Sam looked, as usual, like everything dangerous and irrational in this world. And she thought, What if? What if, for once, she was the irrational, crazy one? She could be the wild one. Wasn’t that what this trip was all about? “I thought the next kiss was going to be from me,” she reminded him.
“This doesn’t count. It’s just a thank-you kiss.”
“Thank me? For what?” Ally asked.
“For you taking me seriously enough to tell me that story.”
“Oh.” She licked her lips.
“Thank you,” he said.
“Well, er, thank you, Sam. For everything. Really. I know you think I don’t notice—”
“You’re just supposed to say, ‘You’re welcome.’ ”
“You’re welcome.”
“Excellent.” Sam leaned toward her and her voice trailed off. She closed her eyes and he cupped her head in his hand and lifted her face to his. She opened her eyes to look at him as he lowered his lips. The world around her disappeared. It would be so easy to reduce her world to the chiseled planes of this man’s beautiful face. So easy to fall into his bed and not care that he wouldn’t be there the next day. Certainly not the next month. So easy to forget all her responsibilities and give in to being spontaneous just as her mother had. Would that be so bad? Was there something wrong with that? Who would she be leaving behind besides her childhood ghosts?
She was halfway to her own twenty questions when his lips touched hers. A shudder of pleasure arced through her. His lips were soft and searching. Yes or no, they seemed to ask. She let her hand fall to his thigh. Yes. He gathered her closer, and she let him. In fact, she opened her mouth for him—yes—and he responded by deepening his kiss—yes.
I’m making out next to my sleeping grandmother, and it’s hot.
He separated his lips from hers. “How many questions left?”
“I have no idea.” Get those damn lips back here before I change my mind.
He nipped at her lower lip but didn’t return to the kiss. “Ally, are we friends now? Even just a little bit?”
“Sorry. You’re out of questions.” Shut up and finish kissing me.
He saw her need and flashed a grin. “Then I have to guess. Hmm…Let’s see. Animal, reptile, occasionally green—you’re thinking of me.”
I’m thinking of wringing your neck if you don’t get back here and kiss me again. She pulled him by his collar toward her. “Wrong. I was thinking of a chameleon. You lose. Game over. Kiss me.”
“Oh! Is that a request?”
She sat up, alarmed. Had she fallen that quickly? “No. Just a thank-you kiss.”
“Thank me? For what?”
“For the previous thank-you kiss.”
He gathered her to him and kissed her. “You’ve got two covers, Ally,” he murmured into her neck.
“Two covers?”
But he refused to explain. He kissed down her neck, and she tried to remember why she had been resisting him. Right—responsibility, honor, sanity.
He felt her pull away and he leaned back to look at her. “Okay. My turn. Go on—ask me. I’ve got one.”
“Animal, vegetable or mineral?” Her voice was breathless.
“Animal. Definitely animal.”
And then he kissed her again.
* * *
Ally was confused. What was happening to her, kissing Sam like that? They had separated, and they rode silently, the carriage peacefully rocking. Paula moved smoothly through the streets, which were getting cleaner and less ominous. They drew some attention, but less than Ally had feared, mostly amused stares and delighted shout-outs.
“I’m going to pull over,” Mateo called back to them. “Give Paula some water.” He pulled to the side of the road in front of a small storefront restaurant called La Rosita. “And I’m going to run in and get a Cubano sandwich for me. Any other takers?”
“I’ll go with you,” Sam said.
“You watch the lady,” Mateo said.
“We don’t need to be watched—,” Ally began.
“I meant Paula,” Mateo said with the shyest slip of a smile.
Sam jumped down and took Paula’s reins. The horse flashed him a disgusted eye roll. He fished in his pocket and handed Mateo two twenties. “Get four. To go.”
The coachman disappeared into the restaurant.
“What’s a Cubano sandwich?” Ally asked Sam.
“No clue.”
“You know what to do if Paula bolts?” Ally asked, patting Paula’s side.
“No clue.” He smiled and she thought, I’ve been kissing that, and her insides flipped. Have a fling with the duke? Why not?
