****
Jack regretted the impulse. Even though he had instigated the kiss, he was powerless in its hold. She kissed him back, her floral scent and lips that tasted of sweet wine, overtook him. He forgot his surroundings and explored her lips and mouth with his tongue. Beth’s mouth was the only part of her body he touched, but just this small exquisite touch could plunge him over the edge.
He had to break the hold, rein in this powerful desire. Reluctantly, he sat back.
He composed his face, even though it seemed he was reconfiguring every cell in his body to do it. The innocent gleam in her eyes was still there, even more so now. She looked at him unblinking. Dark green smoke swirled in those emerald eyes.
Jack had seen it before and understood the unspoken invitation to kiss her again. He wanted to, this time all over her body, wanted to taste her and immerse in the garden scent that clung to her. Tempting.
We’re both consenting adults, why not? We could go back to her place. And this time we won’t watch sporting events on her flat screen TV.
He gazed into her sweet and so seductive face.
She’s practically a virgin. Would I be there in the morning for her? No. That would put me in the same league as Wally. Can’t do it.
“Sorry. I shouldn’t have done that,” he placed both his hands flat on either side of his plate. “We should give them the table.”
Scarlet welts colored her cheekbones. Beth looked at him blankly and didn’t speak as she gathered her things.
Jack signaled to Rae. She brought their bill and Jack left cash on top of it. Beth stood and Jack helped her with her coat before he donned his and steered her outside.
He kept her close, his arm around her to insulate her against the frigid wind. By the time they walked the four short blocks from the restaurant to Beth’s building, the inside of his nose stung and his eyes watered from the cold. But his gut burned wanting more of her.
Outside the building, he wrapped her in his arms fanning the inner flames higher. He put his hand under her chin and turned her face gently upward so she could see his eyes—hoping that they projected that he cared about her feelings. Because he did, he wouldn’t risk hurting her with a casual affair. In the soft glow of the lobby lights reflected on the pavement, he kissed her softly on the forehead. “Goodnight, Beth.”
“Thank you for dinner. Goodnight, Jack.”
****
The cold did nothing to dampen the fire from his kiss at the restaurant. Lizzie longed to taste the thrill of his lips against hers again instead of a soft peck on the forehead. But this wasn’t the place. Now wasn’t the time.
Inside she raised one hand in a wave, and he waved back, then strode away, sexy as hell, his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket.
Turning around Lizzie noticed Darla grinning at her from her security post.
“Hi Darla.”
“Hi, Miz Moran. Your man brought me these flowers.” She pointed to a bowl of tulips on the counter.
“My man? He did?” Lizzie stepped closer to smell the flowers. “Wasn’t that nice?”
“Yes, ma’am. Nobody ever brought me flowers here before. You be sure to thank him for me, will you?”
“I will, Darla, first chance I get.” If he calls and I get the chance at all. I really hope he calls.
****
Lizzie kicked off her shoes and dropped her purse on the floor in the living room. Ambient city lights glowed around her, a source of joy and awe to her every night, like living with an enormous Christmas tree in your living room all year long.
She walked to the window and appreciated the view of her “back yard” for a while, her thoughts muddled. Last week she had looked out at the same lights and thought about Wallace. After the evening with Jack, Wallace had somehow gotten replaced in her reverie.
If she had invited Jack home with her, would she be lying across her bed that minute? Lizzie closed her eyes and pictured what it might be like, his powerful hands on her breasts, and his breath on her neck. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and grasped her upper arms suddenly cold, alone.
She’d call Kay. They had played phone tag all week, and Lizzie needed to hear Kay’s voice.
Mick picked up.
“Hey, Mick. How’s the daddy-to-be doing?”
“I’m fine, Lizzie girl, but I miss my Katherine.”
“What? Where’s Kay?”
