Back in the guest room she fiddled with the clock-radio until she found some innocuous pop music. Unpacking only what she needed to shower, she made her way to the bathroom across the hall and took advantage of the excellent lighting to peer at her hair. It was looking worse and worse every day with very red roots and a sharp line where blond began. She ought to wear a hat all the time.
The shower was hot and refreshing. She wrapped herself in a towel and went back to her room only to discover Nicole in the act of turning off the radio. Her pulse leapt to a painful throb and she couldn’t swallow.
“You’re back. I hope it was okay I took a shower, and thank you for the oatmeal, it was really good, not mushy.” You’re babbling, she thought. What exactly was the right thing to say? She was wearing only a towel and they were standing entirely too close to the bed and its tousled covers. She could only hope that the flush she felt washing down her cheeks and shoulders could be attributed to a postshower glow.
“I was looking for you,” Nicole said. Her voice was almost distant as she added, “Dear heaven.”
“What?”
“You.” Nicole reached for her.
Lily couldn’t help a reflexive glance over her shoulder.
“My mother is still at the hospital. Kate is doing better. We’ll go back in a while.” Nicole still sounded distracted though her eyes were dark with desire.
“In a while,” Lily echoed. She watched Nicole unknot the towel and was in a moment naked in her arms, then pulling Nicole down to the bed.
“You feel delicious,” Nicole whispered.
They shouldn’t, Lily thought. She tried to say it, even, as she pulled Nicole’s T-shirt over her head. But Nicole’s kisses took her breath away and the only words she could say were yes and please.
What seemed like only minutes later, as the world around Lily shifted from a shining gold glow to the soft reflections of morning light off the red and white wallpaper, Nicole wrapped Lily close in her arms and said quietly, “I’m sorry if that was abrupt. I can’t seem to help myself.”
That was a doubled-edged compliment, Lily thought. It was nice to be irresistible, but knowing as much as she did now about biological imperatives and Nicole’s deeply held belief that every impulse in the human psyche and body were powered by them, she wasn’t keen on being the bell for Nicole’s Pavlovian urges.
If we keep doing this I’m not going to like myself much. She couldn’t help but stretch into Nicole’s warmth, and she undeniably liked the heat that was growing again in her fingers and toes.
“I need you to help me find something,” Nicole said.
Lily closed her fingertips around Nicole’s small, erect nipple. “Found it.”
Nicole laughed, but Lily also felt a shiver. All in a rush they were kissing again, rolling across the bed, this time with Lily landing on top and Nicole making breathy pleas for attention. She took her time, teasing and kissing away ragged requests for more. She finally let Nicole guide her hand where she wanted it and a few minutes later muted Nicole’s shout of climax with her lips.
With a shiver of delight she relaxed into Nicole’s arms, half-laughing.
There was an answering ripple of amusement from Nicole. “Now that we have that out of the way…”
“Yes? You wanted me to find something?”
“It’s called a bed jacket. Kate says she has three and if I don’t return with at least one of them I am no longer her sister.”
“I’m sure we can find one.”
“You haven’t seen her room.”
Though she hated to move, she shooed Nicole out of the bed. “You go look for something that’s a lot like a long, silky sweater and I’ll get dressed.”
“But I want to stay here.”
“If you do we’ll not get up. We have things to do.” Lily began inching toward the side of the bed.
Nicole slowly sat up. “You’re bossy, did you know that?”
“You like it, admit it.”
Nicole caught her hand and pulled her close for a kiss. “Sometimes.”
“Stop that,” Lily said when she was able. She couldn’t take her eyes off Nicole’s mouth.
“Oh, that was convincing.” Nicole kissed her again, then let her go. “They moved Kate out of the ICU this morning. They’re now watching for postsurgical infection. The doctors are very pleased. She could come home in two or three days.”
“I’m glad.” Lily paused in the act of pulling clean pants and a top out of her suitcase. “I really am.”
