"Maggie?" He turned in surprise, but for a moment, just
a brief, split second, his eyes seemed pleased. Then it was
IIgone, and she wondered if it had only been her imagination.
"How're you guys doing?" asked Maggie, hoping to
sound cheerful.
"We're doing fine," said Leah casually. "How's it going
with you?"
"Busy," she answered quickly as she walked through the
Idoor now held open by Jed. Their arms brushed and she felt
certain, even through the thickness of her leather coat, that
she had experienced tingles. She wondered if he possibly felt
them as well. "Everything going okay Out at Jed's?" she
asked Leah, unwilling to look into his eyes.
"Yeah. It's so beautiful out there. Jed and Michael are *
leaving for the furniture show in Seattle tomorrow, so he
offered to take me out for dinner tonight to thank me for
holding the shop together while he's gone." She smiled up at
him in undisguised admiration.
Looking for You All My Life213
"Oh, that's right," remembered Maggie. "Michael men-
tioned that last night." With fresh resolve, she turned and
forced herself to look directly into Jed's eyes. "I really hope
you have a successful trip, Jed."
"Thanks, I appreciate it." The corners of his mouth
curved ~ver so slightly. "Are you here by yourself?" he asked
with what seemed concern.
She wondered what he'd say if she answered in the affir-
mative~h, if only she were here by herself! Would he per-
haps momentarily put aside all this back-burner business
and invite her to join them? But she shook her head. "No,
I'm here to meet with Gavin and Clyde." His eyes seemed to
flash ever so slightly at the mention of Gavin's name, so she
quickly added, "It's just a little business meeting. I think
Gavin has some new ideas for the paper. And just getting him
and Clyde together is no small thing." She forced a light
laugh.
"Well, there's Gavin over there." He nodded across the
room, his expression growing stony and cool. "We'll let you
get to it then."
She turned to see Gavin seated at a table in the far corner
of the room. But he was alone! Where in the world was
Clyde? She walked quickly to the table, wondering what Jed
thought of her now. Surely he didn't think she had lied and
that she was meeting Gavin here alone or for anything
besides business. Wouldn't he realize that if she wanted to
meet Gavin alone, she could've easily done it in the privacy
of her own home? "Where's Clyde?" she demanded sharply.
He looked up in surprise. "Evening to you too, Maggie.
He just went to use the phone in the kitchen to call you. We
were beginning to think you'd forgotten all about us."
"Oh." She sat down, slightly relieved. "Sorry I'm late.