by Nora Roberts
“Pretty much.”
“Roz knows we’re . . . that’s just very strange. But I don’t think I should—”
“Mama said to remind you she managed to raise three boys, keep them all alive and out of jail.”
“But . . . I’m a terrible mother. I want to stay.”
“You’re not a terrible mother. You’re an awesome mother.” He sat up as she did, took her shoulders. “You know Lily’s fine, and you know Mama loves having her.”
“I do. I do know that, but . . . what if she wakes up and wants me? Okay,” she said with a sigh when he just lifted his eyebrows. “If she wakes up, Roz’ll handle it. And Lily loves spending time with her, and Mitch. I’m being a cliché.”
“But you’re such a pretty one.”
She looked around the room. Beautiful, sumptuous—absolute freedom. “We can really just stay?”
“I’m hoping you will.”
She bit her lip. “I don’t have any . . . things, you know? Not even a toothbrush. A hairbrush. I don’t have my—”
“David packed you a bag.”
“David . . . well, that’s all right then. He’d know what I’d want.” She felt giddy little bubbles rising up in her throat. “We’re just staying?”
“That’s the plan. If it’s okay with you.”
“If it’s okay with me?” she repeated, and a gleam came into her eyes as she launched herself at him. “Let me show you what I think about that.”
LATER, SHE CAME rushing out of the bathroom. “Harper, did you see these robes? They’re so big and soft.” She stood rubbing a sleeve against her cheek. “There are two of them, one for each of us.”
Lazily, he opened one eye. The woman, he thought, was proving to be insatiable. Praise Jesus. “Nice.”
“Everything in here is wonderful.”
“Romeo and Juliet suite,” he murmured, almost drifting.
“What?”
“The suite. It’s the Romeo and Juliet suite.”
“Really, but that’s . . .” Her brows drew together. “Well, if you think about it, they were a couple of teenage suicides.”
On a laugh, he opened his eyes. “Trust you.”
“I never saw it as being romantic. Tragic is what it was—and plain stupid. Not the play,” she corrected, turning a circle to swirl the robe. “It’s brilliant, but those two? Oops, she’s dead, I’ll drink this poison. Oops, he’s dead, I’ll stab myself in the heart. I mean, Jesus, and I’m babbling.”
“What you are,” he said, staring at her, “is fascinating.”
“I get pretty opinionated about books. But whoever it’s named for, the suite’s downright awesome. It just makes me want to dance all around it, buck-ass naked.”
“I knew I should’ve brought a camera.”
“I wouldn’t mind.” Holding the robe up like a cape, she swirled once more. “I think it’d be sexy if we took naked pictures of each other. Then when I’m old, and all brittle and wrinkled up, I’d look at myself and remember being young.”
She bounced onto the bed. “You got any naked pictures of yourself?”
“Not so far.”
“Look at you.” She tickled his knee. “You’re embarrassed.”
“Not entirely.” Oh yeah, he thought, she was fascinating. “You got any?”
“Never trusted anybody enough before. And I’ve got this bony build. But you didn’t seem to mind it.”
“I think you’re beautiful.”
He meant it, and wasn’t that a miracle? She could see it in his eyes. She’d felt it in his touch. “I feel beautiful tonight.” She rose, wrapping the white robe around her. “All plush and lush and decadent.”
“Let’s order dessert.”
She stopped twirling. “Dessert? But it’s almost two in the morning.”
“They have this amazing invention called twenty-four-hour room service.”
“All night? I’m such a rube. But I don’t care.” She plopped back down on the bed. “Can we eat it up here? In bed?”
“The rules attached to twenty-four-hour room service are if you order after midnight, you’re required to eat in bed. Naked.”
She grinned wickedly. “Rules are rules.”
They lay belly-down, facing each other, with a plate of chocolate-soaked cake between them.
“Probably going to be sick,” she said as she ate another mouthful. “But it’s so good.”
“Here.” He stretched out an arm, managed to grab one of the glasses on the floor. “Wash it down.”
“I can’t believe you ordered another bottle of champagne.”