Nicole was buttoning her jeans again, her expression pensive. “I don’t know how soon I can resume the tour. But perhaps in a week? Truly, I could use the break at home. It took me forever to fall asleep last night but once I did I think I didn’t move.”
“It’s been a tiring trip. I understand.” Lily buttoned her only sweater over the plain white shirt. “I’ll take care of everything. Let me go dry my hair and I’ll join you.”
She surveyed herself in the mirror, amazed at how the last few minutes of eager passion didn’t show in the least. She took her time with the hair dryer because of the temperatures outside—no point in going out with a wet head.
She finally felt it was dry enough and had just finished taming the tendency to curl and snarl with hair spray when Nicole appeared in the bathroom doorway holding two garments, one black and translucent, the other pink and opaque.
“Which?”
“Silly—which do you think?” Lily pointed at each. “That’s a negligee and would shock the nurses. The pink is a bed jacket.”
“I have little experience of either.”
“I can give you experience with negligees, if you like.” I’m a dipshidiot, Lily thought—Libido had complete control of her brain.
Nicole’s eyes took on the dark fire that brought Lily’s blood to a boil. She tossed both garments over her shoulder into the hallway. “I’d like.”
Backed up to the sink, Lily shivered into Nicole’s kisses and helped get her jeans unbuttoned. Nicole’s slender hand slid under Lily’s panties, fingers seeking and finding a slick welcome that Lily echoed with a sharp cry. She panted into Nicole’s shoulder, bewildered and amazed that she could come again, so soon, and still feel like her desire had not even begun to be satisfied.
Nicole laughed low in her ear as she rocked Lily against her. “I’m so glad you like that.”
“I’m feeling things I didn’t even know I could.” An unwise admission, Lily thought.
“I don’t want to leave until I’m sure my mother can cope with Kate being at home, and transporting her to the hospital to be with Juliet every day. But I can’t wait…” Nicole tightened her arms around Lily. “I can’t wait to spend the nights with you.”
Lily closed her eyes and tried not to again hear a double-edged compliment. Only the nights? And yet what possible basis did Lily have to expect more?
* * *
“Give me a few minutes to make up some sandwiches. Mom is sick of hospital food already and Kate insists she can eat peanut butter and jelly.” Nicole managed to disentangle herself from Lily’s arms, though even those few inches of separation felt like a dash of cold water.
How was she ever going to look into the guest room or the bathroom and not remember Lily in her arms? How was this house ever not going to seem as if it were throbbing with the memory of Lily’s cries?
“I’ll go finish getting ready,” Lily murmured. “I need earrings. I feel half dressed.”
A flash of Lily, blouse open, chest flushed with desire, left Nicole disconcertingly breathless. She resolutely went to the kitchen and set about making PB&J sandwiches. She packed them in a paper bag along with a couple of bags of Cape Cod chips and an orange for her mother, who didn’t think a meal was complete without a fruit. Task completed, she also felt a welcome calm. Lily had still not appeared, so Nicole went in search of her. A cold draft from the sitting room French doors drew her in that direction.
The back garden, even this late in the N
ew England season, was still beautiful and lush. Mums showed yellow, brown and white under the evergreen bushes. The apple tree leaves were golden and orange. In the middle of the riot of color stood Lily, simply gazing around her. Her hair lifted in the wind. Abruptly she smiled for no apparent reason.
The remaining rational part of Nicole that could still think about tomorrows wondered how she would ever sit at her desk in her bedroom again, look into the garden and not see Lily there. She wouldn’t merely remember Lily in the gardens at the Alhambra, against the chessboard in Italy or shivering in the cold Russian morning. Every vista in her daily life, inside and out, was filled with green eyes and those beautiful curving lips. Her ears were full of passion and laughter that reflected the quick curiosity of Lily’s mind.
So many futures ahead of her, Nicole thought. She brutally reminded herself that Lily was young enough to be one of her graduate students.
Lily turned and saw her in the doorway. “Your mother is a wonder.”
