Rhapsody (The Teplo Trilogy #2) (6 page)

"It's fine, sir," she laughed. "They can't be any worse than Tristan."

"Hey!" he protested, making everyone laugh.

"True enough," John agreed, winking at her.

Tristan reclaimed her hand. "Come on, beautiful. Let's go find Katherine. She's nicer than this lot."

"No fair," Zoë protested. "We want to visit with Lillian."

"Jesus. You'd think we'd never had company here before."

"That's probably because you've never brought a girl home with you before," Zoë said.

Never?

Lillian glanced up at Tristan, surprised. He'd told her that he'd never had a girlfriend or dated much, but she'd assumed he'd meant recently. The fact that he'd truly meant
never
thrilled and saddened her at once. She loved being his first. But the depth of his self-enforced isolation made her want to cry for him. He'd lost so much more than his parents that day so long ago. He'd lost himself, and joy.

"Told you that you were different," he said with a shrug, leading her deeper into the house.

She was too dazed to pay attention as he led her down a hallway and made a quick right into the kitchen. Her stomach rumbled at the delicious and complimenting assortment of smells wafting through the large, open room. Massive windows opened up over the back yard, which was nothing short of magical. Flowers and plants bloomed everywhere. Water cascaded from a small waterfall of natural rock in the very center. The cottage Tristan had mentioned was visible far off to the right.

"Tristan!" The petite blonde at the stove beamed when she caught sight of them. Like everyone else, she was dressed casually, her hair in a ponytail and her brown eyes bright. She looked like an older version of Zoë, only less fashion model and more soccer mom. She wiped her hands on a towel and crossed to them, hugging Tristan before turning expectantly toward Lillian.

"Aunt Katherine, this is Lillian," Tristan said. "Lillian, my aunt, Katherine."

"Hi, Mrs. Angelo." Lillian held her hand out, but wasn't all that surprised when Katherine bypassed it and hugged her instead. "Thank you for having me."

"Of course, sweetie. I've heard so much about you, but Zoë didn't tell me how absolutely beautiful you are. It's great to finally meet you." She pulled back, smiling.

"Ah, thank you." Lillian felt her cheeks flushing. "You have a lovely home."

"Thank you," Katherine hummed, her expression friendly and open. "Would you like something to drink? Dinner won't be ready for a while yet—we're waiting on Jase—but we have wine, beer, and I'm sure John has a bit of Scotch tucked away if you'd prefer that."

"Um, wine is fine," Lillian murmured as Tristan snaked his arm around her waist as if he required physical contact as much as she did.

"She thinks beer tastes like yeast," he supplied with a devilish smirk before kissing her temple.

"You don't like beer?" Jordan asked from behind them, causing her to jump. She hadn't realized everyone had followed them to the kitchen. "That is so wrong."

"See?" Tristan teased her. "I told you that you were abnormal."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Sorry, boys, you'll have to take it up with my taste buds. I'm sure if you file a complaint, they'll be happy to reconsider."

"Or you could tell the beer companies to make something that tastes decent," Zoë supplied, siding with Lillian.

"That might help, too."

"You, Miss Maddox," Tristan said, "are a snob."

"And you, Mr. Riley," she retorted, "will simply have to accept it."

He shot her a cocky smirk and pretended to think about it as everyone else stood around, openly watching their exchange. She refused to fidget under their scrutiny. They obviously loved him and wanted to see him happy. That's all that really mattered.

"I think I can manage that." He squeezed her fingers and headed toward the fridge to retrieve her wine.

Zoë looped her arm through Lillian's and ushered her across the kitchen towards a glass breakfast table as the others all converged on Tristan.

"Jason isn't here yet?" Lillian asked.

"He's still at the office."

"I'm sorry."

"It could be worse." Zoë shrugged, her expression morphing into one of genuine concern. "Are you okay? He told me what happened last night. I'm so sorry that neither of us called you. We were…well, to be frank, we were busy trying to talk Tristan down."

"How bad was it?" she asked, glancing up at the man in question. He was working the cork out of a bottle of wine, his head thrown back as he laughed at something Rachel said. He seemed so much more relaxed here than he did anywhere else.

"It wasn't pretty," Zoë confessed. "He's terrified something will happen to you and it'll be his fault."

"I know," Lillian sighed. She hated that he felt that stress, but even if something did happen, it wouldn't be his fault. She was a big girl. One who made her own decisions and lived with the consequences, whatever they might be. And she'd decided to get involved with this case. Maybe she hadn't had all of the pieces of the puzzle, but even had Jason been up front with her, she wasn't so sure it would have changed her decision any at all. In all likelihood, she still would have said yes, and she and Tristan would be exactly where they were now. Because she'd wanted to help
him
.

"He seems better today."

"We had a discussion last night," Lillian answered carefully.

"I take it you came out the champion in this discussion?"

Had she?

"I hope so," she murmured, glancing up at Tristan as he started across the kitchen toward her and Zoë, a beer in one hand and a glass of wine in the other.

She really, really hoped so.

"Is Tristan behaving himself?" Katherine slid into the seat across from her, a glass of wine in her hand.

