Читать книгу If the Stiletto Fits... - Wendy Etherington - Страница 11

LILY’S HEAD actually spun. She gripped the counter for support. He couldn’t—he wouldn’t—

“I know this comes as a shock,” he said gently. “I’d really planned to retire last year, about the time you came along with your offer. But your business seemed like such a challenge, and I just couldn’t resist.”

Her mama had always said she should have had “Born to be a Diva” tattooed on her butt the moment she was born. And she could feel a massive fit coming on hard. He couldn’t do this to her. He was deserting. “Old people retire! You’re, you’re—”

“Thirty-two. But I’m financially set, and I’m ready to get out of the city, out of the rush and craze. I’m ready to settle down. I’m going to Connecticut and open a café.”

“Connecticut!” She paced across the tiled kitchen floor. “What’s so freakin’ great about Connecticut?”

“It’s quiet and relaxing. I’ve already bought the farm. You should see it.”

Lily ground to a halt. This was a nightmare. “You bought a farm? Like with cows and chickens and stuff?”

He smiled and looked thoughtful. “No animals yet, but there are stables, so I guess I’ll get some horses. Or maybe I’ll breed dogs. Cocker spaniels or Labradors.”

She tried to picture James, suit-and-tie-at-every-hour-of-the-day-and-night James, rolling around a stable with a litter of baby cocker spaniels. Nope. The picture just wouldn’t focus.

She’d spent more than half her life on a farm. Her father had grown corn, which he’d sold to make ethanol, and her mother had believed in growing or raising nearly everything they consumed.

The work was backbreaking, hard and mostly thankless. Tractors were expensive and hard to maintain. You were always at the mercy of the weather. Chickens stank. Cows had to be led around by the nose, or they’d get struck by lightning during thunderstorms.

Suave, urban James had absolutely no idea what he was getting into.

Lily wanted to panic. Or scream. She was hitting her creative peak thanks to him. She never had to worry about the business details, because she knew he’d take care of them. He was critical to her business, to her life. She absolutely couldn’t run either of them without him.

“James, you can’t do this. I need you.”

“You’ll be fine. You were fine before I arrived.”

She shook her head, rushing toward him, tempted to jump across the bar and into his lap and bodily force him to stay. “I wasn’t fine. I was a mess. I went through two assistants in four months before you came. Before that, I was alone and clueless.”

“I’ll help you find someone else. Someone who’s reliable and understands you.”

Knowing she was acting like an idiot but not caring, she poked out her bottom lip. “I want you.”

His eyes softened. “You don’t need me, though.”

“Yes, I—”

“I have to go, Lily.” James stood, shoving his hand through his hair as he turned away, walking across the room toward the windows. “I had plans for my life. Plans that didn’t include managing spoiled movie stars and out-of-control divas.” He glanced at her over his shoulder. “No offense.”

She nearly crushed the stem of her wineglass. “Oh, gee, thanks.”

He turned back to the view. Darkness had fully enveloped the sky, so the buildings were just a shadowy outline dotted with millions of lights. She knew without standing beside him what he saw when he looked down—the cabs and limos crawling through the streets, the rectangular grid of office buildings set against the silhouette of high-rises, throngs of pedestrians moving like a single determined wave across intersections.

“I’d always planned to go to culinary school,” he said quietly. “Or business school. Instead, I wound up managing my parents’ crazy career, then their friends’, then I became successful and settled on just one client at a time. I was paid well. I enjoyed the change of balancing such a complicated mix of business interests. Even life in jaded, beautiful L.A. was fun once.

“But I want out of the race. I want something else. I want to pick up my life where it veered off course fifteen years ago.”

She understood probably better than anybody how the need to fulfill your dreams was a vital part of life. But she was desperate to hold on to her own dream, and she needed James to do it. He couldn’t possibly have thought this through. He didn’t realize what he was leaving.

Shoving her wine aside, she stalked toward him. “Why a café? Hell, Starbucks is the wildest place in town.”

“My café will be more like a gathering place for the locals. You can read the paper. Exchange news and gossip. Maybe I’ll invite book clubs to meet in the evenings. I could learn to make bread and show off my famous cheesecake recipe.”

Lily darted around him and planted her hands on her hips. “You can make cheesecake?” she accused in a dangerous whisper. She was holding on to her temper by a thread. Fear was desperately trying to push its way through her body. And, at the core of it all, she just plain didn’t understand why. Why did he want to leave? How could he?

