Getting Lucky (The Marilyns) (14 page)

His warm breath against her hand sent a quiver down her spine.

“If I had my way, you’d be naked.”

“Wow, that was cheesy. I can practically hear the pow-chicka-pow-pow music in the background.” She noticed that he was looking down her shirt.

“Are you always this chatty during sex?”

Lucky looked around. “Are we having sex? So far, the only part of my body you’ve kissed is my hand. Don’t get me wrong, it was a good kiss, if you’re in Victorian England.” In her best English accent, she said, “Shall I dash off a quick note asking you over for tea and crumpets? Would tomorrow be convenient? I can have my coachman deliver it to your butler—”

He cut her off with a kiss. His lips were soft and demanding while his hands gently cupped her face. As he leaned into her, his tongue flirted with her lips and finally darted past them to explore her mouth. She moaned and wrapped her arms around his neck to draw him down on top of her. He kissed his way down her throat and eased one strap of her tank top over her shoulder and down her arm. He wanted access to her, and he wasn’t asking, and she aimed to give him an all-access backstage pass.

Thunder roared all around them, and lightning tore through the blinds.

His mouth found her nipple and licked at it through the thin cotton of her sleep shirt. “I can’t believe I finally get to have you.”

Her heart pounded in her chest. His hand covered her other breast, and she rocked her hips against him. Her hands fisted in his hair, and she urged him lower. Will kissed his way down to the top of her shorts and licked at the waistband.

Suddenly he froze and then sat up. “Is that knocking?”

Lucky opened her eyes and looked around. “I don’t hear anything.”

She ran a hand up his chest and made to pull his mouth back to her when the pounding started. It wasn’t the rain but the door.

“Wow.” Fists smacked against the door. “Wow.”

It was Dawnie. They both jumped up and sprinted to the door. Please God, don’t let there be anything wrong.

“What’s wrong?” Will was breathing as hard as she was.

Dawnie, wearing a pink Barbie nightgown, had her two sacks of Barbies looped around her forearms and Cuddles tucked into the crook of her arm. “Me and the Barbies and Cuddles are scared. We don’t like funder. Can we sleep with you?” She shot them her best poor-pitiful-me look. “Please?”

“Sure, honey.” Lucky nodded. She took the sacks of Barbies and moved aside so Dawnie could come inside.

“Thunder? Really?” Will wasn’t buying it. “It stormed last week, and you slept right through.”

Dawnie amped up the sad-puppy eyes and added, “I’m cold.”

If Lucky’s arms hadn’t been full of Barbies, she’d have scooped Dawnie up.

“Can I have some hot chocolate?” Dawnie fake-shivered for effect.

Lucky knew she was getting played, but she didn’t care. This sweet little girl wanted hot chocolate, and she’d get it. “Sure, and I bet I can scare up a cookie or two.”

“I don’t think it’s wise to hype her up on sugar this late.” Will crossed his arms and glanced at Dawnie. “It’s funny. You’ve never been scared of thunder before.”

Dawnie coughed dramatically. “My throat hurts.”

“And the Oscar goes to … Dawnie Garza.” Will shook his head.

“Who’s Oscar?” Dawnie took a break from her dramatic interpretation of a cold, sick, scared child.

“Nobody.” Lucky dropped the Barbie bags on the coffee table and took Dawnie’s arm, leading her out the door. They walked down the stairs, through the house, and finally to the kitchen. “Let’s see what we can find in the cabinets.” She opened the first one. “Protein bars?”

She cocked her head and looked at Will. “Really?”

“What? They’re good for you.” He patted his tight stomach. “Healthy eating is my life.”

Lucky mouthed, “I hate you.”

He blew her a kiss.

She rolled her eyes and opened the next cabinet. It held only protein powder and Powerade Zero. The man couldn’t even drink sports drinks with sugar. “Nothing here.”

Without much hope, she tried the pantry. Two boxes of mac and cheese, one sad bag of banana chips, and three cans of coconut milk stood between them and starvation. She picked up the coconut milk and then put it back. Starvation was starting to look pretty good. Tomorrow, she was going grocery shopping for some real food.

She went to the fridge and opened it. “Skim milk.” She turned to Will. “What is wrong with you?”

He hunched his shoulders. “It’s good.”

Lucky squatted in front of Dawnie. “Uncle Will’s a little crazy. We’re going to have to improvise.”

Her little brow scrunched up. “What does that mean?”