“You can’t do naked chocolate cake without champagne. It’s declassé.”
“If you say so.” She drank, then forked up more cake and held it out for him. “You know . . .” She wagged the fork at him. “On the date-o-meter you’re going to have to go a ways to top this one. I don’t think I can settle for anything less than, oh, a wild weekend in Paris or maybe a quick jet to Tuscany to make love in a vineyard.”
“How about a sun-and-sex-soaked sojourn to Bimini.”
“Sex-soaked sojourn.” She gave a tipsy giggle. “Say that five times fast.” On a moan, she rolled over to her back. “If I eat another bite, I believe I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.”
“Can’t have that.” He set the plate aside. Then easing forward, closed his mouth over hers in a lingering upside-down kiss.
“Mmm.” She rubbed her lips together when he lifted his head. “You taste very potent.”
“Got a nice chocolate high going here.”
She smiled as he slid down to her, as his hands trailed over her breasts, her torso, her belly. Then gasped when his lips nibbled away.
“Oh my God, Harper.”
“I forgot to mention this part of late-night dessert.” He shifted, reached out. Swirling a finger through cream and chocolate, he smeared it lightly onto her breast. “Oops. I’d better get that off.”
SHE FELT SO smug and cosmopolitan, stepping out of the elevator into the lobby with her overnight bag. It was nearly noon, and she was just wandering into the day. She’d had breakfast in bed. The fact was, she thought, she’d had about everything in bed that was available in the State of Tennessee.
She imagined even her toenails were glowing as a result.
“I’m going to check out.” He nipped a little kiss on her lips. “Why don’t you sit down?”
“I’m going to walk around. Look at everything. And I want to pick up a few things in the gift shop.”
“Be right back.”
She let out a happy sigh. She wanted to remember everything. The people, the fountain, the tidy bellmen, the shiny displays of art and jewelry.
She bought a little quacking duck for Lily, and a silver frame as a thank-you gift for Roz. Then there were the sweet duck-shaped soaps, and the pretty yellow cap that would look so cute on Lily. And . . .
“No man in his right mind turns his back on a woman in a gift shop,” Harper said from behind her.
“I can’t help it. Everything’s so pretty. No,” she said when she saw him reach for his wallet. “I’m getting these.” She set all her items on the counter, then picked up a canister once it was rung up. “This is for you.”
“Duck soap?”
She inclined her head. “To commemorate our stay. We had the best time,” she told the clerk.
“I’m glad you enjoyed the hotel. Are you here on business or pleasure?”
“Just pleasure.” Hayley gathered the bag. “Just lots and lots of pleasure.” She tucked her free hand into Harper’s as they strolled back into the lobby. “We’d better get home before Lily forgets what I look like and . . . oh man, just look at that bracelet.”
The display showcasing a local jeweler glittered and shone, but all Hayley could see was the delicate bracelet with sizzling white diamonds framing gleaming ruby hearts.
“It’s drop dead, isn’t it? I mean it’s elegant, even delicate, and the heart shapes make it romantic, but s
omething about it just says: Hey, I’m an important piece. Maybe because it’s an estate piece. Antique jewelry has such a—what’s the word I want. Panache,” she decided.
“Nice.”
“Nice,” she said and rolled her eyes at him. “Such a guy. What it is, is stunning. Some of the other pieces in there have bigger stones, more diamonds, whatever, but this is the one that stands out. To me, anyway.”
He scanned the name and address of the store. “Let’s go get it.”
“Sure.” She laughed up at him. “Why don’t we pick up a new car on the way, too?”
“I like my car. The bracelet would suit you. Rubies would be your stone.”
“Harper, paste is my stone.”
She tugged his hand, but he continued to study the bracelet. The longer he looked at it, the more clearly he could see it on her. “I’ll just talk to the concierge.”
“Harper.” Distressed now, she stepped back. “I was just looking. That’s what we girls do—we look in shop windows.”
“I want to buy it for you.”