He glanced down at her, his eyes bright with affection. “I’ll make you the chocolate-turtle one before I go.”

The resolved expression on his face made her throat start to close, and not even the promise of cheesecake could cheer her. Her mind darted about for another logical argument. That was the way to get to him. She didn’t think he’d respond to tears or terror. “Why Connecticut?” she managed to ask in a strained voice. “You could open a café in the city. We could hire an assistant for you here. You could stay in charge but have more help.”

“The commotion of the city is what I’m trying to escape.” He lifted his hand as if he might stroke her cheek, then let his arm fall back by his side. “It’s not you, Lily, I promise.”

Her hands shook, but she grabbed his arm, turning him toward the windows. Tapping the glass, she asked, “Can you really leave that view, that energy, behind? God, James, I want to shake you. The city is the most amazing place on earth. When you have perfection, how could you possibly ask for more?”

“You grew up with trees and wide-open spaces. Stars you can see clearly at night. No subway or pollution in sight. How could you possibly ask for more?”

“I grew up in the boondocks! Have you ever tried to get a decent cappuccino on a farm?”

“I’ll make my own.”

“What about restaurants and takeout?”

“I’ll have those culinary-school classes to fall back on.”

“What about shoes?”

“I’d ask you to send them to me, but I really don’t think a pair of four-inch stilettos would suit me.”

Lily rubbed her temples. She certainly couldn’t outwit him, or outthink him. She had to figure out something else. And quick.

“You should get to your date.” He glanced at his watch. “Me, too. We’ll talk in the morning.” He started toward the door.

“What about watches?” she asked as she stalked after him. His calmness made her want to scream in contrast. “I bet they don’t sell cool watches on street corners in Connecticut.”

At the door, he turned back. “Maybe you’ll give me one—as a parting gift.” He reached out and grasped her hand, giving it a quick squeeze. “You look lovely tonight, by the way. That silver blouse really suits you. And, of course, it’s sparkly—perfect for the luminous Lily Reaves.”

He was out the door before she could respond.

And a good thing, too, since she wasn’t quite sure she could have resisted slugging him.

Sweet compliments as he destroyed her world by quitting? James Chamberlin had no idea how dirty she’d fight if she was pushed far enough.

No idea at all.

LIGHT-HEADED FROM her third glass of chardonnay and still depressed and frantic over James’s announcement, Lily sipped her wine and tried hard to focus on the elegant Manhattan restaurant where Brian had brought her. Black linen tablecloths, roses on the table, fine china and crystal, well-dressed patrons and spectacular service.

He certainly had excellent taste, though part of her worried about the expense. Brian’s business wasn’t nearly as successful and stable as hers.

“How are the preparations for the Spring Spectacular coming?” he asked.

Lily chewed a bite of salmon slowly to give herself time to prepare an answer to his question. She settled on a simple “Fine.”

What if this was the last big show she did? What if James’s L.A. contacts dumped her after he left? She really wanted to see a pair of her sparkly shoes on that red carpet again. What if—

She cut herself off in an effort to make coherent conversation. “How do your spring orders look?”

Brian shrugged. “Not sure. My business manager handles all that stuff.”

Though that was true for Lily as well, she certainly knew on a weekly basis how business was progressing.

“So the Spectacular preparations are going well?”

She sighed. “Yes. As usual, James has everything under control. We’re actually ahead of schedule.”

“But are you okay? You seem distracted.”

Lily laid her hand across her stomach. She was regretting this date more by the second. She should have called her friends and spent the night crying on their shoulders. “I think I’m just stressed. It’s been an…interesting day.”

“Oh.” Brian cleared his throat. “Sorry. We’ve had some great times together, don’t you think?”

Struggling to adjust to the change in conversation, she nodded slowly. “Well, yeah, I guess.”

He kicked his smile up a notch. “I think we should take our relationship to the next level.”

Lily suppressed a wince. “Well, I—”

“Will you marry me?”

Her jaw dropped. “Excuse me?”

“I think we should get married.”

This night was just too weird to comprehend. “You’re kidding.” She waved her hand as he opened his mouth to speak. “Doesn’t matter if you’re kidding or not. No.”

Cute, blond, but obviously hard-of-hearing Brian frowned. “No?”

