Josh beamed a bright smile. “Who would make better company than my beautiful sister?” he said. “She’ll happily look after you.”
Ashamed, Amy blushed. That’s exactly right, Josh. Your sister wants to look after me, just not quite in the way you think!
Mistaking Amy’s silence, Josh smiled. “Great.” He looked at Celeste. “She’s going, sis.”
Celeste smiled sweetly. “Good.” She made her move.
Even though Josh had her in check, Celeste took his white queen with her black knight, her own queen and bishop already positioned to ensure that he had no place to move his king.
“Checkmate,” Josh said good-naturedly, then toppled his king. Laughing, he pulled Amy onto his lap and kissed her.
Annoyed at Celeste’s obvious game-playing, and Josh for being so easily duped, Amy pushed against him and accidentally knocked over the glass chessboard. The board shattered when it hit the ground.
Upset at her clumsiness, Amy shot off Josh’s lap and bent down to pick up the glass.
Celeste reached down quickly, grabbed Amy’s wrist and said harshly, “No, Amy. Leave it!”
Confused, Amy looked at her. “Why?”
Loosening her grip, but keeping a hold on Amy’s wrist, Celeste looked up. “Josh, can you get something to clear this up?”
“Sure,” Josh replied, and moved quickly toward the kitchen.
Alex, obviously sensing a storm brewing, decided to follow him.
Her eyebrows raised, Amy repeated, “Why?”
“It’s broken glass, for God’s sake!” Celeste looked down. “Lots of broken glass.” Her brow furrowed. “You’re only going to hurt yourself if you try to pick it up with your hands.”
Pulling her wrist free, Amy replied angrily, “Hurt myself!” She lowered her voice. “Don’t you think manipulating Josh is exactly what is going to hurt me?”
“We need time to talk, Amy.”
Amy stood and Celeste followed. “Fuck, you mean?”
Celeste reached out, and tucked a loose strand of hair behind Amy’s ear. “No,” she answered, her eyes troubled. “I mean talk.”
“Why don’t you go away like you did last time?”
“I’m staying, Amy.”
“You don’t care, do you?” Amy spat out. “You don’t care about the damage?”
“I do care, Amy,” Celeste replied, running her fingers lightly over Amy’s jawbone.
Amy shook her head. “You don’t.”
“Believe me, I care.” Celeste dropped her hand. “I care very, very much.”
Celeste looked vulnerable.
Amazingly, Amy’s anger disappeared. Memories of their last encounter flooded in. Her stomach tightened and her pulse picked up speed as she gazed at Celeste. Her eyes hungrily focused on her full mouth. Unconsciously, she took a step closer.
“We need time to figure this out,” Celeste said, watching Amy carefully.
Always fascinated by the fullness of Celeste’s mouth, Amy’s fingers ached to touch her. She reached out and brushed them over her succulent lips.
Celeste groaned lightly. Without hesitation, she captured the tip of Amy’s index finger in her mouth and sucked it.
Mesmerized, her mouth parted, Amy leaned in to…
She jolted back when Josh’s laughter broke through her haze. Shaking, she pulled her hand away.
Josh appeared through the patio doors chatting to Alex about the weekend football scores.
Stunned at what she had been about to do, Amy backed away from Celeste. She turned toward Josh. Stiffly, she listened to their conversation. At any other time she would have found their chat seriously amusing, as Alex didn’t know one end of a football from the other.
Alex had made it known to Amy that he had no interest in sports at school. Amateur dramatics was his thing, but recently, since dating a sports teacher, he embraced all things ‘athletic’ with relish.
“Are you okay, honey?” Josh asked, rubbing Amy’s arms.
“Yes,” Amy replied unsteadily.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes,” Amy said, clearing her throat. “Yes, I’m fine.”
“Good,” Josh replied. He looked at the ground. “Let’s get this mess cleared up.”
Chapter 29
Amy eyed the buttons to her left. After a few seconds thrumming her fingers, she decided to press one. She laughed in surprise when the swirl changed into jettisons of water.