It was more than distress now, and closer to panic. “You can’t buy me something like that. It probably costs—I can’t even guess.”
“Then let’s find out.”
“Harper, just wait. Just . . . I don’t expect you to buy me expensive jewelry. I don’t expect you to do things like this.” She gestured to encompass the hotel. “It was the most incredible night of my life, but it’s not why—Harper, it’s not why I’m with you.”
“Hayley, if it was why you were with me, you wouldn’t be. Last night was for us, and it meant every bit as much to me as it did to you. I’ve got enough of my mother in me that you should know if I do something like this, it’s because I want to. I want to buy this for you, and if it’s not out of my range, that’s what I’m going to do.” He kissed her forehead. “Just hang here a minute.”
Speechless, she watched him walk to the concierge desk.
And on the drive home, she continued to be speechless at the way the ruby hearts in their diamond frames glittered on her wrist.
eleven
SHE FRETTED FOR the rest of the afternoon, and lavished attention on Lily. It was a strange and, she imagined, strictly maternal sort of juggling act to balance the fact that she’d missed her baby girl with the fact that she’d had the most wonderful time without her.
Guilt, she thought, came in many forms. By the time Roz got in from work, Hayley had built up a sputtering head of guilt.
“Welcome home.” Roz stretched her back, eyed Hayley who stood in the foyer. “Did you have a good time?”
“Yes. Wonderful. Beyond wonderful. I should start out saying you raised the most incredible man.”
“That was the goal.”
“Roz, I can’t thank you enough for keeping Lily that way.” Unconsciously, she covered the bracelet on her wrist with her other hand. “It was more than I could expect.”
“I enjoyed it. We all did. Where is she?”
“I wore her out,” Hayley said with a weak smile. “All but kissed the skin off her bones. She’s taking a quick nap. I got you a gift.”
“Isn’t that sweet.” Taking the box, Roz strolled into the parlor to open it. And beamed when she found the frame, already spotlighting a picture of her with Lily. “I love this shot. I’m going to put this on the desk in my sitting room.”
“I hope she didn’t give you any trouble last night.”
“Not a bit. We had ourselves a fine time.”
“I—we—Harper. Hell. Can we sit down a minute?”
Obligingly, Roz sat on the sofa, propped her feet on the table. “I wonder if David’s made any lemonade? I could drink a gallon.”
“I’ll go get you some.”
Roz waved toward a seat. “I’ll get my own in a minute. Tell me what’s on your mind.”
Hayley sat, stiff-backed, her hands folded in her lap. “I got to know the mothers of some of the guys I dated. We always got along okay. But I never . . . it’s so surreal to be good friends with the mother of a man I’m . . . romantically intimate with.”
“I’d think, all in all, that would be a bonus.”
“It’s not that it isn’t. I suppose it would be less surreal if I’d gotten to know you, gotten to be friends with you after things became—”
“Romantically intimate.”
“Yeah. I don’t know how to talk to you about it, exactly, because the relationships are all tangled together. But I wanted to say, to tell you, that you raised an amazing individual. I know I did that, but I want to say it again. Harper went to so much trouble, took such care to give me something special. There aren’t many like that, at least in my experience.”
“He’s a very special man. I’m glad you see that, and appreciate it.”
“I do. He had this beautiful suite, and flowers and candles. Champagne. No one’s ever done anything like that for me. I don’t just mean the lavishness, you know? I’d’ve been fine with a plate of ribs and a motel room. And how crude is that,” she muttered, closing her eyes.
“Not crude. Honest. And refreshing.”
“What I mean to say is no one’s ever taken that time, that care to plan a whole evening with me in mind.”
“It’s a disconcerting thrill to be swept off your feet.”
“Yes.” Relief poured through her. “Yes, exactly. My head’s still spinning. I wanted you to know that I’d never take advantage of his nature, his consideration.”
“He bought you that bracelet.”
Hayley jolted, clamped a hand over it. “Yes. Roz—”
“I’ve been admiring it since I came in. And watching you rub your hand over it, guiltily. As if you’d stolen it.”
