By seven she had to concede he was not coming.
It was after ten and Lianne was in bed when the phone rang. She knew who was calling.
“Hello?”
“Just got out. Too late to come over. Want to go to the beach this weekend?” Tray said.
She could hear the background noise of the street.
“You’ve been there for a long time.”
“It’s not my crisis, Protection, Inc. got involved peripherally. But once the president heard of the situation, he called in some experts. I had to go over everything more than once. They don’t like it, but that doesn’t change the facts.”
“About?”
He sighed. “Damn, I’m so tired I forgot. Just say a minor glitch in Brussels and leave it at that.”
“How about we go to your place in Richmond. That would be more practical.”
“And you are a practical woman, right?”
“Yes.”
“Think of me before you go to sleep,” he said and hung up.
As if she’d think of anything else.
Emily called Lianne the next morning right after she arrived at work.
“Tray wants to know if you are available to attend the concert at Kennedy Center tonight. He has season tickets and finds he can attend tonight’s performance. It’s the music of John Williams. He said if you can go, he’ll pick you up at seven and to plan to have a late supper afterward.”
“Tell Tray thanks. I’ll be ready.” Lianne loved attending concerts and performances at the Kennedy Center. It gave her a chance to dress up. Since Tray rarely saw her outside of the office in the past, everything she had would be new to him. Too bad. She’d have loved an excuse to splurge on a new dress. Still, she was saving her money for her precious baby. Even a night at Kennedy Center wouldn’t sway her.
Tray knocked on her door promptly at seven.
“You look lovely,” he said when she opened the door.
Lianne wore a long burgundy velvet dress, with a high collar. She’d arranged her hair swept up and pinned with glittering combs. A bit more makeup than she normally wore complemented the deep color of her gown. She felt stylish and feminine with the glittering jewelry that complemented the outfit.
“Thank you.” She was pleased he thought so. She might not be able to compete with his model-gorgeous girlfriends, but she did dress up nicely.
“Sorry for the short notice. I have season tickets and often give them to employees or clients, but had saved these for tonight. I like his work. If I had been home earlier, I would have invited you earlier,” he said.
“I had no other plans, so this is a special treat.” A date. They had made love several times, been married a month and she counted this as their first real date. Did Tray realize that? They’d had several meals together, but he and various staff members often had meals together when discussing business. Those didn’t count.
She even felt as shy as a first date.
“Ready?”
She handed him her coat and he helped her put it on. In moments they were speeding toward the glittering Kennedy Center. Lighted at night it looked like a huge confection, its reflection doubling in the Potomac River. Columns marched around the building. Despite its huge size, it looked light and magical with all the illumination.
Valet parking took care of the car. Lianne loved mingling with the others who had come to hear the music. Glitter and dazzling displays of jewelry had her gazing around in awe. Conversations ebbed and flowed, laughter rang out.
“It’s always the same, yet unexpected and wondrous,” she said, holding Tray’s arm. “I love coming here.”
“You’ll have to let me know what you want to see and I’ll keep those tickets,” he said as they moved through the groups chatting and greeting acquaintances.
Tray spoke to a couple on his right, introducing Lianne to the McGillroys. He nodded to a beautiful woman with one of the junior congressmen from Wisconsin. Lianne wondered if she was one he used to date. She fit the profile—slender, beautiful and exquisitely attired. The dress Lianne had been so happy with now seemed conservative in comparison.
“A bit too much skin for the Kennedy Center, I’d say,” he murmured when they were past.
“I thought men liked to see skin.”
He glanced at her.
“On the right woman and at the right time.”
She couldn’t have written anything more perfect to say.
The music was wonderful. She enjoyed the entire program. Tray had been attentive, holding her hand during much of the performance. Which, given all they’d done together, should not have been the big deal it was. Lianne could hardly listen to the music. Her entire body was tingling from that connection. Her senses swam with awareness and desire. She wanted to drive back to his place and make love all night.
After the show, he drove to a small restaurant near the Mall. It was dark and intimate. Lianne was charmed he’d thought of it for their late dinner.
The maître d’ seated them in a small alcove, with enough light to read the menu, yet with a definite romantic overtone. She glanced at Tray. The man constantly surprised her. She never thought about him as being romantic.
“This is lovely,” she said.
He nodded, reading the menu. “A friend recommended it. Could do with a bit more light.”
So much for romance, she thought with a wry sigh.
After they ordered, Lianne sipped her iced water. She was not drinking wine tonight—not until after the baby came—if she should be so lucky. What to talk about? Not work. She would not go there. Nor their odd relationship. Did she and Tray have anything else in common?
“I need your help,” he said.
“Oh?”
“The house Uncle Hal and I lived in was built in the 1920s. He upgraded it when he bought it but that was thirty years ago. I’m not much into that kind of thing. I like the way your apartment feels, so can you do something with the house before I try to rent it out? I thought we could go room by room when we’re there, deciding what needed to be done. I’ll make sure the electricity and plumbing is up-to-date, but I draw the line at figuring out paint colors.”
