Friends--And Then Some (17 page)

Marriage, a family, responsibilities, a regular job—those were all the things he’d despised over the years. Jake had claimed they weren’t for him. But they would be if he had Lily at his side. All this time he’d had the gut feeling that Rex and Rick were wrong for her. Of course they were.
He
was the one meant for Lily. In time, Jake would give her the fancy things she wanted. He even looked forward to doing it.

Shuffling through his closet, Jake took out his best clothes. He’d shower and shave first so he’d look halfway decent. A man didn’t ask a woman to be his wife every day of the week.

* * *

“Hi, Gram.” Lily walked in the front door and tried to put on a happy face.

Rocking in her chair, Gram glanced away from the TV show she was watching.
“You’ve been crying.”

“It … just looks that way. I’ve got something in my eye.”

“Like tears,” Gram scoffed, slowly getting to her feet. “What happened?”

“Nothing.” Lily could feel her control slipping. “Jake … kissed … me,” she finally said.

“Why, that’s no reason to cry, child.” Gram gave her a perplexed look as if she couldn’t comprehend why Lily would find Jake’s kiss so repulsive.

“I—I … know … but … he … doesn’t … want … to.”

“He’d hardly be kissing you if it wasn’t what he wanted.”

“You don’t understand.” She wiped the tears from her face. “I’m so in love with him, Gram. But you know Jake. He doesn’t want a woman in his life. Loving him has ruined everything. We’ve lost him.”

Gram’s look was thoughtful as she slipped her arm around Lily’s waist and hugged her close. “Dry those tears. You and I have weathered worse over the years. And as for losing Jake, we can’t lose something we never had. Let Jake sort this out for himself. He’s a smart man.”

“I don’t ever want to see him again.”

The older woman smiled. “You don’t mean that. But I know how you feel. Paddy and me had some pretty good fights in our time.”

“We didn’t fight,” Lily insisted. In some ways she wished they had. An argument would have cleared the air. It might even have brought out the truth and helped them find a solution—if there was one.

Slowly Gram walked into the kitchen and put on the kettle. “I’ll make you a cup of Marmite.”

“Thanks, Gram,” Lily said solemnly. She’d spent so much time trying to find a wealthy man that she’d allowed herself to be blind to the treasures she already possessed.

The last thing Lily felt like doing was getting ready for her date with Rick. She had to end things. She’d been using him and that couldn’t continue.

The doorbell chimed just when Lily was touching up her makeup. The telltale redness around her eyes had faded and she looked reasonably attractive.

Lily stuck her head around the corner to be sure that Gram had answered the door.
With the television blaring, Gram often didn’t hear the bell. It had gotten so bad that Jake had become accustomed to knocking once and letting himself in. At the thought of Jake, a tiny shudder went all the way through her.

Rick stood awkwardly in the living room and Lily offered him her brightest smile. She wasn’t looking forward to this evening. “I’ll be with you in a minute.”

“Take your time,” he said, smiling back at her.

Tonight wouldn’t be easy, but she wasn’t going to be maudlin.

After grabbing her purse and a light wrap, she rejoined Gram and Rick in the living room, forcing herself to smile.

* * *

Knowing Lily would be out with Rick, Jake waited for what he considered a reasonable amount of time before heading over to Gram’s. Content now that he’d made his decision, he climbed inside his faithful taxi and absently ran his hand along the empty seat. He’d sell the cab. That would be the first thing to go. While waiting, he’d scanned the newspaper. Finding a decent job shouldn’t be too difficult. Engineers seemed to be in demand, and although his degree had several years’ dust on it, he’d been a good student. An employer would recognize that soon enough.

On impulse, Jake stopped at a corner market and picked up a small bouquet of flowers. He didn’t know what kind they were; flowers were Lily and Gram’s department.

Humming, he eased to a stop in front of Gram’s house, climbed out of the car, and slapped his hand across the hood as he ventured past. He felt good. Once everything was straightened out with Lily, he’d be on cloud nine.

Gram answered his knock and he proudly shoved the flowers in her direction. “Is Lily home yet?”

“Are these for me or her?”

“Both.”

“I’d say you’re a bit late.”

It wasn’t like Gram to snap or grumble. Jake glanced at his watch. “It’s barely ten.”

“That’s not the late I’m talking about.”

“Is Lily home or not?” His own patience was running short.

