Page 9 of The Way to a Cowboy's Heart

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The sun wassinking past the city skyline, and the Hudson was glimmering with a pinkish cast as Emily Quinn stood at the window of her brownstone lost in thought. While preparing for tonight’s meal, she’d barely had two seconds this afternoon to contemplate all that had happened today—which was, perhaps, a blessing—but as far as the office was concerned, the evening news was all over what had happened to William.

Well, not strictlytoWilliam. What William had done—to the rest of them. All of whom, she was positive, had nothing to do with any illegal accounting that he had perpetrated on their unwitting clients. Nor did she believe that the other partners were in on any shenanigans either. At least, she hoped not. After all, Willam Bledsoe had apparently managed to hoodwink all of them, including many family members and close friends. Including his whole staff.

It truly boggled the mind.

But the darker thought, the one that had been poking at her for most of the day, was that the rest of them could somehow be considered complicit in his actions. In her mind, she reviewed every meeting, every email, every piece of work that had passed between them in the last six months and nothing, not athinghad raised any alarms.

Which probably meant it was some Madoff-esq type Ponzi scheme that he had managed to conceal from all of them. How had she missed it?

At least they hadn’t arrested her. Or anyone else for that matter. Maybe that was a good sign that this whole mess belonged to William.

God, she hoped so.

Then… there was the man she’d met on the train. Liam. Her thoughts had drifted off to him more than a few times as she was prepping dinner.

Emily sighed. No use thinking about him or what might have been. He was water under the proverbial bridge. Or the train tunnel. And she had more immediate things to worry about. Like finding another job.

“I’ve seen that look before,” her little sister Muriel said, wiping her hands on a dish towel. “That thousand-mile stare. And usually there’s a man involved, possibly that bloke on the train? But today, I’d guess it has more to do with your immediate future than any one man. Have you called Dad?”

“No! And please don’t. He’ll hear of it soon enough. There’ll be no keeping this a secret.”

“I should think not. But what are you going to do?”

“No idea. I’m out of a job. That’s all I know for sure. Nate and Jacob as much as told us. Within a week or two, the offices will officially close after they wrap up loose ends. Help clients move out their accounts. We’re still not sure if Nate and Jacob will get clean of it, themselves.”

“I’m so sorry, Em. It’s not fair.”

“I really can’t think about it now. People will be here in a half hour. I need to get dressed. You’ve set an extra place in case Pete comes? I don’t suppose he will, but still…”

“Of course. I put him beside you.”

She couldn’t think of a single person coming who would not welcome him. But there were a few extras coming that she didn’t know. But this was her party, and she could invite whoever she wanted.

Muriel was already dressed in her cutest outfit that she’d bought down in a SoHo boutique—a sage-green silky jumpsuit that looked fabulous with her blonde hair and gray-green eyes. Muriel had gotten all the looks in the family, that was for sure.

“Is the halibut all prepped and ready to go?”

“It’s ready in the fridge. The table looks incredible. Everything is going to be wonderful. You’re a magician. I’m so glad I get to be here for one of your meals.”

“You’re welcome any time, you know that. I’ve missed you. So glad you’re here today of all days.”

“Me, too,” Muriel said, giving Emily a quick hug. “I mean, not for that reason. I mean, I wish it was for a different reason. Oh! Now, go. Get ready. You’ve got this.”

“Right. I’m off.”

Thirty minutes later, guests began arriving.

Since she was in the kitchen, she’d given Muriel the task of greeter. And she heard a few voices she recognized. Kat and David Grimes, her friends from the old building she’d lived in before this one, had arrived. She immediately heard her friend, fashion designer Susan Tish’s laugh and that of her partner, Merideth Boles. She loved them both and was excited to hear about their latest IVF journey.

She was quite sure everyone who would be here tonight had already heard about today’s events, but she didn’t want to talk about it. Maybe she’d make an announcement, banning the topic. Maybe talking about it was what she needed. But no. Not tonight. Tonight was about food and sharing it with friends. That was all she wanted to think about now.

There were only a few things that were last moment to cook, and she always made it a point to mingle first with a glass of wine with her guests before settling in to serving dinner. Her sommelier friend, Danel Grainier, had chosen a Cass viognier and a Gran Moraine pinot noir for tonight, which were dry and also had a note of fruitiness, that would pair with the halibut. Generally, she chose a menu that could be mostly prepped ahead with a minimum of time for her to be absent from her company, but that didn’t always work. Like tonight, with the polenta and the asparagus.

Hoping they’d nosh on the nibble boards with olives, pickles, and other bits of charcuterie she’d laid out until she could join them, she pulled the salad from the fridge and decorated it with torn blossoms from the pansies she’d picked up today until the look satisfied her.

She heard the doorbell again and heard Jess Brody’s voice and Carolyn’s adorable laugh. She’d met Jess at a charity event four years ago and loved him and Carolyn both and they were regular invitees to her events. They’d told her they were bringing an out-of-town guest with them tonight, which was fine with her. New blood for the dinner discussion. She wiped her hands on a towel, grabbed her wine and headed out into the living room.

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