“We’ve only been out a few times. Don’t you think it’s a bit soon to get married?”

He reached across the table and grasped her hand. His blue eyes softened. “When it’s right, why wait?”

Lily tapped her nails against the table. Do you want the whole list, or just the top twenty-five? “I’m not getting married, Brian.”

“We’ll have a long engagement.”

“Ever,” she finished.

“Of course you are, darling. You’re lovely and talented, and you need a partner who’ll support and understand you.”

“That’s what a manager is for.” With James running her life and business affairs, what did she need a husband for? She wouldn’t even think about the possibility that he’d really leave. She would find a way to talk him out of this crazy retirement thing.

Since this was the second time tonight she’d found herself dealing with a man who was dead set on pursing a really bad idea, she figured she’d give the logical argument another swing. “We don’t know each other well enough to get married.”

“I know you.”

“What’s my favorite color?”

“Uh…”

“What’s my favorite thing to do?”

“Uh…” He broadened his smile. “We’ll learn all that.”

“Sure we will. It’s called dating.” There was something very odd about all this—not just odd because she hadn’t seen this coming, but suspicious odd. “Don’t most men want sex instead of marriage? Or at least sex first?”

His eyes twinkled. “So glad you brought that up…I’m free after dinner.”

I’ll bet. Sex aside, this was just weird. She and Brian had mild chemistry and business interests in common, but nothing that warranted a proposal. What was really going on? She might be a former farm girl, but she’d lived in the city for ten years. She hadn’t just fallen off the turnip truck.

Lily pulled her hand from his grasp, then leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest. “Okay. What’s the real deal?”

“We should merge our fashion empires. Think of the possibilities.”

“Our—” She didn’t have a fashion empire—though that was a promising goal—and she knew he didn’t have anything close to an empire. If he didn’t know what his sales were for the spring, he might not even have a business anymore. “So, this is a business proposition, not a proposal.”

“I figured a proposal would better appeal to you as a woman.”

“A lie, as opposed to the truth, you mean.”

He shrugged. “A woman as successful as you needs someone to support her, someone to escort her to functions, someone who won’t be offended when she puts her work first.”

She gasped. The constant reminders about the Spectacular, the seeming lack of direction regarding his business, the way he’d conveniently forgotten his wallet on their last date. It all suddenly made sense. “You’re looking for a sugar mama.”

He looked shocked for a second, then laughed. “I thought that had gone out decades ago. It’s such a charming expression.” Then he stopped abruptly and leaned forward. “Actually, yes, that’s exactly what I had in mind.”

“I see,” she said. She supposed there was still enough of the farm girl in her to actually be shocked by this jaded idea.

“You need a man who’s tied to you legally,” he went on. “One you can trust.”

“I trust James. You, however, I don’t.” She rose and tossed her napkin on her plate. “Goodbye, Brian.”

Eyes wide, Brian stood as well. “Lily, I’m only trying to help. As a woman, you’re in a vulnerable position.”

She stalked two steps forward, planted her four-inch stiletto sandals dangerously close to his instep and glared. “Do I look vulnerable to you?”

“Uh, well…actually—”

“Goodbye, Brian.” She spun away, almost plowing into the waiter who’d obviously rushed over to see what the problem was.

“Madam, can I get you some more wine?” the waiter asked, his expression carefully bland.

I need a lot more wine, pal. She gave him a wan smile. “No, thank you. I’m leaving.”

Brian grabbed her arm. “Do you think you can spot me some cash? I’m kind of tapped out.”

How the hell did she get herself into these situations? She glanced at the waiter, who’d stepped back several feet. She crooked her finger at him, and when he stood in front of her, Lily said quietly, “We’re going to be splitting the check.” She fumbled in her bag for some cash, quickly tallied her dinner, plus a tip to cover the whole check—since she doubted Brian would part with his portion—then slid the bills into the waiter’s hand.

She cut her gaze toward Brian. “He’s on his own.” Whirling, she strode out of the dining room without a backward glance. Red-faced with anger and embarrassment, she retrieved her coat, then stepped outside and asked the valet to hail her a cab. After giving the cabbie her address, she fumed in the back seat.

What was with men these days?

The guy she’d dated before Brian had only been interested in a one-night stand. Then she’d met Brian and had found his easy smile and awareness of her industry refreshing. She’d only had a moment of pause over his slightly superior attitude, though most designers had something of an ego, or at least blind ambitions. If you didn’t believe in your designs, no one else would. But had she foreseen him being a smiling hyena, looking for a woman to feed off for contacts and financial support?