Granny Donny stretched. “Shall we go for a stroll, darling?”
“No.” Ally looked down the quiet, abandoned street. It looked safe enough, but she was anxious to get back on the road.
“Oh, nonsense.” Granny Donny slid to the edge of the carriage seat. Sam had no choice but to help her down, as she looked as if she fully intended to climb down herself. She brushed off her dress and set off down the street, her parasol over her shoulder.
“I’ll follow her,” Sam said.
“You watch Paula. I’ll watch her.” Ally climbed down after her grandmother. She welcomed the chance to separate from Sam, think about what was happening to her, kissing him like that. Worse, talking to him like that. Telling him things that she’d never told anyone.
They strolled to the corner, then Ally managed to spin Granny Donny back toward the carriage. So, he was a great kisser. So, he had invited her to his room tonight. Why not an affair? This whole trip was a game, a fantasy. Why couldn’t she have a little fantasy, too?
When they got back to the carriage, her mind was still whirling. Mateo gave Sam the sandwiches, and then he unhooked Paula’s water bucket from under the carriage.
Sam positioned himself to help Granny Donny back into the carriage, but he put out his hand before they could climb in. “Stand back!” he cried.
“What’s the matter?” Granny Donny asked.
Mateo looked up.
Ally’s blood ran cold.
“There’s a brigand in your coach, madam,” Sam said. “Get back, all of you. I will deal with this.”
Ally peered around Sam’s shoulder, sick with worry. She was infinitely glad that Sam was there to protect them.
And then she saw it.
The smallest, dirtiest kitten she had ever seen was curled up in the middle of the plush red seat, fast asleep.
They made it to Mateo’s friend’s house by three o’clock. The kitten made the journey curled up in Sam’s lap, purring like a broken air conditioner. Poor thing had eaten a good half of the meat from Sam’s sandwich and then instantly passed out from the effort.
Ally looked up at the compact house with white aluminum siding and four concrete steps that led up to a solid white door. The house was under what seemed like the direct flight path of every plane in and out of JFK Airport. Ally ducked whenever one of them roared by overhead, about every five seconds.
The backyard was a postage stamp of grass dominated by a lovely weeping cherry. Mateo’s friend had rigged up a rough shelter for Paula out of corrugated steel and wooden pallets. Paula didn’t seem to mind the sloppy stall or the yard’s small size. Nor did the local children, who had gathered around to pet her flank through the slats of the fence, begging for rides. Mateo let them feed her bits of carrot while he washed down her legs.
June and Will were there to meet them with the car Ally had rented and their own silver Prius. Ally’s and Granny Donny’s suitcases were stowed in the trunk of the rental, with more bags stuffed into the backseat. Her grandmother’s dresses weren’t compact.
Ally had never been so glad to see her friend. After her deeply confusing day with Sam, her head was swimming.
She pulled June aside the first chance she got. “He showed up on the bridge.”
“I knew he would. I read the book. Remember? He doesn’t let the princess go unattended into
the dangerous countryside. So, did you get mugged? Was there a sword-fight? Is he your hero, and do you owe him a booty call?”
“I don’t think the princess in TheDulcet Duke did booty calls.” Ally grabbed June’s shoulder and pulled her closer. “June, he asked me to sleep with him.”
June cocked her head. “Well, that didn’t take long. So you said yes and game over, you’re in love?”
“I would never give in so easily. I can totally resist Sam.” Ally took her friend’s arm and pulled her close, turning her back to the crowd so they could whisper. “But I wouldn’t need to resist Sam, because it wouldn’t be me and him.”
“Okay. I’m lost.”
“It would be the princess sleeping with the duke.”
June’s face was blank.
“Role play,” Ally hissed. She stole a glance back to Sam. Her body fluttered like a twittering virgin’s. Stupid body was role-playing already.
June squinted at her. “It wouldn’t be you giving in to your obvious lust for Sam because it would be—?”
“Fantasy.” She could feel the blush creep up her neck.