“I’d be happy to.”
Tray nodded. That was taken care of. He’d hoped she’d agree. He knew to build a team, people had to share a common goal. He’d thought about it a lot in his downtime in Europe. He and Lianne weren’t a team yet, though they did share one common goal. But he wanted more. A project they both could work on would do the trick—at least he hoped so.
“It’ll probably take a while,” he cautioned.
“I hope we can do it in a few weeks. You don’t want the house to remain vacant too long, at least that’s what Annalise is always saying. We can scope out the project this weekend, make a time schedule, list items to have repaired or replaced. Did you want to do the work yourself or hire someone?”
“Do it myself?” Tray hadn’t thought about that. He remembered hot summer days when he and Uncle Hal had painted the entire downstairs. The walls hadn’t been touched since, if he remembered correctly.
She watched him. Did she think he couldn’t do it?
“You’d help, too?” he asked.
“Sure. I could get Annalise and Dominic to join in, I bet. If you really want things done fast, we could invite the entire O’Mallory family down one weekend. With thirteen of us working, fourteen counting you, we could sweep through in a day.”
“Let’s start out with you and me.” The plan was to build something together, not whip through the project. “Besides, I thought you weren’t going to tell anyone about our marriage.”
“I wouldn’t have to tell them anything about that, only say a friend needed help.”
“We’ll see.”
She laughed. “You’ll make a perfect father. That’s what my folks say when they are stalling and will eventually say no.”
He liked the sparkle in her eyes and the sound of her laughter. It surprised him when she grew serious a m
oment later.
“It doesn’t bother you, keeping our marriage secret, does it? It’s not that I’m ashamed of it or anything.”
He shook his head. “I understand you don’t want aftereffects if we don’t succeed. It’s fine, Lianne. Don’t worry about me.”
She bit her lip and gave a halfhearted nod. “It’s hard not to,” she said.
What did she mean by that? He was used to taking care of himself. If anyone needed to be worried about it was her. He hadn’t liked the up-close impact of the pain she experienced each month. He hoped she could get pregnant soon.
The waiter brought their meal and as they began to eat, they discussed plans for the house.
When Tray reached Lianne’s apartment, he found a parking place and withdrew a small bag from the trunk before opening her door.
She eyed the suitcase and then looked at him. “Staying over?”
“This is the time, right?” He’d packed before leaving, knowing they’d be together for the next few nights. All the more reason for them to move in together. But she hadn’t acted on the suggestion and he suspected it would be a harder sell than he’d originally envisioned. At least they’d have the weekend together. Maybe she’d see the advantages as the days passed.
With his remark, the joy of the evening vanished for Lianne. It was the right time. Only, tonight had been so special. She liked feeling she’d been invited for the pleasure of her company. She’d enjoyed the music, the discussion at the restaurant and even the plans they’d made for the renovation project.
Now she felt like a laboratory test subject—make sure to procreate on this day.
“You don’t wish me to stay?” he asked as they rode the elevator.
“Of course. As you said, this is the right time.” She questioned the wisdom of this scheme. There was more to it than she’d anticipated. The more she was around Tray, the more she liked it. She’d been thrilled when she’d seen him yesterday after his trip. Disappointed when he hadn’t come to see her last night. Happy about tonight—until now.
Yet here he was and she was still not satisfied. What was wrong with her?
“Only?” he asked.
“Only nothing,” she said, her gaze fixed on the brushed metal doors of the elevator. “I’m being silly.”
“As in?” he probed.
“As in nothing, Tray. Leave it, okay?” She could not explain. He’d think she was nuts and probably wouldn’t want a crazy woman to be the mother of his baby.
Once the initial awkwardness was passed and they began to make love, Lianne forgot all her objections. She loved being touched by Tray. His kisses drove her to the stars. And when they joined together she knew it was as close to heaven as she was going to get on earth.
All thoughts of clinical laboratory work fled. She loved this man. She would treasure every moment with him and if they were lucky enough to have a baby, she’d rejoice all her life.
But if not, she’d have to let him go. It wasn’t fair to him to keep him from having a family of his own. She had brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews and could make a place for herself as favorite aunt. Tray had no one. The thought brought a pang. She wished instead of making this arrangement, he’d genuinely fallen for her as she had for him.
Reaching out to link her hand with his, she snuggled closer. Nothing lasted forever. She’d take what she could get and cherish every moment. If he walked away and she had the operation with no baby between them, she’d still remember these nights and how for a short time she felt as if she were the most important woman in the world for Traynor Elliott.
The day was sunny and warm as they drove to Richmond. Lianne had called Annalise to let her know she’d be gone for the weekend. The drive along the parkway wasn’t as pretty in early November with the trees denuded of leaves. She’d like to drive down in the summer and see the difference.
“Did you visit your uncle often?” she asked as the miles sped by.
“Not often enough. He’d come up to Washington from time to time. He liked going to RFK Stadium to watch baseball. Didn’t come up as much in the winter. Too cold, he said.”
