Kissed (12 page)

“Mooch.”

“
SHHHH!
” someone said behind them.

She
turned around and mouthed “sorry.”
 
Jacob
sat there smiling about getting her in trouble.
 
She smacked his knee and whispered “behave” at him.
 
The second after she spoke the word, she
remembered it usually acted like the red flag waved in front of the proverbial
bull.
 
From anyone except his mother, he
took the order as a dare.
 
She hoped he’d
be more interested in the movie this time.
 
He let her enjoy the film, the only small reminder things were different
presenting in his arm being stretched across the back of her chair.
 
It was a fun cartoon.
 
She started to relax, and laugh, and felt on
familiar territory for the first time since flying over.

When
it was time to leave, he took her hand in the hallway.
 
The gesture carried a lot of weight for her—one,
he’d never casually done it before in public; two, he’d only taken her hand,
not done something else more overt or possessive; and three, holding hands was
so
normal
.
 
He opened her door for her when they reached
the car, kissed the hand he held, and walked around to his side.
 
She swooned at the sheer sweetness of it.

“Just
in time for supper at Mum’s,” he said, pulling the car into traffic.

“You’re
hungry after all that candy?”

“Well,
yeah
.
Growin
’ boy, love.”
 
He winked.

“Pig.”

“Oink, oink.”

Vivian
didn’t look surprised at all to see them walk through the door together.
 
“I didn’t realize you two had plans today,”
she said.

“We
didn’t. Jacob caught up with me when I was out by myself.”

“And
gave you a ride home? How sweet of you, dear.”

“We
saw a movie, Mum.”
 
He started for the
kitchen.
 
“What’s for dinner?”

She
turned to Beth.
 
“I took the liberty of
picking something up for you today, Elizabeth. It’s on your bed.”

A present?
 
“Wow, okay. What is it?”

“Go
take a look. There’s time.”

“Um,
thank you.”
 
The kitchen door was closed,
so he couldn’t hear her.
 
“Did you talk
to Jacob about…?”

She
shook her head.
 
“Why? Did he say
something?”

“No.
He was just…nice today.
Less intense.”

She
smiled.
 
“I haven’t said a word.”

Huh.
 
“Oh. Okay, then.”

Beth
excused herself to her room.
 
A large,
flat box sat on the bed.
 
The note on top
said
for tomorrow night
.
 
That was odd—she didn’t have plans for
tomorrow.
 
She lifted the top off to
reveal folded-over tissue paper.

Wrapped
in the tissue paper was a dress.
 
Lifting
it out of the box, the length of the dress fell to the floor.
 
It was semi-formal, a simple sheath design in
navy blue.
 
She held it up to her body in
front of the full-length mirror.
 
The hem
skimmed her ankles.
 
Not bad.
 
Right in between drawing
attention to her body and embarrassing her.
 
She might have chosen it in a store if she
could afford it.

“Try
it on,” Vivian said behind her.

“Was
I taking too long?”

She
waved off the question.
 
“No, I wanted to
see how you like it. Try it on tonight in case any alterations need to be
done.”

“It’s
lovely, but…why?”

She
shrugged.
 
“Why not?
Besides, what would a visit to London
be without attending a society party? I’d love to have your company. It’s a
good cause, but you have
no
idea how
much of a bore some of those people are.”

“Not
seeing the incentive here,” Beth teased.

“Did
I not mention the five course meal?
Silly me.”

Thinking
about it, she asked, “What’s for dessert?”

“Something with far too many calories, of course.”

“If
it’s chocolate, you’ve got yourself a deal.”

Vivian
laughed, green eyes twinkling.
 
“I’ll try
to find out.”
 
She shooed Beth toward the
bathroom.
 
“Try on the dress!”

“Okay,
okay.”

She
shed clothes, unzipped the back of the dress, and carefully stepped into
it.
 
It was sleeveless, so she got the
straps situated on her shoulders and reached her right arm behind her to pull
the zipper up.
 
The fabric started to
magically hug her meager curves.
 
A small
slit in back made it easier to walk.
 
Glancing
in the bathroom mirror, she almost didn’t recognize her body.

“Whoa.”

“Does
it fit? Come out and let me see.”

She
smoothed the dress into place and walked out to the bedroom.

“Oh,
Elizabeth…”
 
Vivian started to walk around her.
 
“I had a hunch this would be perfect.”
 
She guided her to the full-length mirror, then
gathered her hair in her hands and twisted it up off her neck.
 
“Look at you.
So grown-up.”

“I…I
don’t know what to say.”
 
The girl in the
mirror looked like a different person.
 
She had
possibilities
.
 

“You
like it, yes?”

“It’s
amazing…”
 
Beth tried to be an adult,
though she didn’t feel like one, yet, but Mirror-Beth
was
one.