“I feel like I did.”
“Oh, don’t be ridiculous.” Roz’s eyebrows drew together as she waved a hand. “You’ll irritate me.”
“I didn’t ask for it. I told him not to. All I did was admire it in the window, and the next thing you know he’s making arrangements with the concierge and the jewelry store. He wouldn’t tell me how much it cost.”
“I should hope not,” she said staunchly. “I raised him better.”
“Roz, these are real stones. It’s an antique. It’s a real antique.”
“I’ve been on my feet most of today. Don’t make me get up to get a closer look at it.”
Emotions in turmoil, Hayley stepped over, held out her wrist. Roz simply tugged her down on the sofa. “That is a beauty, and certainly suits you. How many ruby hearts are there?”
“I wouldn’t count them,” she began, then lowered her head at Roz’s bland stare. “Fourteen,” she confessed. “With ten little diamonds around here, and two between each heart. God, I’m crass.”
“No, you’re a girl. And one with excellent taste. Don’t wear that to work, no matter how much you want to. You’ll get it dirty.”
“You’re not upset?”
“Harper is free to spend his money as he sees fit, and has the good sense to spend it with some discrimination. He gave you a lovely gift. Why don’t you just enjoy it?”
“I thought you’d be mad.”
“Then you underestimate me.”
“I don’t. I don’t.” Tears swam into her eyes as she burrowed against Roz. “I love you. I’m sorry, I’m so twisted up. I’m so happy. I’m so scared. I’m in love with him. I’m in love with Harper.”
“Yes, honey.” Roz curled an arm around Hayley, and patted gently. “I know.”
“You know.” Sniffling, Hayley reared back.
“Look at you.” Smiling a little, Roz brushed Hayley’s hair away from her damp cheeks. “Sitting here crying, happy, scared tears. The kind a woman sheds over some man she’s realized she’s crazy about, and doesn’t know quite how the hell it happened to her.”
“I didn’t really know until last night. I knew I liked him, that I cared about him, but mostly I thought I wanted to bang him. Then . . . Oh God, oh God, I actually said that.” Mortified, she pressed the hee
ls of her hands against her eyes and rubbed. “See why this is surreal? I just told Harper’s mother I wanted to bang him.”
“I admit, the situation is a bit unique. But I think my sensibilities can handle it.”
“It all just opened up inside me last night, everything opened up and poured through. I’ve never felt like that.” Hayley pressed a hand to her heart, and the rubies glittered. “I’ve never been in love before, not all the way in love. And I thought, when it happened, that this is it, this is how it feels when you fall. Don’t tell him.” She gripped Roz’s hand. “Please don’t tell him.”
“It’s not for me to tell him. It’s for you, when you’re ready. Love’s a gift, Hayley, to be taken and received freely.”
“Love’s a lie, an illusion created by weak women and conniving men. An excuse for the middle class to breed and their betters to ignore so they can marry within their own station and build more wealth.”
Roz felt the shudder run through her, and her breath back up in her lungs. But she straightened, continued to look in the eyes that were no longer only Hayley’s. “Is that how you justified the choices you made?”
“I lived very well on my choices.” She lifted her arm, smiled as she trailed a finger over the bracelet. “Very well. Better than those I came from. She was content to serve on her knees. I preferred serving on my back. I could have lived here.”
She rose, wandering the room. “I should have. So now I am here. Always.”
“But you’re not happy. What happened? Why are you here, and so unhappy?”
“I made life.” She whirled, cupping a hand over her belly. “You know the power of that. Life grew in me, came from me. And he took it. My son.” She looked around, those eyes darting. “My son. I came for my son.”
“He’s gone now, too.” Roz rose slowly. “Long ago. My grandfather. He was a good man.”
“A baby. My baby. Little boy, sweet, small. Mine. Men, men are liars, thieves, cheats. I should have killed him.”
“The child?”
Those eyes glittered, bright and hard as the diamonds on her wrist. “The father. I should have found a way to kill him, all of them. Burned the house to the ground around them, and sent us all to hell.”