No, she had to say that had been a bit unexpected.

“Merge our fashion empires. What an idiot,” she said aloud.

“Whatever you say,” the cabbie returned in a thick Brooklyn accent.

“Even if I had a fashion empire, why would I want to merge it with a guy via a marriage contract? I mean, they have regular contracts for that kind of stuff.”

“Sure they do.”

“And since I’m not even sure I want to have sex with him, I see absolutely no benefit to me. I mean, isn’t that what marriage is all about—regular and sure-thing sex?”

“Not in my house.”

Another hit to marriage. She’d seen her sister settle into her happy, domestic life, but sex never seemed at the top of her list. There was the house, the kids, the laundry and the carpool. And her husband seemed just as hurried, trying to advance at his job and earn enough to keep his family comfortable and happy.

None of it was easy. Yet they managed. They loved each other, and they managed. Lily admired them, even as she doubted her life would ever be that balanced.

“Can you believe that man! He actually proposed.”

The cabbie shook his head. “I’ll be damned, lady. You just can’t trust anybody these days.”

“Hear, hear. And he’s not the first! Last year this doctor I was dating proposed that I marry him, move to Connecticut and have six kids together.”

“Men are pigs.”

Lily stared out the window at the passing city lights, the people streaming past the shops, the crush of cabs and limos outside the hotels. Damn, she loved New York. Full of crazy men, but still the best.

“Here ya go,” the cabbie said as he pulled up to the curb in front of her building.

“Thanks.”

The doorman opened the cab’s door and greeted her with a dignified nod.

Lily paid the cabbie and tossed in an extra twenty. Hardworking cabbies were cool. Designers with an attitude and delusions of matrimony were not.

JAMES STARED at Teresa over his menu. “Did you say something?”

“Twice.” She smiled. “I asked what you were going to have.”

“I’m not sure. Maybe the fish. I’m not really hungry.” He set his menu aside and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He couldn’t get the look of shock and—dare he say—hurt on Lily’s face out of his mind.

To say the least, her reaction was unexpected.

Though she was flamboyant, disorganized and temperamental, she was also smart, savvy and talented. With the money pouring in from her designs, she certainly needed a financial adviser, but a decent secretary could handle her appointments and the office work.

She didn’t need someone like him to hold her hand, get her out of bed in the morning or rescue her from her latest crisis. All things he’d done over and over for past clients.

Maybe, at times, she lacked complete confidence in herself. She had confidence in her work, but not in her ability to multitask, to handle her business, to make the best decisions. But he saw all those qualities in her. And more.

As a man, he couldn’t deny her physical presence—bright green eyes, long legs, black hair and toned figure. But her temper, all-night parties, spontaneity to the point of head-spinning craziness, flashy personality and—had he listed her fiery temper?—had him shaking his head. Too much like his mother and her wild actor friends, the people he’d known from childhood, but never understood or felt comfortable with. A business-casual distance from Lily was a necessity for him.

Client she was. And client she’d stay.

“James?”

James blinked at Teresa. He had the feeling she’d called his name more than once. He reached across the table and squeezed her hand—just as he’d done to Lily earlier.

Get her out of your mind, buddy. The workday is done. Thank God.

“I’m sorry,” he said to Teresa. She was the kind of woman he belonged with, the kind of woman who wanted a quiet, normal life. “I had a wild day at work, and I’m having a hard time setting the details aside.”

“I saw several pairs of Lily’s shoes at Bloomingdale’s the other day. They were really…colorful.”

“That’s Lily.”

Teresa smiled, and pushed a strand of her blond bob behind her ear. “A second-grade schoolteacher doesn’t have much use for four-inch stilettos, I’m afraid.”

“I wouldn’t think that’s a bad thing. They look really uncomfortable to me.”

The waitress appeared with their drinks, then took their orders. James ate in this casual restaurant down the street from his apartment often. He liked the worn tables, open-air kitchen, simple food. Others obviously agreed with him, he thought, noting the entryway crowded with people waiting for tables.

After a sip of wine, James admitted, “I told Lily about my retirement today.”

“Ah. I guess she didn’t take it well.”

“No.”

“She relies on you. She probably feels you’re abandoning her.”

