Page 49 of Loving You Always

Kerris had barely gotten the name out before Walsh’s assistant came behind the counter and pulled her into a perfume-scented hug.

“Kerris, you look awesome.” Trisha’s chocolaty eyes inspected Kerris from her Betty Boop T-shirt, her flared denim skirt, and up to the messy bun Kerris had pulled her hair into over the course of the day. “I mean, we have work to do, but I haven’t seen you since the accident and you’re in one piece, so you look awesome.”

“Trisha, thank you? I think? And what work? What are you doing here?”

“Walsh sent me.”

“From New York?”

“I flew in with him yesterday, yeah.” Trisha looked around the shop. “You done here? We need to get going.”

“Trisha, I hate to be slow, but what are you talking about? I thought Walsh was picking me up.”

“Not exactly.” Trisha ran a hand over her closely cropped burnished cap of hair. “We’re meeting him.”

“Okaaaaay.” Kerris gave the shop one last glance and rushed over to flip the sign on the door toCLOSEDbefore anyone else showed up. “Just let me get my things together.”

Kerris grabbed her purse and the overnight bag she had promised Walsh she’d bring. Her fingers trembled around the handle. She couldn’t sleep with Walsh, not while she was married to Cam. As deeply as her feelings ran for him, Ms. Kris was right. She had compared Kerris to the river whose course, once set, couldn’t change. Kerris sometimes wasn’t sure what was right, but when she knew, she wouldn’t be swayed. And having sex with Cam’s best friend when their divorce wasn’t final? That wasn’t right. That could not happen.

“Okay, I’m ready.”

Kerris stepped back into the shop. Trisha was taking pictures with her phone of one of their display cases. She looked up, a grin creasing her golden brown cheeks.

“I forgot all about your jewelry.” Trisha took one more shot of the Riverstone Collection Kerris had started selling in the shop a few weeks ago. “I’m sending these pics to my friend in New York I told you about.”

“Really?” Kerris bit into the smile pulling at her lips. “Wow. Thanks.”

“I’d forgotten how unique your stuff is. She’ll flip.” Trisha slipped her phone into the leather clutch on the glass display case. “Now we really need to go.”

On the ride to wherever they were going, Trisha asked Kerris about her recovery from the accident and shed light on her part in getting Walsh to the hospital that night.

“I’m glad Meredith called me.” Trisha flicked her eyes away from the road to glance at Kerris in the passenger seat. “I’ve always known Walsh felt something for you.”

Kerris’s cheeks heated up but she refused to retreat; to run away from these feelings, from her past mistakes, from this conversation. Dr. Stein would be so proud.

“How did you know?”

“I caught him looking at your picture on his phone a few times. Plus, you were on a very short list of people Walsh always wanted to have access to him no matter what.” Trisha fixed her eyes on the road ahead. “So was Cam, of course. And I’ve seen how not having you both in his life has affected Walsh.”

The Mercedes purred along, adding no sound to the uncomfortable silence filling the car.

“Trisha, Cam and I—”

“I’m not judging you, Kerris. You’re separated, and if you ask me, based on what I’ve seen, this is how it should have always been.” Trisha pulled into a parking space and put the car in park. “Come on. We’re here.”

“Here” turned out to be an isolated section of riverbank, deserted except for a lone houseboat floating near the water’s edge.

“What’s going on?”

“I like you, Kerris, but you’re not worth losing my job.” Trisha zipped her mouth. “My lips are sealed. Come on. We have work to do.”

“What kind of work?”

Over the next hour, Kerris found out that beauty was indeed work. The houseboat might look unassuming from the outside, but it was tricked out with every modern convenience, including hardwood floors, gorgeous paneling, and a large bedroom suite.

Onebedroom suite.

As soon as she entered the room, her breath caught. Not from how luxuriously decorated the room was, but from the dress spread on the bed. It was so simple and perfect. Some mixture of blush and nude, the A-line minidress would not overwhelm her petite frame. Kerris picked it up and checked the tag. Stella McCartney and her size. She grinned and held the dress against her chest.

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