Cinderella Busted (The Cinderella Romances #1) (38 page)

She turned and started up the stairs. “I’ll just go and get my things, then I’ll leave.”

“You’re
not
going up there!” Delia shouted after her.

“My clothes are up there,” she said with not a little satisfaction.

She continued up the steps and heard the speedy clackety-clack of Italian sandals on the foyer’s marble tile. Lily picked up her pace.

“I need my clothes. They’re all I have after my cottage burned.”

Why had she said
that
? Delia didn’t possess an ounce of compassion and wouldn’t care.

“I said no!” The witch started up the stairs after her.

Lily kept marching—one foot after the other, one step at a time. She wasn’t leaving here without her clothes. She may have lost Rhett, but she wanted those clothes. She shut her eyes briefly, hesitated on the step, and felt the wisp of memory—Rhett helping her pick out everything at the mall, the two of them laughing over his choices.

“Stop right there, damn you!” Delia shrieked, losing her cool. “Rhett doesn’t want you in his house. You’ll probably try to lock yourself in the bedroom till he comes back like the little gold digger you are!”

The
gold digger
comment held her in place. Had Rhett told Delia that? He had said as much to Lily. Maybe Delia
was
telling the truth. Rhett had gone back to the witch fast enough after he had thrown Lily out of his house.

She suddenly hated Delia. She twisted around on the step, surprised to see how far she had gotten up the staircase and even more surprised to see the witch so close.

“What are you so afraid of?” she lashed out, wanting the witch to hurt, too. “Afraid Rhett might change his mind?”

“Not a chance. He will never get tired of me.” Delia’s smile turned vicious. “Rhett and I are too fabulous in bed . . . or the shower . . . or the
floor
.”

Each picture the witch painted of her and Rhett’s lovemaking tore at Lily’s heart like a knife slicing flesh, and the images carried the tint and hue of truth to her inexperienced mind. A vise tightened around her lungs and squeezed out an involuntary whimper.

Delia heard and pounced joyfully. “You know I’m right. You saw the proof yourself just yesterday. Rhett couldn’t even
wait
to get me on the bed.”

One practiced jab too many. Lily saw red with the last bit of evil spewing from Delia’s mouth. Her heart pounded with the same fury she had suffered yesterday at the sight of Rhett’s almost naked body sprawled across Delia. If the witch didn’t want Lily upstairs, then up the stairs she would go.

She wheeled around and marched determinedly up the remaining steps. “This isn’t your house, and I’m going to get my clothes. If Rhett wants me thrown out, he can do it himself. He’s fully capable as he has already proved.”

Quicker than Lily would have believed possible, Delia scampered up and around her, blocking access to the last couple steps before the landing.

“You’re not coming up here,” the witch snarled and pointed down at the door. “Now get out.”

The two women were evenly matched in size though Delia won on viciousness. Lily needed to be careful.

“Step aside,” she ordered. “I’m getting my clothes, and then I’ll leave.”

She eased toward the middle of the stair as though to go around Delia, but the witch shifted with her.

“I don’t know what you thought you could gain by coming here, but Rhett doesn’t want you. He came running back to me. You saw for yourself yesterday afternoon. The way I see it, you have two choices. You can try to ambush Rhett and make him tell you himself—hurt you to your face—or you can believe me and get out of his life with your pride still intact.”

Delia’s words stung. Lily
had
seen Rhett and the witch wrapped together, with her own eyes, though Tammy insisted she believe something altogether different.

A picture is worth a thousand words
.

Lily scrunched her eyes shut to vanish from her mind the horrible image of Rhett lying across Delia.

“Closing your eyes won’t make it go away,” Delia taunted. “Rhett wants
me
. No one can make love to him like I can.”

Lily’s eyes flew open. “Shut up!”

“You saw him on top of me—naked—right where he wanted to be.”

Lily pressed her hands to her ears. “Shut up!”

Delia came down a step and yanked her hands away. “You were nothing but a game to him, to see if he could seduce the little gardener. He forgot you like that.” She snapped her fingers in Lily’s face, then knocked her sideways against the banister. “Playtime is over, you little bitch! You can’t win. Give it up.”

