âYour teaâs made and I found the crackers. And I must say that if this is your normal dietââ
âItâs not,â Jenna said shortly. âIt just happens to be brought on by the fact that Iâm expecting your baby.â
âAh, yes, the baby. Thatâs one of the things I wanted to talk about,â Edmund said. âThe way I see things, your family and friends are going to have a feeding frenzy over your latest crisis. Theyâll be merciless in doling out the pity and advice.â
âIf this is supposed to make me feel better, itâs not working. Iâve already come to the same conclusion, and Iâd hardly call it comforting.â Jenna replied.
âSo head them off at the pass. Show up with a husband.â
âIn case you hadnât noticed,â she said tartly, âtheyâre a vanishing species where Iâm concerned. How do you propose I find one?â
âYouâve already got your man. Iâm volunteering for the job.â
EDMUND noticed her the minute she came into the dining room, not because she was beautiful, which she was, but because, in a roomful of people, she was so profoundly alone.
He was alone, too, and wallowing in it. Not so with her. The eyes staring at the menu were blank, the face wiped clean of expression. For some reason he couldnât begin to fathom, sheâd shut down inside so completely that if the room had burst into flames, she probably wouldnât have noticed.
Not your concern, buddy, he told himself, gesturing for his bill. Youâve got enough problems of your own, without taking on a perfect strangerâs.
Still, he lingered at his table, watching her; noting the absence of rings on her fingers, the formal, upswept hairdo incongruously at odds with her sweater and slacks. When she spoke to the waiter, she cupped her chin in one hand to support her mouth because that was the only way she could control its trembling. Oh yeah, something was definitely wrong!
Her server knew it, too. He didnât make eye contact. Didnât hover obsequiously, reciting the chefâs special creations of the day. He wanted away from her quickly, before whatever ailed her infected him, too. Her barely contained misery was an affront. Romantic ambience were key words when it came to describing The Inn. Tragic heroines, however lovely, had no place there.
Just briefly she looked up, a glance so wary and fearful that when their gazes locked, Edmund caught himself smiling at her and shrugging conspiratorially. Hang in there, sweet pea! Donât let him spook you. Youâve got as much right to be here as anyone.
She glared back at him and stiffened her already poker-straight spine.
He felt his face crack into a grin he couldnât control. Damn, but he admired her spirit! Faced with personal crises, the women heâd dated over the last couple of year either fled to the therapistâs couch or a weekend at one of those fat farms where, for the price of a mere few thousand dollars, their stress and cellulite could be flushed away in one fell swoop.
But not this woman. She was the kind whoâd go down fightingâor so he thought, until her drink arrived. Scotch, if he was any judge, and a double, to boot. Confronted by it, she sort of reared back in her seat and regarded the liquor suspiciously. Finally, after debating matters for a full thirty seconds or more, she picked up the glass. Her expression reminded him of a child faced with a dose of foul-tasting but good-for-you medicine, and he pretty well guessed what was coming next.
Willing her to look his way again, he shook his head. Donât do it, lady! Itâs not going to solve a thing!
Whatever mental powers he possessed failed him though, because she clearly didnât get the message. Raising the glass, she tossed back half the contents in a single gulp.
Clearly, from the way she gagged and choked, she and whiskey werenât on familiar terms, and the effect was immediate, devastating and irreparable. The heat of the liquor burning down her throat chewed away the icy calm in which sheâd encased herself, and what started as a booze-induced sting to her eyes rapidly dissolved into silent, body-wrenching sobs.
She gulped, dipped her head to try to hide her face, struggled to draw a breath. But once started, there was no stopping the flood and the tears kept coming. Caught in the rays of the westerly sun, they splashed off the end of her nose and dribbled down her sweater like crystal beads come unstrung.