“Satisfying.” Louisa would rather they went to dinner without the cocktail-hour delay. Unless her aunt got to the point early, which was doubtful. “What time is dinner?”

“We have an eight-thirty reservation.” Irritation thinned Margaret’s gaze. “Are you in a rush?”

Louisa checked her watch. Eight ten. The Capital Grille was right across the street from the hotel. They had fifteen minutes to kill. Damn. “Of course not. I’m simply hungry. How was your charity event?”

“The usual.” Margaret’s eyes sparkled. “I have a surprise for you.”

Louisa’s spine tensed as the server set a tumbler of ice and a small bottle of Perrier on the table. “Oh?”

“Yes.” Margaret drained her flute and handed it off to the waitress. She clasped her hands together. “We aren’t dining alone.”

There was only one person Margaret could have brought with her. Warmth flooded her. Maybe her father had changed his mind about waiting till the holidays to visit. Or maybe his news couldn’t wait. “But I thought Daddy was in Stockholm.”

Margaret craned her neck and waved discreetly. Louisa turned in her chair.

“Your father is still in Sweden,” Margaret said. “This is even better.”

“This isn’t about Daddy?” Confused, Louisa scanned the lobby but saw no one she recognized. Maybe it was one of Margaret’s friends. Could her aunt have a man? Why she’d never married was a mystery. Margaret was an attractive woman, if a little predatory looking.

“And here he is.” Her aunt’s eyes gleamed with mischief.

“Hello, Louisa,” a man said from behind the high back of her chair.

No. Louisa stood and whirled.

“Did you get my gift?” Blaine stepped around the chair. He was holding two flutes of champagne. He extended a glass toward her. His gaze pleaded with hers. “Please, don’t make a scene. Have a drink. Let’s put our past behind us. I miss you. I’m sorry we surprised you, but I had to see you. There didn’t seem to be any other way.”

Louisa stepped back. Shock and anger rippled through her like an avalanche. She turned to Margaret. “How could you?”

Margaret was the only person who knew. The only one she’d trusted all those years ago.

Her aunt’s eyes steeled. “Nonsense. You need to get over yourself.” Her voice dropped to a reptilian hiss. “You both made a mistake. Blaine loves you.”

Louisa backed away. “I’m leaving.”

“Oh, enough with the drama,” Margaret snapped, closing in on her. “You were both young, and young people do foolish things. I don’t know why you can’t see that he’s the perfect man for you. It’s not like you have men lined up waiting to marry you. He’s the only one who’s still interested. You have the personality of a textbook.”