Lily’s heart felt torn into dozens of pieces. Had Rhett played with her? Was it all a game to him? Had he really discussed their affair with Delia?

Something inside Lily snapped. Her anger flared—anger at the adulterous betrayal she had witnessed with her own eyes. She refused to let Delia win this little skirmish even if she had won the war.

“I’m getting my clothes.” She snarled each word. “So get out of my way.”

Delia’s eyes slitted to icy shards. “You can’t win. If you try to go after Rhett, I’ll make you sorry you ever met him.”

She dropped down to Lily’s step and grabbed her arm.

“Let me go!” Lily shouted and tried to yank her arm free.

Delia’s long nails dug in, and Lily cried out with the pain. She fought for leverage, tried to grip the banister with her free hand, but Delia had compromised her balance, and she started to sway.

“Let go of me!” she shouted again.

“You were supposed to be in that cottage,” Delia grunted and tore Lily’s grip loose from the banister.

Lily gasped. “
You’re
the one who sabotaged my propane tank?”

The witch cackled wildly. “Yes, it was me, and I hope this breaks your skinny neck.” She gave Lily a hard shove.

Lily felt herself falling backward, and everything jerked to slow motion. A scream of terror echoed—hers. The seconds seemed to stand still as she saw her hand reach to grab for the banister, then watched her fingers only graze the slick, polished surface. Her pitching weight accelerated by gravity forced her feet to stutter backward. Down one step, then two. Then her feet no longer touched the steps. Her mind melded to one effort only—protect her head and neck as she tumbled downward.

Spine-searing panic took control of her brain—inured her to Delia’s wild cackling overhead, deafened her to the shouts from below or the pounding of feet. Nothing could stop her backward tumble, and her spine smacked hard against the banister. The momentum of the strike ricocheted her forward to pitch head first toward the lower stairs. As she watched the closest steps rising swiftly toward her face, she could only duck and use her arms to protect her head and neck.

Down she went and hit the first step hard with her knee bent. She somehow twisted to keep her head from striking the banister, and to keep her body parallel to the stairs and prevent a deadly headfirst descent. Her body rolled down to the next step. She couldn’t use her arms to stop her momentum, she had to protect her head and neck.

Down one more stair. Her shoulder hit first. Then the next stair, her knees this time. Down one more stair she rolled and into two strong arms that pulled her up against a rock-hard chest. She inhaled a much-needed lungful of oxygen after holding her breath on the plummet, and her senses rioted over the enveloping scent.

Rhett
.

“Hold still, Lily, or we’ll both go down,” Rhett ordered.

Delia screamed like a banshee at the top of the stairs.

Rhett grappled for a hold on the banister to get Lily’s feet under her.

“No!” Delia screamed again. “Don’t you save her!”

She tore down the steps straight for Lily who had only just gotten both feet on the same stair. Rhett pressed Lily behind him against the banister. He snagged a tight fistful of Delia’s jumpsuit as the witch tried to crawl over him to get at Lily. She screamed her bloody head off, and he gave her a hard jerk.

“Stop!” he roared over her screaming. “You’ll knock us all over.”

“She was supposed to be gone!” Delia shrieked. “Out of our way!”

Rhett gave her another hard jerk. “Enough!”

Delia suddenly folded like a rag doll and dropped down on the stair at Rhett’s feet. He grabbed for her, but she shrank back against the banister, wrapped her arms about her waist, and moaned incoherently.

Legs trembling hard, Lily slid down the banister to sit on the stair. Rhett wheeled around and scooped her up, negotiating the steps down carefully. At the bottom, he stopped and crushed Lily tight to him.

“My God, are you hurt?” He buried his face in her hair.

“I don’t th-think so,” she managed, gulping oxygen and clinging to him like a lifeline.

“Dear God in heaven, when I saw you tumble—” His voice faltered. “I tried to get there—”

She pressed her lips to his neck. “You did,” she whispered. “You saved me.”

He swallowed hard. “I’m going to take you to the couch and check you out for anything broken.”