Sitting in the hotel bathtub, Amy pressed all the buttons several times over, completely tickled by the change in the swirl of the water. Eventually, she sank back into the froth of suds and relaxed into the gentle swirl. Exhaling slowly, she decided that it was about time they upgraded the bathtub at home.
Picking up the soap, an image of Celeste dropped in her mind and she blushed. Amy still couldn’t believe that she almost kissed Celeste last Sunday. Soaping her breasts, she accepted that it was now riskier to keep Celeste at arm’s length than to try to sort out what was happening between them. Pooling some bubbles in her hand, she reassured herself that she had done the right thing by coming to New York with Celeste. Although they hadn’t discussed anything yet, this trip was all about sorting things out.
Blowing bubbles out of her hand, Amy thought about their arrival this morning. She squirmed as she recalled the relief she felt when the clerk handed them separate keys. Bringing her toes to the surface, she wiggled them, then sunk further into the tub, embarrassed that she hadn’t fully trusted Celeste when she said she wanted this weekend to talk.
Pressing a button for more hot water, Amy reflected on her day. After checking in, they went shopping. They found an art store and Celeste waited patiently as Amy thumbed her way through the stock before leaving with a bag of supplies.
Celeste, she discovered, knew a lot about art. Given the amount of traveling she’d done over the years that seemed natural. After the art store they stopped for coffee. Probably for the first time, Amy realized, she was getting to know who Celeste was and she was intriguing.
When they returned to the hotel after six, Amy stood outside her room door and smiled at Celeste’s light teasing that they needed to be ready for seven sharp. They were seeing a show, then going for something eat.
Amy slipped off her shoes and entered the bathroom. She smiled; the bathtub was huge. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d opted for a bath instead of a shower. Reaching for the shower knob, she decided that she didn’t have time now, but then hesitated. The urge to soak was too strong. Impulsively, she pressed the stopper down and ran the hot water.
Humming, Amy undressed. Eying the various bath salts as the tub filled, she tied her hair up. Stepping into it, she groaned as she luxuriated in the enormous tub. Sinking in, she inhaled the smell of the herbal-scented suds.
Relaxing, Amy closed her eyes and laid her head back and thought, just a few minutes.
Amy’s eyes flew open. Sitting bolt upright, she looked around. Dazed, it took a few moments for her brain to register where she was, and a few more for her to figure out what the noise was that woke her.
Brrr…brrr…Brrr...brrr.
“Shit…the phone!”
Amy shot out of the tub. Soaking wet, she skidded as she hurried toward the phone. Just as she picked it up, a side door opened.
Amy’s eyes almost popped out of her head when Celeste walked in to the room.
“I heard the phone ring,” Celeste said, looking Amy over. “I thought that you must have fallen asleep.”
Unaware there was a connecting door, Amy flushed all over. It took a moment for her to figure out where the distant voice was coming from. Remembering that someone was on the line, she quickly put the phone to her ear.
“Hello?” Amy squeaked.
“Hi, Amy?”
Realizing she was naked, Amy’s face burned bright red. “Hi…Josh!”
Frantically, Amy scanned the room for something to cover herself. She eyed her weekend bag at the far end of her room. There was noth
ing.
“Everything okay, honey?”
If you consider standing naked and dripping wet in front of your always-amorous sister okay, then I’m definitely not okay.
Amy tugged hard on the bedspread. “Yes…” she said, grunting. “Yes. Everything’s okay.”
“I couldn’t reach you on your cell.”
Tucked firmly under the mattress, the bedspread refused to budge. “It’s…in my purse… so I didn’t…hear it. How’s…things…with…you?” Amy puffed.
Celeste moved toward the bathroom.
“Fine,” Josh replied then asked, “Honey, have you been running?”
“No,” Amy wheezed. “I’m…just…trying…to…get…ready.”
“We’re missing you,” Josh said, sounding confused that his wife was panting. “Here I’ll let you speak to Chris.”
Approaching Amy, Celeste stood in front of her with a bath towel.
Amy grabbed the towel then stepped back. She let out a silent yelp when the bedside cabinet jabbed her leg. Clutching the towel, she mumbled her thanks and unintentionally looked Celeste over. Her dress sense was impeccable. Usually, she wore her hair in a ponytail, but tonight, it was down. Its length made it curl slightly as it fell around her shoulders.