“Shit. She wanted to tell you herself. I thought you knew. She’s in the hospital. She started spotting, and the doctor ordered full bed rest. He wants to delay delivery as long as possible. The babies benefit from every additional day. She tried to stay in bed here but couldn’t do it. I’m working all the time on the renovations to get everything done by the time the babies are born. She can’t handle my working and waiting on her, too. The hospital is the only place where she can be controlled.” He laughed. “It’s good she’s there, but I miss her, especially at night.”
Oh God. I don’t like the sound of this. “Should I come out there, Mick? Does she need me?”
“Oh, no. She’s fine. But I’ll bet she’d love to talk to you. Try her now. I’m sure she’s still up.”
He gave her the number of the hospital. “Thanks, Mick. I’ll call her right after we hang up. Good night.”
Kay was awake and answered the phone on the first ring. “Hi again, Michael. I miss you so much, too.”
“I miss you back, and so does Mick.”
“Lizzie! Hi, Bella. I guess Mick told you the deal with me. Doesn’t it just suck? Thank God I like to read. I’m gobbling down books by the dozen. Hospital food is completely inedible, though. Fortunately there’s no room in this body for food.”
Relieved that she sounded normal, Lizzie counseled, “You just do what they tell you to do so you have big, fat babies to love in a couple of months.”
“I know, I know. So. What’s going on with you? How was the fa-fa symphony with Wallace?”
Lizzie relaxed, reassured by Kay’s enthusiasm for girl talk. “The symphony with Wallace was fa-fa. It was all right. Nice, I guess. He can be so bossy and self-centered sometimes. I told him I didn’t want to see him anymore. But then he apologized, claims he’s changed. I decided to hear him out, maybe have my say, but Charlie’s call interrupted that. Charlie needed me and that came first.”
“Honey, I think I’m glad for the interruption. Are you sure you want to get that involved with Wallace again?”
“I’m not sure of anything when it comes to men. But then when Jack kissed me tonight, I wanted him to keep kissing me.”
A garbled female voice in the background. Kay’s words muted, unintelligible.
Alarm pierced her. “Kay are you all right? What’s going on?”
“It’s nothing,” her voice clear in Lizzie’s ear. “Just the nurse taking my blood pressure.”
Lizzie exhaled with whoosh.
“No, I don’t need a thing. Yes, thank you,” came Kay’s muted voice. Then loud and clear, “What’s today? Saturday? That’s right, you had a date with Jack tonight.”
“Not technically a date. He was paying off a bet. I just got home. I had a wonderful time. He brought Marty a Bears sweater just to tease me, and we ate cheddar cubes, salad and sausage pizza. And he brought flowers for the security guard.”
“It sounds like you had a better time with Jack. Where does this leave Wallace?”
“I don’t know. They’re very different. Jack is an amazing kisser.” And he doesn’t demand tables, order me around or talk to me like I’m five.
“Sounds pretty unconfused to me. I remember that lip-lock at the reunion. Amazing seems like the right adjective. Are you going to see Jack again?”
“I’m not sure. He didn’t say one way or the other. Kay, I sure hope so.”
Lizzie stared at the city lights and thought about a man who learned Spanish to write to little kids and brought flowers to ladies he hardly knew.
“I miss you, Kay. I wish we lived closer.”
Chapter Thirteen
Lizzie pushed the “down” elevator button. The conversation with Kay disturbed her. She had wrestled with the bedcovers all night thinking about her best friend and trying to shake her sense of foreboding. Mick sounded more worried than he let on. Come to think of it, Kay never once mentioned her need for chocolate.
Something was wrong. She would just have to keep in closer contact with her for the next two months.
Distracted, she waved to Henry, who was always on duty Sunday mornings, and headed out. A Great Lakes cold wind slammed into her. Slipping her fingers into her gloves, she bent to adjust the tie on her sneaker. A taxi turned off Kinsey Street and pulled up next to her.
Wallace, dressed head to toe in package-creased, running gear, jumped out and paid the driver. “Good morning,” he hailed her. “I hoped you were still a creature of habit.”
She eyed his jogging outfit. “Yep, I jog. New clothes?”
