Unexpected Ties

by Gina Dartt

  She narrowed her eyes as she turned back to scrutinize court three, identifying the man Tiffany was hitting with. I knew he was a tennis player. Martin Elliot, tall and tanned even this early in the year, and looking much less sullen than he had appeared at the Historical Society Dinner, yelled something indistinguishable to his opponent, who laughed.

  Watching them, Nikki felt her inquisitive instincts stirring. There’s something there.

  As the four women went through the gate to set up on the first court, Nikki kept half an eye on what was happening on court three. Martin and Tiffany weren’t playing a match; they were simply hitting the ball back and forth. No reason to think twice about that but it seemed odd for them to travel all the way to Truro to do it on a Friday afternoon. The Shortt’s Lake club was closer and generally had more courts available than the Truro club, though it was possible that the Lake club didn’t have their nets up yet. Perhaps Tiffany just had to be in town for some reason, and Martin asked to meet him here, but on the face of it, that didn’t make sense. Nikki wondered if they didn’t want to be seen hanging around together too often at Shortt’s Lake, particularly by Tiffany’s husband.

  That thought made her miss an easy put-away, and when she saw the smirk on Debbie’s face, she decided that she had wasted enough attention on the Elliots. Debbie and Audrey were already up three games to one, including two breaks of serve, and if Nikki didn’t want to see this set gone, she was going to have to start playing better. Despite her winter rust and Elaine’s limitations, they could certainly offer a better challenge to their opponents than they had so far.

  “Sorry,” Nikki said as she went back to receive serve. “I guess I’m still getting into it.”

  Elaine smiled and ducked her head, a slight blush staining her cheeks.

  Nikki looked back across the net at Debbie, who was bouncing the ball, bent over in the classic serving position. Debbie had a pretty good serve. The technique wasn’t by the book, but she managed to get both pace and spin whenever she wanted, which, at this level, made it fairly dangerous. Nikki drew her lips back over her teeth in a feral grin as she leaned forward.

  Debbie took note of it and aborted her toss, taking a second to peer over the net at her nemesis. “Whoops. Look at who just woke up.”

  “I see,” Audrey said, and glanced over her shoulder at Debbie. “Took a while, didn’t it?”

  Nikki knew they were trying to distract her and ignored them, ready to receive the ball. Debbie and Audrey exchanged glances again, and then, grinning, Debbie served.

  Nikki took a full swing at the ball, the yellow, fuzzy sphere impacting solidly with the strings in the center of the racket and smashing back down the alley that Audrey had not quite been covering.

  “Good shot,” Debbie said, somewhat sourly as she changed to the other service court.

  Nikki dipped her head modestly, but inwardly delighted in the shot as she took two steps up to the service court. That was why she played tennis, that sweet, wonderful elation when the ball did exactly what she wanted and did it in a way that finished the point. She didn’t even particularly care if she won, just so long as she played well. That was the real difference between her and Debbie’s game, and why she held the upper hand in all the matches between them in the club tournaments. Nikki derived a pure, simple pleasure from hitting the ball, whereas Debbie always wanted to win. Her desire tended to cost her on crucial points when she tightened up, preventing her from swinging freely, while Nikki continued to hit the same way as she always did, regardless of the situation. Elaine managed to return Debbie’s next serve cross-court. Her shot was weak, but when Audrey returned it, hitting it back at Elaine, Nikki took two quick strides, intercepting it to volley back between her two opponents, out of reach of either. Fifteen-thirty, and suddenly the game and set were no longer out of reach. Nikki flashed a smile at Elaine, who blushed in return, and settled down to knock the rest of the rust off her game.

  An hour and a half later, she hefted her bag over her shoulder, pleased with her play. She had seen Tiffany and Martin leave earlier, noticing them hop into a sporty Mustang convertible together. Pondering what she had seen, she strode briskly down Brunswick Street, cut across the railroad tracks behind the Truro Center, and used the alley to come out at the crosswalk. Novel Companions was just down the block from here, on the corner of Outram and Prince.