Vivian
smiled at her in the mirror.
 
“Then
‘thank you’ is all I need. Change for dinner, now.”

“Okay.”
 
Beth walked back into the bathroom and heard
his mother leave.

She
wanted to call Mom.
 
“Crap,
it’s
Thursday.”
 
She
checked her watch.
 
“She’s at ceramics
class.”
 
Oh, well.
 
She’d tell her all about the party tomorrow.

After
dinner, Vivian convinced Jacob to play something on the piano.
 
To Beth’s surprise, he took a random book out
of the bench seat, opened it to a page, and started playing like he’d done it a
hundred times.
 
She watched his long
fingers dance over the keys and wondered what instrument he was really better
at—guitar or piano.
 
They clapped when he
finished the song.

“It’s
been too long since I heard you play,” his mother said fondly.

“That’s
what you get for stayin’ in California,”
he teased.

“Perhaps
it is time for a change,” she said

“I
didn’t know you’d taken lessons.”

“Started
before the guitar, actually,” he said.
 
“And I’ve had to pick it up again at school.”

“You
play very well.”
 
Professional
quality, to her inexperienced ears.

He
shrugged.
 
“A little rusty, but it wasn’t
too bad.”

“Play Elizabeth
some of the Gershwin.”

“Mother,
I haven’t touched that piece in almost four years.”

“Well,
whose fault is that?”
 
She added to Beth,
“He stole the recital with it, don’t believe any different.”

“I
barely remember any of it. Request somethin’ from this
decade
.”

She
sighed.
 
“And on that note, I’m going to
bed. Be good, kids, and turn out the lights tonight.”

“Yes,
Mum.”

“Goodnight,
Vivian.”

Left
alone, Beth moved closer to the piano bench.
 
He swung one leg over to straddle it and face her.
 
“How much longer are you staying?”
 
He wrapped his arms around her waist, resting
them on her hips.

She
sighed.
 
“I don’t know…maybe make it an
even two weeks.”

“Any
way I can convince you to stay longer?”

“Oh,
that’d
go over well. ‘Hi, Dad, I’m
not coming home yet ‘cause Jacob and I wanna hang out.’”

He
rolled his eyes.
 
“I’m serious. What
would justify it, then?”

Lowering
her voice to mimic her father, she said, “
’Summers
are
for school or a job, same as the rest of the year.
Preferably
both.’”

“Hmm…
What if you could shadow a working photographer?”

Might work
…
 
“Like an apprenticeship?”

“Yeah…
I have a friend, see. She shoots gigs for a paper or magazine or some such.”

“
She?
”

He
grinned.
 
“Never dated
her, love.
Too old for me.
Anyway, I could give
her a ring; see if she’s up to it?”

“Couldn’t hurt.”

He
pulled her closer.
 
“That’s my girl.”

She
kissed him, keeping the contact light and innocent.
 
“You should go home.”

“Not
tired.”

“Not
why I said it.”

He
smiled, and let her go.
 
“Okay, I’ll be
good.”

She
walked him to the front door and they kissed goodnight.
 
Feeling the heat build in her belly again,
she gently pushed him away.

“Goodnight,
Jacob.”

“’Night, love.
Sweet dreams.”
 
He stepped outside and walked to the bike.

She
shut and locked the door before she ran to him for another kiss.

Chapter Ten

Jacob
called the next morning to tell Beth his friend was free to meet up around
lunchtime on Saturday.
 
It was too late
in California
to call Mom, so she sent her an e-mail about the benefit party tonight and
added a line about meeting a photographer tomorrow to pick her brain.

Vivian
wanted her to start getting ready no later than five o’clock, so she stayed
close to the house other than picking up the prints she had developed.
 
She never did much with make-up and only knew
how to braid her hair, but, whatever put Vivian at ease.

She
came into Beth’s room when she was almost done blow-drying her hair.
 
“Come with me, Elizabeth.”

“What for?”
 
She set
her brush on the bathroom counter.
 
“I’m
almost done. Promise”

She
smiled.
 
“Just come to my room, please.”

“Okay…”
 
Still in her robe, she followed his mother
down the hall.

Vivian’s
room looked like a decorator showcase in a magazine, everything perfectly in
its place.
 
She walked to a dressing
table and indicated Beth should sit on the stool in front of it.
 
She sat.
 
Then Vivian gathered Beth’s hair in her hands and made a twist while she
watched in the mirror.

“You
don’t have to do that,” Beth said.

“Indulge
me. I never had a daughter’s hair to play with.”
 
Vivian tucked the ends of Beth’s hair into
the twist and slid a comb in to hold it in place.
 
Then, she reached for a few bobby pins on the
table.
 
“There. You can dance all night
and that won’t fall out of place.”