“It does feel cold with the damp air from the river,” she said.
“Richmond gets snow, so he had it cold. But he liked being home.”
“He was an accountant, you said?”
“Yes, worked for thirty some years for a meat packing firm. He took early retirement a year or so ago. We talked about renting a big cruiser and exploring the Chesapeake Bay. Even talked about going out on to the Atlantic. Damn, I wish I’d pushed for a firm date and done it.”
“He wasn’t very old—you couldn’t know he’d die when he did,” she said.
“Still, regrets for things not done don’t fade easily.”
Which was the entire reason she was trying for a baby. If she couldn’t have one, she’d be heartbroken. But at least she’d know all her life she’d done all she could. That was one regret she wouldn’t have.
“Thank you, Tray. You’re making sure I don’t have regrets for things not done.”
“Hang in there, Lianne. We’ll have that baby.”
They arrived at the house late morning. It had a definitely deserted look about it. There were leaves that needed raking and bushes that needed pruning. The house itself looked empty, as if the life had gone out of it when Hal died. The windows were blank. The paint looked tired.
“You planning to paint the outside as well?” Lianne asked.
Tray climbed out of the car and studied the facade. “Needs it. Now isn’t the best time of year, however. Maybe come spring. Let’s go inside and make plans.”
Lianne was glad to have something to do. She knew they needed to stick close for the next couple of days; she appreciated having the project to focus on. Otherwise she’d think of nothing but Tray.
And she dare not let him suspect how she felt.
Lianne grew more excited as they progressed through the house. Tray was serious about relying on her to design the color schemes and make suggestions to bring the house up-to-date. She could almost pretend they were planning their first place together. She’d give each room an assessment, then think aloud of what could be done. He’d agree, she’d jot notes and they moved on to the next.
By dinnertime she had a tablet full of notes and ideas.
“I’d like to get this in some better order, maybe combine the different needs from each room so we’d only have to have a plumber or electrician out once and have them take care of everything, rather than call back and forth as we get to each room,” Lianne said, bubbling with ideas and wanting to get schedules drawn up.
“You’re in charge,” he said, leaning back in the comfy sofa in the living room. Tray had ordered pizza, preferring that to having to cook.
Lianne felt energized. “This will be a lovely home when you’re finished.”
“When we’re finished,” he said, closing his eyes.
“Are you going to sleep?”
“Not yet,” he said. “I’m envisioning how the place will look.”
“I bet a young family would love this home. The backyard is huge. Think of the fun the children could have. Did you have a fort and a tree house?”
“I had a tree house, Jason had the fort. And there’s a trail down to a stream. We had some major naval battles on that creek,” Tray said.
Lianne tried to picture a younger Tray playing with his friend. She and her brothers had done their share of battles in makeshift plains of the sand at the beach. They used to make small homes and forts from wooden matches and end up burning them as a grand finale of each battle. Would her baby be part of the next generation at the beach?
“My brothers liked battles,” she said. She still couldn’t picture Tray as a boy. “Do you have any photos from when you were a child?” She’d seen a couple of him in pictures of his uncle after the funeral. Had there been more?
“There’re likely to be around somewhere,” he said vaguely. Glancing around, he narrowed his e
yes. “I suppose the best plan would be to do one room at a time. Decide what’s to be done, clear it out, get it painted, repaired as needed and move on.”
“If you came every weekend, you could finish in a couple of months,” she said, jotting some more notes.
“I do have a company to run,” he said.
“Delegate.” She looked over at him and met his gaze.
He stared at her for a moment. “Maybe.” He closed his eyes again.
Lianne was happy to doodle on her paper, capturing different tasks and listing the order she’d prioritize things.
“We need to get a hotel room,” Tray said a few moments later. He’d been thinking about taking Lianne to bed ever since they sat down. It was for the sake of the baby, he told himself. He lied. He wanted her.
“A hotel? I thought we’d stay here,” Lianne said.
“There’s only a single bed in my old room. The guest room’s bed is equally small as you know from your last visit. And I don’t feel right about using Uncle Hal’s.”
She nodded. “That makes sense. But we can’t stay at a hotel every time we come, that would be silly when you own this house. Maybe you should get a bigger bed in your room.”
“You won’t be coming every time. Just when we need to try for the baby,” he said.
She went still. He opened his eyes and looked at her. She was staring at the list she’d just made. “You’re right—what was I thinking,” she said in a quiet voice.
Had he said something wrong? “You can come if you want,” he said.
Her smile looked phony and she wouldn’t look at him. “Don’t be silly. This is your family home. I’ll get the list of tasks printed out and give it to you. I’ll have lots to do on other weekends. No time to come down every week.” She carefully wrote another line on her tablet.
Tray wished he knew what was going through her mind. Did she actually want to come with him? The sooner he got the house fixed up, the sooner he could rent it out and have one less thing to worry about.
The Pregnancy Promise Page 14