A MAN CALLED BLUE (23 page)

"Good for you."

Simone reclaimed her seat at the desk and added. "I resigned from Anjana, Nolan."

"What took you so long?" he said, without a shred of surprise, adding, "What are you going to do?"

"I have some plans. We'll talk when I get back to Seattle."

"Fair enough." He paused. "Now to the important stuff—what happened between you and Blue?"

She considered evading the question, but knew, with Nolan, it wouldn't work. "We started something we couldn't finish."

"Oh, please... I don't believe that. Neither of you are quitters."

A thought came to Simone. "Nolan, you didn't set us up, did you?"

He laughed. "No. I love you both, but not enough to plunge down a flight of stairs. The idea of you two singing a duet didn't occur to me until the painkiller wore off. I suppose Josephine hated him on sight. All that raging testosterone must have made her nervous."

"She has reason to be nervous."

"Maybe she does, but
you
don't. Blue's a good guy. Actually a great guy. A bit out of sorts at the moment, but he'll come around."

"You've seen him?" Her heart skidded.

"Last night, for about an hour. He was in Seattle to see his lawyer. I don't know who's making him more crazy, you or the old guy he's trying to buy his damned island from. I think if his dad's ashes weren't there, he'd tell him to take a hike."

"His father's ashes are there—on Moonlight Island?" Why hadn't he told her? Perhaps he would have, if she'd given him a chance. Simone's heart lurched when she remembered her selfish ultimatum.

"Uh-huh. Blue and his dad used to go there all the time when Blue was growing up, to fish, sometimes camp. Mr. Bludell loved the place, having his ashes scattered there was his last wish."

"I didn't know," she said, her voice trembling. "Blue didn't tell me it was that important to him."

"I'm not surprised. I think Blue still has trouble talking about his dad. He was all he had, except for a distant uncle somewhere. They were tight, you know. Had the kind of relationship every kid dreams of having with a parent. Thomas senior was a special man." Nolan lapsed into silence.

So is his son.
Simone pressed the back of her hand to her mouth and took a calming breath, not daring to speak. Her mind reeled back to Harper, her frantic efforts to own him, to keep him with her. She'd done the same thing with Blue, made the same stupid mistake as a woman that she'd made as an inexperienced girl. For a moment her heart felt as though it would burst from her chest. Her head thrummed from the realization of how idiotic—how totally unfair—she'd been. She'd issued Blue an ultimatum in the same way her mother had issued one to her.

"Simone? You there?"

"Uh-huh."

"Look, I don't mean to poke my nose in, and you know I'm not one to give advice, but—"

"Right."

"—Well, not too often at least, but the thing is, don't let Josephine screw this up for you."

"What did Blue tell you?" It seemed to her she'd done the screwing up on her own. Josephine was just being...Josephine.

"Ten percent more than nothing and I guessed the rest. Your mother is a brilliant and successful woman, but she's also bitter and distrustful. Like you said, maybe she has her reasons. But none of them have to do with you or Blue. You're your mother's daughter, Simone—
not
your mother. There's a big difference."

Simone rubbed at the headache blooming in her forehead. "For someone who doesn't poke his nose in, you're doing your usual fine job, Mr. Smythe. Are you finished?"

"No. I have one more question."

"Hm-m."

"When are you coming home?"

"Soon, Nolan. Very soon. I'll call you when I get there." She hung up, tapped her finger three times on the receiver, and picked it up again. She dialed a number. There were fences to mend and the time to start was now.

It took forever before anyone answered. It was a child's voice. Simone shifted in her chair and tried to loosen her death grip on her pen.

"May I speak to Gabriel Doucet, please. This is his sister calling."

* * *

As she settled her canvas tote more comfortably on her shoulder, Simone walked Front Street to the marina she'd seen from the ferry. It was bigger than she thought, a gigantic grid to which hundreds of boats of all shapes and sizes were moored. Not that she knew anything about boating or boaters, but somehow she would have expected the place to be at least partially empty. It was a shimmery summer day, with a brilliant sun and calm seas.

She pulled the directions Nolan gave her from her pocket and faced the marina. Somewhere in that armada of boats was
Three Wishes
—and Blue. Her heart's rhythm picked up a new beat, part of which was fear. She wasn't sure of her welcome. It was three weeks since he'd left her in London, and true to his word, he'd called—twice. She should have called him, told him she was still in Europe, but she hadn't, couldn't. Not until she'd settled things.

She stepped onto the floats and headed straight to the outer moorage where the bigger boats were secured. He'd be there. She knew that. He was expecting to take Nolan on a tour around Moonlight Island—his island.

What he wasn't expecting was a temporarily unemployed senior executive.

She stopped. There it was.
She
was, Simone corrected, and she was truly beautiful. Sleek and strong like the man who owned her and gleaming silvery-white in the afternoon sun.
Three Wishes.

She started forward, her heart banging so hard against her ribs it muted the squawking gulls. She took one step, then another on the treads leading up to the boat.

There was no sign of Blue. She leaned forward to peek inside the cabin.

"You're supposed to ask permission before boarding," Blue said, coming up behind her.

She turned so quickly, she lost her footing. She teetered once before Blue reached up to steady her, then guide her back down the three steps to stand on the float.

Once there he released his grip and stepped back, looking at her from under narrowed lids. His hair looked lighter than she remembered; courtesy of the sun, she guessed. Longer, too—and his earring was back. Barefoot and wearing jeans, a brilliant blue shirt tucked in loosely at his waist, his face was scarily impassive.

She brushed awkwardly at her white denims before lifting her eyes to truly meet his gaze. "Sorry. I didn't know the protocol." She bent to pick up her abandoned tote and tried to pull her mental resources together, wondering where to start her explanations, her apologies.