“Make do,” Will said absently to Dawnie and smiled at Lucky.

“Huh? Why don’t you just—”

“I can’t wait to see how you produce hot chocolate out of thin air.” Will winked at Lucky while putting his hand on Dawnie’s shoulder.

“Ye of little faith. Warm up three mugs of that almost-milk and watch the magic.” Lucky stepped around him and grabbed her purse off the kitchen table. She always had some chocolate in there. She upended her prized Prada, spilling the contents on the table. After sifting through the mountain of junk that she felt necessary to haul around, she finally found three Hershey’s kisses and two mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. “Hot chocolate coming up.”

“But the box…” Dawnie’s voice faded after Will kicked her under the table.

The only hot chocolate Lucky had ever made involved ripping open a pouch, pouring the contents into some hot milk, and stirring until it was chocolaty and wonderful. How hard could it be to dissolve chocolate into some milk? That’s how they made hot chocolate in Europe. That was it—she was making European hot chocolate.

“You’re in for a treat.” This would be the best hot chocolate the world had ever seen. Sure, she’d had issues with the mac and cheese, but hey, she’d drunk more than her fair share of hot chocolate.

Will took Cuddles and tucked the puppy in the crook of his arm. She snuggled close and fell asleep.

“She likes you.” Dawn smiled at Will.

Once the microwave dinged, Lucky pulled the mugs out one by one. Plumes of steam rose and filled the kitchen with a slight buttery smell. Unwrapping the candies, she dropped one kiss in each mug and mashed up the peanut butter cups and added them too. After some vigorous stirring, the milk turned an off-white color, and chunks of chocolate and gritty peanut butter floated to the top. She stirred some more. Nothing happened, so she put all the mugs back into the microwave to melt the chocolate. After thirty seconds, the chocolate melted, but the cocoa didn’t look right. It was thin and a beigey-orange. Opening the cabinet with the protein powder, she grabbed a can of chocolate, added a full scoop to each mug, and stirred. The color was right, but now it was gritty because not all the powder dissolved.

“Need some help?” Will called from the table.

“Nope, everything’s under control. Prepare yourself for the best hot chocolate of your life.” She stirred for all she was worth. It was still gritty. Deciding to let the cocoa rest in the hopes that all those gritty little particles would settle to the bottom, she headed back to the table, sifted through the pile of purse junk, and came up with a battered pack of Oreo cookies. Money might be tight, but brand-name Oreos were a necessity.

She arranged them on a plate and glanced at the cocoa. Clumps of powder floated on top like leaves in a pond. She plunked an Oreo in each mug, hoping it would hide the glops of protein powder.

“Here you go.” Sliding her fingers through the loops of the mugs, she carried all three with one hand and the plate of cookies with the other. She set the cookies and the mugs on the coffee table. “Enjoy.”

As if he were handling toxic waste, Will carefully picked up the mug and examined the cocoa. Dawnie did the same.

Lucky waited to see if he liked it.

Will and Dawnie shared a look, and both nodded their heads.

“It’s good. A little crunchy, but good.” Dawnie made a loud
mmmm
sound. “It’s so good. Tastes like peanut butter.”

“Don’t oversell it,” Will whispered loudly.

Lucky wasn’t sure what that meant, but she took her own mug and sipped. She gagged and spit it out. “That’s nasty.”

Both Will and Dawnie grinned.

Lucky set the mug down. “How much did he pay you to drink it?”

“Ten bucks.” Dawnie put her cup down. “I’m supposed to drink it all and tell you how wonderful it is.”

Lucky leaned over and kissed Will full on the mouth. “That was nice of you.”

“I don’t remember cooking being one of your gifts.” He draped his arm around her.

“I have many talents.” She squeezed his knee.

“I’m counting on it.” Will’s gaze landed on Lucky’s chest.

“How come you kissed Uncle Will on the mouth?” Dawnie nailed her with shrewd eyes. “Are you gonna marry Uncle Will? ’Cause you should only kiss people you love on the lips.” She pointed to Lucky. “Only the doctor or your mommy or your husband should see or touch your private lady parts.”

Will’s shoulders shook with laughter.

“Thanks for the tip.” Lucky took a cookie. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“No problem.” Dawnie pried apart the Oreo and licked the cream. “So, can I sleep with you?”

Thunder rattled the windows. Even God couldn’t resist this sweet child.

“Of course. You and the Barbies and Cuddles are welcome to spend the night too.” She gathered up the dirty dishes and took them to the kitchen.

