These Foolish Things (19 page)

Ty sat back in his chair. For a moment or two, he said
nothing. When he did speak, his voice was low and angry.

“Is that what you think? Listen, Baby. You’re not the only
one not sleeping, not eating. If all I wanted was sex, I could have stayed in
Boston. I’m here for you, Liz. I want you. I told you that the other night.”

“You were pretty drunk. I’m surprised you remember.”

Ty looked as if she’d slapped him. “That was cold,
Counselor. I remember saying it because it was true then and it’s still true
now.” Liz looked squarely into those beguiling eyes. “You sure it’s not just
because I didn’t want to sleep with you? Wounded ego? We know you don’t like to
lose. You don’t know what you’re getting into. Or into bed with, for that
matter.”

“I don’t care. I want you. I want to be with you.”

“Yeah, right. The man who’s been seen with models and
socialites wants the middle-aged, pudgy nobody.”

“You know I don’t see you like that. Why would you say such
a thing?” Ty practically snapped at her. “Christ, won’t you even give me a
chance?”

“Because every time I give someone the chance, it blows up
in my face. I don’t want to be hurt again.”

“I promise you, I will never hurt you. I love you.”

This was too much. Liz stood up and grabbed his hand. “Come
with me.”

“Why?”

“Show and tell.” She led Ty into the only place where she
knew they’d have privacy: the ladies’ room. Liz locked the door. “Right.” She
pulled up the hem of her sweater and pushed down the waistband of her jeans to
expose the flesh on her hip. “See these?” She was pointing to faint, jagged
white lines running vertically and diagonally on her skin. “Touch them.”

Ty put his fingers on the lines. Liz tried to ignore the
thrill.

“Those, Mr. Hadley, are faded stretch marks.” Ty looked at
Liz’s face sharply. “No, I was never pregnant. But if you gain a lot of weight,
regardless of gender, you get stretch marks. They fade when you lose weight. At
my peak, I weighed over 220.” She pulled the pants back. “As it is, I can’t
wear designer clothes and nobody’s going to put me on the cover of Vogue.
However, that’s not the star of the show.”

Liz unbuttoned her cardigan to expose her bra. “Now, look.” She
couldn’t believe she was doing this, but better to get it over with now. Liz
pushed the lace covering her left breast aside, showing a puckered, wrinkled
scar. Liz looked away. It had been 3 years and she still hated what she saw.

It disappeared into the rest of the lace and Lycra covering
her breast. Ty was staring hard at the spot. His expression was unreadable.

“I’m sorry, Counselor, but I can’t see a man like you
wanting to wake up next a body like this.”

Liz rebuttoned her sweater, keeping her face down. “Show’s
over.”

“I don’t understand.” She darted a glance at his face and
saw puzzlement.

Liz could feel tears in her eyes. “Guys like you aren’t
supposed to happen to women like me, okay? Over a certain age, if single, we’re
either supposed to settle for some pudgy, balding middle-aged insurance
salesman because he’s ‘nice’ and ‘will be a good husband’ or we’re supposed to
finish the journey alone. Being in love doesn’t enter the picture. You, on the
other hand, are the handsome prince. And you can have any woman you want. I’ve
got at least 15 years and as many pounds on the women you date. I’m not arm
candy, I know this.”

“Angie says I’m in love and she’s right, God is she ever
right. I have never felt like this for anyone, Ty and if you don’t want what I
want, it’ll kill me. You have the power to utterly destroy me, whether you mean
to or not and I’m scared to death. Let me get over it and get on with my life.
Please.”

Ty pulled Liz into his arms. He held her close and kissed
her forehead. Liz put her arms around him and leaned into his body. She could
feel the energy flowing between them, both reassuring and exciting. She closed
her eyes and just felt. This could be as close as she ever got.

Ty spoke quietly, “I will kill the first insurance salesman
who comes near you. And the second. And the third. And any other man who tries
to take what’s mine. I said I loved you and I goddamn meant it.”

Ty tilted Liz’s chin up and looked into her eyes. “I’m not
just playing, Liz. The woman I want is right here in my arms.” And his mouth
came down on hers.

The Barrister’s Ball kiss hadn’t been a fluke. Liz found her
knees going weak as they had at the Ball and she tightened her grip on Ty. He
held her even closer.

There was a knock at the door. “Lizabetta?” Liz reluctantly
broke off the kiss. “I’m okay, Angie. Be out in a minute.” She shifted her
hands and gently pushed Ty away. With a smile, he kissed her quickly before
turning to flush the toilet.

Liz unlocked the door and peeked into the dining room.

