Embraceable You (Irish Hearts Series) (5 page)

"Not anymore." He moved closer, hip
-to-hip, and gently rubbed her nipple.

She wiggled a little. "I don't know what I was thinking."

He nuzzled her neck and muttered, "Good, Siena. So good. Don't think."

She untangled their legs and pushed away from him. "No, not good at all. Well, I don't mean 'not good.' It was. But not a good thing to do." She bounded out of bed and began searching for her clothes. They were, of course, scattered.

"Go back to the amazing part." He propped up on an elbow and watched her with an amused grin.

"Zach, really, we have to… pretend this never happened."

"Pretend? I'm not much of a pretender, Siena. And neither are you, if I remember correctly. You were superb last night, especially the second time. Why pretend otherwise?"

She found her bra and
fumbled with the catch. "Second time? Oh my God, I can't believe this. Please, Zach, forget I ever came to town. And please forget we were ever," she circled one hand, "like that, in bed together."

He made a funny motion and pressed both palms together. "Why? It was perfectly natural and really good. Baby, you were hot!"

She pushed and tugged one leg at a time into her tight leggings. "Stop. Just stop right there. We gave in to our base needs, our curiosity, our lust."

"So…"

"Well, I just don't function that way." She found her sweater all the way across the room. "I don't know what happened to me. I just –"

"Couldn't resist."

"Or didn't, which is worse. And it's not going to happen again." She pulled on her boots. "It's not. I can't. This isn't right, for me or for you. I was just … weak or something."

"Hmmmm." He propped on one side and watched.

She ran her fingers through her hair. It didn't help much. "Zach, I'm just here to close that place up. Then I'm out of here.
Adios
Haven's Point."

He folded his hands under his head, looking like Adonis under a quilt. He just smiled at her. "I'd hate to see you go so soon."

She shook off the sexy image.  "Which way is
Amazing Lace
from here?" She knew they had walked here last night – or maybe floated on a cloud of pure lust.  

"Uh, aren't you even going to say anything to stroke my ego… like if it was good for you, too?"

She shook her head and looked away. "Of course, it was - is… uh, wonderful to see you again, Zach. And last night was better uh, than I ever dreamed. Thanks for the invitation to share your house. And your bed. You knew we'd end up like this. You knew!"

"That's a backhanded compliment if I ever heard one. Did you ever dream, Siena? About me?"

She walked to the door. "Where do I go from here?"

"Two blocks down and turn left. You'll see
Amazing Lace
on the corner by the bay."

"Just please, forget this ever happened, Zach."

"Will you, Siena? Will you forget?"

She bolted out of the house without answering. She couldn't, and be honest.

"No way, Siena," he muttered. "No way can I forget last night. We were better than ever together."

Claire on the phone

"Come along, my Lacy Ladies! Let's gather at Addie's. Bring your lace. I believe we've got our new blood. But we'd better hurry before Zach gets to her.
I'm afraid we may be too late."

Siena ran upstairs to the apartment above
Amazing Lace
. Grabbing her suitcase, she began digging for clean clothes. She felt something boring into her and looked up. In the dim morning light, there were two furry faces with big yellow eyes, watching her. Sally and Harry sat side by side, staring without blinking. Observing her every move. Guardians of Aunt Addie's domain.

"Don’t you-two ever sleep? Or sleep in?  I’ll look for a new home for you today. You are miserable, I know. This can’t continue."

Neither cat moved. No gentle purring. They continued to stare at her.

Siena pulled a couple of items from her luggage. "You’re probably wondering where Aunt Addie is. The news is not good, kitties. She isn’t coming back. She’s gone on to her next dimension, as Dana would say. The spirit world. Maybe you have a connection. They say cats are… whatever. But here on earth, all you have is me – and George – until I find you a good home. Which, God willing, will be today. Maybe George is interested."

Siena walked to a window. Even at this ungodly early hour, there were several lights on in town. The cats followed her. One issued a soft meow.

