LITMIR.BIZ

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over the house and grounds. Show-off.”

      “I wish he hadn’t done that,” Lacey said in a rough whisper. Then, horror and embarrassment in her eyes, she looked across the table at Willa. “I’m sorry. I mean—”

      Lorna put a hand on her sister’s arm, then glanced at Willa. “It’s the plane—it makes her think of Neil.”

      Willa immediately felt like sinking into the polished wooden floor. “Oh, Lacey. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories—”

      “No,” Lacey replied, her blue eyes bright. “I don’t have any bad memories. Neil used to take me up in that plane, just the way Lucas did you today. I loved it, loved being with him. Then today, when I heard the roar, saw the plane coming across the sky, for a minute—” She stopped, shook her head. “It was silly of me, to think that Neil—”

      “Oh, I am sorry,” Willa said again, wishing she’d never left her room. “It must be hard, seeing the plane, remembering all the good times you had with your husband.”

      Lacey barely lifted her chin. “It is. That vintage plane was my husband’s pride and joy. But I’m okay, really. Neil left the plane to me, and I…I wanted Lucas to have it. So I should be used to seeing it up in the clouds by now.”

      Willa didn’t know how to respond. She’d never dealt with such grief. “It is a beautiful plane,” she said. “And Lucas keeps it in tip-top shape.”

      “He’d better,” Lacey replied, laughing to hide the tears misting her eyes. “Now, I’d better get back down to the house. I’ve got so much work to do at the shop. I’ll probably be working into the wee hours tonight.”

      “I’d love to stop by and see some of your antiques,” Willa said, glad to be off the subject of Lacey’s late husband. “I understand you have some beautiful pieces.”

      Lacey smiled. “Yes, I’m proud of the shop. But I’ve been busy all summer trying to find pieces to replace some of the furnishings that got damaged in the flood. We were fortunate that only a few inches of water got into the house, but as you’ve seen, the downstairs rooms suffered some water damage. We’ve been working hard to repair it, though.”

      “Lucas explained to me,” Willa said. “It’s a beautiful house, and I’m so glad Lorna invited me to come down and see it. I just hope I didn’t pick a bad time.”

      “Of course not. We’ve had a light summer,” Lorna told her, waving a hand at the restaurant’s few patrons. “Because of the flooding, we’ve only booked guests who return each year. And we’re planning a full shutdown this fall, so we can get things back in proper order for the holidays and the spring season.”

      Willa couldn’t help but admire the two sisters. “You really are a team, all of you—Aunt Hilda, Lucas and you two.”

      “And now Mick, too,” Lorna said, her eyes going as dreamy as she’d accused Willa’s of earlier. “He’s out somewhere with Justin. Those two stay busy these days.”

      “Oh, she’s about to get all sappy on us, and I think we’ve had enough of that for one night,” Lacey said, walking toward the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

      “Good night,” Willa said, watching as the prim blonde left. Then she turned to Lorna. “I hope I didn’t upset her.”

      “It’s all right,” Lorna said, getting up to head to the kitchen. “She and Neil were very much in love, and it’s been hard these last few years. She gets this way every time Lucas takes the plane up. And she refuses to fly in it anymore.”

      “I can’t imagine that kind of pain,” Willa said, a deep, nagging worry grabbing her in the stomach. “I’ve never known that kind of love. It must be so special.”

      “It is,” Lorna said, holding out her hand to admire her wedding band. “I never thought I could find anyone to love, but God sent Mick, and I thank Him every day for my life with my new husband.” Then she glanced over Willa’s head to the front door. “Speaking of love and marriage, my handsome brother just walked in the door. And he’s headed for your table.” With that, she grinned, waved to Lucas, then pivoted toward the kitchen.

      Love and marriage. Willa certainly hadn’t given much thought to either of those subjects. There had been no room for such notions in her carefully planned, carefully arranged career. But she wouldn’t be young and pretty forever. Would she wind up all alone, old and lonely?

      If she lived to grow old at all?

      The thought, coupled with Lacey’s obvious grief over losing her husband, only added to Willa’s concerns. Which was exactly why she couldn’t get involved with Lucas Dorsette, no matter how much his kisses affected her. Better to stay uninvolved and alone than to risk that kind of pain. Especially when her future was so uncertain.

      She looked uncertain, sitting alone in the candlelight. She looked fragile, like a delicate blossom. She looked lovely in her shimmering blue sleeveless sheath, like a summer night full of stars.

      Get a grip, Lucas. You’re a bad poet on a good day and even worse when your poor heart is filled with newfound love.

      Was that what he’d been feeling since he’d kissed Willa? Was that this thing that had jolted throughout his body and kept him humming like a taut guitar string all day long? Was that why he’d stolen two of Aunt Hilda’s most beautiful salmon and pink-tinged roses to hand to the woman he planned to have dinner with and maybe spend the rest of his life with?

      Now, that was surely something he’d never considered with any other woman.

      He knew the odds weren’t in his favor. First of all, she was exactly his type—blond and leggy. That usually meant he’d lose interest soon enough. Second, he did have a tendency to fall and fall hard for a pretty face. And that meant this wouldn’t last too long—they never did. And last but certainly not least, she couldn’t stay here forever. She’d be gone soon, back to that world that seemed so far out of his reach. Back to that world of glamour and fame, a world he didn’t dare compete with.

      And yet, he dared walk across the almost empty restaurant to hand her the two rose blossoms with a knightly flourish.

      “Lucas,” she said on a breath of greeting as she took the lush flowers. “Roses. How pretty.” She sniffed them, then lifted her brows in suspicion. “And freshly cut, too.”

      “Right out of my aunt’s summer garden,” he said as he unbuttoned his tan linen suit jacket and settled into a chair across from her. “Candlelight becomes you, chère.”

      “Thank you.” She pointed toward his suit. “You didn’t have to get all dressed up for me.”

      “Oui, I wanted to get all dressed up for you.”

      He also wanted to tell her that she was the first. The first to see his secret garden. The first he’d invited to go up in the Piper with him. The first woman to make his heart feel both heavy and light at the same time.

      In that regard, she had all the others beat.

      But unlike the others, she seemed as uncertain as he felt. The kiss that had bonded them had also caused an awkward, wary distance between them.

      And so they sat there, silent and uncertain, smiling and quiet, until Lorna came out of the kitchen. “Ready to order now?”

      Lucas didn’t take his eyes off Willa. “Whatever the special is, love. Surprise me.”

      Willa didn’t stop looking at him. “I’ll have…oh, I don’t know. Something light.”

      Lorna slapped a hand on the forgotten menus, then picked them up. “Okay, then. Got it. Why don’t you two carry on with whatever you’re doing there. Be back in a few minutes.”

      Lucas waved his annoying sister away, his gaze still centered on the woman across the table. “I enjoyed our plane ride today.”

      “I

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