Three Wishes (16 page)

Then, the subject closed, he kissed her again and when he did all thoughts of jobs, mortgages and credit card bills swiftly exited her mind.

Much later she learned how to sleep with someone. Nate pulled her back against his front, wrapped his arm tightly around her waist and buried his face in her hair.

Lily fell asleep thinking it felt rather nice.

Lily’s Ending

Lily was worried.

How she could be happier, more contented and at peace than she’d ever been in her whole life, and be so damned worried all at the same time, she did not know.

Things with Nate were wonderful… no, splendid… no,
magnificent.

Well, most of the time.

He worked quite a bit. Even at his age (he was only 28!), he was the Executive Vice President of two divisions of his father’s company and he took his job for his father very seriously. Deadly seriously. It was almost like he owed his life to that job. Nate left before Lily woke up every morning, and Lily was an early riser, and didn’t come home until after eight o’clock every evening.

Sometimes she’d have dinner ready when he’d come home. Other times he’d call her during the day to tell her he was going to take her out to some fabulous restaurant (so fabulous, Nate was significantly taxing the limits of her wardrobe). Twice they’d been to Victor and Laura’s for dinner.

Every night he’d make love to her (and mornings besides), most nights more than once and each time was better than the last.

She’d gone back to Clevedon the second morning after their first night together. She’d told him she had to give Maxine notice and work that notice out at the store. He hadn’t been happy but she’d put her foot down telling him the truth, that her mother and father would never forgive her if she just quit a job and didn’t work out her notice, it was bad form. Eventually, sensing how important it was to Lily because she repeated it, over and over, in a louder and louder voice, he gave in. It was the only time he didn’t go to work early. Instead he took her to the train and kissed her on the platform, kissed her in a way that made her not want to go.

“I’ve changed my mind, I’m not going,” she whispered against his lips.

He’d smiled against hers and she had to admit, she really liked it when he did that.

“
Now
,” he murmured also against her lips and she really liked that too, “I don’t mind that you’re going.” He kissed her lightly and finished. “I’ll see you at the weekend.”

Maxine, at first, had not been happy.

“I’m never giving you time off again!” she’d yelled. Maxine was somewhat dramatic so Lily was used to her yelling.

“But Maxine, I just quit,” Lily had replied gently and sensibly.

“Tell me about him. What’s he done to you?” Maxine demanded to know.

Maxine had never known Lily Jacobs to even look at a man, much less date, much less drop everything in her life to move to London for some bloke she’d known three days.

Lily told the story, the
full
story, leaving nothing out. She would have left out the sex parts but Maxine was insistent that she wanted it all.

When she was finished, Maxine contradicted herself.

“You’re not working out your notice. Get back to this man, get back to him
now!
”

“But, the store…” Lily resisted.

She loved Maxine and she loved that store and she would miss it. It was hidden down a cobbled alley, had a front window that was just two feet up from the cobbles, the window filled mostly with a window box chock full of dazzling flowers. Both sides of old, tiny front door were flanked with enormous, gleaming, cobalt blue flowerpots that also blazed with colour and trailed luscious greenery. The shop was crammed with fun, funky clothes and jewellery made by local artists. But best of all, it was filled every day with Maxine who was what her grandmother would call, “a character”.

Maxine went on with her drama. “Blast the store, it’ll survive. We’ve been talking for an hour and one customer came in and didn’t buy a thing.” Then she’d leaned in, her violet eyes dancing (Lily fancied that Maxine looked a little like Elizabeth Taylor, violet eyes and dark, dark hair but, it must be noted not unkindly, Maxine was an Elizabeth Taylor in her chubby, older years). “Most girls
never
find a man like that, Lily. You hold on, you hold on for dear life.”

Maxine, Lily knew, read romance novels too. Lots of them.

So Lily had called Nate’s answering machine, left a message and told him she’d be home two weeks earlier than expected. She went to her ramshackle house and did what she needed to do, packing a couple of bags. Nate had told her they’d be back and frequently so she’d have plenty of time to get more of her things. She felt funny leaving her house but it wasn’t going to grow legs and walk away whereas Nate already had legs and she never wanted to give him a reason to walk away, and after awhile, after she knew Nate better, they’d come to a different arrangement.

But now he wanted her in London. He wanted her with him and he was wonderful, handsome and smart. He was a fantastic kisser and even better with his hands and other parts of his anatomy and he thought she was funny.

And he looked at her like, well, like she was beautiful.

He was everything she’d ever wished she would have, everything she wished for Fazire to give her.

And she was going to hold on to him for dear life.

* * * * *

The first week with Nate had been fantastic; the only thing marring it was dinner at Laura and Victor’s. Jeff and Danielle had been in attendance and even though Victor and Laura seemed pleased that Nate and Lily were together (not exactly pleased so much as over the moon), Nate’s siblings did not.

Danielle said catty things about Lily’s outfit and her accent, things which made Victor’s lips thin and Laura blush with ire but it was Nate who said, “Danielle, enough,” in a way that everyone at the table knew it was
enough
and Danielle stopped immediately, if rather mutinously.

Then, if that wasn’t bad enough, after dinner, when Lily had been coming back from the powder room, Jeff was waiting for her. He cornered her as in literally cornered her, against the wall in a corner, blocking her path with his body so she couldn’t get out.

“I can’t believe you chose him, Lily. I can’t believe it. Do you know who he
is?
” Jeff was talking low and fast and looking at her as if she was a juicy steak and he was a rabid dog.

He was also scaring her half to death.