Outside, everything lay in solemn, white splendor. She could almost hear the snow glistening in the early morning sunlight. She had to admit, Haven’s Point was postcard quality. If she wanted to design a beautiful place to be, right outside her window was it.

But, like the mess of her life, she knew that all the flaws of this town were hidden beneath the beauty of the snow. And there had to be flaws. Nothing was perfect. Not her life; not this town; not Zach. Well, maybe almost. His kiss, and the way he made love, inspired her to greater heights. And sexually, she'd reached the pinnacle. More than once, apparently. It was strange that they seemed to pick up where they’d left off so many years ago. Or maybe it was just the magic of the night.

Zach
was familiar, yet different. And thoughts of exploring those differences were exciting. Being with Zach added a new and sensuous dimension to her life that she hadn’t realized was missing. And it just showed how much her relationship with Warren was lacking. Good sex, for one.

One of the cats emitted a
deep mee-oowing, almost a growling sound. Then it hit her. The damn cats were hungry. Of course! She tossed a handful of dry food in each kitty-face bowl, one blue, the other pink.

"You two are pretty darn lucky. You were loved by Aunt Addie. You were saved by Zach with a little help from George. Clanging on the cat food can was genius. And now, I’m going to find you a special home. Then everything will be just ducky. Or cat-tastic. Sorry, couldn’t resist."  She laughed at herself, talking out loud to the cats.

Harry and Sally sat beside their bowls, not eating, and stared at her. 'We are not amused,' they seemed to say.

"Go ahead. Eat! I won’t watch.
You cats are so cattitudinal." Siena walked around the apartment. It was as if Aunt Addie expected her. The pantry was stocked to the gills with plenty of spices, tea, and locally canned fruits and vegetables, probably gifts from her friends. There were little notes on how to feed Harry and Sally and where to adjust the thermostat.

Propped on a shelf was the recipe for her famous Wild Blueberry Crunch with its secret ingredient, finely chopped jalapeño peppers. The note said: "For my Lacy Ladies, every Wednesday." 

"Wednesday? Today?" Siena muttered aloud. "Ha! That isn’t going to happen." She fixed herself a cup of Irish Breakfast Tea and noticed the cats were finally nibbling their food.

Until last night, Zach had just been a memory, a fantasy frozen in time. At first sight, it all came flashing back - the tingles, the chills, the rush. Over the years, she’d experienced fickle friends, deceitful fiancés, job politics and struggling to find herself – again and again. Maybe it was time for some fun with an old boyfriend. And when she left town, she’d kiss him on both cheeks, pat his sweet butt, thank him for a good time, and bid him farewell again.

Oh yes, she could have her own good time and leave this place easily. Siena took a quick shower and while still wrapped in a towel, she heard noises downstairs in the shop. Immediately, Harry and Sally took off on quick cat feet. Siena threw on a pair of black leggings and her favorite long, loose sweater with a moose-face and huge antlers on the front before bounding downstairs.

There were three cheerful ladies futzing around as if they owned the place. One large-chested woman stepped forward. "Welcome to our sad little world Dana, you probably don't remember me, but – "

"I'm not Dana. I'm Siena. Dana's daughter."

Siena was caught up in a bear hug, crushed against the woman's bosom. "Ahh, Siena, all grown up.
Glory be, we're glad to see you. I’m Claire Fairchild. Addie and I were dear, dear friends. She was like my sister I never had. We are so sad to lose her. She and I were rebel-leaders in town." She patted the French twist of her red-from-a-bottle hair. "And damn proud of it, too." Her Irish brogue blended nicely with a broad-voweled Maine dialect.

The next woman clasped Siena’s hand warmly. "My, you’ve grown up beautifully, Siena. I’m Roberta, Roberta Cassidy. I taught you to crochet one summer. Remember? We loved Addie so much
. . ." She paused to wipe a tear.

