The Love Letter (20 page)

In any case, if David was interested in Juliet, he would have to unravel the problem of her
social life. Sabrina didn’t intend to stick her nose into Meredith’s affairs any more than necessary.

This
resolve to stay disinterested didn’t mean that she didn’t dwell on the possibility of David and Juliet becoming involved. She thought of nothing else while she cleaned the kitchen. Was it wrong to think along these lines? And did it even matter? As unlikely as it might be, if Juliet were to break up with Meredith, there was no guarantee he would turn to Sabrina.

When
she entered the dining room the next morning, David wasn’t there. To her further surprise, he didn’t make an appearance during the entire two hour breakfast service.

Once they had the dining room to themselves, Casey demanded,
“Where’s David?”

“
I don’t know. Maybe he wanted to sleep in.”

“I saw him
in the parking lot by his car earlier this morning. Why would he go back to bed after that?”

“
Again, I don’t know.”

Casey shook her head
in despair. “Didn’t he discuss his plans with you? I thought he came to see you.”

“
He was in the area for his job. He doesn’t owe me any explanations.”

Casey
cleared the tables with practiced speed. “You’re becoming a doormat, Sabrina. It’s not a good thing to be a doormat at twenty-one.”

Sabrina let that go without comment. There wasn’t any
point in trying to explain the unexplainable. She disappeared into the storage room. Carly had mentioned they were getting low on supplies.

As she made a list of things to order, Sabrina had to laugh.
She wasn’t quite the doormat Casey thought – she had no intention of hanging around all day waiting on David to make an appearance. If he didn’t reveal himself soon, she would go to the library, and he could entertain himself.

Just before lunch, David strolled through the front door. Casey was speaking to a young couple about a reservation, so he went into the kitchen.
Finding that room empty, he opened the back door and peered out into the yard.

“Can I help you with something?” Casey asked from behind him.

David turned around quickly. “I was looking for Sabrina.”

“She’s not here.”

Casey’s annoyed tone amused David. His neglect of Sabrina hadn’t gone unnoticed. “Do you know where I can find her?”

“She
had several errands, and then I think she was going to the library.”

“That’s all I needed to know. Thanks.”

When David arrived at the library, Sabrina’s car wasn’t in the parking lot so he found a spot under a shady tree and prepared to wait. She deserved an explanation for his extraordinary behavior no matter how little he wanted to give it.

As he leaned back in his seat, he
reflected on his morning activities. It had only taken a few hours driving around the island to discover where Juliet was staying. The difficult part had been working up the nerve to knock on the door. She had looked flatteringly pleased to see him and just as beautiful as he remembered. He still couldn’t believe she’d accepted his invitation to dinner. Her brother hadn’t been home at the time, and in a way, David wasn’t sorry. He hadn’t been looking forward to explaining his reason for being there.

Lost in his thoughts, he almost missed Sabrina. She
surprised him by using a different entrance. As it was, he was able to follow her inside. When she paused to drop her books into the return box, he came up beside her.

“
Surprised to see me?”

“
Yes, I am. How did you know where to find me?” Sabrina moved toward the staircase.

He fol
lowed her down the steps and into the fiction section. “Casey told me. Did you wonder where I was this morning?”

“Well, yes, but then I decided it wasn’t any of my business.”

“Don’t say it like that, Sabrina. I feel bad enough as it is. My behavior since yesterday afternoon has been so far from usual I don’t know how to explain it to you.”

“You don’t have to explain anything to me, David. Let’s not make this into something it’s not.”

He seemed surprised by this attitude. “You don’t mind that I invited myself here to spend time with you, and then decided to go chasing after another woman?”

“
I might be more upset if I thought you’d planned it. But I know that isn’t the case; it just happened, didn’t it? Life is like that sometimes. Believe me, I know.”

“
You’re not just saying this to make me feel better, right?”

“No, I’m not. I like you as a friend, but that’s it. I’ve been wondering how to tell you.”

He smiled faintly. “And I was worried that I might have hurt your feelings.”

“
Now you don’t have to worry.”

“
Is this going to make things awkward between us? Would you rather I stayed somewhere else?”

“Don’t be silly;
Sea Grape Cottage is the best inn on the island! As for me, I wish you the best in whatever you’re doing.”

He
bent down and kissed her cheek. “Thank you, Sabrina.” With a last smile, he turned and left her.

Sabrina selected her books and returned to the inn.
Her amusement with the situation was mixed with equal parts relief and vexation. Her problem with David appeared to be solved, but it was fortunate that she hadn’t been interested in him. His devotion hadn’t lasted very long.

Casey met her at the door. “Did David find you?” she asked baldly.

“Yes. And before you say anything else, let me explain something. David isn’t interested in me other than a friend. I think, but I’m not sure, that it’s Juliet who has caught his eye.”

“Juliet?
Meredith Copplin’s girlfriend? Well, he might as well go back home. Between the two of them, I know who I would pick to win Juliet’s heart.”

Sabrina had to smile at this. “
Are you so sure Meredith can compete with David?”

“You spent almost three days with the man. Can you honestly tell m
e you prefer David to Meredith? There’s simply no comparison.”

Sabrina
could tell her that and much more. “They’re both very nice men.”

“Nice? Who wants nice?
Give me darkly romantic every time.”

“Are you telling me that John isn’t nice?”

