When Rhett glanced up the gravel drive and didn’t see Lily, a wave of all-out panic hit him like a sledgehammer. He spun toward the flame-engulfed cottage. No sign of her.
“Lily!” he roared.
Rob shot him a panicked look. “Where is she?” he hollered.
“I don’t know!” Rhett shot back. “Lily!” He glanced back at the cottage and then hollered to Rob, “Is there a back door to her cottage?”
Rob’s eyes widened in alarm, and Rhett’s heart kicked up in his throat. He raced for the cottage, shouting her name.
Dear God, don’t let her have gone in there!
He careened around the back corner of the cottage, and sparks fluttered like rain around him as a strong gust of wind whipped across the flaming roof. He spotted the back door yanked wide, and his heart almost stopped.
“Lily!” he yelled into the billows of smoke pouring from the interior.
He yanked his polo shirt up and over his nose and mouth. Right or left? A light was still on in the room to the left, and two steps later, he bumped into a counter. Kitchen. Knowing Lily, she went after personal belongings, probably pictures. Squinting to shield his eyes against the onslaught of smoke, he moved through the arch to the right of the back door.
“Lily!” he shouted and took two strides into the room.
He caught movement through the smoke. One more step and he spotted her as a shower of sparks fluttered down over her head. She glanced up, and he followed her gaze. The beam overhead tore free of the flaming roof, leaving a gaping hole and creating a second thicker shower of sparks.
As though in slow motion, Rhett lunged for Lily and yanked her to the side as the fiery beam bounced hard off his shoulder. His subsequent roll to their right snuffed out the burst of flame on his shirt.
Ignoring the blast of pain in his shoulder, he held his breath, scooped Lily into his arms, and hustled toward the back door, moving via memory through the opaque gray curtain. Gulping a lungful of air once he exited the house, Rhett marched toward the halogen security lamp atop a pole at the rear of her property. When he reached a picnic table well back from the burning cottage, he set her down. Immediately, a spate of coughing overwhelmed her, and he brushed the hair back from her face.
“Are you all right?” he asked hoarsely.
The halogen lamp lit the area around them, and he tilted her face toward the light. Streaks of tears washed a path through the sooty grime on her cheeks, and her desolate expression tore at his heart.
“I’m not hurt,” she managed to wheeze.
“Take slow deep breaths to clean out your lungs. Are you nauseous?” he probed, searching for symptoms of smoke inhalation.
“I kept my mouth and nose covered.”
“Oh thank God,” he said, and gently pulled her into his arms.
She hesitated for a heartbeat, then her arms went around his neck. He held on for dear life, finally realizing just how much that clichéd phrase meant and how close he had come to losing Lily. Permanently.
A couple hours later, Lily was still seated at her picnic table, though now she was draped in a blanket supplied by a Jupiter firefighter who had arrived with his team only minutes after Rhett pulled her from the flaming cottage. Several Jupiter police vehicles had followed the fire rescue vehicles in and stayed until the firefighters extinguished the blaze. Her blanket-bearing firefighter told her the fire inspector would go over the scene later with a fine-tooth comb to determine the exact cause of the blaze and the extent of the damage.
Rhett stood near the shadehouse with the Incident Commander, giving a step-by-step account of the exploding propane tank and resultant fire. Watching him in the distance telling his story, she wondered if he would tell the Incident Commander how close she came to dying tonight. The commander’s questions for her had been blessedly brief, no doubt because she looked pitiful. This she knew because she felt pitiful.
The trauma of watching the enormous fire hoses extinguish the flames in her cottage and leave behind a blackened shell had left her feeling numb. The pain and anguish would come later.
Rob appeared alongside the picnic table carrying her purse and the car keys, which he had retrieved from her truck parked outside the nursery office. Luckily, she’d been upset when she locked up and headed out of the officer earlier and hadn’t remembered her truck parked out front. If she had remembered her truck, she would have been at the cottage when the propane tank blew. She had trouble working up any enthusiasm over not losing her money and credit cards in the fire along with everything else.
“Rhett saved us tonight,” Rob said grudgingly. “We would have lost the shadehouse and maybe the annuals and interiors greenhouses, too, if he hadn’t been here to help.”
She glanced up at Rob, and what he said finally pierced the protective shield she had erected to fight off shock. She slowly nodded.
“Why was Rhett here, anyway?” Rob asked. “And at night?” His face probably mimicked hers, blackened with long smudges of soot.
She glanced back up the drive at Rhett, still gesturing to the commander with his tale, and a spark of hope flared in her heart. Then another and another, like the shower of sparks that fluttered over her in the cottage.
Turning back to Rob, she felt the cool relief of tears forming in her dried-out eyes. “He came back for me,” she said softly.
His eyes widened slightly. “Because?” he asked warily.
“Because Rhett’s sorry. For everything.” More sparks of hope fluttered over her as she recalled his words right before the explosion.
