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morning?’ Ellis asked.
    ‘Wouldn’t miss it,’ Harris replied. ‘And since Dee can’t make it, how about we grill some steaks after when she’s free to join us, and maybe invite that no-account brother of yours, and Kendra.’ Then, as an afterthought, he added sheepishly, ‘And we can invite Stacie too if she’s back.’
    ‘She won’t be,’ Dee said. ‘She won’t be back till Monday, but knowing there are steaks waiting and an icy bottle of Mirror Pond would make me feel a little less sorry for myself for having to work Sunday.’ Dee had a meeting with a client in Eugene she’d been trying to get with for several months, so when he’d offered her Sunday morning, she had taken it.
    ‘Kayaking in the morning then steaks in the afternoon,’ Harris said. ‘It’s a deal.’
    Before he could leave, Dee handed him a huge slice of the red velvet cake in a plastic container and offered him a wicked smile. ‘Breakfast.’

Chapter Four
    The red-eye to New York was definitely not Stacie’s favorite flight, but she was way more familiar with it than she wished she was. Though she always slept well on planes, these days, with the opening of the new gallery and the big auction coming up, she had designated the fight between Portland and New York as office time. It was like having an extra five hours added to the work day. The attendants knew her fairly well by now, and kept the caffeine coming. Tonight, she broke protocol and indulged in one of the three hefty pieces of red velvet cake Dee had sent with her. Her quick search through Dee’s care package showed she’d stuck a couple of Galina’s homemade cinnamon rolls in as well. Breakfast was sorted.
    It was especially good to be busy after her earlier dealings with Jamison. He hadn’t texted again, but then she hadn’t expected him to. Not just yet. He would give her just enough time to think everything was all right, just enough time to doubt herself, before he escalated things. When she’d left for Ellis’ in the evening, the workmen had made major progress on cleaning up the paint damage to the main exhibition hall. The gallery would open on time no matter what she had to do to make it happen. That was essential.
    Having the lovely time with Ellis and Dee, and even a sexily uncooperative, but very intriguing, Harris Walker had helped ease the angst. Still, even with the heavy workload, even with all the tasks demanding her attention, it was the middle of the night and she was 36,000 feet in the air. Everyone around her slept; it was impossible to keep her thoughts from drifting. When she was alone and tired and heading back to New York, back to where it had all begun, it was impossible not to let memories skulk in and rise from the places in her unconscious where she’d buried them. Who could have ever imagined that anything with such a promising beginning could turn into such a nightmare?
    That first night had literally sparkled. Stacie had sparkled. Never mind everything she wore came from charity shops. Only she knew that, and she knew how to make the best of what she had. She’d always known that. But it wasn’t the chic black dress and expensive-looking fake pearls that made her sparkle; it was the fact that this was her second big exhibition for New World Gallery since Zoe had turned over the running of events to her. Both events had been highly lucrative for the gallery and the artists, drawing the attention of the powers-that-be among the art world; something that New World Gallery had never quite managed to do until Stacie took over. Zoe was beside herself with excitement, and Stacie was the toast of the evening. She was just wrapping up an interview with a reporter from the New York Times for a series on small galleries in the city worth checking out, when Zoe motioned her over.
    There’d been a million exciting things on Stacie’s mind that night. She was riding the adrenaline high of success, enjoying the feeling of having possibly found