“Not. I don’t know what’s come over you, but Lily came home from her time with you in tears.”

Shifting his weight from one foot to the other, Jake cleared his throat. He hadn’t expected the third degree from Gram. “I came to apologize for that.”

“And I’m telling you, you’re too late.”

A sudden chill went all the way through Jake. “What do you mean?”

“Rick was here earlier.”

“I know.” All evening he’d been haunted by the image of Rick kissing Lily. He’d considered intercepting their date, but he’d done that once before and had promised himself he wouldn’t again.

“Only this time Rick didn’t come alone.”

Confused, Jake shook his head, not understanding Lily’s grandmother. “How do you mean?”

“Rick came a-courting with a two-karat diamond ring in his pocket,” Gram explained. “He’s requested my permission to ask for Lily’s hand.”

“I see,” Jake said slowly. The words went sour on his tongue. He did indeed understand. Lily had finally achieved her goal. She’d landed herself a wealthy man. Swallowing back the angry denial that trembled at the end of his tongue, Jake buried his hands deep inside his pants pockets. “I imagine Lily was thrilled?” He raised expectant eyes to Gram. The happy, carefree feeling that had been with him from the moment he’d decided to ask Lily to marry him slowly shriveled up and died.

“I can’t rightly say. Rick planned on asking her at dinner this evening.”

“Lily will accept.” She’d be a fool not to, Jake knew.

“It’s the best offer she’s likely to get,” Gram asserted, eyeing Jake in his best clothes. “But I’ll tell her you were by.”

“Don’t.” The lone word burst forcefully from his lips. “It wasn’t anything important.” He took a step back and bumped into the front door. Abruptly he turned around and gripped the doorknob, needing a moment to gather his thoughts. “Actually,” he said, turning back to Gram, “on second thought you can mention that I was here. Tell Lily that I wish her and Rick every happiness.”

“Do you want me to tell her anything else?” Gram said with her usual astuteness. “You didn’t bring these flowers for an old woman.”

Jake’s gaze fell on the elephant tusks mounted on the wall and the zebra-skin rug spread in front of the fireplace. Herbie, the shrunken head that Gram claimed was their spiritual protector, sat on the end table in its place of honor. Jake would miss all of it, and Gram with her African chants and wise old eyes. “No,” he murmured sadly. There was nothing left to say. Lily’s dreams had come true, and his nightmares were of his own making.

* * *

The following morning, Lily sat down at the kitchen table with a mug of hot coffee. She
needed the caffeine. The evening with Rick had been a disaster from the start. After he’d learned that she’d gone out with Rex, Rick had panicked and come to her with a huge diamond ring and a marriage proposal. She didn’t want to hurt him, but she couldn’t marry him, either.

The morning paper was spread across the table and Lily mindlessly read the headlines. Gram pulled out a chair to join her.

“Where’d the flowers come from?” Lily asked, noting the colorful bouquet in the middle of the table.

Gram glanced up from the comic-strip section of the newspaper and grinned. “A secret admirer.”

“Oh?” Gram had attracted more than one man. But to the best of her knowledge, Lily had never known her grandmother to see or talk of anyone except her beloved Paddy.

“Only my secret admirer couldn’t decide if the gift was meant for me or you. He finally decided on me.”

“And who could this indecisive fellow be? Thom the butcher? Or that new man who’s been eyeing you at bingo?”

“Nope. It was Jake.”

“Jake!” Lily did her utmost to disguise the wild happiness that shot through her.

“Jake was here? When?”

Idly, Gram folded the newspaper to the crossword section and scrunched up her brow as she studied the fine print. “Late last night. It must have been close to ten.”

Nearly too overwhelmed to speak, Lily stumbled over her words. “Why didn’t you … What did he … Flowers?” She clenched the soft bathrobe at her throat. Jake. Here. Why, oh, why hadn’t Gram said anything sooner?

“I don’t know what he wanted. He was acting oddly.”

Lily jumped to her feet. “I’m going to get dressed. Did he stay long?”

“Five minutes or so. Not long.” Gram didn’t look up as her pencil worked furiously across the newspaper, filling in the words. “Just remember what I told you the first time we met Jake: You and he were meant for each other.”

