Page 10 of All The Wrong Notes

Will poked his head out of the kitchen. He had an apron over his usual magazine-chic clothes, and incongruously, a smudge of what looked like ketchup across the bib. Surely he wasn’t cooking? His sort had people to do that for him. He must just be putting out some condiments for premade burgers.

“Help yourself. There are plates and glasses on the sideboard by the window. If you’d prefer something else, like juice or a beer, I’ve probably got some in the fridge. Just ask. You do eat cheese, don’t you? Carlos didn’t mention any food sensitivities, but I can call in an order to the grocery store in the town if we don’t have what you can eat here.”

He draped a tea towel over the back of a chair and guided Elise to the sideboard. The smile that tinged his lips now shone from his eyes. Who was this person, and what had he done with Will? Never mind. This bit of false charm couldn’t make up for what he did to those poor children.

She poured herself some wine and gathered a few slices of cheese, settling into a chair to chat with her friends. The crackle of the fire provided that welcome bit of warmth on a fresh autumn evening, and the sounds of soft jazz filtered through hidden speakers, just loud enough to be heard, not too loud to impede conversation. It was all welcoming and comfortable, exactly what Elise had not expected. She took an appreciative sip of her wine—definitely not from the el-cheapo section of the shelves—and sighed in contentment.

Will stood there for a moment beaming at his company, before excusing himself again. “Just a few minutes, and everything will go into the oven and I’ll join you then, if you don’t mind.” He brushed off half-meant offers to help and disappeared, leaving Elise staring after his beautifully proportioned back.

“He’s a different person here,” she mused once he had retreated out of earshot. “I’d hardly have known him.”

“He’s comfortable here,” Carlos explained. “He’s never at his best in crowds.”

He and Janet returned to their interrupted conversation about the best hiking trails in the area, leaving Elise to gaze into the fire and listen to the music. She hummed the words to herself, an old jazz standard from decades before, one of her favourite types of music.

It had to be you… It had to be you…

Who was Will Pemberton, anyway? Janet had suggested, months ago, that he was shy, but she had only judged him as too good for his own company. But perhaps, seeing him here in familiar surroundings, there was something to her friend’s assessment. He was friendly, almost charming. Maybe she should give him another shot.

I wandered around, and I finally found… The somebody who…

But no. Kevin’s warnings flooded back. Handsome and charming he might be, but he had robbed his own family’s donations department, had taken food out of the mouths of children. No amount of charm could atone for that. Perhaps she should ask him about it, see how he defended his actions. Or would that be unbelievably rude, since she was a guest in his house? There might have been some mitigating factors that Kevin didn’t know about. She just could not put all the pieces she knew about him together to make a coherent picture.

Could make me feel true… And could make me feel blue.

Carlos might know. She could ask him at some point when Will was busy, as Carlos had assured her he would be. With that settled in her mind, she leaned back into the embrace of the chair and hummed her way to dinner time.

For nobody else gave me a thrill

With all your faults, I love you still

It had to be you

Wonderful you

It had to be you.

This was when Elise made her next great discovery about Will. It had not been ketchup on his apron, and he hadn’t just thawed some pre-bought burgers. Instead, it was homemade tomato sauce, which had been poured over a fabulous-smelling spinach and mushroom lasagne. When F. William Pemberton wasn’t stealing lunches from kindergarteners or making seventeen bazillion dollars before lunch, he was an excellent cook.

Elise peered around corners for a hidden chef, and peeked into the recycling bin, in case he had the meal brought in from a caterer, but the evidence of garlic peelings, empty packages from pasta, and the smudge across his apron all convinced her very quickly that this delicious meal was entirely of his creation. When Carlos started asking questions about the recipe, any lingering doubts vanished like bubbles from champagne.

She really might have Will all wrong! A man who cooked from scratch must know something about the value of honest work. Food took effort, and good food all the more so. She still wasn’t quite prepared to like him, but perhaps she could temper her dislike just a bit. For Janet’s sake, if nothing else.

They spent a lovely evening, first lingering over the delicious meal in the dining area off the kitchen, and then out on the main deck, with blankets around their shoulders and mugs of hot cocoa in their hands, watching the stars. When Elise finally padded down to her room and into bed, it was with feelings of contentment but a mind full of questions. She lay awake for a long time, despite the wine and the cocoa, her mind churning with everything she had learned today, and everything she thought she might have wrong. When she did finally drift into sleep, the last thing Elise recalled was the image of Will’s grey eyes gazing at her.

* * *

Will stared at the ceiling late into the night, long after he had seen his guests off to their rooms. She was here, in this house. After their last conversation that he now realised was an argument, he had half expected her to refuse the invitation. But with Carlos’ help, she was here. Will hadn’t quite confessed his growing interest in Elise to his friend, and had merely pressed him to bring Elise along as a companion for Janet. Although, Carlos must suspect something. As much as Will worked to keep his emotions under control and locked away from public eyes, Carlos was all too perceptive about these things. He would have to be very careful.

No matter. She was here! Those beautiful brown eyes, so full of life and spirit, looked around his cottage. Her soft pink lips were there, eating the food he had spent all day making. Her shapely body was wrapped in his blankets, sitting in his chairs on the deck, watching his stars… Well, not his stars, but it was enough.

Perhaps tomorrow, with a bit of luck and a whole lot of courage, he would engage her in a conversation that didn’t devolve into argument. He finally drifted off into slumber, knowing that of all the places in the world, she was here!

CHAPTER 5

SOME RIGHT NOTES

The smell of good coffee pulled Elise out of her dreams and back into the land of the living, climbing the spiralled ladder of rich and silken scents until her eyes fluttered open against the crack of daylight that slipped through the high window. She blinked for a moment, trying to recall where she was, but the coffee was a powerful stimulant to memory, and in a moment, the events of yesterday came back to her. Elise stretched, a smile creeping across her face without her permission, and she pulled on some clothes to go in search of the precious liquid behind that glorious aroma.

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