He strode across the foyer with her body clutched tight to his chest.

“I don’t think anything’s broken. My knees ache and one shoulder, but just bruises and a few scratches,” Lily said.

As they reached the great room, footsteps pounded down the stairs. When Rhett turned, they watched Delia scurry through the open front door.

“The little fake,” he growled.

“She sabotaged my propane tank.”

“I heard.” His eyes flared black with menace. “Don’t worry, she can’t hide. I’ll find whatever hole she’s scurried to.”

Rhett took her into the great room, laid her on the couch, and methodically checked for broken bones. He sat back on his haunches and blew out a sigh of relief when he found none. He offered Lily ice for her bruises, but she only smiled.

“I’m okay. I ducked, covered my head, and rolled.”

“I noticed that,” he said ruefully. “Smart girl.”

“I was terrified more than anything.”

He gently traced a knuckle across her cheek. “No more terrified than I was.”

The swath of heat across her cheek was nothing compared to the hope heating up her heart. Terrified meant he cared, right?

“Really? You were terrified?”

His answer was to gently pull her into his arms and mold her body to him. He nuzzled her neck and her hair. She gloried in his touch and his arms around her, but niggling doubts remained. So much of what Delia spouted had a ring of truth.

Rhett must have felt her tense up. He released her and sat back again on his haunches.

“Delia had quite a lot to say,” Lily said softly.

“I’m sure she did.” He looked grim. “I only heard part of it.”

He sat silent as though waiting for her response.

Why didn’t he explain? She stared into his eyes and saw concern and . . . Was it possible? Vulnerability? Did he want
her
to make the first move?

If so, she would start at the beginning. “Delia said you went for a walk. You were waiting for her to join you.”

He stared for several long moments as though collecting his thoughts.

“Only the first part is true. I didn’t know she was here.” He sighed. “Now you’re frowning. If I carry you, do you feel up to a trip to our beach?”

Our
beach?

She held up her arms, and he wrapped them around his neck, then scooped her up. He carried her out across the terrace to the deck, down the steps, and over the dunes. He didn’t speak until he reached the edge of Sea Turtle beach.

“When I tried to get you back the first time, I stayed out here for hours one night plotting how I would go about it.”

The first time?

“I came back this afternoon when I realized I couldn’t let you go. Came back to start my plotting all over again. I was ready to stay a week if need be.”

“Put me down. I can stand.”

She hated that her words made him look so hurt, but when he set her down, she folded her arms around him and rested her cheek against his chest. He didn’t move for a long moment, then his arms came around her. She felt his body tremble.

“Give me a chance, Lily. I deserve a chance. I didn’t do anything wrong. Intentionally anyway. I may have handled this stupidly, but I’m innocent.”

Lily knew she should trust him, but she needed his explanation, needed to hear the words.

“Delia said you ran back to her, that I was too much trouble.”

“Come here.” He took her hand and led her a little way down the beach. He pointed to a spot just above the tidewater line. “Here is where I came and sat after my walk.”

Her gaze followed where he pointed to a depression in the sand. She blinked, then gasped. Next to the depression, a series of coral chunks, small rocks, and scallop shells spelled out a name—Lily.

“Does that look like I was waiting for Delia? Finding the shells and coral on the beach helped me think.” He shrugged. “Hell, it worked the first time.”

She stared up into his eyes and waited. His move to make now.

“You know Delia set up your propane tank or hired someone to do it, so I’m thinking I’m off the hook for the fire.”

She nodded slowly.

“I had no idea Whittenhurst was trying to run you off your land, Lily. I swear it. Whittenhurst had gone out on his own. He told BDC the Jupiter property was off the market. Garrett did some investigating and found Whittenhurst intended to use minority partners to buy your nursery property, then turn around and sell it quick with Whittenhurst and his boys making an egregious profit.”

“Either way I lose,” she said curtly.

“No!” he said angrily and took a step forward. “I wouldn’t’ve let that happen.”

She fought the instinctive urge to step back.

“I didn’t know it was your property,” he ground out.