Chapter 18
A rustling noise interrupted Stella’s concentration. She saw bags shuffle toward her. Lots of bags—there were at least three plastic garment bags from Bloomingdales, several shopping bags from Barneys, and a black leather purse. She tipped her head to the side and managed to glimpse bits and pieces of a woman—slim ankles, dark hair, a manicured hand. With a grunt, the bags, purse, ankles, hair and hand stopped in front of her desk.
“You must be Stella,” the woman holding the packages said as she plopped the bags onto the empty chair next to the desk. The lovely young woman dressed in a gray business suit and heels stretch her neck and shoulder muscles in relief. She looked like a Gemini—friendly but superficial. Stella gritted her teeth and waited. The last thing Gideon needed was superficiality.
“I’m Lily.” She glanced over her shoulder at the now buried chair and ducked her head. “I hope you don’t mind, but I’m going to fall over if I have to carry this stuff any longer.” She held her hand out to Stella. “I think we’ve spoken on the phone a few times.”
Stella kept her face expressionless as she greeted Lily. She hadn’t required the introduction. She’d recognized the velvet voice with the girlish lilt as soon as she’d heard it. This was the woman Gideon was smitten with, although he hadn’t come out and said as much to her. But she’d heard him soften when he spoke to Lily on the phone, witnessed a hopefulness come over him, and could tell he’d lost his heart. She’d listened to his stories about Lily’s daughter and admired the colorful crayon drawings he’d brought to his office, pictures the little girl made for him.
Stella should have been giddy with delight. She had waited for this moment for years. Three years, two months and four days, to be precise. Lily was the first woman Gideon showed any interest in since his accident. Her heart ached whenever she remembered how she’d listened to him, delirious with pain, cry out after Elaine and beg her to stay with him. She’d never let him know what she’d heard; instead she’d kept his awful secret to herself, as he isolated himself from anyone in a skirt.
She’d suggested numerous times he go out with different women, but he’d never shown any interest or expressed any desire to open his heart again. Until now. But a Gemini? If she had anything to do with it, no woman would hurt Gideon again. For years, Stella ensured business annoyances didn’t disturb Gideon. Now she would prevent personal disasters from hurting him as well. She’d read his tealeaves to see if this woman was right for him, but when he’d caught her, he’d taken the cup away and thrown the leaves in the drain. He hadn’t talked to her for a week. She loved him like a son. If he thought she’d give up that easily, he didn’t know her very well.
“Yes, I recognized your voice,” Stella finally answered. “You’re the one with the daughter.”
Stella pinned Lily with her stare, trying to read her thoughts, or scare her away. Instead, to her surprise, the woman pasted a smile on her face and confronted her head on. “Yes, that’s right. My daughter’s name is Claire, and she is in love with your boss.”
Stella softened. “I think the feeling is mutual, if Mr. Stone’s descriptions are to be believed. He thinks that girl of yours is the brightest, most beautiful girl ever created.”
Lily smiled. “Oh it is, believe me. She positively adores him.”
Stella nodded toward what was once a chair. “Shopping?”
Lily blushed. “Gideon invited me to his friend Tony’s wedding. Actually, it’s Tony’s sister’s wedding. It’s been a while since I’ve been to a wedding, so I went shopping for a dress, and as you can see, I’m a little out of practice.” She shrugged. “I couldn’t decide which dress I liked better. I thought I’d let Gideon pick. And of course, I bought purses and shoes to match each one. So, here I am with all this stuff—I feel like such a girl!”
Stella began to relax and her lips lost some of their disapproving pucker. This woman who stood in front of her liked Gideon. Possibly as much as he liked her. Why else would she go to so much trouble to find an outfit to wear? The woman was gorgeous; it wasn’t as if anything would look bad on her. No, she went to this trouble because she wanted to please Gideon. Maybe she wasn’t a Gemini. She acted more like a Sagittarius. Not like that Elaine he’d dated before the accident. That woman was a Scorpio—a true control freak. She’d gone and picked out Gideon’s clothes for him, as if she were afraid he’d embarrass her if left to his own devices. No, she didn’t know this Lily well, but so far, things were good. Maybe she’d sneak another try and read her tealeaves sometime.
“So he asked you to the wedding?”
“He did. In his own fashion, of course.” At Stella’s confusion, Lily continued. “Well, he asked me as part of our arrangement, then he tried to get out of it, then he agreed if only to make me happy, as if I was the one who invited him in the first place.” Lily snorted. “Men!”
“Obviously you said yes,” Stella said, as she drew Lily out.
“Obviously. I haven’t been this excited in a while.” Lily fingered the bags and bit her lower lip. Seeing her look of approval, Lily blushed. “I’m not sure he knows I think it will be fun, but I plan to convince him.” She leaned forward and whispered. “We went on a date the other night and the ending, well, it was a little rocky. But it was my fault and I plan to make it up to him. I know you hardly know me, but please don’t say anything to him about our conversation; I don’t want to scare him away.”