“Well, Elizabeth, not exactly the welcome I had hoped. I remembered your need to run every day at the crack of dawn. Since you were called away and our time together was cut short the last time I was in town, I thought you might let me tag along. Remember the mornings along the Charles?”
“I remember how you hated to get up and meet me in the mornings. How you would spend the first half hour grumbling. How you said, ‘Never on Sundays.’ You do know it’s Sunday. Right, Wallace?”
“See the sacrifice I am making to spend time with you, Elizabeth? Let me join you, and I promise not to grumble.”
He smiled that smile that used to melt her heart. Probably more handsome now than he had been in college, she truly had loved him. Faced with him now, she couldn’t imagine why.
Although he seemed very interested in her. Why wasn’t that satisfying? Could she sum it up in four letters: J-A-C-K?
Jack changed everything, showed her how a woman should be treated. Her blood sizzled every time he was near, something that Wallace didn’t do, in fact, had never done. But, she reminded herself, Jack didn’t make commitments, either.
“Earth to Elizabeth. Are we going to run, or are we going to be found hours from now frozen to the pavement?”
Lizzie shook her head, focused on Wallace’s face. “Yes, sorry. Let’s go.”
“I’m a tourist. Lead the way.” He waved his arm in front of him.
She jogged off, set the pace and before long she kept a smooth cadence with him at her side.
Lizzie loved this time of day. Most people were snuggled under their down comforters. On mornings like this, Chicago was all hers. Except today. Resigned to sharing her time with Wallace, she hoped the endorphin rush would erase her irritation with him for horning in uninvited on her quiet time. In the Sunday morning calm, traffic lights changed colors without effect, no cars to obey them. Uninterrupted, she jogged steadily toward the looming gates of Navy Pier.
“Is something wrong?”
Lizzie had almost forgotten Wallace was there. “I’m worried about Kay.”
“What’s wrong with Kay?” His words came in staccato bursts as he jogged.
Not winded at all Lizzie replied, “She’s in the hospital on total bed rest. I spoke with her last night. She made it sound routine, and that’s logical since she’s carrying twins. Still. I really don’t know.”
“She looked as healthy as a horse, and I mean a horse, at the reunion. Women have babies every day, Elizabeth. Don’t worry about her.”
His tone and the deprecating remark about Kay’s size convinced her it was worthless to discuss Kay or her feelings with Wallace. He only cared about himself.
Sneakers slapped a steady rhythm against the pavement lulling her into a familiar silence. She remembered when Wallace’s company used to exhilarate her.
Back when he had been trying to get her into his bed, he had been very attentive. He’d show up at her dorm and wait sleepy-eyed against a tree until she came out. Their runs had usually lasted about an hour. Once he had finished with his preliminary grumbling, they’d hit their stride and jog along in comfortable silence.
Afterward over spinach and Swiss cheese omelets, he’d hold her hand and listen to her conversation as if he cared about what she thought, felt. Had he? Had she mattered to him or were her memories stilted?
“You know what I would like right now? A plate-size spinach omelet oozing with Swiss cheese.”
Lizzie stopped jogging and faced him when he halted a couple strides ahead of her. “I was just this minute thinking of the Greenhouse.”
“We had some good times, didn’t we, Elizabeth?” He closed the gap between them, only inches away.
She smelled soap, the mild tang of perspiration. “We did.”
“If only we could go back in time. Maybe things would be different.” He looked down at the pavement. “I would never hurt you again.” Wallace raised his head and gazed at her face. A shaky smile stretched the corners of his lips.
She looked into his eyes and couldn’t help returning the smile, unable to forget that she had loved him once with all her heart. Despite the devastation he had caused her, she had never hated him. It had taken her most of the past ten years to rebuild what he had destroyed in her, though. She wouldn’t fall for his innocent act again.
“Let’s just run, Wallace.”
“No pressure, Elizabeth, no pressure.” He released her hand.