Amy caught her bottom lip. Celeste’s expensive white linen trouser suit and camisole top looked stunning. God, she, really does have an incredible body—lean, sleek, full-breasted. Amy gulped. Her eyes widened when she saw the camisole Celeste was wearing was almost sheer. Pulse rising, she swallowed. Aware that there was no way she would get through the evening with that as a distraction, she held the towel tightly and said, “Shouldn’t…you…button that?”
Celeste looked down and smiled. “Yes,” she replied. “I was about to when the phone rang.”
Relieved, Amy forced herself to focus when she heard her son’s voice.
“Hi, Mommy,” Christopher said. His voice trembled. “Mac bwit me!”
Wondering why Josh hadn’t mentioned this earlier, Amy frowned. “Are you all right, baby?”
Celeste motioned to her watch.
Tensing, Amy ignored her.
“Yesth,” Christopher replied, his lispy voice sounding brave. “But it urts.”
Concerned, Amy reassured. “It’s okay, baby. When Mommy gets back, she’ll kiss it all better. Okay?”
Christopher sniffled, but didn’t reply.
“Sweetheart, is Daddy there?” Amy asked. She could hear slight rustling as he nodded. She imagined him standing there with a little pouted lip, miffed that his mommy wasn’t there to soothe him. She asked again, “Chris, can you pass the phone to Daddy?”
Christopher said nothing.
Aware that Christopher didn’t want to give up the phone, Amy said tenderly “Chris, can I speak to Daddy? Just for a moment, then I’ll come right back to you, baby, I promise. I just need to speak to him quickly.”
Christopher sniffed. “Okay, Mommy.”
“Amy, honey, it’s nothing,” Josh said reassuringly. “Mac nipped him because Chris,” he said sternly, obviously directing his next words to their son, “would not stop pulling on his tail! Even though he was told to stop.” Josh added softly, “Amy, don’t worry about it. The reason I didn’t mention it was because there wasn’t a mark and he didn’t even make a peep. This is the first I’ve heard out of him all day about it.” He chuckled. “Chris is looking for sympathy, honey, and he knows right where to get it.”
Immediately, the tension left Amy. She smiled at Celeste’s frowning face reassuringly. “Okay, that’s a relief,” she replied. “Can I speak to him again?”
Waiting for Josh to pass the phone back to Christopher, Amy knew that she needed to distract her son from focusing on her being away. “Hi, Chris, Mommy needs you to be a brave boy, just like you always are, and look after Daddy. Do you think you can manage that? It’s a big responsibility, but I know you can do it.”
Amy smiled confidently at Celeste and waited for his response. Christopher loved nothing better than being told he was a brave boy.
“Okay, Mommy,” Christopher replied quickly.
When she heard the tinge of pride in his voice at being given the task, Amy winked at Celeste.
Celeste raised an eyebrow then tilted her head inquiringly.
Completely disarmed that such a small movement was so charming. Amy felt lost when her body responded hotly.
Celeste lifted her hand, and tapping her watch, showed Amy that it was six forty-five. Amy nodded, then put her head down to stop any further distraction. She spoke to her son. A few moments later, she lifted her head when the connecting door closed.
Amy chatted with Christopher, then Ryan briefly, and said goodbye to Josh. Quickly dressing, she applied some light makeup then let her hair fall around her shoulders. Her black, thinly strapped dress hung just below the knee and accentuated the fullness of her breasts. It hugged the curves of her hips and showed off her shapely tanned legs, which were enhanced by three-inch heels.
Looking in the mirror, Amy gave herself a once-over. Not bad for a mother of two, she thought, as the door clicked shut behind her.
Chapter 30
Returning to their rooms, Amy stood in the elevator with Celeste and two strangers. Leaning against the back wall, she closed her eyes and thought how easy being with Celeste truly was. Tonight, they had seen a Broadway production. Amy smiled. She had enjoyed the musical, a rework of an opera she had seen with her dad a few years ago.
