“What’s up? Is there anything I can do for you?” Colette asked, but what she really wanted to know was where Alix had been and why. Her friend looked as if she hadn’t slept in a week. The smudges under her eyes spoke of misery and exhaustion.
“I came to cancel the wedding flowers,” Alix said abruptly.
This was a shock, but Colette tried not to show it. “Are you changing the order?” she asked. “Or canceling it altogether?”
Alix’s eyes were shadowed. “Canceling.”
Susannah would be disappointed. The Turner wedding was a huge order and had come with a substantial down payment. Although she’d hold a certain amount back, it would still be a loss.
“So you and Jordan have decided to call off the wedding?” Colette asked, finding this hard to believe. Colette knew how much Alix loved him. In fact, Colette envied her friend the close relationship she had with her fiancé.
“As of last Tuesday, the wedding’s officially off,” Alix said blandly. Colette stared at her. Despite Alix’s no-big-deal attitude, this must be ripping her heart out. It also explained why no one had seen her all week. Colette noticed that Alix’s hands were shaking, although she tried to hide it by shoving them in her pockets.
“The paperwork’s in the office,” Colette said in a noncommittal tone. She led Alix there, out of view of anyone who might be looking in the shop windows. As soon as they were alone, she breathed, “What happened?”
Alix tried unsuccessfully to pretend it was a small thing. “Jordan and I agreed it was for the best, that’s all.”
“Oh, Alix, I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be,” she said, rejecting Colette’s sympathy. “Anyone looking at the two of us could see it was a mistake.”
Colette didn’t buy that for a minute.
“I was living in a fool’s paradise,” Alix went on. She climbed up on a stool while Colette prepared a pot of coffee. After a few minutes, the rich, tantalizing scent drifted through the small office.
“I’m not the right woman to be a pastor’s wife,” Alix said. “Thank goodness I recognized that before it was too late.”
Colette was stunned. “But…”
“I didn’t mean to disappear,” Alix was saying.
“Where were you?”
Alix stared down at the hardwood floor. “I took a few vacation days and went to see a…family friend. Then, yesterday afternoon, I started looking for someplace to move. I applied for a few other jobs, as well.”
“But why?”
When Alix glanced up again, Colette winced at the pain in her eyes. “I can’t stay around this neighborhood with Jordan here. It would hurt too much to see him nearly every day and I would, you know.”
That was true enough. Colette had run into Jordan at the French Café a number of times. Even if he and Alix made an effort to avoid each other, it would be almost impossible.
“I figure I need to get away from here,” Alix concluded.
Colette felt like weeping. Alix was her friend, one of the best she’d ever had, and couldn’t stand the thought of losing her. Trying to remain calm—or at least appear that way—Colette leaned casually against the side of the desk, hands behind her, ankles crossed. “You and Christian’s aunt are the only people I’ve told about the baby,” she said. “And do you know why that is?”
Alix met her gaze and after a moment shrugged. “You and I work out together—or we used to.”
“No,” Colette said flatly. “I knew you wouldn’t judge me. In fact, you told me that yourself, and you were right. I could talk to you when I couldn’t talk to anyone else. You listened to me. You cared and you didn’t make me feel guilty or stupid.”
Alix bowed her head. “Thank you,” she whispered and her voice cracked with pain. “That means a lot to me. But the wedding is off. Jordan and I agreed a few days ago to cancel everything. The only reason I’m here now is to take care of business before I find a new job and someplace else to move.”
“Does Jacqueline know about this?”
“I haven’t talked to the Donovans yet.”
“Have you decided where you’re going?”
“No,” she said, “but that’s not a problem. As a kid I changed neighborhoods more often than a moving van.”
Colette dredged up the energy to smile. So Alix was going to run away. Well, she’d been on the run, too. And what she’d learned in the last months was that the person she was running from was herself. Not Christian, not her circumstances, but herself.
Alix was quiet for several minutes. “Susan doesn’t think I’d make Jordan a good wife and she should know.” Alix tried to make it sound like a joke, but Colette wasn’t amused. “You have to admit she’s more of an expert on this than either Jordan or me.”
“I don’t agree.” Colette rested her hands on her hips, struggling not to reveal her irritation. “Don’t you understand how comfortable you make people feel?” she asked. She turned around and grabbed two mugs from the shelf. She filled them with coffee, handing one to Alix. “You’re the perfect wife for Jordan and if he hasn’t figured that out, he isn’t half the man I thought he was.”
Tears glistened in Alix’s eyes as she cradled the steaming mug. “You’re a good friend.”
“I’ll be shocked if Jordan lets you leave the neighborhood. He’s smart enough to know what he has.”