Lizzie checked her watch. “Time to head back.” Pivoting, she reversed and Wallace fell in stride.
“Want to grab some breakfast?”
Lizzie glanced toward him, met his eyes. “I’m sorry, I can’t.”
“Have a date?”
“The same date I have every Sunday morning. Church.” She turned forward, her attention on the curving trail skirting the lakeshore rimmed with skyscrapers, an awesome sight.
“Oh, you still do that?”
“Wallace, I’ve told you a million times it’s not something I do, it’s who I am. How come you never understand that?”
“Maybe I just never bothered to try.”
Wallace had never owned up to a gap in understanding before.
“I’m surprised you can be that honest.”
“I’m insulted, Elizabeth. I’ve changed. Honesty is extremely important to me now.”
“That’s good.” Not sure if you’re capable of being sincere about anything.
Stopping at the circular drive that fronted her building he asked, “How about a rain check for breakfast the next time I’m in town?”
Her thoughts the past week had veered toward not seeing him again.
“I’ll be honest. I doubt that you’ve changed, although you say differently. I told you at dinner that I don’t think I’m what you’re looking for. Truthfully, I don’t think you’re what I’m looking for, either.”
“What is there to think about? You loved me. I made a mistake, and I’m determined to make up for it.”
He grasped the sides of her arms and in a split second his lips touched hers. Shocked, she didn’t yank away immediately, testing the possibility that the kiss would spark a fiery sizzle and trigger some chemistry of attraction. It didn’t.
Turning her face sideways, she broke the kiss. “It was nice running with you, but I have to go.”
“I’ll call you.” A slight whine rang in his tone.
“That’s fine. Safe trip home.”
Approaching her building, she didn’t look back as she entered.
****
Lizzie fluffed her hair and left her bedroom at full speed. Marty had been in a playful mood that made Lizzie have to rush to get ready for morning services after she threw toys for the dog to chase.
Tired from playing, she tossed a cookie to the snoozing pup for later and hurried out.
She had discovered Assumption Church her first week after moving to Chicago. A little jewel, it wasn’t fancy o
n the outside, but the interior was magnificent with its glorious stained glass, rosy marble, gilded flourishes and incandescent frescoes. No matter what troubles she hauled to church, she left them at the door finding only peace within those walls.
Selecting her usual seat in the first pew she sat back and gazed at the enormous stained glass depiction of the assumption of Mary over the altar. It was warm here despite the inadequacy of the heating system. Bathed in the spill of light from rows of ornate chandeliers above her, she was still.
Candles lit, the organist played a prelude, and she waited for the special serenity of the place to wash over her. It didn’t come.
Please keep Kay safe. I couldn’t bear it if I lost her. Why did I pray so long for Wallace to come back to me? I think I’ve been wasting your time.
Lizzie’s inner disquiet continued.
Jack. I can’t get him out of my mind.
When Mass ended, she left the church comforted and refreshed. A light touch on her elbow turned her into Jack’s warmth.
“Beth, I thought it was you.” His smile lit his eyes.
“Jack.” She took his appearance as a heavenly sign. “What a wonderful surprise.”
He wore casual clothes and a denim jacket; his black hair messy and his cheeks flushed dull pink from the wind.
“I drove over to my gym, but it was closed today because of some water crisis. I went looking for coffee and saw that I had time to catch Mass here. I’ve never been in this church before. Beautiful interior design elements.”
“I found it when I first got to Chicago, and I’ve come here ever since.”
“It seems like you know this town better than someone who was born and raised here. Namely me.”
“I’ve had a lot of time alone to wander the streets and see different things. I found something new a while ago. If you have a few hours free later, I can show it to you.”
****
Something about her made him want to drop everything. Unaccustomed to acting on impulse, Jack still jumped at her invitation, “I’m intrigued. What time does the adventure begin?”
“Pick me up at five. Dress warm. We’ll be walking.”
“Okay then. Do you want a ride home?”
Reunion for the First Time Page 12
