Secrets and Seductions. Pamela Toth

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       Two

       E mma was still fuming over her appointment when she hurried to meet her friend Ivy Crosby for lunch at a little café near the computer company where Ivy worked. Even though her family owned Crosby Systems, Ivy never took for granted her position there, so Emma didn’t want to be late and hold her up.

      She could see Ivy already seated at one of the small tables outside the café, her curly blond hair easy to spot, even in the middle of the lunch-hour crowd. She smiled and waved when she saw Emma coming down the sidewalk.

      Despite her own foul mood, Emma waved back before she ducked inside and worked her way through the groups of people waiting to be seated.

      “I’m joining my friend at an outside table,” she told the hostess.

      Emma and Ivy had been roommates in college. Despite their polar-opposite personalities and wildly diverse backgrounds, they had made the effort to remain close.

      When Emma got to the table, Ivy stood up and gave her a hug.

      “I’m so glad to see you,” Ivy exclaimed. “I missed you.”

      “You, too.” Emma returned her hug, blinking back tears. “I’m glad you’re back.”

      Ivy’s perfume was a designer scent that cost more than Emma’s laptop, or her trendy outfit from an exclusive boutique. Beneath the affluent veneer, Ivy was the most genuine and loyal friend Emma had.

      “How have you been?” Ivy asked after they had both sat down. “Fill me in.”

      “Is there steam coming out of my ears?” Emma asked teasingly. Inwardly she was still fuming about her meeting.

      Ivy’s blue eyes widened as she folded her hands on the menu. “Oh, dear,” she replied. “It sounds as if you’ve had a bad morning. Tell me what’s wrong.”

      Emma was touched by her friend’s concern, but she knew how much Ivy hated being late back to work. She said it set a bad example for the other employees. “My problems will keep. Let’s order.” She glanced at her menu. “Then I want to hear about your trip. Where was it again that you went?”

      “Lantanya.”

      “I’ve never heard of it.” Emma wondered if she had imagined the momentary coolness in Ivy’s voice, even as the poetic name rolled off her tongue.

      “No one has. It’s just a tiny principality located right on the Adriatic Sea.” She tossed her blond head. “Lunch is my treat. Don’t even bother to argue.”

      Emma was embarrassed by Ivy’s generosity, but she was too broke to protest. After they had both ordered seafood salad and iced tea, she managed to smile at her friend.

      “Did you meet a handsome prince while you were in Lantanya?” Emma asked teasingly.

      To her surprise, Ivy’s expression froze. “I wasn’t there to play,” she said. “It was a business trip.”

      “I was only kidding,” Emma replied, refusing to take offense. She was well aware of the stress Ivy felt when it came to her job. “So how was business?”

      Ivy’s face relaxed again. “Crosby Industries is putting computer systems in the schools there. The children are so excited. It’s a heartwarming project.”

      When it came to kids, Ivy was a cream puff. A few months ago, she had started volunteering at Portland General, working with the crack babies.

      “That sounds great,” Emma replied. “Will you be going back?”

      Again Ivy’s smile wavered and she glanced away. “I doubt it.”

      “I suppose the country is pretty primitive,” Emma said. “Is it hot and barren?”

      Before Ivy could reply, the waitress brought their salads and tall glasses of iced tea.

      “Anything else?” the young girl asked. When both of them shook their heads, she left the check on the table and departed.

      “Lantanya is a lovely country,” Ivy murmured, picking up her fork. “I’ve just had enough traveling for a while.”

      Something wasn’t right here. In college the two girls had spent a lot of time talking about all the places they wanted to visit when they had an opportunity to travel. Before she left, Ivy had been eager to go on this trip.

      Concerned, Emma leaned across the small table. “Honey, what’s wrong? Did something happen while you were gone?”

      To her dismay, tears swam in Ivy’s eyes before she blinked them away. “I guess you could say that,” she whispered. “I met someone.”

      Emma was probably the only person who knew just how inexperienced Ivy was when it came to men. “And?” she prompted.

      “And we hit it off, and now it’s over.” Ivy’s eyes were downcast as she speared a bite of her salad.

      “I’m sorry.” Emma was dying for more information, but it was obvious that Ivy wasn’t ready to talk about whatever had taken place in Lantanya. For a few moments the two of them ate in silence.

      Finally Ivy lifted her head, her smile firmly back in place. “Okay, no more stalling. When you first arrived, you looked fit to be tied, as my nanny used to say.”

      Ivy already knew about Emma’s medical condition, her divorce from Don and her layoff. Emma hadn’t yet mentioned her estrangement from the people who had raised her or the reason behind it.

      As briefly as possible, Emma explained how finding out about her endometriosis had led to the news that she was adopted.

      “I don’t know what to say,” Ivy murmured. “Are you sure it’s true?”

      Emma speared a fat pink shrimp, even though she wasn’t at all hungry. The one good thing that had come out of the recent weeks was that she had lost a few pounds. “Mom admitted everything.”

      Ivy sprinkled pepper on her hard-boiled egg. Her own childhood had been less than ideal. She had been raised by a series of housekeepers and nannies after her parents’ divorce, but at least Ivy knew who she was.

      “I’m so sorry,” she said with a sympathetic smile. “What they did was wrong, but they’re good people at heart and they love you. I know you’ll work it out.”

      “We’re not speaking,” Emma said bluntly as she poked at her salad. “I can’t forgive them for lying to me all these years.”

      At the next table, a cell phone rang and the man sitting there launched into a loud, annoying conversation about a deal he was putting together.

      Ivy rolled her eyes in reaction. “What exactly did your parents tell you?”

      Emma arched her brows. “Do you mean the Wrights?” she asked, unable to resist.

      After her divorce, she had taken back her maiden name. If she had known when she signed the papers what she knew now, she wouldn’t have СКАЧАТЬ