Amy’s smile broadened as she remembered seeing the opera in London. She recalled leaving the theater with her dad, so choked with emotion she couldn’t speak through the twenty-minute taxi ride back to their hotel.
Warmed by the memory, Amy dropped her head slightly. Biting lightly on her bottom lip, she thought back to dinner.
The restaurant that Celeste chose, on Fifty-Fourth Street, was a blend of Southeast Asian and French food. The dining area was large and noisy. Amy was secretly pleased when Celeste arranged for a recessed booth, which muted the noise.
They talked easily about the types of food and wine they enjoyed. Amy wasn’t surprised that Celeste had an eclectic taste, given her passion for cooking. When they ordered, she went with Celeste’s recommendation and chose the restaurant’s signature dish.
Amy thought back to their conversation at the restaurant. She remembered how explorative Celeste was with her, drawing her out throughout the evening into conversation. She recalled Celeste’s subtle compliments about her outfit, her hair, her eyes, even her perfume. She wanted to return them, but couldn’t. She was too shy and unused to receiving such sincere compliments from another woman.
To Amy’s surprise, during the meal, she had confided in Celeste that her dad planned that they would travel extensively, visiting every continent and many countries, when Amy finished university.
†
“Vietnam,” Amy told Celeste wistfully, “was one of the countries my dad wanted to visit.”
“You must miss him very much,” Celeste said, lifting her glass of white wine.
Holding the fork to her mouth, Amy looked at her sharply.
Celeste returned her gaze as she sipped her wine.
Amy was unsure if Celeste could ever understand such a loss, then she remembered Felice and realized that Celeste’s own life experience, her work as a doctor with MSF, positioned her perfectly to understand.
“Yes,” Amy replied. Losing her appetite for what had been a delicious dish of lobster with Thai herbs, she put her fork down and pushed the plate away. “Every day,” she added with a note of longing, “I miss him every day.”
Amy wiped her mouth with her napkin.
Celeste put her glass down. Leaning in, she brushed Amy’s cheek lightly with her fingers and said in a low voice, “Tell me about him.”
Amy shrugged. “There is so much to tell.”
Leaning back, Celeste encouraged, “Tell me why he wanted to visit Vietnam?”
Amy hesitated. She looked at C
eleste. For the first time, in a long time, she wanted to talk about her father. “He loved Vietnamese architecture,” she replied.
“Why?”
Amy shrugged. “I think, for him, it expressed a combination of natural balance and harmony.”
“I love Vietnamese architecture,” Celeste said softly. Looking into Amy’s eyes, she added, “Did he plan to see the Giac Lam Pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City?”
“Yes,” Amy answered her eyes bright. “That was the one he intended visiting on our trip to Vietnam.”
“It’s wonderful, Amy,” Celeste said softly. “It’s considered to be the city’s oldest pagoda.”
Celeste’s eyes carried a depth of warmth that lulled Amy. “I had no idea until today that you were into architecture or art.”
“Yes,” Celeste replied.
“Tell me about your trip to Vietnam.”
Amy’s appetite returned when Celeste talked about her travels. She listened and was surprised at, not only Celeste’s knowledge of Vietnamese architecture, but the breadth of her knowledge of some of the most treasured architectural sights on the planet.
Amy lost herself when they discussed the treasures they would like to see, from the lavish Meenakshi Temple in India to the obscure Solovki Monastery in Russia.
Eventually, when there was a lull in the conversation, Celeste said softly, “If we are to do this, Amy, I think we need some conditions.”
Lifting her coffee cup, Amy hesitated before asking, “What do you mean?”
“I mean,” Celeste replied, spooning sugar into her cup, “that we both agree on a time limit.”
“Time limit?” Befuddled, Amy slowly put her cup down.
Holding Amy’s gaze, Celeste said patiently, “It must end, Amy. That’s the whole point of this exercise.”
Swallowing, Amy repeated, “Exercise.”
“Affair, Amy,” Celeste replied, as if clearing up a mystery.
Amy shook her head. “But it hasn’t even started—”
“—It has,” Celeste said, her eyes shining. She added, almost soothingly, “Amy it started a long time ago.”
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