"Then I guess I'll have to teach it to you, won't I?"

Her head shot up and their gazes locked. He smiled into her eyes. She tried to smile back, but it wobbled when her eyes started to tear up. "That's it, Blue? No questions?"

He shook his head. "A few, but you answered the most important one by coming here. The rest can wait. I can't." He opened his arms. "Come here, Tiger. I need to hold you. We'll do the postmortem later." His smile deepened to a seductive promise. "Much later."

* * *

There was no breeze. The water, still and silent, mirrored the rough pine and tall evergreens lining the shore of Moonlight Island. On the deck of
Three Wishes,
Simone stood alone watching early shadows fill the mossy aisles between trees. She wrapped her arms around herself and rubbed her upper arms, not to ward off chill, but to embrace her inner fullness. Love spiraled and drifted within her, like a bright new soul finding its place.

"Happy?" Blue came up behind her and tucked his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her head.

She nodded, loath to break the silence, and nestled into him. After a moment, she spoke. "I should have called you. I'm sorry."

He said nothing, tightened his grip.

"I called Gabe." Her heart fluttered, touched by regret. "And I went to see him."

"And?"

"I'm really glad that I did. He lost his wife a few months ago. And he has eight-year-old son, Jacques." She smiled. She'd fallen instantly in love with her nephew and he with her. Her smile faded. She'd missed so much; watching Jacques grow, meeting Gabe's wife. She shook the sad thoughts away. The past was immutable. "It's strange to discover family you never knew you had."

"Must be nice. I like kids." He nuzzled her hair.

"Me too. Especially Jacques."

Blue spoke over her head. "And your brother? What about him?"

Silence.

"After his row with Josephine—those long years ago—it turns out he went to Paris looking for our father."

"Any luck?"

"No. He was too late. He'd died three years before."

"I'm sorry."

Simone nodded. "Me too. I wish I'd known him." She paused before going on. "Gabe
did
write me. Exactly as he'd promised, he'd do. At least a couple of times a month that first year. Josephine intercepted his letters, and a year later, he got a note from her telling him not to contact me again. I hadn't written back, she told him, because I hadn't forgiven him for leaving and never intended to. She told him his letters were a waste of time. He believed her."

Simone shut her eyes, the words cuts in her heart. "I did kick up a fuss when he left, so I guess what she said was believable.

"He wouldn't have contacted me now, if he'd had another option. But his wife had been ill a long time and before she died, Gabe spent most of his time with her. His business suffered. When he wrote to me, he was close to losing it. Did I tell you he's a chef? He owns a wonderful restaurant in Bruges right on Market Square." She turned to face him and locked her hands behind his waist. She was proud of her brother and knew it showed.

"Nice to know there's at least one cook in the Doucet clan."

Blue kissed her forehead. "By that smile on your face, I take it everything's okay between you two?"

"More than okay. I gave him the money he needed." She frowned slightly. "Although Gabe calls it a loan. He was absolutely mulish about paying it back. When he gets the restaurant back on its feet, he plans to sell it and come back to the States. If everything works out, he'll be here next year."

Blue took her face between his hands and gazed down at her. "He'll be here sooner than that—if he wants to see his sister married."

Simone stood on her toes to brush her mouth over his. "Yes, he will, won't he?" she said, unabashedly happy. Blue and Gabe would like each other, of that she was certain, and it would be wonderful to have Gabe and Jacques see her married. "I'll call him tomorrow," she said.

Simone turned to look out over Moonlight Island and again leaned her head back against Blue's chest. He pulled her close. The sun was lower now, sinking into the sea behind Moonlight's westerly tip. A lone pine was silhouetted against the horizon. For a time neither spoke, both content with sunset and silence.

"Tiger?"

"Uh-huh."

"What about Josephine? You haven't mentioned her name since you arrived."

"I haven't, have I?" she countered, playing for more time. What was between her and her mother was so untidy, a jumble of loose threads, frayed and tangled.

She moved out of Blue's arms and braced herself against the boat's rail. Crossing her arms, she looked up at him, searching for a way to begin. He joined her. Hands spread, he gripped the rail and tilted his head to watch her. He waited.

"I saw Jose—Mother in London before I left and again yesterday in Seattle." She tried to grin at him. "She sends her love."

He arched a brow.

"Bad joke?"

"Delaying tactic," he said, looking stern.

"You're right." She exhaled and clasped her hands together. "She's still... disappointed in me. Still cynical about our chances." She paused. "She wants me back at Anjana."

"Is that what you want?" he asked.

"No. Being president of a conglomerate isn't for me. I know that now. And I think she does, too. The good news is she agreed to sell me Beautiful Woods. I'm going back into the furniture business—with Nolan."

"And the bad news?" He studied her.

She pushed away from the rail and walked a couple of steps. "Let's just say, she won't be at our wedding."

He walked toward her and gripped her shoulders. "I'll talk to her."

"No."

He shook a negative. "We can't leave it like this, Simone. Josephine is family. I'll call her tomorrow, arrange a meeting," he said, his tone emphatic. "She's tough, but I can't believe she's so cold she can't be reached."

Simone smiled at the fierceness in Blue's words. "I agree with you, darling, but talking won't do it."

"There must be something we can do," he said.

"There is." She touched his face gently. "We can make each other happy—and then we can make the most beautiful grandchild Josephine Doucet has ever seen."

He pulled her close.
"That
will be a definite pleasure."

She wrapped her arms around him, moved closer to his heart, the soft sure sound of it. She hadn't forgotten the wistfulness in her mother's eyes when she'd told her about Jacques, the softening so quickly masked with a feigned indifference. To Josephine that softening represented weakness, to Simone it was a pathway to her mother's heart. For her and Gabe.