“I’ll kill you,” he threatened, watching her move back and perch higher in his bed. Her soft sundress still on.
“So this is how it’s done,” she teased, pulling out a pillow and tucking it behind her. “A little flaunting now. Turn a little to the right...right...just like that...now to the left. Oh, nice profile!”
He scowled and dived after her on the bed, but she was too quick and rolled to the floor. With the agility of a cat, he tackled her there.
She opened her mouth to protest, but then sighed with pleasure as he pulled down the straps of her sundress, one at a time, before slowly pushing the bodice down to her waist. He slid his hands along her thighs and made short work of her underwear. Tossing them aside, he leaned forward and took her nipple between his lips.
She writhed restlessly beneath him as he suckled. Then, he raised his head when she reached her hand blindly under the bed.
“Where are they?”
Evan paused for a moment and then smiled devilishly.
“And this is the new game that we’ll be playing now.” He lifted his weight off of her and freed her body of the dress. She was a stunning picture of curves and sheer beauty. His breath caught in his throat. “You...you look for the condoms up that way.”
He waved his hand vaguely in the direction of the bed, and Meg giggled softly and pushed herself up on the rug. Lifting up the edge of the spread, she peeked under the bed.
Evan felt the rush of desire racing through him at the sight of her long, naked limbs stretched so gracefully before him. He lowered his head and ran his tongue along her thigh.
“And I’ll look down here.”
CHAPTER 20
Meg’s eyes took in the dark wood of the pews and the gold and marble of the altar of St. Mary’s. In the morning light, the church was still quiet and somber. One of the acolytes moved about the altar, preparing for the Sunday Mass.
Behind the pew where she and Jada sat, the door opened and more church-goers entered. The place had been empty when the two of them arrived, but that was quickly changing. A small group sat down a few pews back and began to talk about the church’s history. The voices were hushed, but she could hear them mentioning the wedding that took place here so long ago.
Meg thought briefly how high the energy level in St. Mary’s must have been that day when a young war hero named John F. Kennedy took Jacqueline Beauvier to be his bride. She wondered if those two people had any idea how much the world would change because of the vows they took that day.
Changes. She turned to Jada.
“I didn’t tell you, but I got a call from my friend in Boston. I’m officially unemployed.”
“Oh, no,” Jada said, concern etched on her pretty face. “What will you do?”
“I don’t know. Get another job, I suppose.”
“Jobs are kind of tight these days, aren’t they?”
“I’ll find something.”
Jada turned and Meg watched her stare at a statue by the altar.
“What’s the matter?”
“It must be nice to have your confidence.”
The young woman was wrong. If anything, except during some very special moments in bed with Evan, she had no confidence at all these days. Evan! Just the simple thought of him was enough to spread warmth through her. She quickly tried to clear her mind of the night they’d shared, and turned to her friend.
“You’ll be okay.”
“I wish I could believe that. But how can I do it all? I’ve got a tenth grade education, a sick baby, and no...and no one else. What kind of job am I going to get?”
“It will be very difficult for a while, but you’ll make it. You’re smart. You’ll get your education.” She laid a hand on Jada’s arm. “And everything will work out with Little Ted. You’ll see.”
Together, they sat in silence for a few minutes as the church began to fill.
“Do you pray, Meg?”
“I used to! But I think it’s been about five years since I’ve been to a church. I think I forced myself to give up my belief in the power of prayer. You know…all the stuff that you get drilled into you when you’re a kid.”
“Me, too. I kind of stopped believing in it after my mother died.”
Jada had asked her to come with her this morning and now Meg was glad that she had.
“You were pretty young then, weren’t you?”
“I guess. But while she was dying, I could see everyone around us praying. People would stop us and say that they were praying for her. They even prayed for her from that altar right there.” Jada nodded grimly at the front of the church. “We all knew she was going to die. She told me that herself. Then, one day, just a couple of days before she died, I realized that my father wasn’t praying anymore. I looked around, and all of a sudden, I realized that nobody was praying. They were just sitting and waiting. I guess everyone just got to a point where they thought, what’s the use? After she died, that idea just kind of stuck with me.”
Meg took Jada’s hand in her own.
“That must have been a pretty tough time.”
Jada nodded slightly and Meg saw the tear run down her cheek. Somehow she felt she had to share a piece of herself.
“When my husband died, I didn’t believe it. It just didn’t seem possible that he could be gone. I got so angry then. It was the doctor’s fault. It was the ambulance driver’s. It was his parent’s fault. The hospital’s. It was the stress from his job. I blamed everything and anything.” She looked at Jada. “I stopped praying then. I suppose it was because I didn’t see any purpose in it. I suppose that was the time when I decided that his death was really my fault.”
“But you said it was a genetic heart condition.”
“I know. But that didn’t stop me. You can find a thousand ways to blame yourself if you want to.” Meg stopped, thinking of that awful first year after Robert’s death.
“So what did you do?”
“I don’t know. I suppose I just kept getting up in the morning and doing what I had to do. And then, almost a year later, I found myself coming back to Newport, to the same place he and I had always stayed. Doing the same things we had always done. It probably sounds crazy, but I found him here.”