Rob frowned. “How sorry?”
“He explained things. We’re okay, Rob.” She gave him a weak smile, all she could manage, considering her present condition and frame of mind.
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”
“I’m real sure. Now.”
He sighed heavily, and something like relief filtered through his expression. “Well, Rhett saved you and he saved the nursery, so I guess he’s okay with me.”
Her smile felt stronger this time. She had lost her pictures and her mementos, but she had her memories, and her future suddenly looked brighter.
“Come on, Lil. You need to get some rest. I’m taking you home with me,” Rob said.
“The hell you are!” The deep voice sounded from behind them, and an angry Rhett stepped into the circle of light near the table.
Rob didn’t flinch or step back from the glare that would make any sane man falter. He stood his ground and glowered back at Rhett.
“She’s going with me,” Rhett said, brooking no disagreement and reaching for Lily. “I’m taking care of her tonight.”
Rob glanced at her. “Lily?”
She smiled up at Rhett’s sooty frown. “I’ll go with Rhett.”
Rhett insisted on carrying Lily into his mansion and up the stairs. Too exhausted to argue now that the adrenaline had worn off, she wrapped her arms around his neck and tucked her head on his shoulder to marvel at how easily he carried her up the stairs as though she weighed no more than a feather. He strode down the upstairs hall and into what had to be the master suite due to the sheer size alone.
The room had an enormous king-size bed, an office space with desk and computer setup, and a completely furnished sitting area and fireplace taking up half of the room. The masculine décor had Rhett written all over it, and Lily wondered whether Delia had a hand in the decorating. She immediately forced the mutinous thought from her head. She’d had enough unpleasantness tonight to last a lifetime, and she suddenly had a more pressing issue to deal with—Rhett was tugging off her sneakers and socks.
“Um, Rhett?”
He glanced up. “You okay?”
She nodded.
“We need to get out of these smoky clothes, and I know you want a shower,
” he said and gave her such a tender look her heart turned over.
Tears stung her eyes and blurred her vision.
“Lily?” His hand came up to cup her cheek. His expression grew anxious.
“I don’t have any clothes except these,” she whispered.
Looking almost relieved, he pulled her into his arms. “Oh sweetheart, I’ll buy you a store full of clothes tomorrow. I’ll get you a robe for now, and we’ll wash and dry these clothes tonight.”
She hugged him tight. “Thank you.”
He pulled back and palmed her cheeks. “You’re going to be okay, Lily. I’ll make sure of it.”
She could tell from the look in his eyes he meant what he said. Rhett would make sure she was okay. Life was funny. She had just lost everything she owned—up in smoke—and she didn’t think she had ever felt happier. Here was the Rhett she had fallen in love with. He had come back to her. Her heart ached from wanting to hold him, and just this morning, she had thought they were through forever.
She leaned forward and touched her lips to his, desperate to feel that same connection they had shared earlier in the evening, to be sure she hadn’t imagined the whole scene.
Rhett held very still and made no effort to press closer.
Had she imagined everything earlier? No more guessing for her. She would know for sure where she stood. Now, not later.
“You’ve been through a lot tonight, Lily,” he said against her lips, and his voice had that wonderful husky sound he always got when they kissed.
“Yes,” she whispered and pressed her lips harder against his and tentatively brushed the tip of her tongue across his bottom lip.
He groaned low in his throat, and his arms snaked around her, pulling her hard to his chest. His tongue passionately stroked into her mouth, and in the next instant, he gentled the kiss, tasting and sampling and allowing his tongue to play sensual tag with hers. She melted against him and threaded her fingers into the curls at the back of his head, tightening her grip and pulling him closer to deepen the kiss.
He chuckled against her mouth, and she felt herself smile. He pulled back in full grin, his eyes had gone black as onyx, his breath as labored as hers.
“You drive me crazy,” he said hoarsely.
“Ditto,” she whispered and leaned in for another mind-numbing explosive kiss.
He leaned back keeping the distance between them. “We need a shower, sweetheart. We smell like a fireplace.”
The fire reference sliced through her sensuous haze. Rhett meant to shower with her! He’d said we.
“Rhett, I—”
Puzzled, he waited.
“I can’t.”
His brows went up. “Can’t shower?”
Lily looked away. What had she gotten herself into? Why hadn’t she just gone home with Rob?
“I c-can’t shower with you.”
“I see.” He stiffened. “I hadn’t asked you to, but okay.” He huffed out a hard exhale. “Geez, Lily, I wasn’t going to pressure you tonight. Give me a little more credit than that.”
She had hurt him. She could see the pain in his eyes. Everything was going south and quickly. She reached up and brushed a hand along his cheek and over his hair.
“I’m sorry. I just got nervous.” She blurted, “I’ve never showered with anyone before. I mean, with a man.”
