To My Senses The Nicci Beauvoir Series Book 1 (19 page)

***

By the time the pizza
arrived, we were both ravenous. I was wearing his shirt and he was
in nothing but his jeans. Together we sat on the bed, eating the
greasy pie, and drinking champagne.

“
I got a little carried
away.” He touched the bite marks on my exposed shoulder. “I’m not
usually like that. I guess you just swept me off my
feet.”

“
I thought that was my
line.” I shrugged. “I could sit here and say I feel foolish and
cheap, but the truth is…I’m not complaining.” I took a long sip of
champagne.

He cocked his head to the
side. “I never knew you had it in you.”

“
And now that you
know?”

He lay down on the bed next
to me, stroking my leg. “For the first time I felt that you showed
me a part of yourself tonight. You trusted me. That’s something I
don’t think you have ever done with anyone.”

“
It’s not in my nature to
trust. If I have learned anything in my life, it’s to lie low and
keep to myself. People are less likely to give a damn about you if
they never see you.”

He sighed. “I wish you
would trust me all the time.”

“
That first night when you
brought me here, had you planned on sleeping with me?” I paused and
gauged his reaction. “And why didn’t you?” I quickly
added.

He laughed, making the bed
shake. “Now you want to know why I didn’t ravish you from moment
one, eh?” He laughed again, even harder than before. “Because, my
dear woman, I was trying to figure you out. I wasn’t sure if you
wanted to sleep with me. I didn’t know…if you had ever slept with a
man before.”

I finished off my slice of
pizza. “You could have just asked.”

“
I gathered later that you
had, so it doesn’t matter.”

I climbed out of the bed and stretched, then
reached for my clothes.

“
What are you doing?” he
snapped.

“
I’m getting dressed. I
need to get home.”

David grabbed my arm and
pulled me back into the bed. “You’re not going anywhere
tonight.”

I struggled, but to no
avail. “David, it’s late. I’m sure you don’t want me here in the
morning when your other women will be calling.”

“
Shut up, Nicci.” His mouth
was inches from mine. “I really don’t give a damn who knows about
us.”

“
I told you before, David,
there are no ties between us. You owe me nothing and I….” I left
the words hanging.

“
You are so hard, aren’t
you? Never let me know what you are thinking. What you are feeling.
I’m not a stupid man, Nicci. I know what I felt from you tonight
was more than sex. Why can’t you admit that to me?” He let go of
me.

I sat up in the bed. “I
have nothing to confess. All we had tonight was sex, good sex.
Don’t confuse it with an emotional basis for a
relationship.”

When he looked at me, all
the coldness of winter had returned to his eyes. He got up from the
bed and went to the kitchen.

After I had dressed, I
walked out of the bedroom to find him sitting on a stool in the
studio, a bottle of bourbon in his hands. He was staring at one of
the numerous portraits of me scattered about the room. He did not
acknowledge me when I passed by on my way to the living
room.

“
What are you afraid of?”
he demanded from the studio.

“
Nothing.”

“
Bullshit. You’re afraid.
Afraid of me and afraid of what I would do to your well-planned
life. That’s it, isn’t it?”

I pulled my phone out of my
purse and dialed information. “Don’t flatter yourself.”

“
What are you doing?” he
growled.

“
Calling a cab.”

“
I’ll take you home.” David
got up from his stool, walked into the living room, and yanked the
iPhone from my hand. After ending the call, he held the phone out
to me, starring at me with his angry eyes.

I took the phone from him.
“I’d rather you didn’t bring me home.”

He said nothing as he
grabbed his keys from the desk and pushed me out the
door.

We drove back without
saying a word to each other. I kept watching him out of the corner
of my eye. He shifted the gears with such force, I thought he was
going to rip the stick shift from the floor of the car. He pulled
into my driveway and parked in front of the porch steps. When I
started to get out of the car, David broke the tense silence
between us.

“
You asked me earlier why I
was helping your father. I wanted you to trust me. I thought that
if I told him the truth about what Sammy had planned then perhaps
you would believe in me. I just want a chance for us, Nicci. That’s
all.”

“
I understand David. I
understand completely.” I climbed from the Jeep and quickly walked
away.

Chapter 11

The next morning, I was in
my little red Honda heading to my Aunt Val’s. I hadn’t intended to
visit, but I needed to talk to someone about the jumble of feelings
that were bouncing around my heart.

Val’s residence on the edge
of Lake Pontchartrain resembled an eighteenth century Italian
villa. Her late husband, Dan, had built it for her over fifteen
years ago. Unlike many of the social set in the city, Val’s life
was not laden with the entrapments of scandal and notorious
affairs. She and her husband had lived many happy years together,
deeply in love, and were the envy of all who knew them.

I pulled into the driveway
and saw Val’s Bentley parked in the garage. The gardens in front
were still green and luscious, despite the passing of summer. Pink
crepe myrtle and white azalea bushes framed the cobblestone
walkway, as an Italian marble fountain bubbled off to the side of
the main entrance. I picked up one of the brass fleur-de-lis-shaped
knockers, and let it fall against the thick mahogany
door.

Val answered in one of her
many multi-colored muumuu dresses. She never dressed up unless it
was for a party.

“
Nicci!” She ushered me
into the atrium, which boasted white marble tile and another,
smaller fountain. “I’m glad you dropped by.”

I kissed her cheek. “I was
in the neighborhood,” I said vaguely.

“
Bull. What’s on your mind,
kid?”

I followed her into the
spacious living room. Wide Doric columns sat in each of the four
corners of the room, and a twenty-foot ceiling held four massive
skylights. The room was painted pale blue and contained dozens of
antiques from Val’s journeys around the world. She bypassed the
finery and motioned for me to follow her into the
kitchen.

