“Hello,Jane,” he said, and glared at her.
“Jordan...”Skye began, but stopped abruptly at the mistrust she saw in his eyes.
“You lied.”His voice grated.“After all your pretty church talk, you out and out lied.”With that, he walked out of the room.
Chapter Six
“All right, kid, tell Aunt Sally all about it.”It had taken her perceptive friend only a day to notice something was wrong.
“Tell you what?”Skye sipped lackadaisically on her herbal tea, feigning confusion.
“What’s wrong, and don’t try to tell me something isn’t.I can tell just by looking at you that you’re upset.”
Skye laughed lightly.“Do I actually look that different?”
Sally studied her shrewdly.“Yes, as a matter of fact, you do.”
Crossing her eyes, Skye laughed, but her laugh held little genuine amusement.“I’m exactly the same person I was the other day.”
“No, you’re not,” Sally disputed soberly.“That sparkle is gone from your eyes.No...not sparkle, the expectation is missing.Did you and this John have a spat?”
Skye lowered her head, her hair falling forward to frame her oval face.“Sally, I’m not dating and never plan to date John Dirkson.Heismy neighbor, but I misled you by insinuating there was something more between us.I...I also misled JordanKiley—but not about John—and when he discovered my game, well...no one likes to be the butt of a joke.”
Sally paused, waiting for Skye to elaborate, but when an explanation didn’t follow, she probed.“Can’t you make it right?”
Miserably Skye shook her head.There was no way of contacting him, and even if there were, Skye had decided not to.God had sent him into her life for a purpose, and that had been accomplished.And she would always be grateful to Jordan for removing the blinders that had hidden the truth.
“Hey,” Sally said, interrupting her thoughts.“Didn’t you tell me you were going out to dinner with Jordan Kiley next Friday night?”
“That’s been canceled.”At least Skye felt sure it must be.If by chance Jordan did happen to show, she wouldn’t be home.It was Janey’s birthday, and she was having dinner with her family.
“That’s too bad, Skye, but I think meeting Jordan has done you a world of good.”
Her lips trembled slightly as she attempted a smile.“I think you’re right.”
Sally patted her hand.“Well, with Jordan out of the picture maybe I could interest you in a blind date.”
How typical of the matchmaking Sally.“All right, you’re on.”
The contented grin of a Cheshire cat couldn’t have shown more satisfaction.“Steve King is a perfect match for you,” Sally elaborated.“He’s an accountant at Andy’s firm; I know you’re going to like him.”
Skye had heard these identical words at least twenty times.But an accountant?She somehow pictured a tiny, bespectacled man with a fastidious nature.Biting her lip, she glanced at Sally hesitatingly.
“You’re not backing out already, are you?”
“No,” Skye said, “I was just wondering if it’d be too forward to ask him to help me balance my bank account on our first date.”
They looked at each other and burst into giggles.
Skye was in much better spirits Thursday evening and played and sang for the children with a free-flowing happiness.Finishing, she turned to smile at her audience, but the smile froze on her face.Standing in the back of the room was Jordan.Had it only been a few days since she’d last seen him?It seemed a lifetime.
His steel-gray eyes pinned her.Sally glanced from one to the other and with a quiet efficiency moved the children and their families from the room.
Jordan waited until the room was nearly empty before advancing toward her.The wild hammering of her heart rushed a fresh supply of blood to her already flushed face.Her fingers were trembling so badly she folded them awkwardly in her lap.
“Is it Jane or Skye?”he asked.
“Skye,” she said in a breathy whisper.Nervously she moistened her lips.“Jordan, may I apologize?It was a stupid, childish prank.I...”She ran a shaky hand over her forehead, not sure if she should continue.
