Chapter 66

THE PHONE IN the Westchester house rang the next morning at about eleven. Nora picked up, thinking Craig was confirming their lunch date for later that afternoon.

She was wrong.

“Nora, is that you?”

“It is. Who’s this?”

“Elizabeth,” she said. “Elizabeth Brown.”

Shit. Connor’s sister was calling from Santa Barbara and Nora immediately felt a little dumb that she didn’t recognize her voice. After all, technically speaking, she was her houseguest.

The concern, however, was short-lived. Elizabeth’s guilt-induced sweetness picked up where it had left off. She couldn’t have sounded nicer.

“I’ve been worried about you,” she said. “Are you doing okay?”

Nora smiled to herself. “Thank you, Elizabeth. I’m holding up. I really appreciate your checking in. You know, at first I was a little wary about staying here. Of course, I don’t want to overstay my welcome.”

“Oh, please, I hope you’re not thinking that’s why I called,” she said. “Nothing could be further from my mind.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive. Besides, I wouldn’t have the time to deal with selling the house even if I wanted to.”

“I take it you’re busy with work.”

“Yes. I’ve got two buildings that I designed in construction right now and a third about to break ground.”

“The glamorous life of an architect, huh?”

“I wish,” she said with a sigh. “No, I’m afraid I’m somewhat of a cliché when it comes to how many hours I’ve been putting in. Maybe it’s just the best way for me to keep my mind off Connor.”

“I know,” said Nora. “I’ve taken on three more clients recently—three more than my schedule can actually accommodate.”

The two continued to talk for a few minutes. There was nothing forced about the conversation. No hesitation. Every sentence seemed to flow naturally.

“You know, this is a shame,” said Elizabeth.

“What’s that?”

“The circumstances under which we’ve gotten to know each other. We have a lot in common on our own.”

“You’re right, we do.”

“Maybe if your travels bring you out this way, we can get together for lunch, or something. Or if I come back to New York?”

“I’d like that,” said Nora. “I’d like that a lot. It’s a date.”

In your dreams, Lizzie.

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