Beacon Hill Beauties (Siren Publishing Allure)

by Denise Hereford

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” asked Sally.

  “Of course. Don’t you want to go shopping?” asked Gabriel.

  “You’re not embarrassed to be seen with me like this?” asked Sally, self-conscious about her brown dress, white cast, and one white sneaker combo.

  “No chance of that,” said Gabriel.

  Gabriel pushed her around to different stores. Sally felt a huge sense of relief from finally getting out of her apartment. Most people paid her cast no mind or gave her a sympathetic look. “Riding in this wheelchair is so much easier than the stupid crutches,” admitted Sally. “This is great, thank you, Gabe.”

  “You’re welcome.” Sally enjoyed window shopping, but seeing people walking around did make her yearn to be mobile again. “Let me know which stores you want to go into.”

  “Okay.” Gabriel strolled Sally around the entire upstairs and stopped by the food court. “Are you hungry?” he asked.

  “Yeah, sure.” Sally still had a healthy appetite but didn’t want to gain another ten pounds from her mobility issues.

  “How about some Chinese?” asked Gabriel. He pushed her to the young lady holding up a toothpick with a piece of Bourbon chicken. She gave one to Sally, who agreed it was what she wanted.

  “You’re such a sucker,” teased Gabriel. He ordered them both the Bourbon chicken special with noodles and fried rice along with some bottles of water. After he made room for Sally at a table by setting aside a chair, he went back and picked up their order. He carried back their meals on a tray. Sally felt grateful that Gabriel took time to take care of her. She considered perhaps he felt a need to make up for hurting her.

  “This is delicious,” said Sally. “I am tired of crackers and finger foods.”

  “I would like to send my housekeeper Anna to bring you some meals,” said Gabriel.

  Sally shook her head. “Kimmie already checks on me and brings me lunch every day.”

  “Then Anna can bring you supper and help clean up. Don’t worry. She will be compensated,” assured Gabriel. “You need someone to check on you at night, too.”

  Sally thought of protesting, but then she realized how much easier the extra help would make her life for another month. “That is really kind of you. Thank you so much, Gabe.” And Sally smiled as she looked into his familiar smiling eyes. Maybe she could forgive Gabriel after all, but she would not forget what he did.

  “Well, I want you to get back on your feet again. I hate seeing you like this,” said Gabe. “This is kind of my way of showing you I am sorry about what I did. But I’m glad you came out with me. It beats eating alone and wondering if you’ll show up.”

  “What are you talking about?” Sally asked, a bit confused by the last part.

  “You know, lunch with me in China?” Gabriel reminded her.

  Sally shook her head. “Is this a joke? I’m not getting it.”

  “Remember the note on the flowers asked you to meet me in China? Did you forget what that meant? Is that why you didn’t show up?”

  “The flowers were beautiful, but there wasn’t any note,” said Sally. “They were from you?”

  Gabriel’s eyes grew large. “There was no card. And who did you think they were from?”

  “A guy on a bike delivered them to me, but there was no message. Oh, gosh. You asked me to meet you for lunch and waited for me?” Sally hadn’t realized he had asked her to meet him. No wonder why Gabriel had given her the cold shoulder at the Pops concert.

  “Damn it,” said Gabriel. He leaned back and smiled. “I’m glad you liked the flowers, at least.”

  Sally nodded. “You know I love purple.”

  “And Chinese food,” added Gabriel. “And chocolate, and foreign movies, and…”

  “Stop,” said Sally. That last part made her think of Dominick. Gabriel was taking care of her, not Dominick. Not that Dominick could help it, or could he?

  Chapter Twenty

  After they exited the mall, Gabriel wheeled Sally back to his car and drove her to the shore. He parked by the ocean so she could see the white caps. Sally loved the salty air.

  “How did you know I wanted to see the ocean?” Sally asked as seagulls squawked.

  “I remember more about you than you seem to remember.” Gabriel smiled. “Like this.” Gabriel leaned over and kissed Sally. “And this,” Gabriel repeated as he kissed Sally’s neck.