“Fantasy, sort of like the scene at the masquerade ball in The Dulcet Duke where the duke kisses the princess but he doesn’t know who she is.”
“Yeah, sort of that scene. Only instead of a kiss in the moonlight, it would be me screwing him in a crummy hotel room under the roar of jet engines while my grandmother had most likely escaped and was waltzing on the runways at JFK with a homeless man, waving to the tourists in jet planes on their way to Florida.”
June mussed Ally’s hair. “You’re role-playing! That is so kinky. I am so jealous.”
“You’re jealous of me? You’re the one with the perfect fiancé.”
“Yeah, but Ally, perfect gets boring. You—I mean, the princess—and the duke, now that’s fun. Do you have a safeword?”
“What’s that?”
“That’s for role-playing. You have a ridiculous word, like, maybe, crocodile, that one of you says when the game is getting to be too much. That way, there’s an out. It’s an S and M thing.”
“And you know this, how?”
“Oh, Ally. I so don’t know it from my own life, believe me. I think I read it in New York magazine, the May ‘Kinky Sex Club’ issue. Will is as boring as—” June caught herself.
Ally leaned forward. “As me?”
“Sorry, hon. But it’s kinda true,” June said.
Ally changed the subject. “So this is new about Will.”
“It’s not new, actually. It’s been bugging me for a while. I thought maybe after you moved out, he’d loosen up.”
“So you want a man who’s more fun, and I want a man who’s stable and reliable. Maybe we could switch. I think Sam would go for ‘crocodile.’ ”
June shook her head. “I wouldn’t do that to you, Ally. He’s yours.”
“He is so not mine.”
“That’s just because you’re being an idiot.”
“It’s not going to happen,” Ally assured her friend. She studied June. “Wait, you look awful.”
“They’re making cuts Wednesday for Europe. I had an awful rehearsal today. But that is so boring. Let’s get back to you having sex with not-Sam.”
“Of course you’ll go to Europe. Your life is perfect. You’re a star.”
“Forget me. Now, not-Sam. And not-you. Not-clothed. Knotted. In bed. You must. It’s been too long since you had a boyfriend. How long has it been?”
“The math teacher. Charles.”
“That was like a year ago, Ally.”
“Fifteen months.”
“Oh, Ally! Not-Sam is not-ugly. And not-dull. And definitely not-poor. Look at him. He even tempts me.”
They both paused to look.
They both sighed.
Sam was horsing around, playing pickup basketball with the kids at the driveway net. He picked up the littlest boy and let him slam-dunk.
“Ally, promise me you won’t back out like you backed out of San Francisco. The only thing standing between you and that man is fear.”
“I didn’t back out of San Francisco. I just delayed it.”
“For another ten years? Sleep with him, Ally. Why deny yourself this?”
“You’re supposed to be my friend, to warn me off bad men who will ruin my reputation and break my heart. Why would I ever get something started with a man like Sam?”
“Because he’s sex on a stick, baby.” June looked over her shoulder to where her fiancé was waiting, his attention alternatively on the basketball game and on his watch. He began testing his phone, pushing the buttons with annoyance. June frowned.
Ally was shocked by the look of regret on her friend’s face. She filed it away as nerves. The tryouts must really be getting to her.
“What do you have to lose?” June asked.
“Time. Self-respect. My reputation.” My heart.
“Listen, Ally, you don’t have a reputation. No one has reputations anymore. In modern times, best friends are supposed to tell each other the truth. Like, for example, you need to get laid.”
Ally looked at Will. Had she let down her best friend by never telling June what she thought of her boyfriend?
Now June was looking at her watch. “We have to be in New Jersey for Lula’s rehearsal dinner by five. Have your way with that beautiful man, and then tell me every single disgusting detail.” Her friend stopped and looked at her very seriously. “Ally, just because you want to have some fun with a beautiful man doesn’t mean you’re irresponsible. You’re not your mother, and he’s not anything like your father. No offense, but your father was a bit of a loser. Sam is a lot of things, but he’s no loser.”