“All clear.” She took Ty’s hand and led him back to their
table. Since he nearly hit his head on it, Ty noticed the mistletoe and pulled
Liz in for another kiss. She didn’t stop him.

“Ahem.”

Liz and Ty both looked up to see Angie. She stood with feet
planted, hands on hips and a baleful expression on her face, mostly directed at
Ty. Vinnie and Tony stood behind her looking equally displeased.

“Who are you and what are you doing with our girl?” Angie
demanded.

Ty hastily released Liz, who, still unsteady on her feet,
fell into her chair. “Uh, my name is Tyrone Hadley, Ma’am, and I was talking to
Elizabeth.” He sounded just like any sixteen-year-old boy facing a girl’s
father after getting caught necking on the porch swing.

Angie snorted. “In my day, we called that kissing. I just
got a call from my Joseph. He told me all about you and said if you upset
Elizabeth any more, I should tell him so he and Rocco could take care of it.”

Angie looked at Liz. “Lucky for you, Young Man, she doesn’t
look upset. In fact,” Angie peered at Liz’s face, “she looks a lot better than
she did when she came in here. Vincenzo, get our girl another glass of wine and
one for the Kissing Bandit here,” she pointed at Ty. “You, Mr. Lips, come with
me.”

Angie turned on her heel and marched towards the kitchen, Ty
following closely, protesting, “But she kissed me first!”

Tony yelled after her, “Ma, what should I do?”

“Stay out of trouble.”

Tony muttered, “Shit.”

“Anthony!” from behind the door.

“Sorry, Ma.”

Vinnie replaced Liz’s wineglass with a fresh one and one for
Ty. He looked towards the kitchen door thoughtfully.

“That’s a determined man, you’ve got there, Liz. I bet he’s
been in every restaurant and hotel in town looking for you. He showed up right
after you got here, wanting the phone book.” Vinnie smiled at Liz. “You know,
when he came back, he just sat at the bar and watched you. I was wondering how
long he’d do that until he saw you take a swing at Tony for kissing you. He
kind of smiled, asked me to send some Merlot to you, got on his phone and told
Tony that if he didn’t knock it off, he was going to stuff him into a manicotti
shell ass first.” Tony nodded.

No one emerged from the kitchen. “Angie must be giving him
hell. Think she’s showing him the big knife?” Liz asked.

Vinnie and Tony both nodded. “Oh, yeah,” they said.

Vinnie patted Liz’s shoulder. “Every man needs to meet his
girl’s family.” He kissed the top of Liz’s head. “It’s clear you two are in
love with each other. He’d better be good enough for you.”

Finally, the kitchen doors swung open and a shaken Ty
emerged. He took Liz’s hand as he seated himself. She looked at him, imagining
the conversation. “And?”

Ty swallowed, “Counselor, if I disappear, don’t order
anything that comes with just two meatballs.”

“Oh, Honey, if you think that was bad, you should have been
here the night someone asked for ketchup to put on Angie’s risotto. Vinnie had
to hide the scaloppini mallet.”

Ty picked up the hand he was holding and kissed the
fingertips, the palm and the inside of the wrist. Liz could hardly breathe.
They just looked at each other for a moment.

“Wait a minute. How did you find me?” Liz asked
suspiciously. “And I never gave you my cell number.”

Ty just smiled. “I have my sources.”

“Uh huh.” An idea occurred to Liz. With her free hand, she
picked up her phone and dialed Millie’s office. She laced her fingers through
Ty’s, who kissed her hand. Liz was not about to let go.

“Attorney Wentworth.”

“Millie, it’s Liz.” Ty looked at her curiously.

“Liz, are you okay?” Millie sounded anxious.

“Yeah, I’m with Vinnie and Angie. Listen, put me on speaker
and get Corey in there, please.” She heard the change in the phone to speaker,
heard Millie summon Corey and heard them return.

“Hi, Liz,” Corey sounded a little too chipper.

“Hi, Corey. Millie, I want you to look into Corey’s eyes.
Corey, Tyrone Hadley has been prowling Hyannis today. He’s even been in
Vincenzo’s to look for me. Any idea how he’d know where to look?”

“No,” Corey’s voice was careful. “Maybe Joe told him…”

“Wrong. Try again. Who gave me up?”

Ty nodded. Liz mouthed “thought so.”

“Nobody, Liz, I swear.” Corey said stoutly.

“Millie?”

“Look me in the eyes, Corey.” A slight pause. “He can’t look
me in the eyes, Liz.”

“Corey, you told Ty where to find me, didn’t you?” Liz’s
voice took on the tone of a mother who has just caught her child in a lie.