  Nikki felt a smile edge her lips a few minutes later as she stepped into the familiar, warm surroundings of the bookstore. Kate was behind the counter, waiting on a few customers, and Nikki lingered in the store until they left, daring to lean across the counter and kiss Kate quickly on the lips once the door had closed behind them.

  “Hi, there.” Her voice was suddenly husky. Sometimes the emotion she felt for Kate welled up and made it difficult to talk.

  “Hi, yourself. What were you up to?”

  “First game of tennis,” Nikki said happily. “Have you eaten?”

  Kate suddenly looked weary. “First break in customers I’ve had today. Good for business, bad for my stomach.”

  “Let me use your shower, and then I’ll bring you down a little something to tide you over until dinner.”

  A grateful look crossed Kate’s classic features. “Would you do that for me?”

  “Any time.” Nikki would have kissed her again, but the door opened as more customers came in, so she contented herself with a smile and headed for the rear of the store and the staircase leading to Kate’s apartment.

  Chapter Seven

  Kate sat cross-legged on the sofa and hungrily scooped up another bite of chicken fried rice and moo goo gai pan. Nikki had popped down to the China Rose, their favorite Chinese restaurant just down the block from Novel Companions, and picked up dinner. Now Kate was enjoying her meal after a long and profitable day. The lights were subdued, music played quietly on the stereo, and Kate thought she should feel completely content. She supposed she would, if the phone call she had received a few days earlier still didn’t weigh so heavily.

  “Feeling better?” Nikki asked as she sank back against the sofa cushions.

  “Much.”

  “Are you sure? You looked pretty frazzled in the store earlier. Is not having any help getting to you?”

  “Honestly, Nikki, I’m fine.” Kate was startled by the snap in her tone. “I’m sorry,” she apologized quickly. “It is becoming a little difficult to work all these hours, but Linda brought by some résumés so hopefully I’ll hire someone soon.”

  “Good.” Nikki studied her, blue eyes dark in the lowered illumination. “Is that all?”

  “You are starting to know me well, aren’t you?”

  Nikki looked pleased at the comment, but her eyes didn’t waver in their intensity. “Enough to know when something’s bothering you.”

  “I had a call a couple of days ago from my grandmother.” Kate poked a piece of chicken with her fork absently. “She’s coming home in a couple of weeks and wants me to prepare for her arrival.”

  “Prepare?”

  “Make sure her house is stocked with groceries, that her house-keeper is rehired, that she’s picked up at the airport...that sort of thing.”

  “You don’t like doing it?”

  “I always do it,” Kate explained. “Just not this time of year. She usually doesn’t come back from Tampa until the middle of June. It’s only the end of April. It couldn’t have come at a worse time with me alone in the store.”

  “Did she say why she was coming back early?”

  “She mentioned, quite pointedly, that she wants to discuss the changes going on in my life.”

  “Meaning?”

  Kate inhaled slowly. “I think Hannah Elliot has been telling her all sorts of things regarding you and me. I have the impression Grandmother isn’t pleased.”

  “Oh.” Nikki’s face went still, and a muscle jumped sporadically in her jaw.

  Immediately, Kate put her plate onto the coffee table and reached out for her lover, pulling her
into a warm embrace. “Regardless, nothing she can say would ever alter my feelings for you. I love you. That won’t change.”

  Nikki put her hand over the arm holding her around her chest. “All right.” She paused. “It’s going to be hard for you.”

  Kate hugged her closer, lowering her head onto Nikki’s shoulder. “It might be. My grandmother is all I really have left. Her opinion has always meant a great deal to me. I won’t lie. It’ll hurt a great deal if she disapproves of our relationship, but I can handle it.”

  “I’m sorry.” Nikki nuzzled her hair gently.

  “I am, too.”

  They sat for a moment, unsure of the future but trusting that they would face it together.

  “When does she arrive?” Nikki asked.

  “The twenty-fourth of May. She’s coming in at two. I need to have someone hired by then and trained enough to leave them alone. That, or close the store for the rest of the day. It’s not just picking Gram up from the airport. It’s getting her settled at home and doing anything else that she needs that day.” Her head ached at the thought of what had to be done before then.