“I thought she’d throw things at me.”

“And she cried instead?”

He angled his head. How did other women know this kind of stuff about each other? Teresa and Lily had never met; they were as unalike as two women could be. Were there Cliff Notes somewhere? Maybe a course? “She was upset.”

“Give her some time. She’ll accept it and move on—without missing a beat, I’ll bet.”

Well, he wouldn’t mind if she missed him a little. Even if he had begun his career with reluctance, he’d gotten pretty damn good at it.

But not for much longer. Soon he’d only have himself to worry about. Himself and maybe a family of his own.

He could envision Teresa embracing retirement with him. His culinary classes. His marketing studies on the latte business. She’d also fit in well with his horses, or maybe dog breeding. She’d enjoy helping him run a café. And his life would finally be regular like everybody else’s.

“You’re right. She’ll be fine without me.”

“People like Lily always come out on top.”

She made the comment without any jealousy or anger. Graciousness. Wasn’t that an ideal quality in a mate? “They do indeed. Mostly because she’s determined that’s where she belongs.” Considering, James sipped his wine. “It’s kind of an odd mix of willpower and ego.”

“From the descriptions you’ve given me, she seems really…flashy.”

“Oh, she is. She certainly fits in much better with my parents’ theater friends than I do.”

Smiling, Teresa nodded. “Your parents are very flamboyant, too.”

“Especially Mother.”

“But entertaining. The night I met them at that party, and your mother and her friend reenacted the entire final scene of a play they did ten years ago? Amazing. She was obviously born to her craft.”

He liked talking with Teresa. They were friends, and their relationship was comfortable. With his parents’ volatile marriage as his first impression of lifetime commitment, he’d figured out really early that was not what he wanted for himself. He didn’t need impulsiveness and all-consuming passion. Flames like that burned out—or burned each other up. He’d seen it happen over and over again among his parents’ friends.

Before he could respond to Teresa, someone called his name.

He turned to see his good friend and lawyer, Dalton Roberts, approaching their table with a slinky blonde clinging to his arm.

Dalton had moved to Manhattan from South Carolina several years ago after his law practice had fallen apart. His partner and his wife had had an affair that devastated him, so now he was a confirmed bachelor and play-the-field guy.

Actually, he and Lily were very alike. If James didn’t have a strict aversion to playing matchmaker with friends and business associates—between anybody, really—he’d encourage them to go out.

He rose and introduced his buddy to Teresa, then was introduced to Dalton’s date, Cindy. James appreciated Teresa’s ability to send the new woman a welcoming smile and stare into her eyes rather than at her chest. Dalton tended to go for flash over substance in choosing women, but Cindy and her well-endowed figure was a new, uh…high.

The waitress appeared to offer the new guests drinks, and James encouraged them to hang out until their own table was ready. With his longish blond hair and quick smile, Dalton was “dreamy” and easy to talk to, according to the female population. Teresa might as well meet his friends.

“So, how’s business?” Dalton asked James.

“Good. Spring is a big season for us.” Actually, he’d told Dalton he’d get him near-the-front seats for the Spectacular—he was sure his friend would enjoy checking out the models—but he didn’t want to say so in front of Cindy. He expected his buddy would want to come solo.

Dalton took a sip of the whiskey the waitress brought, then grinned. “Any woman who showed up at my door wearing those high-assed shoes I saw in that ad on Fifth…Whoa, baby.”

The ad was provocative—showing a woman from behind, wearing no top as she smiled teasingly over her shoulder and dressed in a short, black skirt, fish-nets and a pair of Lily’s red stilettos.

Cindy leaned forward, and James feared they all might get to know her a little too familiarly if she made that motion then drew a deep breath. “You’re the one who works for Lily Reaves?”

She said Lily’s name with the same breathy quality he’d witnessed in countless women the last several months. Women apparently worshiped shoes with the same fervor as men worshiped sports. Or women.

“She makes the most amazing shoes,” Cindy continued. “I’ve got on a pair now, in fact.” She lifted her leg above the table, obviously intending to show everyone, but Dalton tamped her down.

James exchanged a look with Teresa, who grinned at him and shrugged. Their quiet dinner was turning into a sideshow, with Lily being the topic of conversation. Gracious didn’t even begin to cover the woman’s positive qualities.

Yep, she’d fit into his plans perfectly.