Night Swimming

by Laura Moore

  Because of the Keel’s gloomy interior, Lily didn’t notice that he and Dave were at the bar until she was almost upon them. The second she did, her step faltered. She was doubtless debating whether to spin 180 degrees and march right out again.

  He should have known Lily would tough it out. After that initial hesitation, she strolled—it was the only word Sean could find that adequately described the confident sway of her hips—to the bar.

  Once there, her gaze flit over Sean and Dave with total disinterest, the kind of look one reserved for strangers— with whom one had no intention of ever becoming acquainted.

  “Tequila and lime, please,” she ordered quietly when Charlie approached.

  “Coming right up,” Charlie said with a nod. He set a shot glass and a tequila bottle in front of her. Disappearing through the swinging door that led to the kitchen, he returned shortly with a white porcelain saucer, lime quarters neatly arranged in a radiating pattern.

  Sean’s eyebrows rose. Lily was getting the royal treatment; most of the Rusted Keel’s patrons considered themselves lucky if they got their limes tossed into a plastic red Solo cup.

  Charlie poured a shotful. The bar fell eerily silent as Lily leaned forward. Holding the lime bracketed between index finger and thumb, she bit into its flesh, her teeth flashing white in the subdued lighting. She lifted the shot glass to her lips. With a quick backward toss, she downed its contents. Her eyes closed.

  Watching her, Sean imagined the fiery yellow liquor racing down her throat, setting her aglow from within. Involuntarily, his eyes traveled the sinuous contour of her profile and down the length of her neck. And descended further still.

  Gone was the short jacket she’d been wearing earlier. The top two buttons of her blouse were undone. The blouse, made of some kind of shimmery material, shifted bluish purple in the half light.

  Shadows and mysteries. The glimpse of Lily’s milky white skin exposed by the shirt’s plunging vee filled him with wanderlust, a need to explore until all her secrets were revealed. He moved restlessly on his stool.

  A solid thud of glass against wood resounded in the near-silent bar. Then Lily was laying a ten-dollar bill on the bar and heading toward the door. In the wake of her departure, male speculation frothed in bloated bubbles.

  Sean was already on his feet. He tossed a large tip on the bar. “Thanks again, Charlie. See you later, Dave.”

  “See you,” Dave echoed. With a glimmer of a smile, he nodded in the direction of the parking lot. “Catching a ride?”

  “That’s the idea.”

  “Good luck.”

  “Thanks. I’ll need it.”

  Sean had slipped his jacket off the back of the stool and was shrugging into it when one of the men seated at the corner spoke.

  “Hey, McDermott, what’s your opinion? Silicone for sure, huh?”

  Sean paused to glance their way. Ray and Frank were partners in a small sport-fishing business. He knew them vaguely. Now he wished he didn’t. He shook his head in contempt. “Think I’d tell you, Ray?”

  Ray’s eyes narrowed. “Like you actually know, McDermott. You claiming you’ve handled the goods, Mayor?” His tone matched the sneer on his face. “If so, the lady sure don’t seem to remember.” He poked Frank with his elbow. “Looked right through him, didn’t she, Frank?”

  “Like a pane of glass.”

  Sean ignored their snorts of laughter. “Let me give you some friendly advice,” he said mildly. “I’d be real careful not to let the lady catch you staring at her like that.”

  Ray pulled a comical face, pretending to look scared, then laughed even harder.

  Sean smiled in return. Yet when Ray opened his mouth to speak, he cut him off. “But if I’m the one who catches you gawking, if I hear you talking about her that way again—” he paused, and his smile turned dangerous, “—your sorry carcasses will be feeding the fish.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  How would you know, McDermott? The question taunted Sean as he left the Rusted Keel.

  How did he know Lily Banyon’s breasts were 100 percent warm, pliant flesh and not synthetic balloons?

  That was easy. Because she’d had them since she was thirteen years old.

  You claiming you’ve handled the goods, Mayor?

  Never had the pleasure.

  Correction. There was that one fleeting moment. But that memory, along with so many others, was Sean’s personal Pandora’s box. In his surprise over her return, he’d dropped his guard. And the box had opened a crack. With fierce resolve, Sean slammed its lid shut as forcefully as he wrenched open the door to Lily’s metallic blue subcompact.