  Sally felt herself sliding down into the seat and wanted to stop him but her body wouldn’t let her. “Oh, Gabe. Please…”

  “I’ve wanted you for so long. Tell me you remember,” insisted Gabriel as he kissed Sally with fierce passion. His kisses were intense and full of yearning. He took off his shirt and revealed his big shoulders. He brought her to his chest as he thrust his groin into her. Sally’s breath was taken away by how fast everything was happening. Gabriel kept kissing her so she didn’t have a chance to verbally protest.

  Gabriel made a guttural sound and pushed Sally’s left knee up, careful to leave her cast in a safe position. He rubbed his manhood against Sally. “Tell me you remember,” he repeated.

  “I remember,” said Sally. She felt bewildered by this crazy chance they had to be together again. A part of her knew she should push him away, but it felt too good to be wanted by him. He even wanted her in her sad condition. Gabriel, the rake she wrote books about. The man that was almost her husband…

  “No, Gabriel. I remember everything. Take me back home.” Sally sighed.

  Gabriel and Sally didn’t say much on the ride back. They had to hurry to make it back in time for Kimmie. They didn’t want to keep her waiting.

  Sally kept thinking about how she should have stopped herself from kissing Gabriel. Then again, she didn’t let Gabriel take it any further. She just wanted Dominick. She missed him, and her chest hurt from what she had done. They hadn’t said they would be exclusive, but they had an understanding. After all, she wouldn’t want Dominick sleeping with anyone else. And she knew that now, juxtaposed against this rekindled old desire. Dominick was a flame of love that she wanted to burn brightly within her always.

  Sally wanted to tell Gabriel about Dominick, as she looked at his taut profile intent on driving them back safely, but she knew it wasn’t the right time. Would it ever be the right time?

  “Are you okay?” Gabriel asked, noticing that Sally was staring at him.

  “Yeah,” said Sally.

  Gabriel turned on the radio to some classic rock. “I’m sorry about hurting you and trying to still be with you, Sally. I guess I’m confused. You deserve better,” admitted Gabriel.

  “I know,” admitted Sally. She saw Gabriel quietly nod in agreement. He pulled up to Sally’s apartment and helped her up the steps.

  “I’ll send Anna over and give you a call,” Gabriel said.

  “Okay,” said Sally. And Gabriel drove away in his Lexus.

  “You guys didn’t…?” surmised Kimmie.

  “No,” replied Sally. “I stopped it.”

  “Good girl,” said Kimmie.

  “Oh, Kimmie. I miss Dominick so much. Gabriel kissed me, and I don’t feel right about it.” Sally looked at Kimmie sheepishly.

  Kimmie went to the fridge and grabbed a water for her and Sally. Sally scowled and bowed her head.

  “Sal,” soothed Kimmie. “You’ve never two-timed anybody before. So Dominick doesn’t need to know about this. Now you know what you don’t need and what you do want, right?”

  Sally nodded and drank her water slowly. Kimmie got a pillow and propped Sally’s cast unto it. Sally loved how Kimmie’s ring sparkled. “Your ring is beautiful.”

  “Isn’t it? Hey. Don’t beat yourself up about this. You didn’t have sex with him, right?”

  “That’s true,” admitted Sally. She had lost too much sleep over that Irish-American man.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Sally felt she needed further advice. The situation had gotten too complicated with both men in her life, so she took the red line to
Quincy to the psychic tea room again to see Joy.

  She walked with her crutches into the Victorian looking house and sat down at one of the round wooden tables. A beautiful lady with Puritan gray eyes and long, wavy gray hair gave her a menu.

  “Hi. I’m Barbara. Sorry about that,” she said as she pointed to Sally’s cast. “Joy is with a client right now, so you can either see somebody else or wait for her. It’s going to be another ten minutes or so.”

  “That’s okay. I’ll wait for Joy,” said Sally. “I’ll just do the fifteen-minute session, recorded please.”

  “Sure.” Barbara smiled. “She’s good, isn’t she?”

  “Yes,” agreed Sally. She felt a bit nervous about telling anyone else her situation.

  She was thankful Barbara did not pry any further except to ask, “Can I get you some tea?”

