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‘R’ Us got themselves into an inventory bind. They canceled commitments right before Christmas, including ours for the Moonlight game, and we were left holding the bag.”
    â€œWhat happened to the inventory?”
    â€œWe sold it. Eventually.”
    â€œCould that happen with this doll?”
    Things went weak inside her. “Yes.”
    To his credit, Jonathan didn’t comment.
    Ann fell silent, too, wondering how to touch on the subject of Patrick again without instigating a fight. She was too tired and anxious to quarrel. “Your brother has got to stop drinking, Jonathan.”
    â€œPatrick lets things get to him. It’s his way of relaxing.”
    â€œYou can make excuses for him, but I can’t afford to. He has responsibilities to your mother’s company.”
    â€œSo what are you going to do? Fire him?”
    â€œUnfortunately, Felicia wouldn’t condone that.”
    Jonathan studied her face for a moment.
    â€œWhat are you looking at?” she asked suspiciously.
    â€œYou.”
    â€œWell, stop.”
    He continued to study her, then asked quietly, “Tell me, Ann, why did you lie to me about Mattie?”
    She fumbled with her coffee cup, then brought her hand back and clasped her fingers together to still them. “I’m going to say this once more, then I want this to be the end of it: I didn’t have time to tell Matt that I wouldn’t marry him.”
    She unwound her fingers. One by one. Carefully. “I stalled. I never told Matt anything at all. I never said yes, I never said no. I was trying to find the words, the
right
words. I knew he would be hurt. He and your mother were my only friends in the world…”
    There was something hollow in her voice that nagged him into wanting to believe her.
    â€œYou’re an artist,” she said suddenly.
    â€œWhat’s that got to do with it?”
    â€œYou of all people should understand that nothing is black or white. There are a million shades of gray.”
    It was true enough, he thought. So why was he trying so hard to pigeonhole Matt’s death?
    â€œI never would have married him,” she said. “I told you that. But if you think I’d have held back because I gave
you
my word, you’re a fool. I didn’t owe you anything. I owed Mattie. And he deserved someone who wasn’t so … so…”
    She trailed off and made an odd, gulping sound. Jonathan looked at her quickly; it occurred to him that she might be on the verge of crying.
    She was just searching for the right word.
“Pretty.”
She finally spat out.
    Jonathan was startled. There was some kind of wound here, one that did not involve Matt, and he couldn’t for a minute imagine what it was. She would never share it, he knew. So he could either believe her … or not. Maybe it
was
simply an issue of gray. Maybe she’d never had time to tell Matt with the kind of words that wouldn’t have left his heart broken. And maybe Matt had misunderstood her silence.
    Jonathan realized he could accept that explanation and still resent Ann. It remained that if she had told him, if she had been faster, firmer, more definite, Mattie would have likely still been alive today.
    â€œLet it go now,” she said finally, quietly.
    â€œYeah.” Suddenly, he was exhausted, and filled with the possibility that by the time this doll business wrapped up, he could have spent enough time to actually get to know her. And maybe even like her more than he would dare to admit.

CHAPTER 11
    T he man breathed in deeply through his nose and hit the light switch. The apartment was pitched into shadow. He let himself out and meticulously turned both locks on the door.
    Downstairs, he undertook the onerous chore of hailing a cab. Autumn was sharpening. The wind had a fractious edge, signaling that winter wasn’t too far behind. A taxi stopped for him, and though he detested public transportation,