Dawnie wiped her mouth with the bottom of her nightgown. “Usually, when I beg for hot chocolate, Uncle Will makes the mix kind he keeps in the cabinet above the refrigerator.” Dawnie straightened her nightgown. “I’m gonna go brush my teeth.”

Lucky glared at Will, who smiled in return.

Dawnie dug in one of the Barbie bags until she found Barbie Fashionista, and they went to the bathroom. Cuddles lumbered along after her, tail waggling a mile a minute.

“You have cocoa mix?” Lucky punched him lightly in the arm. “Why didn’t you pull it out?”

“I wanted to see where you were going with this. It’s good to know that some things never change. You still can’t cook.”

“I beg your pardon. I produced cookies and European hot chocolate out of thin air.” Sarcasm was one of her favorite forms of communication.

“Some things should never materialize. Oreos don’t count as cooking. Have you ever read the ingredients?” He picked up the last one. “Full of chemicals and carbohydrates.”

“Those happen to be my two favorite food groups.” She grabbed the cookie out of his hand and popped it in her mouth. “Mmm.”

His eyes fastened on her mouth. “I’m not going to pretend that wasn’t hot.”

“You want me bad,” Lucky whispered.

“Since the day I first saw you.” His voice was steady, and love shone in his eyes.

Lucky couldn’t look away, and a tidal wave of saliva flooded her mouth, so she swallowed several times. Ricky had never looked at her like that. Will looked at her the way her friend Betts’s husband, Gabe, looked at Betts. It all fit. Will had always been there, watched her when he thought she wasn’t looking, and went out of his way not to touch her. In the beginning, she’d thought it was because he didn’t like her, but it was the opposite.

Will loved her and had always loved her. What was she supposed to say? She was attracted to him, liked being with him, but she didn’t think she was capable of loving anyone again.

She couldn’t string him along, it wasn’t right. “I … um—”

“Uncle Will, Cuddles tinkled on the floor. What do I do?” Dawnie’s head popped in from around the corner.

“Paper towels and cleaner.” He stood and stretched. “The cleaner is under the sink.”

Saved by tinkle. Will loved her. How had she missed it all of these years? And how did she make a life that included him without hurting him?

It was raining cats and dogs, but Lucky needed to hear a voice of reason. Mama Cherie would have to do. Since it was well after midnight and both Betts and Charlie were probably asleep, she hightailed it out of the kitchen before Will got back. It was cowardice, but she couldn’t help it. He loved her, and she couldn’t promise the same. The thought of hurting him nauseated her.

Lucky grabbed an umbrella stationed on a hook by the back door and ran out into the night. She needed a heavy dose of Mama’s weird wisdom.

Sheets of rain pelted her as she struggled with the umbrella, finally wrestling it open five feet from Mama’s trailer. Disco music boomed in between thunder claps. Apparently, Mama was gettin’ down. Lucky grimaced. Hopefully, she was alone.

Lucky pounded on the door as rivers of rain coursed from the trailer’s roof and splatted on the umbrella. Mama didn’t answer. She pounded harder. Still no answer. Lucky adding kicking to her pounding. The music stopped, and Mama peeked out the window next to the door. Recognition dawned, and she opened the door.

“Hells bells, you’re soaked. Are the kids okay?” Mama pulled Lucky in and led her to the banquette seat in the back. A disco ball rotated from the ceiling swirling little circles of light around the room.

“Everyone’s fine. I just…” She didn’t know where to begin.

Mama threw a robe over her silver leather bikini. For a split second, Lucky thought about asking and then remembered that Mama didn’t have boundaries.

Mama handed Lucky a couple of towels and slid into the seat opposite Lucky. “Start at the beginning.”

Was there a beginning? Did she and Will have a beginning? Technically, tonight should have been it, but it felt more like the middle. Their beginning had started years ago.

Mama reached above her, opened the cabinet, and pulled out a bag of Cajun Tater King spicy potato chips. “That look of thoughtful introspection’s giving me the munchies. I think potato chips go well with soul searching.”

She tugged the bag open and popped a handful of chips in her mouth.

“I tried to kiss Will, and then he kissed me back.” Lucky wanted to pick her words, but they kept falling out of her mouth. “I liked it.”

“This calls for a toast.” Mama opened a bin under the banquette and pulled out a champagne bucket with a bottle of Dom Perignon on ice. “I stole the bottle from your wine cellar.”