There was a gleam in Gram’s eye that hinted at something more, something she
wasn’t saying. “Since Jake came by here, it would only be polite to return the visit. Right?” She didn’t wait for Gram to answer her. “He obviously had something on his mind or he wouldn’t have come. I mean, it isn’t like Jake to stop by unexpectedly.” He did exactly that three or four times a week but Lily was grateful her grandmother didn’t point it out.

Hardly caring what she wore, Lily dug through her drawer and found a pair of white linen pants and a floral print top. A quick run of the brush through her hair left it looking shimmering and healthy.

At the marina the first thing Lily noticed was Jake’s taxi with a For Sale sign propped against the dashboard. Lily stared at it with disbelief. The money from the short story sale to
The New Yorker
had been good, but not enough to live on. Jake would never sell his source of income.

Hurrying now, she half ran down the wooden dock that led to his slip. She spotted him immediately, working on the deck, coiling a large section of rope around his arm. Her pace slowed. Now that she was here, there didn’t seem to be anything particular to say. Although Jake was facing her, he didn’t acknowledge her approach or give any indication that he’d seen her.

“Morning, Jake.” She stood with her hands clenched together in front of her.

He ignored her, continuing to wind the thick rope around his arm, using his elbow as a guide.

“There’s a For Sale sign on the cab.”

“I know.”

“But why?”

“It’s for sale.” His voice held no welcome.

Lily could see that this topic wasn’t going anywhere. “Gram said you were by the house last night.”

“I was.”

If he didn’t stop with that stupid rope and look at her soon, she was going to rip it out of his arms. “The flowers are lovely.”

Jake’s mouth tightened. “Consider them a good-bye present.”

Her heart pounded wildly in her ears. “Good-bye?”

“Yeah, I’m moving down the coast.”

“This is all rather sudden, isn’t it?”

“I’ve been thinking about it for some time.”

Lily set her hands on her hips. “You’d move just to spite me, wouldn’t you?”

For the first time, he halted and glanced up at her, his eyes a brilliant green. His feet were braced slightly apart as if anticipating a fight. “You’re not making any sense. I’m moving because—”

“Because you’re afraid.”

Jake snorted. Inwardly, he admitted that she was probably right. He couldn’t be around Lily without wanting her, and the best thing for them both was to remove the temptation. “I’ve fought in Iraq, tangled with drunks who couldn’t afford to pay their fare, and listened to your grandmother sing an African chant over my head. I’d say you have little reason to accuse me of cowardice.” That, too, was a half-truth. Just being close to Lily caused him to tremble. What had made perfect sense the day before seemed like utter stupidity now. He loved her, yes. But that didn’t mean they should get married.

“You’re going away because of me.”

“Yes!” Jake shouted, feeling angry and unreasonable. “I have this particular quirk about being seen with a married woman.”

“I’m not married.”

“Not yet, but you will be. Gram told me about Rick’s proposal.”

She held up her bare left hand, fanning her fingers. “I turned him down.”

“That wasn’t a smart move.”

“I don’t love Rick.”

“That’s your problem, Lily. You’ve got too much conscience. Loving him isn’t necessary. Rick can give you all the fancy things you want.”

“He can’t give me what I want the very most.”

“Give him time.”

“Even that won’t work,” she assured him.

“And what is it that you want so badly?”

“You.”

His dark eyes found hers, stunned and staring. “You don’t mean that.”

“I love you, Jake Carson.”

“I don’t have the money to buy you a fat diamond.”

“A simple gold band will do.” For every argument Jake presented, she would find a solution. She hadn’t come this far to let him slip away.

“My home is right here. There isn’t going to be any fancy house.”
Except maybe one with a white picket fence and a row of flowers at the front
.

“In case you hadn’t noticed, I love the
Lucky Lady
. We’ll live right here.”

“And what about kids? There’s no room for children here.” He gestured casually at the confines of the sailboat.

“Then we’ll buy a bigger boat.”

“I told you before that I can’t give you the things Rick could.” He didn’t know why he continued to argue. He loved her.

“No, you probably can’t. But I’ve learned how meaningless diamonds are. I love you, Jake, and if you love me back, I’d consider myself the wealthiest ex–piano player in town.”

Jake’s defenses relaxed, as he let the rope fall to the deck. He held out a hand to Lily, guiding her safely aboard the
Lucky Lady
and into his arms. He buried his face in her hair and held her for several minutes, just breathing in the fresh fragrance of her. “I love you so much that part of me would have died to stand by and watch you marry Rick.”