Jada nodded uncertainly, and Meg decided not to linger over that. But just then, Mass started, and they both sat silently through the opening prayers.
Surrounded by the group of worshipers, vacantly absorbing the humming voices around her, Meg’s mind drifted to Robert.
Leaving Evan’s apartment early this morning, she’d felt the gnawing edges of guilt pushing her down the steps. As she stepped into her own room, she’d self-consciously paused and scanned the contents of the place. Something was different--that was true enough. But even as she looked, she knew it wasn’t the room. It was she herself who was different, and Meg didn’t feel entirely comfortable with the change.
Later on, dressing to go meet Jada, she thought she’d heard a voice. She was expecting it. She truly thought Robert would appear to her, upbraiding her for her infidelity.
The truth of the matter was that she’d have been a lot happier if he had! At least that way she could have washed the guilt out of her system. At least she would have had the opportunity to say out loud what he had said to her. That he had indeed moved on. That she had been left behind with no option but to live.
But Robert had not appeared or made himself heard. He had left her to deal with her rollercoaster of emotions herself.
Looking up at the stained glass windows of the church--at the depiction of the angels reflected there--Meg for the first time questioned her own beliefs.
Was it truly the ghost of Robert whom she had caught up with here in Newport, year after year? Or was it her own desperate need to cling to remnants of a happier time? Perhaps it was all just a dream-wish of her own invention to believe her husband was still around.
All those years, all the self-help books, all the hours of trying to puzzle out the meaning of her life! And here, everything cha
nged with one passionate night in the embrace of Evan Knight. Now, all of the sudden, a different window which she could look upon life.
Meg turned her attention back to the Mass and to the young woman seated beside her. Whatever problems she had in her own life, they were nothing in comparison with what lay ahead for her. And being with Jada--trying to be of some help to her--struck Meg as being the most important thing she could be doing right now.
After all, perhaps it wasn’t Evan alone that had made her awaken and want to live. Perhaps it was Jada, as well. Jada and her struggles. Jada and her inner strength.
*******
Evan waited across the street and watched the people spilling out of the church. He truly hoped that Mrs. Jeffers had been right in thinking that Jada and Meg had come to the Mass at St. Mary’s this morning. He wanted to find them.
He wanted to see Meg.
Waking up this morning to find her already gone, Evan had been stunned by the oppressively empty feeling suddenly pervading the apartment. Moving about, he'd lingered by the places where she stood, and sat. And slept. What they’d shared last night had been a lot more than great sex. He’d been touched, redefined. He felt whole and fulfilled as he’d never felt before. She’d somehow worked her way into his heart--into his soul--and now the void caused by her absence filled him with incredible longing.
And that scared the shit out of him.
Evan knew he just had to find her and make sure she was feeling as half-witted as he was this morning. He had to find out if she had the same stars sparkling in her eyes as she had last night.
They were among the last of the people to exit the church. Evan’s heart tightened in his chest at seeing her. She was smiling and talking softly into Jada’s ear, and the young girl seemed captivated by whatever it was Meg was telling her.
Evan let his eyes take her in fully. Even in a conservative navy-blue dress, she still was the sexiest woman alive. He smiled, thinking that she could wear a nun’s habit and still knock him dead. His gaze traveled down her slender frame, and he recalled the way those long, elegant limbs had hugged his hips. The taste of her skin beneath his lips. He groaned inwardly and shifted his weight from one foot to the other.
“Evan!”
Jada was the first of the two to notice him waiting. In the five days since she'd given birth to Ted, the young woman had lost a considerable amount of weight. The only sign that she had undergone a pregnancy at all was the slight bulge at her waist.
Looking up into Jada’s face, he noticed also the dark lines under her eyes. As little as he knew about the childbirth, none of this looked normal to him.
“Evan!” Jada called out again. “What happened? Too afraid to come in?”
He turned and met Meg’s sparkly eyes. “I just didn’t want anything to happen to you two when the bolt of lightening hit. If you know what I mean!”
Without a warning, he reached down and placed a kiss on Meg’s lips.
“Good morning!”
She immediately blushed, and that made him smile.
“How about some breakfast?”
“It’s almost noon.” Jada put in with amusement, studying Meg’s reaction.
“Then how about some brunch.”
“I have to get back to the hospital.”
“Only after you eat,” he scolded. “You are getting as thin as a rail, and...”
“We’d love to have brunch with you, Evan. Wouldn’t we, Jada?”
Meg’s interruption brought an amused look into Jada’s face.
“Yeah! Sure!” the young mother said. “Anything to keep from hearing another sermon!”
“Good! That settles it.” He tucked a hand into each woman’s elbow and started them down the street and toward his car. “I am absolutely starving.”
“I think food is the only thing Evan ever thinks of.”
“Not the only thing,” he whispered suggestively in Meg’s direction. “But you can correct her on that score, can’t you, sweetheart?”
She never looked at him, but he saw the trace of a smile and the lingering blush in her cheeks.
When they reached his convertible, Jada climbed into the cramped back seat without a word, but Meg gave him a questioning glance.
“Out if gas again?” she asked suspiciously.
