Friends--And Then Some (12 page)

“Yes, he was here.”

“You coming down with a cold, girl? Your eyes are all red like you were awake half the night.”

Lily blinked and offered her grandmother a feeble smile. “I think I might be.”

Gram pushed a handful of vitamins and herbal supplements in Lily’s direction. “You better start taking these.”

“All right.”

Gram gave her an odd look as Lily downed each pill without argument. “I see you two celebrated with some wine.”

Her explanation was mumbled. “Jake brought it.”

“Where’d he take you for dinner?”

They had never gotten around to ordering the pizza. “We … we just had the wine.”

“Ah,” Gram muttered knowingly. “So you sat around and talked.”

Lily pulled out the chair and stood in front of the old porcelain sink, her back to her grandmother. “Yes, we talked.” Her fingers tightened around her mug. They’d talked, and a lot more. It was the “lot more” that would be difficult to explain.

“What did Jake have to say?”

“This and that.” Nervously, Lily set the mug on the long counter. “I think I’ll go get dressed.”

“You do that,” Gram said with a knowing chuckle. “Me and Paddy used to talk about ‘this and that’ ourselves. Some of our best conversations were spent discussing those very things.”

* * *

On Monday evening, Jake wasn’t parked in his usual spot outside the Wheaton when Lily finished her shift. She lingered around the lobby for an additional fifteen minutes, hoping he’d arrive and they’d have a chance to talk. He didn’t. And he wasn’t there the next evening, either. Lily didn’t require a typed message to know that Jake was avoiding her. Maybe he felt they needed a break from each other to give ample thought to what had happened. But Lily would have felt better if Jake hadn’t been playing a silly game of hide-and-seek with her.

Early Wednesday evening, Rick appeared in the lobby of the Wheaton and sat listening to Lily play. He clapped politely at the end of a series of numbers. No one applauded her playing; she was there for mood and atmosphere, not entertainment.

When she had finished, Lily slid off the polished piano bench and Rick rose to join her.

“You’re very gifted,” he said, kissing her on the cheek.

“Thank you.”

“Would you like a cocktail?”

Lily hesitated. She wanted to check if Jake was out front. If he was, Lily had
everything she wanted to tell him worked out in her mind. She had no intention of mentioning what had happened over the wine. She’d decided that she’d play Jake’s game and pretend the alcohol had dictated their uncharacteristic behavior. She planned to be witty and clever and show him that she hadn’t been nearly as affected by his kiss as he seemed to believe. Playing this role was a matter of pride now. “Let me tell Jake first,” Lily told Rick.

“Sure.” A guiding hand at her elbow led her through the hotel and into the foyer. “Why do you need to talk to Jake?”

“He usually gives me a ride home.”

“Every night?” Rick uttered a faint sound of disapproval. “I wasn’t aware that you saw Jake that often.”

“That’s how we got to be such good friends.” Lily stood between the two sets of thick glass doors, scanning the long circular driveway. Jake wasn’t there. Her heart sank.

“Apparently he can’t tonight.”

“Apparently not.”

“I’ll take you home. For that matter, there isn’t any reason why I can’t see you home every night. I hate the thought of you having to rely on Jake’s schedule for a ride home.”

“I’m not relying on Jake’s schedule. He’s here when he can be, and not here when it’s inconvenient or he’s got a fare. The arrangement works well for us both.” Perhaps she did depend on Jake more than she should. But Jake would be as offended as she to have Rick suggest as much. “And as for you seeing me home every night, that’s ridiculous.”

“But I want to take care of you,” Rick protested, his arm closing around her waist. “Let’s go have that drink and we’ll talk it over.”

“There’s nothing to discuss.” Now Rick was irritating her. She didn’t want to have a drink with him; she wanted to talk to Jake. Only Jake wasn’t around and hadn’t been for three days. Lily missed him.

* * *

By Saturday afternoon, Lily was irritable and snapping at Gram. Rick had declared that
he was coming to listen to her again and Jake continued to avoid her. Lily couldn’t recall a time in all her years when she felt more frustrated.

“I haven’t seen Jake around lately,” Gram complained as Lily pulled weeds from the front flower beds.

Alongside her, Gram groomed her African violets, smiling under a huge straw hat with a brightly colored bandanna wrapped around the brim.

