“What can I do for you?” he asked, anxious to find out the reason for her visit.
She took a long breath and started, “I’m probably being presumptuous by coming here, but I can’t let Rachel leave things the way she did.” The smile on her face sobered. “She doesn’t know I’m here. I was hoping we could keep this to ourselves.”
“Why don’t you tell me what’s on your mind,” he said with a frown, wanting her to get to the point.
“She’s miserable, and she’s making the rest of us miserable too.” She met his eyes. “Look, I’m just going to say it. Rachel’s in love with you.”
The frown drained from his face. “She’s what?”
“Before she left your office last week, she heard you talking to someone. Heard something that gave her the notion you didn’t care about her.”
His frown returned as he recalled the day. He knew exactly the conversation Suzanna was speaking of, and his confusion quickly turned to an overwhelming urge to flatten Matt.
“She heard my partner,” he said dully.
“I don’t know what she heard, but she walked away believing you didn’t care for her.” She took a deep breath. “Is it true? Is it true she was just a fling for you? A project? Because if so, I really need to just leave now before I make a complete idiot out of myself.”
“No, it’s not true. I love Rachel.” The words escaped his mouth before he could stop them. Then he realized he didn’t want to stop them. Hell, why had it taken him so long to admit it to himself?
Suzanna’s blue eyes softened in a bright smile. “She loves you too. She’s just so afraid, Travis. You know life has never gone her way. When she heard that conversation…she was just trying to protect herself. I’ve been telling her for days to call you, that she misunderstood what she heard, but she’s…”
“She’s stubborn,” he supplied, fighting back a grin.
“She’s afraid. And she’s hurt. I’ve never seen her this bad.”
Travis tried to hide his sudden urge to jump up, wrap Suzanna in his arms, and hug the breath from her lungs. He hadn’t wanted to believe Rachel didn’t care for him, and he’d driven by her shop a dozen times, needing to hear her say it one more time. But he knew his heart couldn’t take looking into those beautiful green eyes and hearing those devastating words all over again.
“I need to go see her,” he said, rising from his chair.
“She’s on her way to New York. Our show is the day after tomorrow.” Suzanna rose to join him. “I can give you the information on where she’s staying, or if you prefer, we’ll both be back on Saturday.”
He paused for a moment, letting the whole situation sink in. “Actually, I have an idea. Maybe you can help me.”
“We’re all ready to go,” Suzanna said, pushing Rachel from the dressing room. “Go take your seat in the audience.”
“Suz, I should stay here with the models. You’ve never done this on your own before.”
“And we already discussed it. You’ve got a seat right next to Darin Mortensen. Don’t you want to see your designs in Nordstrom’s?”
“I’ll find out if he likes them soon enough.”
“You’ll find out as he’s watching the show. Go schmooze. I’ll take care of the models. Everything will be fine.” She pushed Rachel out the door as the music began playing on stage. “Go make friends with one of the biggest buyers in New York.”
Rachel sighed and conceded, reluctantly making her way to the audience. She knew better than to argue, and really, Suzanna was right. She should be there next to Darin and take the opportunity to convince him to buy her line while she had the chance.
She stepped down the side stage and nudged her way through the crowd, taking her seat just in time for the first model to come on stage. The show would open with Pauline Taylor’s line, followed by Ann DeMarcos’, then Rachel’s fashions were up.
For the first time since she’d last seen Travis, the ache in her heart dissipated, replaced by sheer nerves that the buyers would shun her designs. Pauline’s fashions were good, but she was hoping they would be too over-the-top for Darin.
Her apprehension, anxiety and nervousness was a welcome relief from the sickness that had settled in her stomach and stayed since the day she’d broken things off with Travis, and she hoped this show marked the turning point in finally getting over her love for Travis Gage.
If that would ever be possible.
She studied Darin’s reaction as he viewed the show. He seemed intrigued with Pauline and Ann’s designs, but not overly impressed. She silently prayed she would see that spark of interest when her models walked on stage, and the announcement of her name told her the time had come.