“Maybe.”

“Corey, how much?” Liz looked at Ty who mouthed, “One
hundred.”

Liz mouthed back, “Are you nuts?” Ty nodded and kissed her
cheek.

Liz could hear the panic as Corey said, “I don’t understand
the question.”

Millie jumped in, “Bullshit, Corey. How much did he pay you?”

“Twenty bucks.” Liz had to bite back a laugh. “That’s all?
Man, you’re cheap. Ty says he’d have gone to two hundred, no sweat.”

Dead silence from the other end. While waiting for a
reaction, Liz looked at Ty with arched eyebrows and smiled.

Corey’s voice finally came through weakly. “He’s there?”

“Well, hell, Corey, did you think he’d pay you a hundred
bucks if he wasn’t going to use the information?”

Liz could hear Millie’s, “OHMIGOD!” in the background. Liz
also heard Millie smack Corey, who whined, “Ouch.”

Corey protested, “She just hit me.”

“Hit him again.” Liz heard another smack. “Millie, since I’m
not there and Attorney Dennis has found himself understaffed, I’d say that it
would only be in the spirit of the Christmas season to lend our assistant to
Dan.”

“You wouldn’t,” from Corey.

Millie fell right in, “Why, Attorney Gardner, that’s an
excellent idea. And I believe Attorney Dennis is between assistants right now,
isn’t he? He’d be so grateful…,” Here Liz heard a muffled scream from Corey,
“for the help with his handwritten notes and dictation.”

Liz heard a rhythmic thumping over the phone. “What’s that?”

“Corey pounding his head on the desk.”

“Tell him knocking himself unconscious won’t get him out of
it. Go, Corey. Millie, I’ll catch you later.” Liz hung up. Ty was chuckling.

Liz smiled at him, “Rule Number One: never betray my trust.”

“I won’t, Love, I promise,” Ty squeezed her hand. They
looked into each other’s eyes for a long moment, not speaking or touching
except for their clasped hands. Screwing up her courage, Liz leaned forward and
kissed Ty, gently taking his bottom lip between hers and stroking her tongue
along its surface. When she leaned back, his eyes were dancing with
anticipation and he was breathing hard. Liz thought it was one of the sweetest
sounds she’d ever heard. Ty picked up his wineglass and motioned for Liz to do
the same. “To us.” They drank.

Ty set down his wineglass and smiled. “You know, Liz, I have
a confession. Ever since that crazy softball game when you kissed me,” here his
eyes glinted at her, “I’ve wanted you. I wanted to comfort you and make love to
you the night it rained. I want those legs of yours wrapped around me. I’ve had
dreams about us being together,” his voice got soft and husky, “and they were
wonderful. I want the reality tonight.”

Liz could only nod, her eyes locked with his. Ty leaned in
and kissed her. “I can’t wait,” he whispered. “That night in October…”

“Yes?”

“I stood outside the door to your room for a while after
we’d said goodnight. I wanted you very, very badly that night.”

Liz reached over to touch Ty’s face and gently guide it to
hers. She kissed him softly, running her fingers through his hair as she did.
His eyes were closed as she pulled back. “If you’re going to do that, we’d
better have dinner.” He leaned forward to kiss her as softly. “God knows when
we’ll eat again.” He pressed a quick kiss on her. “Do you think it’s safe for
me to eat here or is Angie going to put saltpeter in my scaloppini?” They both
laughed and Liz wrapped her arms around Ty and kissed his cheek. He pulled her
close and held her. When she looked up, Tony was standing awkwardly a few feet
away, menus in hand.

“Ma says the two of you have to eat and you’ll do it here,” Tony
eyed Ty with some fear as he handed him a menu. “Liz, you want chicken
saltimbocca? You know Ma’s gonna make you eat broccoli one way or another.”

“That’s great, Tony.” She turned to Ty. “Angie serves her
saltimbocca with broccoli sautéed in garlic instead of pasta.”

“And for you, Sir?” Tony was very nervous.

Ty smiled at him. “Call me Ty. Saltimbocca sounds pretty
good to me, too.” He offered his hand to Tony, who shook it with relief.

“Okay, great, sure, Ty,” Tony almost stuttered. “Let me get
your salads.” He turned and fled.

The jukebox was playing Nat King Cole and “The Christmas
Song.” Ty stood up and offered his hand to Liz. “Care to dance? We didn’t get
to the dip last time.”

They swayed together, bodies pressed against each other,
Liz’s head on Ty’s shoulder and his head against hers. It felt even better and
more right than she had hoped.