“Jeff –”

“I don’t mind that you’ve slept with him, I don’t care that he had his filthy hands on you. You and I can start again.” She stared at him open-mouthed and speechless. She didn’t know they’d started at all. “But once you know who he is,
what
he is, where he came from… Lily, you have to know.”

Lily interrupted him, saying, “I chose Nate.”

She wanted to get away from him,
needed
to get away. He was revolting, vile and now, frightening in his hatred. She didn’t know what he was talking about and she didn’t care. Lily realised she’d been right the first time she met him; there was nothing to like about him at all. He was talking about his brother, for goodness sake.

“Lily, once I tell you –” He went on, moving closer to her and lifting his hand like he was going to touch her.

“I choose Nate!” she snapped, not wanting him to touch her, angry at his cornering her and angry that a man such as Nate would be strapped with a spoiled, snotty, adopted brother like Jeff. Further she was angry that Laura and Victor had such a son. “Step away,” she demanded.

“Lily,” he said her name like a plea.

“Step away!” she repeated.

“She said, step away.”

This came in a deep, lethal voice from behind Jeff and Jeff jerked his head around just as Lily’s gaze shifted over Jeff’s shoulder and they both saw Nate.

He was standing down the hall not five paces away, his legs were planted apart and his arms were crossed on his chest. This was not a casual stance, this was a frightening one.

He was poised to strike.

And his face was horrible, even murderous, as he scowled at his brother.

Jeff didn’t move and he had his hand on the wall by Lily’s head. She ducked under his arm and fairly ran down the hall to Nate.

His stance didn’t shift but his arms came uncrossed and the moment she was in reaching distance, one shot out and pulled her against the side of his hard body.

She didn’t resist. She plastered herself there and lifted her hand to rest on his chest. For some reason she was breathing heavily.

Jeff and Nate stared at each other for what seemed like eternity to Lily.

Then Jeff said, “You should tell her, you know.”

Nate didn’t respond.

“You don’t tell her, I will,” Jeff threatened.

Nate, again, didn’t respond.

Jeff’s eyes turned Lily. “He’s adopted. He isn’t a member of this family at all.”

Lily could not even believe that Nate’s adoption was what all this was about. Her anger turned to a rage so strong, she was beside herself.

Lily leaned towards Jeff but didn’t leave Nate’s side.

“I know. He already
told
me,” She was pleased her voice was strong and even.

“I bet he didn’t tell you everything,” Jeff said, and he was a grown man but he still sounded like a brat.

She was pretty certain he meant about Nate’s mother being murdered. But she wasn’t going to mention that again. The last and only time Nate talked of it, she knew it was painful as it would be. So instead, she said, with all the loyalty that was born and bred in her as the granddaughter of Sarah and daughter of Will and Rebecca and with a lifetime of living amongst the people of the fine state of Indiana (which Danielle had also attacked at dinner, comments at which Lily was still smarting), “I know all I need to know.”

At Lily’s words, Nate’s arm tightened about her waist and she tilted her head to look up to him.

“I want to go,” Lily demanded.

Nate dipped his chin to look down and his eyes were glittering with something she couldn’t read. Then they left Jeff where he was standing and Nate guided her to the drawing room where the rest were sitting and having coffee.

One look at Lily’s pale, stricken face sent Victor out of his chair. Laura’s own face paled. Danielle looked on, assessing the looming situation with what appeared to be delight.

“What’s happened?” Victor asked.

“We’re leaving,” Nate answered.

“Lily, you look like you’ve seen a ghost. Nathaniel, bring her into the room, I’ll get her a drink,” Laura said, slowly coming out of her chair.

“We’re leaving,” Nate repeated implacably.

“What happened?” Victor enquired again, this time his voice a demand.

“Where’s Jeff?” Danielle asked sweetly.

Both Victor and Laura’s eyes flew to Lily’s face and they must have read the truth there because Victor viciously cursed and not under his breath.

“Nathaniel.” It was Laura’s turn to have her voice turn into a plea and Lily’s heart went out to her. How her two children could have come from her sweet body was a mystery.

“I’ll call you later,” Nate replied and that was that, no good-byes, nothing. They left.

In his sleek, purring Maserati on the way home, Lily found that although he clearly did not want to talk about it, she could not stand it. And anyway, she was angry.

“I’m sorry to say this about your very own brother, Nate, but I just do
not
like Jeff.”

Nate was silent.

Lily went on. “The first moment I met him, I didn’t like him and that’s never happened to me before.”

Nate remained silent.

Lily continued. “I just cannot
believe
he spoke that way. What’s the matter with him?”

Nate kept his silence.

As Lily had allowed her anger loose, she found it didn’t last long especially without Nate’s participation and she lapsed into silence as well.

It wasn’t until they were in his flat and Nate was preparing himself what appeared to be a very large, very stiff drink (he didn’t offer her one, by this time he knew she didn’t drink very much), that she spoke again.

“How much did you see before you arrived?”

To her surprise he answered her with, “All of it.”

Lily stared at him.

“You saw him corner me?” she asked, aghast.

He threw back the drink in one gulp. No matter how large it was, he still drained the glass.

“Why didn’t you do something?” she demanded. She was standing behind one of two leather couches that faced each other in his living room and ran perpendicular to a fireplace. Her body was stiff as a board.

This was not romantic hero stuff. Romantic heroes wouldn’t let their heroines get cornered by bratty adopted brothers and not lift a finger.

“I wanted to see what you’d do,” Nate replied.