Jane stood in the middle of the lobby, debating the pros and cons of her next action. On the one hand, she wanted to be with Tony. But on the other, was she really a “vacation fling” kind of woman? Was she the type of woman who could just be with a man, knowing that their relationship was temporary?
In the past, her sexual appetite had been pretty much non-existent, so it had never become a question she needed to ask herself when dating. Not to mention, the men she dated were different, not nearly as strong in personality, or physically, as Tony. In fact, a few days ago, if any of her friends had been asked, they all would have said she dated the more cerebral types of men.
Not that Tony was stupid. Not even close! She loved debating with him, she thought as she remembered their breakfast conversation yesterday.
But was that just Tony’s way of putting a woman at ease? Was a conversation about a book more of a seduction tactic than a true overture of friendship, which, in her world, normally preceded any sort of sexual or romantic relationship?
Then again, why was she overanalyzing this? Why didn’t she simply walk up to the front desk and ask for another key to be made and left with Tony’s name on it? Why was she hesitating? Tony was a sweet man with a great personality and an incredible body! What’s more, he liked her body! Good grief, he even seemed to be turned on when she pretended to be prissy.
Not that she was pretending, she thought, as she pulled the boring tee-shirt lower over her jeans. She wasn’t the overtly sexual kind of woman and didn’t like others to be brazen either.
Tony…he brought that side out in her.
So, go make sure he had access to her room! Why was she standing here?
Because she didn’t want to be judged by the receptionist!
When that thought hit her, she rolled her eyes right there in the lobby.
“What’s going on?” Becca asked, walking up to Jane and looking over at the front desk. “Is something going on over there?”
Jane jerked at the sound of her friend’s voice, then turned to stare at her. “Um…what?”
Becca looked right back and Jane had to wonder if there was something different about her friend. Then she covered her tender lips, hoping that Becca didn’t notice that there was something different about her!
Turning her head back, she contemplated the front desk. What would the woman think if she…
Jane straightened her spine. “I won’t live my life according to her judgments,” she muttered under her breath.
“Huh?” Becca looked at Jane as if she’d just lost her mind. “Who is judging you?” she asked, obviously ready to go to battle to defend Jane’s honor.
Jane smiled and laid a hand gently on Becca’s shoulder. “I’ll be right back,” she said, then turned and walked over to the front desk clerk.
“I need another key card for my room, please,” she said.
The clerk smiled politely. “Absolutely Ms. Sherwood.” Jane handed her the original, then waited while the woman slid it through some machine, watching the computer monitor for a moment. When it was finished, she handed both keys back to Jane. “Here you go. Is there anything else I can do for you?”
Jane’s fingers trembled as she nodded. “Do you have an envelope and a pen?”
Instantly, the woman handed Jane both items. Jane took a moment to stuff the key card into the envelope, then wrote “Detective Shaw” on the outside. “When Detective Shaw asks, can you make sure he gets this?”
“Absolutely Ms. Sherwood. I’ll put a note in the computer in case I’m not here when the detective comes to pick this up, so that anyone here can ensure delivery.”
Jane nodded, still trembling, but was surprised that it had been so easy. “Thank you,” she said and turned to find Becca and Tallia staring at her.
“Are you all set?” Becca asked.
Jane took a deep breath, and nodded. “Yes. I’m ready. We have a fitting and shoes today, right?”
Tallia walked up at that moment. “That’s what’s on the calendar,” Tallia said, looking down at her phone where her schedule was pulled up. “But do you think we should go?”
Becca and Jane looked at each other, then at Tallia. “After what Lillian said yesterday, I’m not sure.”
The three of them stared at each other, then burst out laughing. Tallia was the one to say what they were all thinking, “I can’t believe Lillian! She’s always done exactly what is expected of her! She’s the woman who does everything ‘right’. Obviously, there is a new side of her that we weren’t aware of until yesterday.”
Jane smothered her amusement with her hand and shook her head. “Ladies, even Lillian can buck the system occasionally.”
“Yeah, but is she going to call off the wedding?”
Becca and Jane shrugged. “That’s up to her and Phillip.”
Jane stopped laughing, thinking of the repercussions of what they now knew. “Is she going to tell him?”
The three women stared at each other for a long moment. Tallia was the first to reply. “It’s Lillian. She’s honest and careful. She’ll do what’s right.”
“Yeah, she’ll do what’s right, but maybe she should do what’s right for herself, instead of what’s right for her family and the business,” Becca added.
Jane agreed. “She works with a guy named George who has been handling the business for a long time. And doing a bang up job of it, from what I’ve seen. We’re all invested in the hedge fund.”
Tallia nodded. “I agree on both counts. But you know about Lillian’s dream about having a Christmas wedding.”
“Yeah, I agree that she should go for what she wants instead of what her mother is telling her is the best thing for everyone,” Becca said.
Jane glanced at her watch and realized that it was time to catch a cab so that they could make it to their fittings on time. “Come on ladies. We need to hurry and get to this fitting or we’ll be late. Lillian will figure things out. We just need to be there when she makes her decision because either way, she’s going to crash. Hard.”
The three of them nodded in agreement as they moved out of the lobby and walked to the front doors. Tallia lifted her hand to hail a cab and one immediately pulled up to the curb. The three of them got in and Jane glanced back at the lobby.
Taking out her phone, she texted Tony, letting him know that she’d left the key and what time they were scheduled back at the hotel after the dress fitting.