3

Tessa had a splitting headache the rest of the day. She knew it wasn’t only the stress of seeing David again, but the added insult to her body of skipping lunch. With no further appointments, she settled in to work on her accounts, not that there was much point in it since she couldn’t concentrate. All she could do was relive that moment when David had walked back into her life. Worse, it was clear that he, Sophie and the missing groom had all agreed to appoint him stand-in groom and assistant wedding planner, which had her hauling the large bottle of painkillers out of her emergency drawer and swallowing two of them with the water on her desk.

Megan popped her head in the door at a few minutes before five and said, “Is it okay if I head out now?” She grinned. “I’ve got to get home and change for my date tonight.”

“Where do you meet all these men?”

“Online,” Megan said, her eyes twinkling with excitement. “It’s mad fun, you should try it.”

“Online dating? It seems so desperate.”

“It’s not. I do it all the time.” Megan didn’t bother saying she wasn’t desperate. All you had to do was look at her. “Our trouble is that we work in an industry that caters mostly to women, and the only men who come round here are already spoken for. Honestly, you should at least give it a go.”

“I don’t know.”

“Tell you what, I’ll set you up a profile tomorrow and show you how to get on. It’s really simple and gives you a chance to screen someone first before you waste your time meeting them.”

“I guess I should be open-minded,” Tessa said. She preferred meeting the people she dated in real life, and normally she’d have scoffed, but seeing David today was making her feel more than usually single. And a little desperate if she was honest.

“You’ll have fun, I promise.”

A woman with multicolored hair drifted in behind Megan. She blinked big eyes and glanced around as though wondering where she was and what she was doing here.

“Hi, Laurel,” Megan said.

“Hello.”

“What do you think about Tessa doing the online dating thing?”

“Oh.” The cake decorator turned her huge eyes to Tessa. “Do you want to meet men on the Internet?”

“Of course she does,” Megan announced. “And you should try it, too.” She sent them both a megawatt smile. “Right, then, see you tomorrow.”

“Yes. Have fun tonight.”

Once Megan had gone, Tessa turned to Laurel. “I’m not definitely going to do it, I’m only thinking about it.”

“I think you should do whatever makes you happy.”

And the amazing thing about Laurel was that when she said wacky things like that, she actually meant them. “I know you do. So, what have you got for me?”

Laurel was in the habit of bringing in her cake designs for Tessa to approve. Not that she needed to, everything she baked was incredible, but Tessa suspected she liked the reassurance of her approval. But she really wished the woman didn’t bring sketches of the most delectable treats that looked so good even in the sketchbook that Tessa’s mouth started to water. Especially not at the end of the day when her willpower was at its lowest ebb.

Once she’d approved half a dozen designs and they’d gone over timing and delivery of the cakes for this weekend, Laurel drifted out of the office and Tessa got back to her accounts, then she continued for another couple of hours. When the muted chime that announced an after-hours caller rang, she wasn’t surprised. She supposed on some level she’d expected him.

Ignore the bell or go answer him?

It really wasn’t an option. With a sigh, she rose and stepped back into her heels and took her time going to the front door. In the dim light he looked almost a stranger to her, so tall and elegant and, she reminded herself sternly, no longer hers.

“You look good, Tess.” he said with a frown, as if he was angry at himself for giving her the compliment. 

In spite of herself she smiled inwardly. “Thank you,” she said, deliberately not returning it. It was cold outside and she shivered. 

“Can I come in?”

Only now did she realize they were both standing at the entrance. She wanted to be hostile and tell him to leave, but she also didn't want to give him the impression that she was still bitter or that his presence had any effect on her. So she fought to remain calm and stepped back to usher him in. “Of course.”

Once more he followed her into her office. He glanced around as though he hadn’t been there earlier that very day. “The place looks good. You are doing well for yourself.”

Not compared to him. After they’d split, he’d become one of the top architects in the country, the go-to guy for bringing faded grandeur back from near death. He was fanatical about reclaiming and modernizing heritage properties and designing new buildings or additions to fit the old. She felt his approval at the way she’d used the best of the building she occupied while still managing to bring in ultramodern conveniences.

“Do you own the building?”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but yes I do.”

He nodded. “Smart girl.”

“Too smart to be charmed by you.” She sighed. “What do you want, David?”

He stared at her for what seemed like a long moment, “I don’t know.” He frowned, then scratched his head and her eyes were drawn to the thick, black hair she remembered so well. “I knew this was your outfit, obviously, but I thought it would be fun to surprise you.”

“You certainly did surprise me.” But if almost giving her a heart attack was supposed to be fun, she thought she’d pass.

His gray all-seeing eyes locked on hers. “You didn’t tell Sophie about our past.”

“It didn't seem very good for business to bring up my breakup when the woman’s here to plan a wedding.” She shot him a glance. “Did you tell her?”

“No.” He picked up her gold pen off the desk, ran his thumbnail over the monogram. “I decided to leave it to you.” He’d given her that pen back in happier times, and now she was annoyed with herself for her sentimentality in using the damn thing every day.

“So, we don’t tell the lucky couple that their wedding planner and his best man used to be in a relationship?”

“No, I guess not.”

“And that we hate each other?”