“In a few more weeks it’ll be covered in snow and ice and still look beautiful. Crocuses come up in January.” Nicole didn’t leave the doorway. “We should go.”
“Can we stop and get a sweater or light jacket in town? I’ll be very quick.”
“Sure.” Yet another place that would be full of Lily in the future.
As Lily walked past her Nicole smelled the familiar vanilla and cherry scent of her freshly washed hair. She felt her stomach tighten, this time not with arousal but with resignation.
* * *
“I can’t believe you survived so many weeks with that one and can still stand to be in the same room with her.” Kate’s words were softened by an indulgent look at her sister that surprised Lily to no end. Post-partum feel-good hormones? The snipe level did seem to be diminished. But Kate had been greatly cheered by the arrival of the bed jacket to wear over her hospital gown and had crowed when Nicole had put her iPad on the bedside table and explained that she’d already transferred photos of Juliet to it.
“We were both focused on the grueling schedule. Hardly time to read the signs welcoming us to town before it was time to leave.” She took back the hairbrush Kate handed to her, dropping it into the little travel bag with Kate’s name on it. Kate was definitely the kind of girl who felt better for some blush on her cheeks and snarls out of her hair.
“You don’t look like you just had a baby and major surgery,” Lily pronounced.
“Really?” Kate looked doubtful.
Lily patted her hand. “More like you just had the flu—but you’re on the mend.”
Kate gestured at the paraphernalia lining one side of her bed. “I can’t wait until they take away the IV and monitors and I can walk to see Juliet.”
“Tomorrow maybe, depending on how your sutures are holding,” Indira reminded her. “If you don’t have a relapse for eating solids when the doctors said to wait.”
“Peanut butter and jelly. Seriously, Mom. It’s not going to hurt me.”
Lily truly admired the economical shift of Indira’s shoulders. She was going to try to learn that. It so clearly said that pity was the only reason Indira wasn’t arguing the point. She tamped down a grin as both Hathaway daughters rolled their eyes in precisely the same manner. Though Nicole didn’t want to believe it, they were very much alike. Juliet was going to grow up just as strong-minded, and so utterly loved.
The control it had taken to keep from grinning helped her hold back sudden tears. One of these days she’d stop tripping over her parents’ lack of affection. She could still hear Nicole’s pronouncement, “They could not have loved you.”
What she felt in this room was palpable. Love washed in through her eyes and ears to warm her bones, heart and soul.
“I think I’ll go for some coffee. Does anyone want anything?” She put Kate’s travel kit in the drawer labeled “Patient’s Belongings.”
Assured no one could stand the thought of hospital coffee she made her way to the cafeteria. She didn’t much want coffee but the warm paper cup felt good in her hands, and her absence would give the Hathaways more time together.
The second-story windows had a lovely view of Lake Winnipesauke. The onset of cold weather made its waters seem a darker blue even though a brilliant sunshine shimmered off its rippling surface. She pulled her new bright blue cable-knit sweater more tightly around her shoulders. It wasn’t hard to imagine the lake with snow-covered shores and ice where people had been wading in the water on her first visit. For now, the green-crusted islands were dotted with golds and oranges as the leaves turned. A week from now it would be even more stunning, she thought. She would love to watch it change, bit by bit.
The coffee grew more bitter as it cooled so she wandered back to the condiment station to add more half-and-half. It was peaceful but for the drone of the television which suddenly penetrated her pensive distraction. It was a measure of how far away her thoughts were that she hadn’t recognized that woman’s voice sooner. It was a commercial for her program, which began in another few minutes.
Against her will she paid attention to the words.
“Today I’ll be interviewing the Jefferson County police officer at the center of the controversial handling of evidence from the Kitty Reilly kidnapping. Procedures appear to have been followed, but who wrote those procedures? Was it the now discredited chief of police who left office abruptly three years ago? We’ll find out. We’ll also have the promised exclusive update on the whereabouts of the rich girl everybody wants to find.”