He looked stunned for a moment and then stared intently into her eyes as though searching for something. She held her breath and waited for his suspicions to resurface, an affirmation of what he believed to be her earlier betrayal. She held his gaze and prayed he could see through to her very soul. Moments passed, and still she was afraid to move, to blink, to breathe. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears.
“Oh my God, you’re telling the truth,” he said quietly.
She silently thanked God she saw no incredulity in his eyes, but rather what resembled awe.
Emboldened, she added, “I’ve never lied to you, and I never will.” She swallowed hard. “I only left out a few things before. And I won’t do that ever again.”
“A few things,” he repeated slowly.
“That I owned the nursery, and I haven’t ever . . .” She hesitated.
Better he find out now, rather than later in a moment of passion. Tonight she would find out what they were made of, if there was even a they. She tried to find the right words as he held her gaze, this man who made an art, and a fortune, out of reading people.
His eyes suddenly widened.
There it was! Understanding had just dawned like a newly risen sun, glaring with newfound brightness.
“You truly are innocent,” he whispered.
She nodded slowly and almost mouthed the words I’m sorry, a throwback from past dating experiences when the news had always started an argument. Tonight she kept silent and refused to say the words aloud. She wasn’t sorry. She would be overjoyed to give her precious gift to this man she loved. At the right time.
Would he be overjoyed? Or angry at waiting like the rest?
Hank had always assured her Mr. Right would cherish her gift, and so she could never squander it. She had to be sure since the gift could be given only once, and Rhett had never said those precious three words she so longed to hear.
“You’re a virgin,” he said almost reverently, enunciating each word.
“Yes,” she whispered.
One second, she was staring into his awe-stricken green eyes and the next she was crushed tight to his chest, his arms around her and his face buried in her hair.
“Oh Lily, my precious Lily,” he repeated over and over.
Tears welled up and overflowed. She felt them streaking down her cheeks and onto his shirt, and she didn’t care. He wouldn’t leave her as the others had. She just knew it. There was no mistaking the tenderness in his eyes when he pulled back to stare into hers.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked softly.
She couldn’t tell him about the others, but he seemed to sense her reasons without an explanation.
He tugged her back into his arms, more gently this time. “There’s no more precious gift a woman can give a man, a gift to be treasured,” he said, and just held her until her tears subsided.
They showered, separately, and Rhett brought her a feminine nightgown—not too risqué, thank goodness—and a bathrobe to wrap in after her shower. Amazingly, both garments fit perfectly. Did he keep them in every size for his bevy of supermodels, or did this lingerie belong to one dark-haired woman in particular? He didn’t offer an explanation, and she didn’t ask or want one. As far as she was concerned, their future started tonight.
After her shower, she grabbed up her clothes and padded back down the hall, hesitating a moment at the doorway to the master suite. She took a deep breath and vowed she wouldn’t be nervous tonight. She would take this relationship one minute at a time until she felt comfortable, then one hour at a time, one day at a time.
He heard her at the door. “Lily?”
She stepped in and inhaled sharply. He stood holding a document in his hand at a desk across the room. Fresh from his shower, his hair lay in damp curls along his neck. He wore a navy-blue bathrobe belted at the waist, and her eyes were drawn to the dark hair at the V-neck. Just looking at him sent shock waves vibrating through her already sensitized system.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded. “I’m just a little nervous.”
He took a step toward her. “Lily, you have—”
“—nothing to fear. I know.”
“Come on.”
He laid the document on the desk, gathered up their smoky clothes, and led her downstairs to a laundry room the size of her living room at the cottage, or at least the size her living room had been. She refused to think of that now.
“How about a walk on the beach?” he said, taking her hand.
“Like this?” she squeaked.
“Why not? We’re wearing more than most folks wear at the beach, and there’s no one out there. The park closed at sunset.”
“We snuck out there after sunset,” she reminded him.
He looked chagrined. “Yeah, but we snuck through this property. I’m sorry about that, Lily. I kept secrets, too.”
She held two fingers to his lips. “Let’s go for a walk.”
The storm had finally passed, and the air acquired a nice chill. Breaking waves provided a melodic backdrop for the romantic moonlit scene. Neither of them said a word as they strolled down to the secluded beach at Sea Turtle Park. Her small hand gripped tightly to Rhett’s larger one, and she had never felt so safe in all her life. They walked alone beneath a star-filled sky, the moonlight glistening on the ocean surface like so many sparkling diamonds.
Rhett tugged her gently into his arms, and her breath caught in her throat. “I should have put you to bed and made you rest,” he said softly against her hair. “Instead, I dragged you out to the beach.”
She leaned back and smiled up at him. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else on earth.”
“Lily.” His voice went hoarse. “We stood right here that first night.”
She nodded unable to speak or breathe.
“I brought you back here tonight to start over. I know I don’t deserve it, but I want a fresh start. Everything new between us. Always truth, no holding back. What do you say?”
Cinderella Busted (The Cinderella Romances #1) Page 27