  The engine of her car idling, Lily had been waiting an eternity for a break in the rush hour traffic. Too busy scanning the cars roaring past in either direction, she hadn’t seen Sean crossing the length of the parking lot, aiming straight for her.

  When the passenger door flew open, Lily’s head whipped around in alarm. “What the—” Alarm turned to outrage when she saw who it was. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she demanded.

  “Hitching a ride. It’s Thursday, Lily. You haven’t forgotten what happens on Thursday nights, have you?” Sean smiled.

  Thursday. Since time immemorial, Granny May cohosted a barbecue Thursday evenings with Sean’s grandmother, Anne Prentiss, inviting six other biddies. Afterward, the women all settled down for an evening of bridge and gin fizzes.

  “No. No way!” Appalled, she shook her head violently. The prospect of being the focus of an interrogation by eight inquisitive matrons was so unnerving that Lily forgot about shoving Sean out of the car.

  “Yup. You may not care about May Ellen’s feelings, but I do. I’m not going to let you break her heart when she learns that you’re here in town and haven’t bothered to see her.”

  “I was planning to visit her in the morning—”

  “Not good enough. Drive, Lily.” Sean gave her a mocking smile and asked, “Or do you need directions?”

  Without thinking, Lily flipped him the bird and hit the accelerator hard. The car burned rubber out of the parking lot as Lily cut into the heavy traffic. Behind her came the outraged blare of car horns, beside her echoed the ring of Sean’s laughter.

  She shot him a venomous look. He was leaning back against the passenger seat, for all appearances having the time of his life.

  “Know what’s nice about you, Lily?” he said, laughter still threading his voice.

  “I can’t imagine,” she snapped.

  “You never change.”

  “Neither do you. You’re as obnoxious as ever.”

  “That’s me. Ran on the obnoxious ticket,” he agreed complacently. “Landslide victory.”

  She was driving like a maniac, switching lanes as though she were in a chase scene in a cops and robbers film. Throughout, Sean remained aggravatingly relaxed. His fingers threaded behind his neck, he merely observed in a bored drawl, “By the way, we have speed limits in Coral Beach.”

  “Tough. I can’t get to May Ellen’s fast enough, if it means I get to be rid of you.”

  He sighed. “There you go, breaking my heart. I was hoping we’d have time to reminisce. No? Then I’ll take the opportunity now to lay the ground rules out for you, Lily.”

  “You lay ground rules for me?” she scoffed. “I don’t think so.”

  Sean continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “See, Lily, this reef study means a great deal to me.”

  Recalling the snippet of conversation she’d overheard between Sean and Pete Ferrucci had Lily’s knuckles turning white against the rim of the steering wheel. “Indeed? Oh, I understand. Of course, it means a great deal to you politically.” She stressed the word. “So much has changed here.” She nodded at the scenery speeding past. “New houses, new construction . . .” As her voice trailed off, she cast a quick glance at Sean and saw that his jaw was clamped tight.

  “Yeah, that’s right,” he replied, his voice now altered, too, edged with anger. “You
guessed it, Lily. The study means a lot to me politically. So forget any burning desire you might have to cross me.”

  She felt her own temper flare. “I’m a scientist, not a politician. The only thing I plan is to report my findings to the advisory panel. . . . I’ll do my work like I always do. Objectively. It’ll be up to you to twist the results to suit your purposes. And I do wonder where your political interest lies.”

  “You’re smart. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

  “Oh, I have a pretty good idea already.” Lily only hoped Sean interpreted the heavy disappointment in her voice as sarcasm. “Traffic’s certainly heavier than it used to be. Big boom in business recently?”

  “Economy’s better than ever.”

  “How nice for you. Lot of new developments planned for the area?” Lily threw the question out recklessly.

  “Slow down, Ace, or you’ll miss the turn,” was his only reply.

  Damn and damn again, he was right. Lily braked hard.