“He’s been busy.” With unnecessary force, Lily jerked a weed free of the soft soil. “I haven’t seen him for an entire week.”

“Not since you two discussed ‘this and that’?” Gram asked with a knowing glance.

“Nope.” The cool earth felt good against Lily’s hands. For once she didn’t care if there was grit and grime under her manicured nails. Everything felt different after what had happened with Jake. “Gram, what would you say about me changing jobs?”

“Changing jobs? But I thought you liked it at the Wheaton. Or is it Jake that’s worrying you?”

“Jake hasn’t got anything to do with it.”

“This decision seems sudden.”

“Forget it, then. I’ll stay at the Wheaton and play ‘Moon River’ for the rest of my life. I don’t care if I ever see Jake again.” The minute the words escaped her lips, Lily realized what she’d said, and snapped her mouth closed.

“Seems to me that you’re more worried about seeing Jake than you are about playing that song.”

Lily kept her mouth shut. She had already said more than she’d intended.

“Why don’t you just pay him a visit?” Gram asked, undaunted.

“Should I?” Lily’s first inclination was to hurry to the marina, but she had her pride to consider. Already it had taken a beating, and Lily doubted it could go another round.

“I can’t see what harm it’d do.”

To Lily’s burdened mind it could solve several problems. To hell with her pride! “Maybe I will drop by and see how he is. Perhaps he’s been ill or something.”

“He could even be waiting for you to come.”

Lily sat back on her haunches and brushed a stray curl from her face. A thin layer of mud smeared her cheek. “All right, I’ll do it.”

By the time Lily had showered and changed clothes, she had grown nervous and fidgety. Maybe going to Jake’s wasn’t the best idea, but Lily couldn’t stand the terrible silence any longer.

On her way to the marina, she made a stop for the pizza they hadn’t gotten around to eating that other night. Carrying the thin cardboard box in both hands, Lily walked down the long, rolling dock to where his sailboat was moored.

“Jake!” Her voice trembled as she called out his name.

Belowdeck, Jake heard Lily’s voice calling for him and quickly closed the story he was writing on his laptop.

Jake’s heart sped up at the sound of Lily’s voice. He got up slowly, unsure what he should do. He’d avoided her all week and with good cause. After what had happened at their “victory celebration,” they needed to stay away from each other.

Besides, he reasoned, Lily didn’t need him anymore; she had Rick. Jake had seen Rick’s car at the Wheaton nearly every evening. He still couldn’t reconcile himself to Lily’s dating the guy. But he had no one else to blame. He couldn’t protest at this point. He was snared in a trap of his own making. The best thing for him to do was make himself scarce.

“Jake, I know you’re in there,” Lily called again.

Jake’s fist clenched at his side and an irritated noise slipped from deep inside his throat. If he didn’t react it would be just like that stubborn woman to hop on board the
Lucky Lady
and search him out. Then he’d look like even more of a fool than he did already. Reluctantly he climbed on deck.

“Hello, Jake,” Lily began.

He tucked in his shirttails, giving the impression that he’d been preoccupied.

“Lily.”

“Did I catch you at a bad time? You weren’t asleep, were you? Gram thought you might be sick.”

His gaze just managed to avoid hers. “This is a bit of a bad moment. I’m busy.”

“Oh.” She dropped her gaze. “I brought a pizza. We … the other night we forgot about it.”

“We didn’t exactly forget it,” he corrected her. “We just didn’t get around to ordering it.” His eyes delved into hers. Already it was happening. He couldn’t help noticing how beautiful she was, standing there with those huge brown eyes, looking betrayed and hurt.

“Anyway, I thought I could bring a pizza now.”

Jake shifted his gaze to the flat box in her arms.

“But if you’re busy, I’ll understand.” She didn’t, not really. He must realize that coming here had cost her a lot of pride. The least he could do was make it easier on her.

Something in her voice reminded Jake that this wasn’t any less difficult for Lily. It was wrong of him to protect his ego at her expense. “It was thoughtful of you to come.”

The tension eased from Lily’s shoulders as Jake stretched out his hand to help her aboard. The boat rocked gently as she shifted her weight from the narrow dock to the
Lucky Lady
.

“There are anchovies on your half.” She smiled up at him and Jake knew instantly that he was in trouble.

