I found you. I was beginning to think you two had run off together.”

Only in Nick’s dreams.

Kate’s mouth pulled into a fixed smile. “We’ve been making the rounds.”

“Good.” Eve squeezed Kate’s hands again, then let go. “There’s someone I want you to meet. Go freshen your lipstick while I entertain Nick.”

“Who am I meeting?”

“A new investor. Go on, darling. Nick and I will be right here.”

Kate paused, then shrugged in a way that jiggled the little purse hanging from her shoulder. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

The lipstick order irked him. It seemed inordinately bossy, even for Eve, and he suspected it was a sign of things to come both tonight and for Kate in general. He’d gladly support Kate and her choices, but playing tug o’ war with Eve turned Kate into a prize instead of a person.

When she was out of earshot, Eve turned to him with a smile as hard and gleaming as the pearls around her neck.
“I sent Kate to the powder room because I wanted a word with you. I love her to pieces, and I’m afraid I’ve taken up too much of her time. After tonight, I’m going to
insist
she stop working weekends.”

The offer seemed caring, but Nick didn’t trust Eve. “I’m sure Kate will enjoy the extra time.”

“And you too, I hope.”

“Of course.”

“She’s brilliant at her job,” Eve said, giving a little shiver. “I’m sorry to interfere with your evening, but sometimes business comes before pleasure. If she’s going to be the new vice president of EG Enterprises—”

“Vice president?” His brows snapped together.

“Oops!” Eve clapped her manicured fingers over her mouth. then flipped back her hand. “I let the cat out of the bag, didn’t I?”

Questions battered Nick’s brain. Eve’s original offer called for a three-month trial as director of marketing. Had Kate decided to work for Eve permanently without talking to him about it? A vice presidency would launch her into the stratosphere of corporate success, maybe mark her as Eve’s successor. Nick wanted Kate to live her life to the fullest, and he encouraged her to do so, but he’d never dreamed she wouldn’t talk to him about the final decision. It was just plain disrespectful, especially when he’d worked so hard to support her career.

Eve’s urgent murmur cut into this thoughts. “Kate doesn’t know what I’m planning. Please don’t say anything.”

Relief washed through him, but a bad taste lingered. “So she hasn’t decided to take the job permanently.”

“Not yet. I was going to make the offer next week. I hope you can keep a secret better than I can!”

Nick deplored secrets—unless they involved engagement
rings or birthday parties. “That’s a problem—not because I can’t keep a secret, but because I won’t. I don’t want any deception with Kate, even for a few days.”

Eve straightened her spine, putting them almost eye to eye because of her high heels. “In that case, I’ll make the offer tonight. You’re a good man, Nick. But you can’t give her what I can.”

“And what’s that?”

Eve swept her arm to indicate the ballroom overflowing with important people and expensive things. “I can give her . . . everything.”

“No. You can’t.” Nick balked at Eve’s arrogance, but before he could say more, a flutter of champagne silk caught his eye. Kate met his gaze and smiled. Nick nodded, then turned back to Eve. “I want some time alone with Kate.”

She laid her hand on his arm, the bloodred polish of her nails glistening in the glow of a chandelier. “You won’t win, Nick. When I want something, I fight for it.”

“So do I,” he said evenly.

Eve slipped into the crowd, disappearing in the sea of made-up faces and glittering gowns. Nick strode toward Kate, grasped her elbow, and steered her out a glass door that led to a garden. Green floodlights tossed shadows in the junipers and ivy, and the air smelled of loamy earth. A trickling fountain made the only sound, a startling shift from the noisy party. The night air held a chill, so Nick draped his jacket over Kate’s bare shoulders.

“What’s going on?” she asked. “Eve wanted me to meet someone.”

“That’s right.” Nick put steel in his voice. “But before she introduces you to Mr. Investor, I have to ask you a question.”

Kate pulled Nick’s jacket tight around her shoulders. If the lingering body heat was an indication, he was smoldering inside. A hard-edged scowl had replaced his relaxed smile, and his eyes were shooting daggers. She felt a little like the woman in a knife-throwing game, pinned to a wall while her trusted partner hurled knives that would hit close to home but not wound her.

Whatever Eve had said, it wasn’t the blessing on their relationship Kate had imagined when she went to the powder room—an obvious ploy so Eve could have a word with Nick. Eve liked to run the show. So did Kate, so she didn’t mind. For that matter, so did Nick, and he’d just wrestled her away from Eve and the gala on a night when she needed to be in charge. Instead of keeping an eye on the waiters, musicians, and especially Eve, she was standing in a dark garden waiting for a knife to slice off her ear.

“Could this wait?” she asked.

“No.”

“But, Nick, I have responsibilities.” She indicated the glass wall of the ballroom. Eve stood on the other side, chatting with the man who was probably the investor. “I can’t just disappear.”

“Eve knows where you are.”

“I should be with her. I should—”

“Kate, stop.”

“But—”

“Stop!”

It wasn’t like Nick to bark orders, and he’d picked a bad time to start. She had a good mind to march back inside, but his tone alarmed her. When Nick wanted something, he fought for it with all his might. A Shetland pony couldn’t outpull a Clydesdale, so she gave up and tossed her purse on a stone bench.

“All right,” she said, clutching the coat to ward off a chill. “What do you want to ask?”

He indicated the ballroom with his hand, palm up, like an emcee awarding a prize. “Why are you here?”

“At the party? It’s my job—”

“Not the party. Why are you working for Eve Landon?”

Urgency tightened his vocal cords. The rasp reminded Kate of herself when she first learned of Leona’s stroke. She’d been worried, afraid, and angry at circumstances she couldn’t control. If Nick felt that way, she sympathized. On the other hand, she wasn’t having a stroke and this conversation needed to be quick.

“I’m here because I like it. It’s who I am, what I do.” She paused, searching his face. “What did Eve say to you?”

“Enough to make me worry.”

“About what?”

“This—” He flung his arm at the ballroom again. “I want you to be sure you’re working for Eve for the right reasons.”

Kate gaped at him. “And
you
know what those are?”