Chapter 14
The phone rang next to Lily’s bed on Sunday morning; a progressive ring that first invaded her dream and then carried her to the brink of consciousness and forced her over the edge into wakefulness. Eyes still closed, she reached for it, put it to her ear and mumbled, “Hello?”
“Did I wake you?”
The deep voice reverberated through her mind, filled the empty places recently vacated by the ringing phone, and she winced. One eye opened and read her clock: nine forty-five.
“What, um, no. I’m awake.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, right, Lil.”
Lily ran a hand through her hair. “Really Gideon, I’m awake.” She worked her lips in an effort to get rid of their stickiness.
“Well, at least you recognize my voice.” His dry tone made her envision the expression that accompanied it—flared nostrils, a raised eyebrow and a parted mouth. A delicious mouth she had kissed yesterday. The thought of his mouth was enough to make her forget he’d woken her on her one and only day to sleep late.
Almost.
“Is there a purpose to this call, or are you doing your good deed for the day and serving as my personal alarm clock?”
“So you admit I woke you.”
“Gideon!” She smiled through her growl.
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry I woke you. Funny, but I never pictured you as being cranky in the morning.”
Lily snorted and he continued. “Anyway, thanks for going to the game yesterday.”
She pulled the phone away from her ear. The silence on the other end was louder than the earsplitting ring of the phone. The hitch of his voice and his ragged intake of breath betrayed his nerves. It had been a while since anyone cared about her feelings. Under different circumstances, she might have pushed him to admit his own. Playing games left an acrid taste in her mouth, similar to the sharp taste she fought whenever he mentioned their bargain. And, after they’d teased each other yesterday, she debated her approach to his question—flirty or straightforward? Her flirty side was rusty, geriatric even, and she remembered Tony’s warning. She brought the phone to her ear and decided to go easy on him. “I had a great time. I’m really glad you invited me.” Would he mention their kisses?
“Good.” He expelled a pent-up, hurricane-force breath. “About that kiss—”
She crossed her fingers. “I really liked it.”
“I did, too.” His voice was low and tickled her insides with its intimacy.
Her cheeks warmed and she couldn’t stop the smile from stretching her cheeks. “Good.”
He cleared his throat. “Hey, aren’t you going to Samantha’s for brunch?”
“Yeah, but not until later. Are you going?” She twirled her hair in her fingers and licked her lips. She’d swear she could still taste him, and it made her want more.
“No, I’ve got a basketball game at the center. Too bad Claire’s not home or I’d suggest you guys watch.”
“Yeah, Claire wants to go. When’s your next one? Maybe we can go then.” Hmm, I wonder what we can do at a basketball game? She forced her mind out of the gutter and into the present.
“We play on Tuesday afternoon at four-fifteen.”
Lily rubbed the grit from her eyes as she padded into the kitchen. The cold tile floor curled her toes. “Let me check my calendar.” She turned on the coffee machine as she reached for her calendar. “We’re free, and I have an easy week at work, so I can probably leave a little early. When does the game end?”
“It should be over by six-thirty or so.”
Lily poured her coffee and then opened the fridge to find some juice. She stood like a pelican—one leg straight, the other bent—as she scratched her ankle with her other foot and reached for the orange juice. “Want to come over for dinner afterward?”
“I usually take the kids for pizza afterwards. Why don’t you and Claire join us?”
****
“So, you and my brother—dish!” exclaimed Samantha as she flopped next to Lily with her cup of coffee.
“What do you mean?” Lily molded her face into a detached pose, but her blush betrayed her. Samantha gaped at her and she relented. “What do you want to know?”
“Everything.” Samantha passed the plate of bagels to her and reached for the cream cheese. Lily selected a sesame bagel, sliced it in half and slathered cream cheese as she described the baseball game.
“The two of you held hands?” Samantha shrieked as she dropped her bagel on the plate.
“Not exactly.” Lily started to explain, but Samantha interrupted.
“Honey, there was physical contact between your hand and his, and it didn’t involve him pushing you out of the way. That to me is holding hands. When’s the wedding?”
“Sam!” By now, Lily’s face was in flames and her friend laughed.
“Seriously, things sound good between you two, really good.” Samantha smiled. “I’m glad.”
“There’s more.”
Samantha leaned away, mouth open, her bagel suspended in midair.
