The recessed lights in the kitchen ceiling flickered.
“They’ve upgraded to ice pellets.” Katherine grabbed her bag from the floor and strapped it across her chest. If not for her designer coat—left over from her days as a fashion journalist for American Vogue, she’d told him earlier—she could have been mistaken for a grad student. “I don’t remember ice pellets as a weather label before. Global warming’s turning out to be one helluva bitch this winter.”
“Global warming or climate change?”
“You say tomato, I say tomah-to.”
Felix gave a breathy huh that was almost a laugh. “You’re welcome to stay if you have concerns about the weather.”
“Nah, I’m good. To be honest, I wouldn’t mind being iced in for a few days. Provided we don’t lose power. Think of all the writing I’ll get done.”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“Adding to your strain. Messing with your deadline.”
She held up her hand. “We’ve moved beyond this, Felix.”
“If you change your mind, please come back. I’ve extended the same offer to Eudora.”
“I’m assuming she also turned you down?”
“Indeed. I’m surrounded by stubborn women.” Felix paused. “But if we do get inclement weather, you’ll call and check in? Let me know you’re alive?” He had meant to say us, not me.
She nodded. “Happy Valentine’s Day. I hope Ella likes the ring.”
“Thank you. And thank you for helping me choose it. Oh, wait.” Felix dried his hands on the tea towel and retrieved a small gift bag from behind the bread bin. “I hate people opening presents in front of me and then gushing, so I’ll say you’re welcome, and please accept this as a mark of gratitude for all you’ve done for the Fitzwilliam family.”
“Totally unnecessary.” Her mock scowl disintegrated into a Cheshire cat grin when she peeked inside and saw the gift certificate for a massage. “But much appreciated. Thank you.”
Clasping the gift bag to her chest, Katherine let herself out.
Felix sipped his single malt, then opened his laptop and clicked on the local weather website. The map for central North Carolina greeted him.
Oh shit.
Cracks and booms continued throughout the night, and they lost power around 2:00 a.m. A full-fledged ice storm, then. Ella and Harry slept through it all. Felix knew this because he checked on them numerous times. There would be no school today; there would be no work; there would be only the three of them trapped in a cold, dark house. What would this do to Ella’s emotional stress level, something he now obsessed over as much as her ejection fraction?
Happy Valentine’s Day, Fitzwilliam family.
Felix had never believed in fate, but the unpredicted severity of the storm did cause him to question whether there was some grand, insidious plan working to unravel his life thread by thread. Tonight was meant to be a rebirth, a renewal—a commitment to the decades that would follow. He’d bought shrimp and lobster tails and chocolate-covered strawberries. (Eudora had briefed him on how to grill the lobster and make the sauce for the shrimp.) And Katherine had helped him choose a simple garnet ring from Ella’s favorite English jewelry designer. Garnet, the stone of love and devotion. The shipping had been astronomical.