“And you’re leaving.”
He didn’t contradict her. “I’ll be back,” he whispered. “I promise.”
Eighteen
Maggie was glad when Phoebe knocked on her door at seven-thirty and dragged her to the library before it opened. That way she couldn’t drive over to Carriage Hill too early and Brandon couldn’t accuse her of hovering over Aidan and Tyler.
She hated an empty house. She’d never lived alone and she’d lain awake most of the night, hearing every creak and groan, imagining what she’d do if a bat got in, remembering having Brandon asleep next to her.
A long damn night.
She met Phoebe on the library steps. It was a perfect August morning. The boys would be having a blast with their father.
Phoebe frowned. “You okay, Maggie?”
“Cranky. I’ll get coffee after we’re done.” She stood back, appraised her older sister. Phoebe wore a dull green sundress with no jewelry, her hair down, barely combed, as if she’d had a bad night herself. “What about you? You okay?”
“Just a lot to do before the fashion show.”
It made sense but Maggie didn’t think it was all. Phoebe was used to juggling her professional obligations. The fashion show had become personal, too, with the dresses—with Noah Kendrick.
“Noah left a message that he’s gone back to San Diego,” Maggie said. “I’ll stop by Olivia’s after we’re done here and walk Buster. Did you see Noah before he left?”
“Just for a minute.” Phoebe waved a hand toward the street. “Here are Ava and Ruby now.”
The twins joined them, looking curious and sleepy but not as cranky as Maggie felt. Phoebe didn’t waste any time and took them straight up to the attic.
Her hidden room was even more amazing than Maggie had expected. She had zero interest in sewing and fashion design, but the dresses, the fabrics—the atmosphere of the tiny, cramped room—affected her. She could feel the talent, skill and obsession of whoever had created it.
How many years ago was it? Thirty? Forty?
“I can see why you didn’t say anything right away,” Maggie said, looking at the fabrics, the finished dresses, the simple shelves and sewing table. “It feels as if we’ve walked into someone else’s secrets.”
“Someone who was vulnerable, maybe,” Ava added, rubbing her fingertips over the rose-beige silk of a dress hanging in an open garment bag.
Ruby raised the lid on a cedar-lined trunk. “Phoebe, did you bring Noah up here?”
Phoebe opened a creaky corner door, morning light streaming in from a small window. “Why would I bring Noah up here?” she asked casually. “Actually, he came up here on his own. I was checking it out after I called him about running into Julius Hartley.”
Maggie stood back, reading Phoebe’s expression. Ava did the same thing and emitted something between a groan and a squeal. “Phoebe!”
Ruby’s eyes widened. “Has Noah fallen for you?”
“You’ve fallen for him.” Ava raked a hand through her hair. “Phoebe, you know he’s a billionaire, right? He’s not a regular guy. Dylan’s rich but he’s a hockey player at heart. Not that I have anything against Noah, but Phoebe…”
“I know,” she said. “Don’t worry. There’s nothing between us. Really. He’s gone back to San Diego.”
Ava seemed to regret her words. “I just want you to be happy, Phoebe. I don’t know Noah. He seems nice.”
“It was that dress you wore the other night,” Maggie said. “It sucked you into romantic fantasies. They’ll bite you in the end. They always do.”
Phoebe gave her a knowing look, as if she suspected Maggie’s remark had less to do with Noah than it did with one Brandon Sloan.
Maybe it did, Maggie thought.
“What are you going to do now?” Ruby asked.
“I have to work today,” Phoebe said. “We have a lot to do to get ready for the fashion show.”
Ruby sighed. “I meant about Noah.”
Phoebe turned from the open corner door. “My life’s here in Knights Bridge.” She smiled. “What would you all do without me?”
“Visit you in San Diego in February,” Ava said with a laugh.
But Ruby wasn’t done yet. “So you’re not doing anything,” she said, clearly frustrated. “Noah Kendrick is interested in you, and now it’s just business as usual?”
“Maybe what’s next isn’t up to me,” Phoebe said quietly.
Ruby groaned. “Then who is it up to?”
Phoebe didn’t answer as she ushered her sisters back downstairs. Ruby and Ava stayed behind to work on the fashion show, but Phoebe made them promise not to pester her about Noah.
As she drove out to Carriage Hill, Maggie remembered the look on Phoebe’s face when they’d found her billionaire shirtless in Olivia’s kitchen. Maggie didn’t need confirmation. There was no question in her mind that her sister had fallen for Noah.
If he broke her heart, Maggie would fly to San Diego herself.