“We kissed. For real this time.” Hearing it out loud, rather than just thinking about it, filled her with joy.
Samantha screeched. “And you waited until now to tell me?”
Happy for the first time in a long time, Lily cackled. “I need a little fun. Besides, you interrupted me.”
Samantha threw her napkin at her. “I want all the details.” Lily obliged. When she finished, Samantha rose from her chair and hugged her. “Wow, my friend the nun and my brother the priest. It couldn’t be more perfect.”
“Samantha, come on!”
“No, I’m serious. The two of you have protested about dating, and found more ways to avoid it, than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s about time you found each other.”
Lily squirmed at the ring of truth to her statement. “I have not been avoiding dating, Sam.”
Samantha shook her head. “Maybe you haven’t done so explicitly, but you spend all your time working and playing with Claire. If it wasn’t for me and my invitations to art openings or movies, you’d never leave the house.”
“I’ve left the house plenty.”
“Yeah, and mostly with Gideon these days.” She grinned.
Lily played with the sesame seeds on her plate. She swirled them around and sucked them off her finger. “Tony asked me if I was interested in Gideon.”
“And what did you tell him?”
It had taken her a long time to get to this point, but she was finally ready to pursue a relationship with Gideon. He made her happy. He cared about her. And she felt the same way about him. “I told him I think I care for Gideon. And I do. We had a great time yesterday and for once, it was easy. There wasn’t this big wall to get through and I could see myself with him. And his kiss.” His kiss was amazing and left her wanting more. Desire pooled in her belly and she clenched her hands.
“So you’re ready to date again?” Sam pierced her with a knowing look.
Lily’s vision blurred and images from her past skated through her mind like photos in a slideshow. “I don’t know if I’m ready to date just anyone yet. I still think of Daniel, and miss him. But I’m ready to be with Gideon, if he wants me. I just can’t always tell if he does.”
“Oh he wants you, Lil. Trust me, he wants you. He may not be ready to admit it yet, but he wants you.”
She gazed at Samantha. “How can you tell? I can’t figure him out. Just when I think I know him, he morphs into someone totally different. Why isn’t anything simple with him?”
It was Samantha’s turn to look away. She drummed her blue-painted fingernails on the table. “I don’t know the specifics, and for those you’d have to ask Gideon anyway, but I do know before the accident he was dating a vile woman named Elaine. I don’t know what happened, but she came to the hospital one time and never returned. I asked him about her once, but all he’d say was she couldn’t handle it. The hurt on his face made me never ask about her again. And he’s refused to go near a hospital ever since.”
Lily chewed on her bagel as she digested Samantha’s information. “Maybe he doesn’t think I can handle it either,” she mused.
“I don’t know, but he’s never done anything with a woman since the accident. Since he’s let you in this far, chances are he cares about you a lot, more than he’s letting on.”
They ate quietly and Lily told Samantha about the investigation and her time with Tony.
“That’s terrific! You must be relieved.” Samantha hugged her again. “We should all go out and celebrate.”
Lily raised an eyebrow and Samantha blushed. “That’s right, you don’t know yet.”
“Know what?”
“Tony and I went out.”
Lily gasped. “On a date? That’s wonderful! Tell me all about it.”
“Well, it’s still in the early stages, Lil. We’ve only gone on two dates and that was for coffee and dinner earlier this week. I actually asked him out when I dropped Claire off at the center. Gideon talks about him all the time and although I remember him from when we were kids, I haven’t seen him in forever. There was just something about him that intrigued me.”
“What was his reaction to your asking him out? I thought he was a pretty traditional, macho-type guy.”
Sam’s eyes sparkled. “He laughed, because he’d been planning to ask me out and I beat him to it. I don’t think he was focusing on who should have been doing the asking.”
She leaned forward, her voice sharp. “Do you like him?”
“So far. It’s only been two dates, but he makes my insides fluttery. I’ll let you know what happens.”
“Oh gosh, I went with him to the movies,” Lily moaned. “I’m sorry. I had no idea about you two and…”
“Don’t worry about it Lily, it’s fine. Now, as I was saying, we should celebrate.” They made plans and before long, it was time for Lily to leave to pick up Claire. They hugged goodbye at the door.
“Let me know what happens, okay? Oh, and don’t mention Tony and me to my brother. I’ll do it when the time is right.”