Lily drew in a long breath as though she didn’t know what to say or do now that she was aboard the boat.

“It looks like rain, doesn’t it?” she suggested, casting a discerning eye toward the thick gray clouds. “Maybe we should take this below.”

Jake’s chest tightened. Being alone with Lily was bad enough, but the thought of being next to her in the close confines of the cabin was almost more than he could bear.

“Jake?”

“Yeah, sure.” He led the way and Lily handed the pizza down to him before expertly maneuvering the few steps that led below.

“Have you been working on another story?” Lily asked as she spied his laptop. Crumpled yellow sticky notes littered the tabletop and filled what limited space there was in the dining area. “It looks like you’re having a few problems. Do you want to tell me your plot? That helps sometimes.”

Setting the pizza beside the tiny sink, Jake cleared away his mess. “No,” he answered starkly.

Lily was taken aback by his answer. For a minute neither spoke.

“Why not?” Lily asked, trying to sound curious instead of hurt. Jake often talked out his plot ideas with her and listened to her reactions. Invariably, he argued his point and then, more often than not, accepted her suggestions.

“Every writer comes to the time when he has to break away …”

Lily sighed and shook her head regretfully. “Why are you so angry with me?”

“I’m not.” The words came quickly.

“I thought we were friends, and all of a sudden you’re treating me like I’m your worst enemy.”

“I’m not mad.”

“I haven’t seen you in a week. Friends don’t avoid each other like that.”

“I’ve been busy.” Even to his own ears, the excuse sounded lame.

“Friends are honest with each other,” Lily continued.

“I haven’t lied.”

“Friends tell each other what’s on their minds.”

“Nothing’s bothering me. Why can’t you accept that?”

Lily made a tsking noise that sounded remarkably like Gram when she was displeased about something.

“All right,” Jake countered. “You want to talk about being friends? Fine. Then maybe you should think about what’s been going on between us. You may be innocent, Lily Morrissey,” Jake said, “but you’re not naive enough to believe that friends kiss the way we do.” Hoping to give the appearance of nonchalance, Jake leaned against the counter and crossed his arms. “I don’t like what’s happening.”

“Nothing’s happening,” Lily said, struggling to keep her voice from rising. “We aren’t any different than we were six months ago.”

“Oh, I beg to differ!”

“All right, I concede that our relationship has gone to a deeper level, but we’re still good friends. At least that’s what I’d like to think.”

Jake snorted. “We’re in serious trouble.”

“You’re being overdramatic. I … I like kissing you. You make me feel warm and tingly inside. I just don’t think that’s wrong.”

“Not wrong; bad.”

“You’re only saying that because you think kissing me will lead to something more.”

Jake looked nonplussed. “And it doesn’t?”

“Not if we don’t want it to.”

“Lily.” Her name came out in a rush of breath as if he were reasoning with a young child. “Kissing is only the first step. The next thing you know we’ll be in bed
together and wondering how we let things go so far.”

“You seem to be equating a simple friendly kiss with love and marriage. Good grief, Jake. We’re friends and we just happen to like to kiss each other. It doesn’t have to lead to anything.”

“If we don’t stop thinking like this, the next thing I know I’ll be shopping for diapers.”

Lily laughed. “Honestly, Jake, you make it sound far more dreadful than it is. Here, let me show you.” She moved across the narrow confines of the cabin and placed her hands on his shoulders.

Jake stiffened and jerked away as if her touch burned him. “No.”

“It’s only a kiss, not a hand grenade.”

“I don’t think we should be kissing.”

“But I want to prove something.” Her voice was small and she couldn’t keep the disappointment out of it. Before Jake had the opportunity to react, she moved her mouth against his in a soft caress.

Jake felt liquid fire seep through him.

“See?” Lily announced proudly. “And I’m not humming the wedding march or anything. From everything Gram’s told me, there isn’t the slightest possibility of my getting pregnant from a kiss.”

The thoughts Jake was having didn’t have anything to do with marriage and a family. His gaze fell past her to the small area where he slept. He thought about sleeping with Lily at his side and seeing her hair spread out on his pillow. The vision of her lying there without clothes and reaching her arms out to him nearly ate a hole right through him.

“Right,” he grumbled.

“To further prove the point, I think we should do it again.”