“
Sit.” Pointing to a set of
stools, next to an island topped with inlaid Italian tile, she
strolled toward the coffeemaker.

Val had created a state-of-the-art kitchen
with two oversized refrigerators and four ovens. She had designed
it to give her a place to practice her number one hobby,
cooking.

“
All right.” She placed a
steaming white mug in front of me. “Let’s hear it. But I’m sure it
has to do with your painter fellow.”

“
Lucky guess?” I mused,
sipping the coffee.

“
No, just intuition. I
could tell the night at the party that you two were much more than
friends.”

I set my mug on the island
countertop. “I don’t know what to do.”

“
About what? Wait until you
have a big fight to get upset about things. In the meantime, enjoy
each other. By the way, I heard Eddie is engaged to your cousin. I
won’t even begin to guess how she pulled that one off. Everyone
knows the guy only has eyes for you.” She quietly sipped her
coffee, as if none of these occurrences were noteworthy.

“
She used the oldest method
in the book. Entrapment.”

Val’s eyes lit up, and a
grin crossed her weathered face. “Sly bitch. I love your family
dearly, Nicci, but the Hoovers, on a good day, give me indigestion.
Does Sammy know how she trapped him?”

“
I’m sure she knows by
now.”

“
Oh, I would have loved to
have seen the expression on her face when Eddie dropped that bomb.
Ah well, maybe I could be there when she gets wind of you and her
fellow.”

“
What are you talking
about?” I questioned.

“
When Sammy finally finds
out her man belongs to you.”

“
I’m sure she knows
something is up. David told me when he left Sammy she didn’t
suspect anything. But I’m sure it’s just a matter of
time.”

Val leaned in closer to the
island. “What do you mean, when he left her?” Her face became very
serious.

“
David said it was over
between him and Sammy.”

Her blue eyes went wide.
“When did this happen?”

I closely studied Val’s
reaction. “Last week, I guess. I’m not sure.”

She straightened herself up
and took in a deep breath. She turned away from me and walked to
the kitchen window, overlooking the lake.

“
What is it,
Val?”

She glanced back and gave
me a weak smile. “I saw your young man and Sammy out just yesterday
at a restaurant in town. They didn’t look like they were fighting
to me.” My stomach dropped away. “Was I wrong to tell you this,
honey?”

I rubbed my hand over my
face. “No, it doesn’t matter. I’m under no obligations to David
Alexander.”

“
Under no obligation?
Listen to yourself, child. From the look on your face, I would say
you are already deeply obligated. After what I saw of the two of
you at the party, I feel certain that your painter feels the same
way.”

“
I’m not so sure. Sammy and
her influence can be more persuasive to a man like that.” I peered
into my coffee mug. I had always suspected somewhere in the back of
my mind that I was being used. Continually trying to decipher what
was really behind David’s sweet words and tender kisses. Now I
knew.

“
You’re being very
melodramatic about this, aren’t you? Maybe the man wants to change
his life. Maybe he went to Sammy to finish everything between them.
Have you ever thought about that?” Val paused and looked at me,
shaking her head. “You know, Nicci, I’ve seen a great many people
come and go from our circles. Some leave town, some just drop out,
and others probably never belonged to begin with. But you, I’ve
always noticed that you were quite different from all the rest.
You’re not selfish and self-centered, like most of the worthless
idiots who surround me every day. Your painter friend has also
noticed. That’s why I’m sure he left Sammy. After being with you,
she would only seem like a very shallow experience.”

I stared off at the lake
beyond the window. “I won’t see him again, Val. I don’t think I
should.”

“
That’s silly. To deny
yourself something you’ve waited for from the moment you were born
is wrong. What is happy is always right.”

“
I don’t know if he makes
me happy. I’ve made plans for my life and he doesn’t fit into those
plans. Anyway, think of the gossip everyone would enjoy at my
expense.”

Val slapped her hand on the
Italian tile countertop. “Listen to yourself. Now you sound like
the rest of those fools out there. Since when has gossip bothered
you? This is more than just worries over life plans and gossip.”
She looked me over with her steely eyes. “He has gotten to you,
hasn’t he?” A smile slowly crept along her face and she laughed.
“Finally, someone has broken through that armor plating of
yours.”

“
Don’t sound so happy about
it. I’m not.”

“
No, of course you’re not.
You’ve always been too proud to let yourself partake in the
pleasures of us mere mortals. I swear, sometimes you remind me of
your grandfather.”

I shrugged. “My father says
the same thing.”

“
He’s right. There is a lot
of old Lionel Beauvoir in you.” Her blue eyes were piercing. “But I
don’t understand your problem, Nicci. What exactly is keeping you
from this man?”

“
I don’t know, Val.
Something is holding me back; a nagging suspicion about his
motives.” I let my shoulders sag. “You saw him with Sammy. Maybe he
is just using me for some reason.”

She lifted my lowered head
with her hand. “Let go of your suspicions, my dear; otherwise, you
will just end up like Sammy. A cold, calculating woman whose heart
is filled with anger. You have too much love in you to lock it away
forever. Everything will work itself out in the end, you’ll
see.”

“
I hope you’re right,” I
said, wishing that I could make all the doubt inside of me melt
like cream into my hot cup of coffee.

***

The following morning
Colleen called my phone five times. I had been avoiding all of her
text messages for the past few days with the blow-by-blow details
of the wedding. Colleen had been dreaming of her wedding day since
we were children. She had always wanted a fairy tale wedding, with
lots of silver glitter and pink bows. I decided I needed to face
the inevitable, and finally answered Colleen’s sixth
call.

“
The wedding is set for
November second,” she told me, as soon as I answered my phone. “I
know that’s soon, but we better do it quickly before I begin to
show. Didn’t you get my texts?”