Ally wanted to grab on to June and not let go. “I know. I know.” And she did know that leaving her sleeping grandmother for an hour was nothing like her mother leaving Ally for a lifetime. But still, it was a slippery slope. It was too close to her parents’ reality for comfort. I will never be them. I will be conscientious. Because if I act crazy— then what? What would happen? Why did it feel so dire? “You and Will are still coming to stay with us next week, right? Did Will get off work?”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world. But I can’t wait that long to hear what happens with not-Sam. Promise me you’ll call me and tell me all about it before then.”
They both looked at Sam. The game was still going, but Sam had left it to join the group petting Paula. He held one little girl up so that she could get closer. He told a tough-looking boy of about nine that Paula bites only boys who aren’t nice to their little sisters. The boy pulled back his hand and the little girl beamed.
“There won’t be anything to tell,” Ally said, trying to put the image of Sam with the children out of her head. I so don’t want to marry him and have his brood like some overbreeding noblewoman. But Sam held the little girl so carefully. Like a man who might be a good father…
“Then promise me you’ll make something up. Ally, c’mon. You deserve a good time, too. That man may be a lot of awful things, but I’m pretty sure he’s very, very good in bed.”
Ally watched her friend go with a sinking heart. She wished she could go to a party with June’s huge family, to drink and dance and then go off to Europe for the summer, to be famous and adored, then come back for a three-hundred-person, sit-down wedding with a kind, normal man.
Instead, tomorrow, Ally would drive the rental June had left for her to Lindenhurst to meet Eloisa Tyler, the housekeeper she was interviewing. If all went well, Eloisa would keep the car, give Ally a lift back to the carriage, then take the car on herself to Granny Donny’s house. She’d air out the house and get it ready for them. Ally felt a pang of guilt for sending a scout ahead to see if the house was occupied, but she allowed herself this weakness because if her parents were there, she wanted to give them advance notice. She wanted them to know she was coming so they would be able to leave if they wanted. She wanted a family reunion to be a choice.
Ally hoped Eloi
sa was decent and trustworthy. Her references were excellent, and they had talked by phone several times, but you never knew. In a life spent avoiding chance, she was suddenly racking up an alarming number of risky bets.
“Ready to hit the Hilton?” Mateo asked, startling her.
“Is Paula rested?”
“She’s doing great.” Mateo was so relaxed, he seemed almost happy. Ally got the sense that Paula had relaxed, too. Maybe, from here on out, they could all relax.
“And Sam?”
“He’s rested, too,” Mateo said. “I’ll drop your grandmother at the Hilton, get Paula settled, then me and Sammy are gonna stop for a drink.”
“Of course.” They probably couldn’t wait to get away from the womenfolk.
Mateo drove Ally’s grandmother the short hop to the hotel. Ally followed in the car.
It was time for dinner and bed.
And that was definitely all.
To resist was pointless. He was determined to ruin her. But she had no intention of enjoying it.
—From The Dulcet Duke
Chapter 20
Ally woke up. Something was scratching at the door. She looked at the glowing red numbers on the clock: 1:37 in the morning.
Scratch, scratch, scratch.
Sam. Who else? Her heart pounded.
Granny Donny was snoring soundly.
Ally rolled over in her bed, wrapping her pillow around her ears. This was crazy.
The scratching continued.
Oh, hell. She threw back the covers and went to the door. She cracked it open with the safety chain still on.
“Princess, I need you. For alas, tomorrow, I go to war,” Sam said.
Ally scowled. “Tomorrow, we go to Hempstead.”
He cleared his throat, reset his feet, and raised his chest. “Nonetheless, I cannot go forth to Hempstead without at least one last kiss from your dewdropped lips.”
“Dewdropped? Oh, please, Lancet is better than that.” What was Sam wearing? She tried to look through the slit of the door, but her eyes were still sleep-logged and resisted the light. She unlatched the door and opened it wider.
Granny Donny stirred. Ally slipped out, leaving the door ajar behind her.
How to Tame a Modern Rogue Page 14
