AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m hoping we can get together for a girls’ day at the spa or something, once the baby is older. I don’t feel comfortable leaving her with a sitter just yet.”
“That’s understandable. A girls’ day at the spa sounds great. Just let me know when you’re ready,” Lennox said.
“Okay. Are you still going to that convention next week?”
The event Aggie was referring to, the Forensic Scientists Convention, was held annually. Lennox hadn’t attended one since DeWalt’s death.
They attended together every year and it was something they’d both always looked forward to. However, the last time they’d been scheduled to go, she’d had to bail out at the last minute, due to her workload. He hadn’t wantedto go without her, but she had encouraged him to do so. Now she wished she hadn’t.
It was at that particular convention that DeWalt had had a severe allergic reaction after eating something cooked in peanut oil. She would never forget the call she’d received letting her know DeWalt was lost to her forever.
“Lennox?”
Aggie’s saying her name made her realize how her thoughts had drifted to the past. “Yes, I’m going. It will be the first time since DeWalt died. It’s been close to five years since I’ve been there, but I know he would have wanted me to go. The hardest thing will be seeing friends and former colleagues. I haven’t seen most of them since his funeral.”
“It won’t be held in the same city, will it?”
“No. DeWalt died in San Francisco. This year’s convention is being held in Orlando.”
At first, she’d been reluctant to go because the conference was being held at the same hotel chain. In regards to DeWalt’s death, the hotel had been quick to admit guilt, probably because their records had shown that when DeWalt had registered, he had specifically indicated his allergy to peanuts. Yet he’d still been served a meal cooked in peanut oil. In order to avoid litigation and a ton of bad publicity, the hotel had quickly offered her twenty million dollars.
According to her attorney, that sum was more than fair, as monetary awards went, with such cases. It hadn’t mattered to her though--no amount of money was worth more than DeWalt’s life. She’d used most of the money to establish scholarships in his name at the two universitiesthey’d both attended. The rest, she’d put toward starting a new life for herself away from Boston.
Several hours later, after Lennox had delivered the cookies to the Perkinses and hung around to visit and love on the baby a while, she was getting out of her car at the grocery store to pick up a few things.
She had gone down the various aisles grabbing the stuff she needed and then recalled she was out of her favorite ice cream. Skirting her grocery cart around to the frozen foods section, she smiled when she saw there was only one pint of her favorite ice cream left.
She reached for the container at the same time someone else did. “I saw it first,” she said, not looking up as she quickly grabbed it.
“Did you, Lennox?”
She jerked her head up and looked into a pair of dark brown eyes—the same ones she’d gazed into just two weeks ago at Stonewall and Joy’s housewarming party.
“Roland? What are you doing here?” After she’d asked the question, she realized just how silly it was. After all, this was a grocery store. From the smile that spread across his lips, she figured he was thinking the same thing.
Her heart nearly stopped beating. Lord, she would never have imagined what a smile from those sinful and succulent lips could do to his face. It made him even more handsome, which only heightened her awareness of him.
“I had a craving for ice cream,” he said, his voice deep and husky. “Obviously the same flavor you’re craving right now, too.”
“Oh. You can have it,” she said, offering the container of ice cream to him.
“No, you go ahead. I know better than to deny a woman the last carton of her favorite ice cream.”
She tiled her head to stare at him. “Are you sure?”
“Positive. Besides, they probably have more in the back. I’ll ask a store clerk to check. If not, there’s another store between here and where I live. I’ll stop there.”
Lennox nodded. “Well, okay then,” she said, placing the ice cream in her cart. “I baked cookies earlier today and wanted ice cream to eat with them.”
“That sounds like a good combination. I’ve tasted your cookies—they’re delicious.”
Her brow lifted. “You have?”
“Yes. Stonewall shared some with me that you’d baked for him and Joy a few months ago.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed them.”
When there was a pause in the conversation, he said, “It was good seeing you again, Lennox.”