She resisted throwing the contents of her cup at the screen. So she wasn’t going to be left alone. Fine. Whatever. Merrill Boone wasn’t going to find her anytime soon, and so what if she did? She had nothing to fear. She left the cafeteria and briskly circled the floor in an attempt to clear her head of the woman’s voice and the poison it spread.
When she returned to the room it was to find that little Juliet had been brought in. A double-masked Nicole shooed an understanding Lily back out the door. Once in the hallway she pulled down her mask to reveal a grin.
“When the nurse found out I’d just returned from abroad she just about banned me from the hospital, but doubling up got me a waiver. Later I might have to submit to a hazmat scrub down.”
“Oh—I hadn’t even thought of that. A good precaution. I totally get it,” Lily assured her. She hoped to make little Juliet’s acquaintance some day, but germs were germs and there was no telling what they’d dragged home with them. “I can happily do some more shopping and return later.”
Nicole seemed to accept that, though she asked quietly, “Are you sure?”
“Of course. There’s a shoe store.”
Nicole heaved an indulgent sigh. “See you after a while then.”
Lily waved her phone as she headed for the stairs. “I’ll text if I need to.”
Several minutes later a wrong turn happily landed her in front of the public library. Now that she was on her own, her curiosity was getting the better of her. Her little laptop negotiated with the library’s wireless service and she reluctantly went to the Boone website. Better to read the dirt than have to listen to Boone say it.
Well, it was something that she wasn’t the featured story on the page. But she was the story with the banner “Exclusive” across it at the bottom of the page.
MERRILL BOONE has learned that runaway heiress LILLIAN LINDEN-SMITH has relocated to New Orleans under disguise of a new blond haircut and in the company of people who may not be Americans. Looking remarkably refreshed and well-dressed for someone who cried “I’m broke!” to the court, Linden-Smith was the picture of leisure while sightseeing with her new playmates. Anyone who spots Linden-Smith should call the show. Cash reward for photographs.
So a person free to travel anywhere in the world was now a “runaway”? She shouldn’t be surprised, but she was a bit baffled why Boone had chosen to say she was with “playmates,” plural. Had she been unwilling to tell her staff she’d been flummoxed by a woman who “may
not be American”? What a racist assessment, Lily fumed.
She disconnected and found herself in no mood for shopping. A hike in the woods would be glorious and clear her head, but she lacked anything close to decent gear. She had no boots, no warm coat should she get lost or the weather turn. No way was she going to do something stupid and then need to be rescued by Nicole again.
A power walk down the greenway that sprawled alongside the city government buildings helped to calm her nerves, but her mind was still spinning in circles when she returned to the rental car. Part of her still wanted to get away from Nicole and their damned chemistry that made it so hard to think. She knew her heart was going to get broken, and yet she couldn’t make herself leave just to save herself. Now she knew that Boone was still on the hunt. What about Nicole—and Indira, and Kate and even little Juliet—if someone decided their houseguest might be worth some money, just a photo? If she stayed for the week they were at risk of harassment when they needed to be left alone.
All at once Lily was back on the subway with the man and woman jostling her with their briefcases while they pretended she didn’t exist, then following her from car to car. People were more vicious than Nicole could know. Indira, as an immigrant, had no doubt spent a lot of her life staring down unwelcoming locals, but why should she have to do that again on Lily’s behalf?
Nicole had said she couldn’t wait to get back on the road so they could spend their nights together. That wasn’t exactly a declaration that she wanted Lily around all the time. That her day didn’t begin until Lily said “good morning” and couldn’t end until they kissed good night.
That was how she wanted to be needed. All the time. She wasn’t going to stick around to be a Passepartout with Benefits to Nicole’s science-above-all Phileas Fogg. But if she was with Nicole again and again and again, that was what she’d be. With a cold shiver she wondered what Uncle Damon would say if he knew. A bewitching night was one thing, but an affair for the duration of the job? That was something else.
Love by the Numbers Page 28
