He approached the bed again and leaned over to press a kiss to Chloe’s forehead. “I’ll see you in the morning. Have Grace call me if you need anything at all, okay?”
She forced another smile for him. “I will. Thank you, Bryan.”
He studied her for another moment, his expression a bit quizzical. And then he turned back to his friend. “Let’s go, D.C. You can tell me all about your adventures in the car.”
Chloe looked quickly toward Donovan, growing a little panicky at the thought of him walking out that door. She had grown so accustomed to being with him. Their eyes met—and, for only a moment, she thought she saw a similar emotion there, a reluctance to leave her.
And then he turned his head away, speaking to Bryan in a low voice that she couldn’t quite hear as they moved out into the hallway together.
He hadn’t said goodbye, but Chloe heard it, anyway. As far as Donovan was concerned, it was over between them.
Chapter Fourteen
Surrounded by mirrors of every shape and style, Chloe tried not to pay much attention to her reflection. Her short, artfully choppy hairstyle was flattering, but she’d worn the longer bob so long it still startled her occasionally to catch a glimpse of the new cut. It made her seem like a different person than she had been four weeks ago—but then, she was a different person. She’d figured she might as well look it.
Noting that it was ten minutes after closing time, she politely ushered the last browser out of her shop and locked the door behind her. It had been a long, busy day. Good for business, but it had left her tired.
But, then, she was tired a lot these days. She’d found it very difficult to shake the depression that had gripped her since Donovan had walked out of her hospital room.
She had neither seen him nor heard from him since.
Carrying a box of bubble-wrapped pottery candlesticks, Grace entered from the storeroom and crossed to the shelf where they would be displayed. “Did Mrs. Purvis finally leave?”
“Yeah. I sort of herded her out.”
“For someone who spends so much time in here, you would think she’d buy something occasionally.”
“She bought that bag of potpourri last month,” Chloe reminded her ironically.
“Oh, right. We’ve made a whole fifty cents off her.”
“She’s a sweet lady. Just lonely. She likes us, and she loves our mirrors. She just can’t bring herself to spend the money for one.”
Grace muttered something beneath her breath and set a candlestick on the shelf with a thump.
If Chloe had been depressed during the past month, Grace had been more temperamental than usual. Chloe had chalked it up to lingering anxiety; Grace tended to get snappy when she was stressed or worried, and she had been worried sick about Chloe. But now she was beginning to wonder if there was more to it than that. After all, Chloe had been safe for weeks.
Nor should Grace have to fret any longer about the possibility of Chloe entering an amiable marriage of convenience with Bryan. That was over. Chloe had politely informed Bryan only days after she was rescued that she’d given his offer a great deal of thought and had decided to decline. She had assured him that he shouldn’t take the rejection personally; she was very fond of him and thought he would make a wonderful husband and father. Just not with her.
He’d taken the news well,
without any sign of disappointment. Either he’d been prepared for her decision or he’d come to the same conclusion. Assuring her that they would remain friends, he had made a polite exit. He’d called two or three times since to check on her and Grace, but their conversations were growing shorter each time.
She didn’t think she would be seeing either Bryan or Donovan again.
She had not mentioned her feelings for Donovan to Bryan. Hadn’t mentioned Donovan at all, actually, except to politely inquire about his leg, which she had been told was healing satisfactorily. She wouldn’t risk causing any problems between Bryan and Donovan, especially since she didn’t know whether Donovan had even given her a second thought since he’d brought her out of those woods.
She’d thought he would have at least called her.
“So are you going to stand there gazing out the door the rest of the night, or are you going to help me set out this new shipment?”
Grace’s acerbic question brought her attention back to the present. “Sorry. I was distracted.”
“You’re always distracted these days,” Grace muttered.
“And you’re always grumpy,” Chloe retorted.
Rather than snapping back at her, Grace knelt in front of the display shelf in silence for several long moments, and then she looked up at Chloe with a grimace. “I am, aren’t I? I’m sorry.”