Page 82 of Reckless Chance

“What else is pressing?”

“Daniel wants to meet later today to discuss the photo you gave him last night. I told him you might fit him in around 4 or 5.”

“Either time works.”

“Otherwise, you have a couple of calls regarding the contracts I left on your desk.”

“Also set up a meeting with the food and beverage director to discuss the announcement that Kai will be our permanent chef of Pinot & Pie. The timing of the publicity is critical. We want to avoid detracting from Cassie’s month as guest chef but still showcase his arrival at the Athena.”

“Understood. I’ll schedule that meeting for this afternoon. Do you need anything else?”

“I don’t think so. Oh, there is one more thing. You don’t happen to have a twin sister that you’ve been hiding from me all this time, do you?”

“No. I don’t have a sister. You know I’m an only child. Why do you ask?” She tilts her head, looking confused.

“Oh, it’s nothing. A friend of mine saw you at the soft opening of Pinot & Pie. He said you could be his former girlfriend’s twin. Her name is Lee. He clearly regrets messing up and losing her. If Lee happened to be your sister, I thought we could play matchmakers and arrange for the two of them to meet again.”

“Did your friend say what he did wrong?”

“Something about hiding a secret for too long, and then it came out in a bad way.”

“Hmm. When someone royally screws up a relationship, it’s often impossible to repair the damage. I doubt he’ll get a second chance.”

“Maybe not. We can’t do anything about it. It wasn’t your sister.”

“No, it wasn’t my sister,” she says with a faraway look.

“You look lost in thought. I’m sorry if this conversation conjured a bad memory.”

She dips her head. “No need to apologize. It just reminded me of someone special from a few years ago. He was the love of my life, but it wasn’t meant to be.” She sighs as she leaves my office, closing the door.

I’ve never been able to imagine committing to someone for life and risking the hurt of losing them. That didn’t turn out well for Dad. But Paxton and Emily are in even more pain from letting someone go. Their situations are a stark reminder that regret from past decisions and mistakes can haunt you for years.

Is that how I’ll feel if I let Lowri go?

45

SEAN

Checking the time, I know Detective Fielder will be here any minute. He’s known to be punctual. Hopefully, Lowri will show up a few minutes early. I’d like to gauge her mood and start repairing the damage between us.

No such luck. At 3:00 p.m. sharp, I hear the detective and Lowri exchanging greetings outside the open door to my office. As I stand to greet them, Lowri crosses the threshold, followed closely by Fielder. Anxiety over my relationship issues with Lowri is temporarily replaced with curiosity as to why Fielder called this meeting.

“Greetings, detective. Have a seat and give us an update on your investigation.”

“If you don’t mind, I’ll stand. This should be quick. I have officers waiting for me near the theater.”

Lowri’s eyebrows pop up in sync with mine.

“That sounds ominous. What’s going on?”

“We’re here to arrest one of your performers on suspicion of murdering Mr. Brentwood. I wanted to give you the courtesy of a heads-up.”

“Which one of the performers?” Lowri asks.

“I’d rather not say until they’re in custody, but you are both welcome to accompany me to the theater,”

“Of course, we’ll be going to the theater. It’s Sean’s hotel. You don’t get toinvitehim to join you. It’s the other way around,” she says.