“No! This time I’m taking it for oil change.”
“On Sunday?”
“Phil doesn’t know Sunday from New Year’s Day...unless there’s a sailing regatta scheduled.”
She shot him a disbelieving glance but got in without further comment.
The brunch at the big hotel on Goat Island was crowded, but they were soon seated. During their meal, it was all too apparent to Evan that Meg was trying to divert the conversation away from herself and toward the young mother.
In no time, Meg had engaged Jada’s attention with some old school stories and soon had the teenager talking about her own experiences. Evan listened with amazement, asking questions and joking, as she blossomed talking about her favorite classes. She grew quite animated sharing descriptions of the rowdies, townies, heads, and preps that attended her school. And they laughed at her story about a geeky history teacher who--with his tongue dragging on the floor--was continually dogging the girls’ gym teacher. As their meal wore on, the two of them successfully drew Jada into a discussion that focused on the good things the future could hold.
Meg suddenly shifted direction. “Jada, are there any clothing stores open in this town on a Sunday afternoon?”
“Sure!” she said brightly, going on to list a dozen places.
“How about if you and I do some shopping this afternoon? I need a few things, and I’d also like to buy you a little present. How about a new dress?”
Jada shook her head and smiled gratefully. “Thanks, Meg. But I have all the jeans I’ll ever need. And besides, I have to be back at the hospital soon. When I was there this morning, Baby Ted actually grabbed my finger. I think he fusses less and eats better when I’m holding him.”
“Of course he does!”
“Listen, you two. How about if I take both of you to the hospital, and after Jada’s spent some time with the baby, I’ll take you both shopping.”
They turned and looked at him as if he’d grown an extra head.
“What’s wrong with that?” He glowered from one astounded face to the other. “Men do occasionally go shopping. And besides, Meg, you need a dress!”
She gave him an incredulous look. “What’s wrong with what I have on now?”
“Nothing!” Except that covers too much, he finished silently. “I told you tonight is a dress-up affair.”
“Meg told me that you two are going on a date.”
“How dress-up?”
He looked at one woman then to the next. “I’m wearing a tux.”
“A tux?” they exclaimed in chorus.
He glared at them. “Yes, a tux.”
“Evan, when I asked for a sit-down dinner...”
“Too late,” he interrupted Meg’s explanation. “Like it or not, I’m dragging both of you out shopping this afternoon, and you are both going to buy a dress.”
“Oh good! So that means you’re taking me out tonight, too!”
“Fat chance!” he scowled at Jada’s teasing. “Tonight, I want her all to myself, if you know what I mean.”
“Sure! And I like it, too!” Jada brightened. “Hey, I know a perfect place where we can take her. They have...you know...those slinky cocktail dresses.”
“The slinkier the better.”
“And you know those high pumps.”
“Do they have garter belts, too?”
“I think they do. Oh, and black stockings.”
“Now you are talking, baby!”
“Would you two stop talking about me like I’m not even here.”
Evan and Jada turned and looked innocently into Meg’s face.
“Oh, you’re still here!”
“I thought you went to the ladies room!�
�
“That’s it!” Meg scolded. “Let’s get this show on the road before you really get me p.o.’d.”
“‘Pissed off’ is the expression,” Evan corrected, grabbing Meg’s darting hand and picking up the check himself. “Remember, honey? Today is on me!”
“I thought that was supposed to be tonight.”
“It was supposed to be.” He gave her a meaningful smile. “But someone just got things started a bit earlier than planned. And who are we to complain? Ready?”
At the hospital, while Jada was busy with the baby, Evan and Meg spent the time torturing one another with lurid suggestions about games they might play later on.
Shopping, however, did not prove to be Evan’s forte. As he yawned and paced about making unflattering comments about the latest styles, Meg managed to find a fall outfit for Jada. Evan sneaked his credit card to the sales clerk before Meg and Jada had a chance to reach the register.
With Jada taken care of, he hoped that Meg might now be more open to focusing on herself.
Open. Another laugh, Evan thought as he and Jada literally dragged her into a clothing store specializing in women’s evening wear. Unfortunately, they all agreed that the selection went from the very ugly to the absolutely ugly.
Excusing himself, Evan called Sarah. And just as he thought, Phil’s secretary knew the place to go. The small boutique, though outrageously expensive, had the best selection of designer evening clothes one could hope to find on the island. And the best part of it--as far as Evan was concerned--was that they catered to their customer’s needs. Saying it plainly, Sarah told him, money talked.
Instructing Sarah to call to the boutique while they were en route ensured the kind of welcome and service Evan was hoping for. Prices were ‘miraculously’ slashed, and while Meg was in the dressing room with Jada, Evan worked out the payment details with the manager. Suddenly, a phenomenal new selection of ‘sale’ dresses appeared--lacking price tags. From those, Jada excitedly relayed to Evan, Meg found the dress she was looking for. A dress that she was determined to not show him--not until tonight.
Some time later, quite satisfied with himself and the way things were turning out, Evan handed Meg the keys to the car, leaving the two of them to what they called ‘accessory shopping’ and hoofed it back to the house.
Made in Heaven Page 20