  They exited the heavily traveled highway, turning onto a smaller county road. They were heading north now, nearing one of Coral Beach’s oldest residential neighborhoods, Laguna, where Lily’s grandmother—and Sean’s too—lived. Many of the houses in Laguna had winding paths leading from their backyards down to private beaches of pinkish-white, pristine sand.

  It was a neighborhood of gently meandering streets, neat lawns, groomed flowerbeds, and well-maintained homes. Late-model Cadillacs, shiny as the day they were bought, were displayed in the driveways.

  They arrived at May Ellen Farrady’s Spanish Mediterranean ranch in what was doubtless record time. Across the street was a line of neatly parked cars, seven of them. Granny May’s guests were already assembled. A dozen butterflies took flight in Lily’s stomach.

  Lily pulled into her grandmother’s U-shaped driveway, giving the steering wheel a hard yank. She’d hoped the jolting turn might rap Sean’s elbow against the window, but she was clean out of luck today.

  Just remember to breathe, she told herself as she turned off the car’s engine. It wasn’t such a big deal to be walking into her grandmother’s home for the first time in ten years. But, God, she wished she could be doing this without Sean McDermott’s sharp gaze watching her every move.

  The thought of him observing her had Lily pausing, her hand on the car door latch. “I can’t help but wonder, McDermott. Even if I were to try to fix this study, how do you think you’d be able to tell?”

  Sean shook his head, his expression one of grave disappointment. “Not as quick as you used to be, Lily. Preparations for the season aren’t in full swing yet; there’s lots of open time in my schedule. I’ve decided to keep you company, go on some of your dives.”

  Her laugh of amusement filled the car. “Oh, please! Do you have any idea how many dives we’ll be making to collect our samples? I estimate close to twenty-five. Sometimes we’ll be diving twice in one day. Naturally, Mayor McDermott, you’re welcome to join my team and me on as many expeditions as you wish. But I’m truly intrigued. . . . What could you hope to discover or, rather, uncover? After all, you wouldn’t know the difference between a fire sponge and a fire hydrant.”

  “True. But I know you, Lily, only too well. And I know exactly how you feel about me. So if anything about your work on the reef strikes me as remotely—pardon the expression—fishy, I’ll nail you publicly.”

  Shock had Lily’s mouth hanging open. “What?” she gasped.

  “You heard me. You fool with this project, and I will smear a big, black, messy mark on that twenty-four carat reputation of yours.”

  The nerve of him. How dare he imply that she might try and manipulate a scientific study. “Now it’s your turn to listen, Mr. Mayor. I don’t give a damn about your political ambitions, or your plans for Coral Beach,” she hissed. “They mean nothing to me. The only thing I care about is the condition of this town’s reef. You managed to get one thing right, though. I do have a good reputation. It’s excellent actually. Say one thing to defame it, and I will sink your political career faster than the Titanic.” Incensed, Lily shoved the car door open and scrambled out. Sean’s opened in tandem.

  His words carried over the sound of doors slamming, one after the other. “I always think it’s great to clear the air like this. Must admit, I’m looking forward to these next few weeks. Diving with a world-renowned scientist. Hey, maybe I’ll even drop by the lab; we could do an experiment together, just for old times’ sake. Wouldn’t that be fun, Lily?”

  Lily glared at his smiling face. Her most fervent wish was that they might already be in the water. So she could drown him.

  As if he could read her mind, Sean shook his head. “Shame on you, Lily,” he cheerfully mocked. “Now, let’s see a big, happy smile for your Granny May.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  Sean’s longer gait allowed him to reach May Ellen’s front door just ahead of her. He pressed a finger to the doorbell, and then stepped back, standing directly behind her, his solid presence barring escape.

  Had Sean perhaps caught her wiping damp palms against her skirt as they walked up the neatly edged, brick-laid path and recognized her gesture as the onslaught of nerves? Had he guessed at the emotions warring inside her? How part of her was filled with eagerness to see her grandmother, how an equally strong force longed to flee rather than revisit one of the settings of childhood past?

  Lily’s tension mounted as they waited, neither speaking, while from the inside of the house the muted sound of footsteps grew louder. The wooden door opened to reveal Granny May framed by the foyer’s golden light. She stared up at Lily with eyes that grew ever wider and shimmery bright with emotion.