Siena braced for another hug, but Roberta just sandwiched her hand and squeezed. Siena barely recognized Zach’s long-suffering mother. Everyone felt sorry for her because she had been married to a drunk and had to finish raising three kids by herself. Word was that her husband, Zach's father, took his boat out fishing, apparently inebriated, and drowned. Today Roberta looked pale and gaunt, her face dwarfed by a huge wig that looked like Raquel Welsh
's hair. Zach said she was doing well after her cancer treatment, but it obviously left her affected. 

The next woman pushed into her view. "I’m Carrie Nichols. We’re missing your wonderful auntie so much, but she said you’d know how to make our lace magical again, which was her word for profitable."

"Now Carrie, you're getting ahead of yourself. Siena just got here. Give her time," Claire said.

Siena shook her head. "Sorry, but I don’t know one thing about lace. Or how to make it profitable."

But no one was listening to her because they all proceeded to do their thing. And talk. They looked like large, colorful birds. Claire was the big-breasted robin, leading the way. Carrie's straight brown hair, parted in the middle with bangs, and dark-rimmed glasses made her look like an owl, but a charming owl. Roberta looked like a swallow, her slender face surrounded by that damn big haired wig.

"I hope you don't mind, but we always come in on Wednesdays to make our lace and chat a bit. Addie entrusted us with a key, so we come here to work, snow or shine."
Claire picked up a pair of sunglasses that had fallen to the floor and adjusted the rack that held about thirty of them.

"But we’re so glad you're here." Roberta followed, straightening a feather mask. "To take over."   

Siena folded her arms and shook her head. "Uh, ladies . . ."

"Addie was the best cook. Put us all to shame. I brought some scones this time. Not bad, if I do say so myself." Carrie placed a basket on the counter. "We have to pick up where Addie left off, right?"

"This is our day for needlework," Roberta said. "Addie would have a fit if we missed a week. She would say we let our power sift through our fingers."

"But we – I – need time," Siena said. "I just arrived last night."

"Yes, we know." Claire put her bag on a chair and started digging into it.

"We won’t get in your way. You just go ahead and do whatever." Roberta adjusted her glasses. "We'll watch the store."

"You’ve probably guessed that we’re the Lacy Ladies," Claire said with a laugh, pulling up her lace work. "Addie called us that and we rather liked it. She said you would figure out what to do with our lovely hand-made lace."

Siena felt something between sympathy and real pain. "Look Ladies, I really don’t think I can – "

"We know, dear. No pressure, of course," Claire said, patting her hand. "Just do what you can. You’re our new blood. Probably know all about that social media stuff and more. Do you have a Kindle?"

Siena nodded and
Claire continued, as if a question wasn’t asked. "I just hate the thought of those flat little boxes holding my beloved books, but my darling daughter got me one for my birthday last year and I must admit, I read faster with it. Oh, that sounds silly, doesn’t it?"

Roberta lifted a display box filled with various kinds, shapes
and colors of hand-made lace doilies. "They aren’t fast movers, are they? I think we should make all this into Heart’s Desire Pillows."

"They do need a better display," Siena
admitted. "Do what with them? Make pillows?"

Carrie held a teapot up. "Mind if I run upstairs for some water for our tea? We always did when Addie was here."

"No, but – " Siena did not want to spend the morning having tea with these well-intentioned ladies making their freakin’ lace.

"Not to worry. We can take perfectly good care of ourselves. We fill our hotpot, plug it in and tea’s on the way." Carrie started for the stairs. "Come on Harry and Sally. I’ve got a treat for you."

"Oh wait, ladies." Siena was losing ground by the minute. "Today, actually, I hadn’t planned on opening."

"No matter."
Claire waved her hand. "Sometimes people come in just to watch us work our lace, and they turn into customers. Isn’t that what we want?"

"Customers, yes," answered Roberta with a laugh. "We’ve learned that much from Addie."

Siena glanced out the window wondering where customers would come from on a day like this. Most shops around were closed.