"Ah, yes, ma'am. He's been great," Lillian answered, swallowing a mouthful of wine and shooting a quick glance at Tristan. He was seated beside her and Zoë at the little breakfast table, one hand wrapped around his beer bottle, the other rubbing distracting circles on the back of her neck.

A small smile played at the corners of his lips, amusement glinting in his eyes.

Zoë bit her lip to hold back a giggle.

Jordan, John, and Rachel stood around the table, each looking as interested in her answer as Katherine herself. Lillian had no idea how much they knew about her relationship with Tristan, but judging from the matching looks on Zoë, Jordan, and Rachel's faces, they probably knew more than she wanted to think about.

"That's good." Katherine smiled and sipped her own wine, seemingly oblivious to the heat taking over Lillian's face. "He can be very authoritative at times. He's all bark and no bite though, dear. Remember that and you'll do fine."

Oh lord.

Tristan snorted and shook his head, but didn't try to correct his aunt. Besides, what could he really say? He
was
bossy as all hell, which drove her crazy. But he could also be incredibly gentle. And so passionate! Not only when he fucked her—though he was amazing at that, too—but about the things that mattered to him.

"I think she has it under control, Mom," Zoë said before lifting her own glass to her lips to hide a grin.

Jordan snickered.

Katherine glared at the two of them before refocusing on Lillian. "How are you doing since your surgery?"

Tristan's hand on her neck tightened as if he sensed her distress. "Aunt Katherine–" he started.

Lillian laid a hand on his arm, halting him. "It's okay," she said when he turned to look at her, concern in his gaze. "I'm okay." She held his gaze until he relaxed, pulling her a little closer to him as if to lend her some of his strength.

"John and I watched you perform about two years ago," Katherine said. "You were brilliant, destined for stardom. I'm so sorry how things worked out, sweetie. I cannot even imagine what you've gone through."

"Thank you," Lillian mumbled, a lump forming in her throat at the realization that Katherine and John had seen her on stage. Just like with Emma, she hadn't expected that, and the sudden flash of pain, of loss, was intense. It was also short lived. She would never perform again, but she could still dance. Maybe not the same way or with the same grace, but she danced with Tristan. "It hasn't been easy to adjust, but it's getting easier."

Because of him. Because of mornings in the studio, and nights in his arms. Because of those random moments during the day when he'd walk up behind her, wrap his arms around her and begin to kiss her neck. Because of him, she felt whole. She wasn't sure she'd ever hear music quite the same way as she had. Before Tristan, music had made her ache to move with it. Now though, that painful ache had lessened, giving way to an overpowering desire to feel his arms around her, to feel him moving inside of her. Not that she was going to admit that to his aunt, of course.

"Did you dance very long?" John asked.

"Yes. I started when I was three."

"Why so young?"

"I had horrible balance and someone told my dad dancing would help," she said, laughing softly. "Turns out, I still couldn't walk on a flat surface for a good three or four more years without tripping, but I could dance."

Katherine and John both chuckled.

"I always wanted to dance," Zoë mused. "Mom put me in ballet lessons for a while, but I was terrible at it."

"So was I," Rachel said with a little laugh. "My body was not designed to move like a ballerina's. Especially not now." She patted her stomach affectionately.

"Do you know what you're having?" Lillian asked.

"We don't know. We wanted to be surprised."

"
You
wanted to be surprised," Jordan teased. "I already know I'm having a son."

"You okay?" Tristan leaned over to ask as Jordan and Rachel playfully bickered back and forth about the sex of their baby, claiming everyone else's attention.

"I'm okay."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"You comfortable?" he asked instead of pushing further, rubbing small circles into the muscles of her neck. His other hand trailed down her thigh to indicate what he meant. He didn't look away from her, instead leaning so close his breath fanned across her cheek.

As usual, the little bubble that surrounded them whenever he got close to her sprang into existence, pushing out everyone else. All that remained was him, his blue eyes locked on hers and his hand cupping the nape of her neck while the other trailed across her thigh. Familiar crackles hummed to life where his fingers skimmed across her flesh, warming her from the inside out.

He leaned closer, his gaze moving to her mouth.

She bit her lip to keep from moaning out loud and embarrassing herself.

"Let's go shoot!"

She and Tristan both jumped as Jordan's exclamation shattered their interlude. They broke away from each other like they'd been caught doing something wrong. Lillian flushed bright red when her gaze caught on Katherine who watched them with a soft smile hovering on her lips. Lillian hurriedly shifted her eyes down to her wine glass, embarrassed at having been caught ready to attack Tristan at the table.

"Jordan," he sighed and leaned back in his chair, dropping his hand from her neck to capture her fingers with his. He squeezed her fingertips before turning to look at his cousin's best friend, already back in control. "Do you remember the last time I took you to shoot?"

"Yes."

"Remember the soda can?"

"Ye-es…"

"And do you remember missing the can, almost hitting a deer, and then screaming like a girl when the deer spooked?"

Everyone looked at Jordan expectantly, Lillian included.

Tristan lifted a brow.

"Aww, come on!" Jordan groaned, rolling his eyes. "The deer was huge, and pissed off. And he chased me!"

"It was Bambi," Zoë supplied in a mock-whisper, holding two fingers about a centimeter apart to demonstrate the size of the deer in question. "Remember in the Lion King where Pumba runs away, screaming that Nala is going to eat him?"