Dancing…
heh
.
 
There were no plans of making a fool of myself in front of a hundred
strangers
.

She
pulled a make-up palette and a few brushes out of a drawer.
 
Beth started to move out of the way to let
her sit down and finish her routine.
 
She
placed a hand on her shoulder.

“I’m
not done with you, yet, dear.”

“Huh?”
 
Beth glanced at the make-up.
 
“Oh, I don’t wear that stuff.”

“Trust
me, Elizabeth. I promise you’ll only be a lovelier version of yourself.”

She
chewed on her lip.
 
Vivian didn’t look
like she was budging on this.
 
Sighing,
she closed her eyes.
 
Vivian didn’t take
long at whatever she did to her face.
 
She felt brushes touch her eyelids, cheeks, and lips for all of five
minutes.

“Done.”

“Really?”

“You
can open your eyes, dear.”

She
turned to the mirror, put on her glasses, and stared at her reflection.
 
Mirror-Beth was her, but better.
 
Vivian had used the barest hint of color, but
her eyes were defined and she now had cheekbones.
 
The only noticeable touch, really, was the
rose on her lips.
 
She’d never worn
lipstick before and the texture felt kinda weird.

“Thank
you,” she said finally.
 
Rude of her to stay silent so long.

Vivian
smiled at her in the mirror.
 
“You’re
very welcome. Go get dressed, now.”

“Okay.”
 
She started to leave, then turned around and
hugged his mother.

“Oh!
One more thing.”
 
Vivian went to her dresser and brought back a small box.
 
“A woman is naked without jewelry. And don’t
say no.”

Beth
nodded and went back to her room.

Carefully
stepping into her dress, she zipped up the back, smoothed the fabric down her
body, and checked her reflection in the standing mirror.
 
Satisfied her bra straps weren’t showing, she
stepped into the kitten heels that were also in the box and stuffed a few
things into the new clutch purse.
 
The
last touch was the sapphire earrings and necklace set.

“Elizabeth…”

“Coming!”
 
Three steps
down the staircase, she saw Vivian wasn’t alone at the bottom.
 
“Jacob.”

“Bloody
hell…”
 
He stared up at her, eyes running
over her head-to-toe and back again.

“What
are you doing here?”

“I,
uh, I always go to this thing. The foundation is in the name of my best friend
from boarding school,” he said.

“Oh.
Hold on.”
 
She ran back to her room to
grab her bag.

Vivian
frowned when she saw it.
 
“Elizabeth, isn’t that a
bit casual for the evening?”

“Oh,
I’m not bringing it in. I want to show Jacob the pictures from his concert
later.”
 
She hurried down the stairs.

“You
have photos?” he asked, smiling.

“Look
at them in the car,” his mother said.
 
She nudged them toward the door like a hen.
 
“We’re going to be late.”

“Yes,
Mum.”

The
chauffeur had the door open when they left the house.
 
Beth couldn’t stop glancing at Jacob in a
suit.
 
Merely your basic black suit with
a white shirt and black tie, but wow…he was yummy.
 
They ended up sitting across from his mother,
Beth’s camera bag between them.

“You
mentioned an old friend?” she asked him.

“Uh, yeah.
He had cancer. It was the ‘80s and that kind of
thing was harder to treat than now. So, his folks set up the charity to fund
research.”

“Is
he okay now?”

He
shook his head.
 
“He passed due to an
infection.”

“I’m
sorry.”

He
smiled and squeezed her hand.
 
“It was a
long time ago, love. I normally hate these sorts of parties, but it’s a good
cause.”

“And
I get to see him look respectable once a year,” his mother teased.
 
They laughed and the mood stayed light.

He
didn’t let go of Beth’s hand.

They
drove out a ways west to an estate with several acres.
 
Behind the ornate black
gate stood a house no older than twenty years, by the materials used.
 
Beth’s mother would take her on Sunday drives
through the rich parts of L.A.,
and this place would have fit right in.
 
Beautiful, classy, and big, though the landscaping definitely had the
English touch she’d gotten to know here.
 
You had no idea how refreshing it was to see no palm trees.

The
car pulled up in front.
 
She whispered a
question about leaving her bag there in Jacob’s ear.

“No
problem, love.”

Vivian
had already gotten out, so it was Beth’s turn.
 
Not used to wearing a long dress or heels, she was extra careful about
not tripping and landing flat on her face.
 
She glanced up—or knocking her head on the roof.
 
Successfully upright, she stepped aside to
let him out.
 
He took her hand again,
lacing his fingers with hers.

“Nervous?”
he asked quietly.

“Why?”

“Your
hand is cold.”

She
blushed.
 
“Oh. A little, I guess.”

They
moved up the steps.
 