  “I could go pick her up.” Nikki had an odd expression in her eyes, half-challenging, as if she wanted to confront Kate’s grandmother im-mediately but also half-frightened Kate might take her up on the offer.

  Kate smiled gently. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”

  “Maybe not.” Nikki’s features firmed as she gathered her arguments. “But it’s more convenient for me to pick her up. And I have to meet her sooner or later.”

  Kate considered the offer. “It certainly would make a statement about us being together from the very beginning.” She hesitated. “Nikki, my grandmother can be quite unpleasant if she puts her mind to it. She never has with me, but I’ve seen her with others.”

  “Oh.” Nikki frowned as that possibility sunk in, and Kate felt a wash of affection for her. “I can do this,” she insisted after a moment’s silence. “I love you, and I’m with you, and I don’t want anything or anyone to get between us. I also don’t want there to be any question about how I feel about you.”

  “There isn’t.” Kate kissed her softly. “The sooner Grandmother understands how much you’re a part of my life, the better. But I don’t think the airport is the proper time or place.”

  Nikki regarded her for a long moment and then grinned. “I wouldn’t want to give her a stroke.”

  Kate chuckled. “She’d give you one, first. Believe me.”

  “Maybe she’ll actually like me.”

  “Of course she will. She’ll adore you as much as I do.” Kate traced a path up Nikki’s neck with her lips, finding the soft lobe of her ear and nipping at it lightly.

  Nikki laughed—a low, sensual chuckle. “Well, I don’t know if I want her to like me that much.” She shifted, pressing Kate back against the sofa.

  Kate reached up, removing Nikki’s glasses and placing them carefully on the coffee table. Her breath caught as Nikki’s mouth found hers and Nikki’s gentle weight pushed her down into the yielding cushions. They kissed deeply, their embrace warm and sheltering. Kate felt so safe and secure in this position, Nikki’s lips a benediction upon hers.

  “We could take this into the bedroom,” she murmured between the long, slow melting kisses.

  “We could,” Nikki agreed, but she showed little desire to change position.

  Several moments passed as they continued to kiss, their hands lazily caressing, loosening and removing each other’s garments. Kate hummed happily as Nikki finally managed to unhook her bra and toss it aside, lowering her head to cover a nipple, prodding it lightly with her tongue.

  “Oh, my,” she whispered. “That’s…rather nice.”

  Nikki glanced up momentarily to grin at her before continuing her loving assault, the tip of her tongue circling relentlessly, provoking the most delightful chills. Kate closed her eyes as she surrendered to the sensation, hugging Nikki’s head to her. She so adored when her lover paid attention to this area of her body. Nikki loved her with a superb delicacy, drawing out the wonderful sensation until Kate thought she would lose herself utterly.

  “Oh, Nikki,” she managed. “I think—”

  “Shh, relax. Let me love you.”

  Kate had no defense to offer, nor did she seek one. She quivered as Nikki finally stopped, bestowing a gentle kiss to each exquisitely tender nipple before moving slowly downward. Strong hands tugged at Kate’s pants, unfastening them and pulling them down her legs, drawing the lace panties with them. Suddenly exposed, Kate felt a warm breath rush over her, and she cried out again, helpless beneath the skillful touch of her lover. Nikki’s mouth covered her, an intimate dance of lips and tongue over her sensitive flesh, pleasuring her until Kate could no longer hold back the tide of her rapture.

  Trembling in the aftermath, her body still resonating with lingering delight, she tangled her hands in Nikki’s hair, weaving the silky golden strands around her fingers. Nikki rested her head on Kate’s abdomen, stroking her lightly with gentle fingertips, patiently waiting as Kate basked in the warm afterglow.

  “I love you,” Kate whispered, overwhelmed.

  Nikki lifted her head, a white flash of teeth appearing in a warm smile. “I love you, too.” She dipped her head, kissing a spot just below Kate’s belly button, then again, just above it, making a slow trail up her body.

