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then went to my house and nearly sent my mother to the hospital with a fainting spell as well. But my mother was strong.”
    “Strong!” Chet said, making a face. “The woman was a tyrant! She wouldn’t let me in the house and cast me out as ifI were a demon returned to haunt her. All she would tell me was that Rosie didn’t love me. Rosie loved Joe, and they had left town as soon as they married. The woman threatened my life if I ever tried to contact her daughter.”
    “But you did, didn’t you?”
    “Not right away. It was all pretty overwhelming to me, as you can imagine. I’d lie awake at night doubting that Rosie had ever loved me. I almost convinced myself that as soon as I’d left, she had taken an interest in Joe.” Chet looked at his halo-haired fiancée, and a tender smile warmed his face. “Then I got the letter.”
    “Excuse me,” Renée said, stepping up behind Alissa. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but it’s a little after five, and I wondered if you needed some more time.” Renée always wanted to be the last one to leave and lock up. It was obvious she was ready to go now.
    “I didn’t realize it was that late. We haven’t even gone over the itinerary yet,” Alissa said, hunting for their file.
    “We need to be on our way, too,” Chet said.
    “Why don’t I take two minutes to go over this with you,” Alissa said. “And then we can finalize everything after you’ve had a chance to study the plans more carefully.” Gathering her thoughts, she opened the folder and tried to find her voice. Her mind was filled with questions.
Who sent the letter? What did it say? Did Chet go to Houston in search of Rosie?
    She went over the departure times with them, smiling at Chet’s relief that their flight didn’t leave until late morning. “I’m not much of a morning person anymore,” he commented.
    “Now,” Alissa continued, “I have you flying out of LAX on the morning of the sixteenth. I thought since the wedding was on the fifteenth you might like to stay at one of the hotels near the airport your first night and then get a fresh start in the morning.”
    She opened the hotel brochure for them, pointing out the pictures of the bridal suite. “It’s a lovely room. You’ll be treated to complimentary champagne, chocolates, breakfast in bed the next morning, and the room has a hot tub.”
    Rosie appeared to blush. “Sounds lovely,” she said. “What kind of a room did you find for us in Venice?”
    A smile spread across Alissa’s face. “Just wait until you see this.” She opened the next brochure in their file and with great pleasure described the luxury hotel she had found for them near the romantic Piazza San Marco.
    This is why I love being a travel agent
, she thought as she watched the couple’s eyes shine in anticipation of their honeymoon travels.

Chapter Four

    A lissa attacked the chore of packing up her condo with vigor. She still had to meet with Shelly on Monday before the final decision was made, but it all felt so right. Certainly everything would fall into place.
    By Saturday afternoon she was in the thick of it, going through her bedroom like a twister, leaving nothing in her path that could be wrapped and boxed. She used to joke about how she never had to spring clean because she always moved before the task became necessary.
    Digging through the back of her closet, Alissa pulled out four boxes that were still wrapped with packing tape from her last move. Or maybe it was from the move before that. Hard to tell.
    Why am I hauling this stuff around if I don’t even know what’s in it? I probably won’t miss it
.
    She plopped down on her bedroom floor and tore open the boxes. They were full of clothes—two sizes smaller thanwhat she wore now. Alissa remembered packing them and telling herself she would fit in them again. Now, even if she lost that much weight, the outfits were so different from her current style, she probably wouldn’t wear them.
    As she pulled