“Don’t be nervous.
You look beautiful, and I guarantee you’re smarter than at least half the
room.”

“Stop…”

“Only
speak the truth, love.”
 
He caught up to
his mother.

She
gave the butler her invitation.
 
They
followed inside.

“Whoa.
If possible, it’s bigger on the inside,” Beth whispered.
 
Jacob chuckled.

Past
the foyer, they heard voices.
 
He led her
into a ballroom set up for the banquet with round tables.
 
A live band at one end played old
standards.
 
Vivian had already found
their table.
 
She set her purse next to
her place setting and started to mingle.

“So
how does this thing go?” Beth asked Jacob.

“People
arrive,
then
someone says an introduction, usually a
spokesman for the foundation. They start serving food, and the guests put
checks in the envelopes on the table. Aside from the donations, it’s mostly an
excuse to socialize. Eventually, some get up to dance to the band, or walk in
the garden, or leave once they think they’ve been polite. Like Mum said, it’s
bloody boring if you’re
under
fifty.”

“Why
don’t you mail the donation in, then?”

He
shrugged, and unbuttoned his coat.
 
“Don’t rightly know, anymore. Remind me to do that next year.”

“Deal.”
 
She leaned in
to add, “Maybe you’ll be in L.A.
next summer.”

He
grinned and wrapped one arm around her waist.
 
“Maybe.”

They
walked around the room for a little while, his mother waving them over to say
hello to this person or that.
 
She was so
natural at this, working a room.
 
Impeccably dressed in a white dress and jacket, she had a smile and warm
greeting for everyone Beth met.
 
If she
had to act with some of them, Beth couldn’t tell.

Jacob’s
hand rested on her back, a reassuring presence.
 
Crowds were not her thing, and even more so in a group where she felt
intimidated.
 
If people closed in around
her, she tended to panic and couldn’t breathe.
 
He had to rescue her at Disneyland once
and remembered ever since.

She
loved him for looking out for her.

“Don’t
know about you, love, but I’m parched,” he said after another exchange of
pleasantries.

“Sounds good.”
 
They
headed to the open bar.

A chime rung through the room.
 
Beth was about to ask what it meant when
everyone started moving to their seats.
 
Oh.

There
was a very nice speech about the necessity of funds to keep research alive and
the current chances of a cure,
then
the waiters
started bringing out the first course.
 
She looked at all the silverware around her plate and gulped.
 
Waiting to see what Jacob did, she took
another sip of water.
 
He picked up the
outside fork first.

After
three courses of food she could barely identify, she hoped the entrée was
something normal.
 
Thank God for chicken.

He
whispered to her, “Don’t worry, we’ll snag somethin’ good later.”

She
giggled.
 
Vivian arched a brow at her.

“This
isn’t so bad,” Beth whispered back.
 
“Just…”

“Small?”

“Yeah.”
 
They shared a
grin, and she almost kissed him in front of everybody.
 
“But dessert can’t be bad. It’s…dessert.”

“Unless it’s coffee flavor.”

Her
nose wrinkled up.
 
“You would have to say
that.”

“
Ain’t
my fault your taste buds are defective.”

“Eat
your chicken.”

He
grinned again and squeezed her knee under the table.

Dessert
had nuts sprinkled on top—which she didn’t like, either—but once removed, it
was chocolate-y goodness.
 
The shell of
chocolate hid some kind of berry mousse.
 
Didn’t know how they sealed it in there…

“Bored?”
 
Jacob placed his hand on her shoulder.

“Huh?”
 
She shook her head.
 
“No…I was wondering how they made the
chocolate thing.”

He
laughed.
 
“You’re adorable.”

Her
cheeks turned pink.
 
“Adorable is for
puppies and stuffed bears.”

“Sweetheart,
learn to take a compliment.”
 
He stood
and offered his hand.
 
“Dance with me?”

“I
don’t dance.”
 
Please don’t make me
.

“Beth,
it’s merely swaying in time.”

Sighing,
she put her napkin on the table, and stood.
 
“No fancy maneuvers.”

He
grinned and took her hand.
 
“Scouts
honor.”
 
Instead of joining the other
couples, he headed for the door outside.

“Where
are you going?”

They
stepped onto the patio.
 
He pulled her
into his arms.
 
“We can hear the music
out here, too.”

She
placed her hands on his shoulders.
 
It
was
nice being a bit removed from all
the chatter.
 
The summer night air was
perfumed with roses and other flowers she couldn’t identify in the garden.
 
Standing between the house and the open air,
with the band playing slow jazz, the atmosphere was a lot more romantic.
 
Private.

“Better
without all those eyes on you?” he asked.

“Mmm-hmm.”
 
She let
out a contented sigh and laid her head on his shoulder.

“I
hope you and Kit hit it off tomorrow.”