She didn’t think much about this new man’s open-mouthed surprise. She instead found herself thinking she did not at all consider it was surprising that Nathaniel had a chequered past.
“My God,” the man breathed bringing Lily’s thoughts back into the room.
“This,” Victor stated as introduction to Lily, “is my son, Jeffrey.”
Jeffrey came forward, extending his hand and told her. “Everyone but Mum and Dad call me Jeff.”
She lifted her hand to shake his but he turned it, bent at the waist and brought it to his mouth, brushing his lips against her knuckles. Then his eyes came to hers.
“And who are you?” he asked and she thought his tone was flirtatious although she didn’t have a great deal of experience with flirtatious, or at least for the past four years or so she naively hadn’t noticed it relentlessly coming her way.
“I’m Lily Jacobs,” she answered.
“No, you’re not Lily Jacobs. You are an angel sent from heaven,” he surprised her by saying quietly, definitely flirtatiously, finally dropping her hand after holding it longer than necessary.
As he straightened Lily noticed the entire room changed and seemed even to shift at his words. The air became so thick it could be cut with a knife. Victor tensed and his eyes flew to where Nathaniel was still standing at the back of her chair. Laura slowly stood and her eyes slid to Lily, her hand moving to her throat in a strange gesture of imminent peril. And Lily could actually feel something dangerous emanating from behind her.
Lily bravely ignored whatever was happening and her eyes held Laura’s because they seemed the safest.
“What anniversary celebration?” she asked.
Laura started to answer, “It’s nothing, my dear –”
Jeff was moving to the fireplace and he interrupted his mother, “It’s not nothing. I wouldn’t say your thirtieth wedding anniversary is nothing.” He turned and blithely leaned an elbow on the mantel.
Lily gasped and opened her mouth to speak. She couldn’t believe that they’d cancelled their anniversary for her but Jeff wasn’t finished. His eyes moved to Nathaniel and when they did they were calculating.
“By the way, Nate, Georgia called. She’s pretty pissed off about something. Likely best if you put that damned ring on her finger finally. That’ll bring her to heel.”
Lily closed her mouth with a snap.
He had a girlfriend, a girlfriend that sounded very close to being a fiancée.
Of course.
Of course, of course, of course.
She knew it couldn’t be real. He would never have even looked at her anyway, not plain, small town Indiana girl Lily Jacobs. Even with her wish from Fazire, she’d never get a glorious man like Nathaniel McAllister.
Never.
“I hope you didn’t cancel your anniversary for me,” Lily covered her disappointment with words.
Laura’s eyes, which were not so kind at the moment but looked rather nettled, moved away from her son to Lily and immediately softened again.
“We’ve only postponed it until tomorrow.”
“Oh no! You must carry on,” Lily cried.
“It’s all been sorted, Lily. Not to worry,” Victor barged into the short, now dismissed discussion and then started purposefully toward the door saying, “Jeffrey, I’d like a word with you.”
“Oh for fuck’s sake, what have I done now?” Jeffrey muttered not-so-under his breath and Laura’s eyes turned back to annoyed. “I see, my dear brother, he doesn’t want a word with you,” Jeff said to Nathaniel looking strangely like a bratty little boy.
Nathaniel didn’t utter a word which seemed to anger Jeff more.
But Lily was wondering how Nathaniel was his brother. The brother thing made sense in the way Victor treated Nathaniel and Laura looked at him. But they didn’t share the same last name and they didn’t look a thing alike.
When Nathaniel was obviously not going to be lowered into a useless fight about what appeared to be nothing, Jeff started to slink away but stopped when he reached Lily.
“I don’t know who you are but I hope to see more of you.” He smiled, his boyish good looks and good humour restored and he seemed quite charming again.
She smiled back tentatively but somehow Lily found that he made her uncomfortable. For the first time in Lily’s life she took a near immediate dislike to someone.
After he left the room, Lily turned back to Laura.
“I feel terrible. Your anniversary –” she started.
“Really, Lily, it’s no trouble. I’m actually relieved. We can have a nice quiet night just the two of us. I’d rather that anyway. I’m sure Nathaniel can entertain you while Victor and I go out to a dinner a deux.”
Laura raised hopeful eyes to Nathaniel and even though she didn’t want to Lily turned in her chair to look at him too.
Gone was the suppressed violence in its place was bland unconcern.
“I should see to Georgia.” He’d been leaning his weight on his hand on the back of her chair and with his words, he pushed away.
“I’m sure Georgia would understand. We have a guest in the house,” Laura replied.
Nathaniel approached Laura and Lily watched in fascination as he stopped in front of her and kissed her forehead in a familiar loving way.
“I don’t live here anymore, remember?” His voice was light, even teasing, and Lily felt her insides melt (just a little).
“I suppose Jeffrey will find something for he and Lily to do,” Laura said this like a dare and Lily didn’t know what to make of that.
“I’m sure he will,” Nathaniel muttered, turned his dark eyes, impossibly dark eyes, to Lily and said in his deep voice, “Lily.”
Even as his voice sounding her name stole over her skin like a soft touch, he strode, just like his father, purposefully from the room.
And Lily could swear she heard Laura say the word, “Damn,” under her breath.
Chapter Seven
Nate
“I can’t believe I’m doing this.” Georgia’s voice was bitter and angry. “I can’t believe I agreed to attend your parent’s anniversary party with you after you just broke up with me. Tell me again why I’m doing this?”
Nate manoeuvred the Maserati into a parking spot, pulled up the emergency brake and shut down the car. Then he turned to Georgia, resting his forearm on the steering wheel.
“Out of respect for my parents,” he answered what he thought was obviously.
His words were short, his patience was fraying. She’d been carrying on since they left his flat and Nate vowed never again to get entangled with a spoiled-rotten, filthy-rich bitch.
“Well I’ve changed my mind,” she said sharply. “I’m not going to do it.”
He turned from her. “Then I’m sure you’ll find your own way home.”
She gasped in outraged shock as if there weren’t millions of taxis in London that would take her safely home and just like that, Nate was finished with her.
He exited the car and didn’t bother to help her alight as he normally would, a gentlemanly courtesy Laura had taught him years before. Then he walked to his parent’s home. He heard her high heels clicking on the pavement double time to keep up with his long strides. He didn’t knock because he didn’t have to, it was his home even though after all these years he still found that fact difficult to believe, and he strolled into the house.
He heard party sounds immediately, the low murmur of conversation and soft laughter.
Lily, he knew, was there somewhere.
Laura had called Nate to tell him she’d convinced Lily to stay another night and attend the party. His mother explained that Lily had woken stiff and sore and they’d called the physician straight away. Lily, Laura assured him, still had a clean bill of health but needed time to recuperate which Laura, being Laura, was determined to give her. Nate also had the feeling that Laura was instilling a bit of drama into the situation in order to keep Lily there, considering after she told him the story of Lily’s pain and suffering, she announced they were going out shopping.