“No, it’s about Sophie. I’m Betsy, this is Alice, and this is Heather. She’s expecting.”
For a moment Carter wondered what she was expecting to happen but then he understood. “Congratulations.” The women just stood there staring at him, as though waiting for him to do something, but he had no idea what it was supposed to be. If this was about Sophie maybe they thought Carter was trying something with her. After all, Dr. Reede hadn’t popped the question yet.
Two days ago Roan had asked Sophie about that. “I’ve only known him a few months,” Sophie said.
Roan put on his professor face. “In this case I think it’s a matter of experience that precludes time. He didn’t ask you and you turned him down, did you?”
“Not that it’s anyone’s business, but no.” Sophie left the room. It was obviously something she didn’t want to talk about.
Carter was sure that half of Edilean—and probably Sophie—knew that the day after Christmas Reede had bought a ring with three diamonds on it. Since his sister owned the shop he hadn’t done it over the counter, but her assistant, Carla, had told everyone of the deal.
But Sophie kept showing up at work with no ring on.
Carter looked at the three women standing in front of the door and couldn’t help putting his hands up, as though for protection. “I’m involved with Kelli and we’re working on a deal with my father. He wants me to return to Texas, but I told him no. I need more time to stand on my own feet before I get eaten up by the Tree-borne machine. Besides, Kelli and I like it here. We’re thinking of opening a branch of the new business here. We’d be giving jobs to the people of Edilean.”
The women were still standing there and looking at him pointedly. The older one, Alice, shifted her weight from one foot to another, but they didn’t speak.
“I take it you’re not concerned about Sophie running off with me,” he said, smiling a bit at his own ego.
“We’re dealing with real love,” Heather said quite seriously. “True love. The kind that lasts forever. Look, we only have forty-five minutes for lunch and if I don’t sit down I’m going to hurl.”
Carter grabbed a chair off a table and set it on the floor. “Please.” As he got down two more chairs he realized he was nearly joyous that the women hadn’t come there to berate him. Ever since he’d arrived in Edilean he’d felt he had to prove himself. After Dr. Reede hit him—and his nose was still a little sore—all of Edilean had found out why and Carter’d had to answer a lot of questions.
“I don’t have any coffee made but the refrigerator’s working,” he said. When the women looked blank, he added, “How about sampling some new pastries Kelli made and telling me what you think? If you can stand them with milk, that is.”
For the first time the women smiled at him, and Carter grabbed a tray as he went to the fridge
.
Minutes later, they were still sitting at the table, three empty pie plates in front of them. The women hadn’t eaten entire pies but most of them. Heather had been nearly insatiable. She’d licked her spoon so hard Carter was afraid the design was going to come off.
“So you want me to find out what’s really going on with Sophie?” he asked.
“Exactly,” Betsy said. “You’re the only one who knows her well enough to talk to her. Her friends, Kim and Jecca, aren’t here, so that leaves you.”
It was on the tip of Carter’s tongue to say that he didn’t know Sophie either. Not really know her. The frightened, overworked young woman he knew back in Texas wasn’t like the Sophie he’d met in Edilean. For all that she’d never run a shop before, she was good at it. A natural organizer.
“Comes from years of managing two jobs and a household of people who thought ‘Let Sophie take care of it’ was a way of life,” she said when he complimented her.
“And you put yourself through college,” Roan added. “That wears out the students.”
But since Christmas things had changed. Sophie’d told them about her new job offer and that in April she’d be leaving to become a full-time sculptor.
“That’s cause for celebration!” Roan said. “Carter, go buy some champagne and make sure it’s cold.”
“No!” Sophie said. “Really. No. It’s a job and I . . . ” She didn’t seem to know what else to say. “We need supplies for tomorrow so I . . . ” She grabbed her handbag and left the shop.
“Be careful what you wish for,” Roan mumbled and went back to clearing out the register.
After that no one mentioned the new job, but they all saw that Sophie wasn’t happy about it. At first they thought it might be because she’d be working with Henry, but Sophie seemed to genuinely like the man.
One afternoon as they were closing up and Sophie was away, they all decided that she was upset because Reede hadn’t asked her to marry him.
Danni spoke up. “Yesterday I had to go to him for the burn on my arm and he looked miserable. Those two are very unhappy people.”
They’d spent the few minutes speculating on the cause of the misery, each person having a different opinion.
“Bad sex,” Danni said. “If the sex isn’t good, no matter how much you love someone, it’s not worth it.”