  Finally, Nikki was in her arms, settling onto her once more with sheltering warmth, her mouth firm on Kate’s. Kate could taste herself, piquant and lingering on her lips, and she kissed her deeply, openly, almost dizzy from the sheer intimacy of it.

  Nikki groaned softly into her, and Kate tugged restlessly at the clothes that still obstructed her. “Let me…” she murmured.

  Nikki drew away briefly, stripping away the last garments that separated her and Kate until warm flesh was on flesh, skin sliding sensually against skin, their hands no longer hindered as they roamed free over curve and plane. Kate sought out and found the wet heat awaiting her, and her moan echoed Nikki’s as she stroked lavishly, knowing her partner needed firmness at this point and not any teasing caress.

  Nikki’s body was hot on hers, moving against her fingers insistently, her breath a sob in Kate’s ear. There was a moment of hesitation, a cry of demand and anticipation, before Nikki shuddered helplessly, the sound at the back of her throat no longer coherent or intelligent, merely ragged with the intensity of the sensations rippling through her.

  Kate hugged her lover, stroking the head that had fallen onto her chest, feeling protective and needful at the same time and aware that Nikki was feeling the same. Snuggling closer, requiring the sanctuary of her love, Nikki freely offered the haven of her own.

  Finally, Kate smiled, wiggling beneath Nikki. “The bedroom.”

  “The bedroom.”

  Leaving their clothes where they had been discarded, though Nikki did retrieve her glasses, they linked hands and moved into the bedroom, slipping between the cool sheets to wrap themselves around each other. Sleep came quickly, and Kate didn’t resist, knowing that the next day would arrive soon enough with its challenges, but feeling ready to face them so long as she had Nikki by her side.

  Chapter Eight

  Surrounded by warmth and the musky fragrance of her lover, Nikki woke in blissful satisfaction. Kate still slept, cradled in her arms, her face smoothed out and much younger than her forty years, vulnerable in the early morning light. Carefully, Nikki rose to an elbow and looked down at her. Contentment filled her chest. She had thought she would never find love again, that she would never be able to trust anyone with her heart. Then Kate had come into her life, and slowly Nikki had allowed herself to fall in love again. She knew the consequences of this leap of faith would be much harder on her if it didn’t work out.

  Forcing away the dark thought, she gently kissed Kate’s forehead and slipped out of bed, refusing to be disappointed that her lover didn’t stir. Donning an old robe of Kate’s that was fa
r too small for her, she padded out to the kitchen and set about fixing breakfast.

  So involved was she with her preparations that when the arms slipped around her waist, she barely avoided dropping an egg on the floor.

  “Good morning.” She leaned back into Kate’s warmth. “I was going to bring you breakfast in bed.”

  “Were you? That’s so sweet. Thank you, love.” Kate hugged her tightly. “You know, you look really good in that robe, making breakfast. Makes me feel all warm inside.”

  Nikki felt the heat in her cheeks as she cracked the egg, separating the shell with her fingers to allow the inside to slip into the bowl. “You must be in love. My hair’s a mess, and this robe has a big hole in it.”

  Kate reached through the rip and patted Nikki on the hip. “That’s why I like it,” she said in a throaty voice.

  Nikki laughed. “Go sit down. I’ll finish making breakfast.”

  Kate hugged her once more, clearly reluctant to release her before finally moving around the counter to sit on one of the stools lining the breakfast bar. Propping her chin up with her hands, elbows on the polished surface, she regarded Nikki with a devoted expression.

  “I really like having you here in the mornings.”

  Nikki felt a sudden flutter in her stomach as she mixed the egg with tiny bits of ham, green pepper, and mushroom, pouring the combination into a heated frying pan. “I like being here.”

  There was a pause. “Have you ever considered…being here all the time?” Every word sounded carefully considered before it was allowed to slip from Kate’s lips.

  It had been awhile since they had discussed moving in together, coming to a mutual understanding that the subject would come up again, hopefully at a more prudent time. Nikki placed four pieces of bread into the large toaster and pushed down the lever. “You know I have.”