  “Lily? Is that you, Lily?” She breathed at last. “My heavens! This is wonderful, simply wonderful!”

  The anxiety that churned inside of Lily sputtered and died. Her lips parted in a tremulous smile. “Hello, Granny May,” she said, her voice gone husky with emotion.

  Without turning her head, without taking her eyes off Lily, May Ellen called urgently, “Anne, Anne, come quickly! You’ll never guess whom your handsome grandson has brought.” With a radiant smile, she held out her arms in invitation.

  For a fraction of a second, Lily hesitated before taking that decisive step across the threshold, back into the fold of her family. In her preoccupation, she nearly forgot Sean’s presence behind her. The not-so-subtle nudge to the middle of her spine was a shocking reminder. Lily barely muffled her startled gasp as she stumbled into her grandmother’s warm embrace.

  Holding Lily’s hand, Granny May led her into the living room, where the rest of the bridge party had gathered. Like May Ellen, the other women wore what Lily still remembered as their Thursday night outfits: madras skirts and pastel cardigans, their fake lizard handbags propped against the legs of their armchairs.

  Her arrival was greeted by an excited chorus of, “Oh, how wonderful to see you, dear!” and “Aren’t you just thrilled, May Ellen?” and “Isn’t Lily looking sophisticated; I’d never have recognized her,” and “Why, she’s nearly as tall as you, Sean!” Lily could do nothing but smile and nod weakly. Thankfully, Mrs. Prentiss, Sean’s grandmother, came to her rescue.

  “The barbecued shrimp is ready, ladies, and Alicia’s brought her famous chicken-and-pineapple salad. Sean, dear, May Ellen looks in need of a gin fizz.” She turned to Lily. “What can Sean get you, Lily?”

  “A whiskey neat, please, Mrs. Prentiss. But I’ll—”

  “No, no, you sit with May Ellen,” Sean’s grandmother replied. “And I insist you call me Anne—Sean’s been addressing your grandmother as ‘May’ for years now. I’m so happy to see you home, my dear. This is a real occasion, isn’t it, May?”

  “It certainly is,” May Ellen replied, patting the hand she still gripped.

  Once they were alone, May Ellen turned to her. “Come sit and tell me what wonderful miracle has brought you home.”

  Lily patiently answered May’s barrage of questions, explaining how
she’d been asked to finish the coral reef study and that she’d arrived in town only today, but would be staying for a number of weeks. She would have had to be blindfolded to miss the light that flared in her grandmother’s eyes when she learned that the job would require a prolonged stay.

  “Oh, how perfect!” her grandmother exclaimed. “We’ll get to spend time together.”

  Seeing her grandmother’s poignant happiness, Lily was assailed by a wave of remorse. She became acutely conscious of how infrequently she’d made time for her grandmother recently.

  Lily knew she had a stubborn streak a mile wide. It had been years since she’d left for college. The hurt and bitterness she’d harbored toward her mother had faded to a dull ache. Yet long after the pain had dwindled, Lily had continued her self-imposed exile. While she had excuses aplenty to justify her actions, right now, they struck Lily as merely petty and selfish.

  Seated across from her grandmother, Lily forced herself to face the consequence of her long-standing feud with her mother. What had her aloofness actually accomplished except to hurt others in her family by denying them the chance to share her life?

  A deep sense of regret settled over Lily. Simone had been right, she thought. She couldn’t ignore her roots, her family, anymore. It was time she made up for the past.

  Sean deliberately loitered on the patio with his grandmother and the other septuagenarians before going to the kitchen to pour May Ellen and Lily’s drinks. He wanted to give them a bit of privacy. As for me, Sean thought—drawing deep drafts of the scented, heavy Florida night air into his lungs—I need to pull myself together.

  Because it was happening already: the Lily Effect was at work on his brain.

  Why in God’s name had he told her he’d be accompanying her and the team on some dives, when that was the last thing he wanted to do . . . especially if he intended to maintain his sanity?

  Unfortunately, as dumb as he was feeling, Sean had the answer to that one. It pained him to realize that he was still as hung up on Lily as ever—and just as susceptible to her disdain.