A different light entered Casey’s eyes. “We’re not talking about John.”

“We’re
finished talking about anyone. I just wanted to set the record straight. What are we fixing for tea?”

In another kitchen a short distance away, Juliet was explaining to Meredith how she let herself get picked up by
a stranger walking on the beach.

“I thought you had more sense, Juliet. You don’t even know this guy.”

“I don’t have to know him. I can judge character as well as the next person. Anyway, he says he grew up here.”

Meredith glanced at her in surprise. “What’s his name?”

“David. Let me see, I think it was David Wells.”

Unless Meredith
had lost his mind, and there were two David Wells’ running around, Juliet was about to get involved with the same man Meredith saw kissing Sabrina. Was the poor girl going to be disappointed yet again?

“I don’t remember anyone by that name living here.”

Juliet threw him a wide grin. “Do you know everyone that’s ever lived on this island?”

“No, but I would expect to at least recognize the name.”

“You can grill him with questions when he arrives to pick me up.”

“Where’s he staying?”

“At Sea Grape Cottage.”

Meredith couldn’t believe it. How could
David stay at the same inn with Sabrina when he planned to take Juliet out? What kind of man was he?

“What time is he
picking you up?” he asked curtly.

“
What is this? An inquisition? He’s coming for me at six. And since you appear to be so disturbed by this development, maybe it would be better if you weren’t here.”

Meredith merely laughed at this. “You can forget that.
I definitely want to meet David. I know you’re pretty enough to make a man do impulsive things, but this is ridiculous.”

David arrived a few minutes before six. When he alighted from the car, he saw
someone sitting on the porch. As he got closer, he recognized Meredith as the person who’d helped him pump up his car tire.

“Hello. I’m David Wells. I’m here to pick up Juliet.”

Meredith rose from his seat and stretched out his hand. “I’m Meredith Copplin, Juliet’s brother. I know you, don’t I?”

David shook his hand. “Yes,
we met at the inn down the road. You must know Sabrina and Casey.”

“I
know them well. I stayed there while my house was being renovated. I have to be honest; I got the impression you were involved with Sabrina.”

Da
vid looked as if he resented that comment. “Would I be standing here if I was involved with Sabrina?”

Meredith shrugged. “I can’t say because I don’t know you. B
ut I do know Sabrina is too nice to be treated lightly.”

“You
seem more concerned about Sabrina than you do about your own sister.”

Meredith smiled, but it wasn’t a particularly nice one. “
I wanted to get some clarity on the situation. Come inside; Juliet will be down in a minute. Like most women, she tends to take hours to get ready, but I’m sure you’ll find her worth the wait.”

A
fter David and Juliet departed, Meredith walked slowly down the hall to his office. David had said he and Sabrina were just friends, but Meredith wondered if that was how Sabrina viewed their relationship. When he’d asked her about David during their trip to Virginia, she had refused to talk about it. He hoped she hadn’t been rejected again. She deserved to find someone who would appreciate all she had to give.

Sabrina would have been touched to know Meredith cared enough to worry about her, but she had no such comfort. All she could do was speculate about the effect this new situation was going to have on everyone. David volunteered no more information about his plans, and Sabrina was no longer in a position to ask. She didn’t even know if David was seeing Juliet. But if they were, how was Juliet justifying that to Meredith? Did they have the kind of relationship that allowed them to date other people? It was all so confusing.

By the time David departed, Sabrina had gone through so many different scenarios in her head she didn’t know which one she preferred. His parting words
gave no hint of his progress with Juliet, and he made no reference to any future plans to return.

It was as
well that Sabrina was sensible and not one to hold a grudge; another woman might have found his switch from sharing everything to sharing nothing difficult to understand. As she watched the door close behind him, she had to smile. They might never have shared any sort of closeness; they were merely acquaintances again.

A
package was sitting by the front door of the inn when Sabrina returned from her morning walk. When she looked at the label, she couldn’t prevent the jumble of feelings that went through her. Why had the post office left the box here and not delivered it to Meredith’s house? Couldn’t she get through one day without something reminding her of him?

With the preparation and service of breakfast looming,
this problem would have to be dealt with later. She didn’t have time to worry about it now.

Casey was in the kitchen
slicing oranges when she walked in. Sabrina grabbed an apron and joined her at the counter. “Did Meredith say anything about another package coming here?”

“No. Is there one?”

“It was on the porch. I suppose this means one of us gets to make a delivery this afternoon.”

“That person will have to be you. I have an appointment with the
inn’s accountant in Savannah. I thought I told you.”

“You did, but for some reason I thought the appointment was tomorrow.”

“When you leave, lock up and tape a note to the front door telling the guests you’ll be back for tea. They can manage to take care of themselves for a few hours.”

That was the last chance for
any conversation between them for several hours. With sixteen guests, both women were kept busy until lunch. Once Casey had gone, Sabrina made her own preparations to leave.

As she hurriedly changed clothes, she tried to quell the growing excitement spreading through her like wildfire.
By the time she was loading the package into her car, she was more nervous than she could ever remember. She hadn’t seen Meredith in almost two weeks; it seemed like an eternity.

T
he familiar gray car was nowhere in sight when she arrived at his house. What should she do? Come back later? A shudder went through her. She didn’t want to go through all this emotional turmoil again. Sabrina decided to leave the package on the porch. The house was far enough from the road to ensure no one would bother it.