This one’s a keeper. Anyone who cared for Gideon as much as she obviously did, who looked out for him as she did, was definitely someone who was good for him. As Lily said, whether he knew it or not was a different story.
“He told you about the arrangement, right?”
Stella agreed. “For such a smart man, he can be dense.” She’d heard about the arrangement. At first, she’d thought it was ridiculous, but then she thought it was a good method for Gideon to get his dating feet wet again. Her eyes watered when she’d overheard him on the phone asking Lily to a function, and saw how tense and nervous he was. At the time, she hoped whoever this Lily was, she would recognize how difficult this was for him and go easy on him. As she listened to her now, she could see her fears were unfounded.
Lily grinned. “Isn’t that the truth? But whatever the reason, he asked me and I want him to love the dress I wear. Is he available?” Lily peered over Stella’s shoulder into Gideon’s empty office.
Stella sat up with a start. She’d been so intent on interrogating Lily she’d forgotten all about Gideon. “He should be back any minute. You can sit here and wait for him if you want.”
****
Ten minutes later, Gideon arrived. “Lily, what are you doing here?” After their kiss the other night, the last thing he’d expected was a surprise visit from her. He frowned at Stella and hoped she hadn’t bothered Lily. She tended to get possessive over him. “Please tell me I arrived before Stella read your horoscope,” he pleaded as he searched in vain for teacups.
“Oh, you shush,” Stella snapped, but tempered it with a laugh that sounded like church bells chiming. Lily loaded all of her packages into her arms to follow Gideon into his office.
“Good lord, did you leave anything for anyone else?” He grabbed a lap-load of bags and led the way.
“A few things, I think, although not much in a size six,” she grunted. They entered and shut the door.
“What is all this stuff?” And why was she bringing it here?
“Hello to you, too,” she countered and dumped everything onto a chair in his office.
“Hello. Now what is all this stuff?”
“Well, I went dress shopping at lunch and I couldn’t decide what dress I should wear to the wedding. I thought I’d let you choose. Of course, it won’t be the same on the hanger, but if there’s anything you hate, I can return it right away. The rest I can try on for you later.”
Gideon frowned at her packages in confusion. “Whatever you pick is fine, Lily.”
She took a deep breath and slowed down. “I want you to like what I wear to the wedding. I want to make you happy. And I want to apologize for the other night. It wasn’t you. I got scared.”
For the first time since the kiss, he relaxed. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You didn’t. It’s just…” She paused and bit her lip. “You’re the first man I’ve been with since Daniel died and…”
“And you got scared.” He squeezed her hand. She was the first woman he’d been with since Elaine. He understood her fears better than she knew.
Lily swallowed. “Yes. I’ve thought about you often, but that kiss, it made it all real. I needed time to process it.”
“And have you?” He rubbed his hands along his thighs.
“Yes. And I’m ready for you. Now please look at this stuff. I want to make you happy.”
He couldn’t contain the grin that stretched his cheeks. “You make me happy regardless of what you wear.”
“Gideon.” Her face reminded him of how his sister used to flare her nostrils when he refused to do what she wanted. He bit the insides of his cheeks. If she had any idea how cute she was when angry… He shook his head to clear his thoughts. Although he’d never admit it, he loved her annoyed expression—all hot and bothered, blowing short bursts of air at her bangs in an effort to move them, and possibly the annoyance itself, out of her way. His fingers itched to feel the silky texture of her bangs on her soft skin, and… He sat on his hands. Suspecting more than words would come next from her, and not trusting his own reactions, he relented and studied the three dresses she held up.
“That one,” he said immediately. “Return the rest.”
“I can try them all on for you if you’d like.”
“Nope, that’s the dress. You’ll be amazing in it.” He paused. “You really want me picking out your dress?”
“Why wouldn’t I? I want what I wear to please you. I’m wearing it for you; you should like it.” She stared at the dress he picked. “You really like this one the best?” She bit her lip as she fingered the material.
“Absolutely.”
“Okay, that was easy.”
They said goodbye, she waved to Stella, and exited the office with the rest of the items she planned to return. Gideon sat at his desk and stared at his computer screen without seeing it. Memories of her dead husband had caused her nerves. It wasn’t him or his chair. What most men would have considered a hurdle, he thought of as a blessing.
Joy made his heart patter. Maybe he could actually do this. He pictured Lily at the wedding. Her desire to please him flattered him. Honestly, he’d think her sexy in a paper bag, but the dress he’d pointed to was a knockout and he could already picture how beautiful she would look in it. Suddenly, he couldn’t wait for the wedding.