  “Yes, please,” replied Sally. She loved hot English breakfast tea with cream and sugar. She imagined Dominick would drink his daily tea in South Africa.

  Sally thought about how the witches had been hanged long ago in Salem. Perhaps some of these women had gifts that were passed down from the women who had not been hanged. One day, Sally wanted to take the ferry to Salem and visit the museum.

  She thought about what she would say to Joy. She knew she would be limited on time, so she typed some questions into the notes section of her Smartphone to help get her thoughts organized.

  Sally couldn’t help but ask about Kimmie, since she knew undoubtedly that Kimmie would listen to her taped session and want to know about herself. Sally drank her tea and tried to memorize the questions. She didn’t want to have to look at the notes while talking to Joy.

  About fifteen minutes later, Barbara came up to Sally’s table and said, “Joy is ready to see you now.” And she escorted Sally back to a little room where Joy sat with an old tape recorder on a desk and an empty wooden chair beside it.

  “Hello, Sally. How are you?” asked Joy. She wasted no time and pushed the recording button on the tape.

  “I’m good, Joy. How are you doing?” asked Sally, a bit nervous from the mystical atmosphere.

  “Well, thank you. Today is July 29th. I’m sorry you broke your bone. Don’t worry. As you know, I don’t answer medical or pregnancy questions, but you will heal. Stop worrying,” assured Joy. She always said the date at the beginning of her sessions. Sally was relieved to hear her answer one of her questions without even having to ask it.

  “So what can I help you with today?” continued Joy.

  “I’m confused about Gabriel. I saw him again, in an intimate way.”

  “Would you like me to use cards or not?” Joy asked politely. She had a Crowley Thoth deck beside her.

  “No cards, please,” said Sally. She didn’t like the time shuffling took, and the mysterious images frightened her a bit, especially the hanged man.

  “That’s fine, then. Let me hold your hands,” requested Joy. Sally offered both her hands, palms side up. Joy gently took them and examined the lines.

  “Ah. You and Romeo, still strongly attracted to each other. But you have another line here. There is another man in the picture,” predicted Joy.

  Sally’s eyes widened. “Is it Dominick?”

  Joy held Sally’s hands and closed her eyes. “Ah, you have already met him.”

  “Yes.” Sally nodded.

  Joy examined Sally’s lines again and spoke to her palms. “But he is not here in Boston. He is far away. Is Dominick on vacation?”

  “No, but he is in South Africa now where he lives,” replied Sally in an encouraging tone. “Does he love me?”

  “Yes, he is realizing how he feels about you now. He misses you and wants to take care of you. This Dominick is a good man. I see many things about him. He has dark hair, great ambition, and a big heart. I am not sure why, but I see a tree with money and a red sky.”

  “That makes sense to me,” assured Sally. “He has money and sent me a postcard with a tree and a red sky.”

  “Yes. But you must be careful. You have to choose between him and Romeo.”

  “You mean Gabriel?” asked Sally.

  Joy nodded and peered at Sally closely. Sally felt like Joy’s eyes were looking right through her.

  “Well, I have already made my decision,” offered Sally.

  “You have chosen Dominick,” said Joy.

  “How did you know?” asked Sally.

  “That is my job, right?” Joy smiled.

  “That is true. I just am amazed how confident and straightforward you are sometimes. I don’t want to hurt Gabriel, though, since Dominick is his cousin. Will their relationship be okay once Gabriel finds out about us?”

  “This will hurt Gabriel for a little while, but he hurt you already, and it is time for you to be happy. Gabriel already knows you deserve better,” explained Joy.

  Sally gasped. “That is exactly what he just told me.” She was shocked how good Joy was at her readings.

  “Romeo…Gabriel…does care about you. He even thinks he loves you. But he is not ready to settle down. He will not be ready for a long-term relationship or commitment until he is an older man. Even then, he may choose to not get married. He would be happiest with a partner who does not desire to get married,” said Joy.

  “I see. What do you sense will happen for Dominick and me? Can we make a long-distance relationship work?” asked Sally. She was nervous about the response she might receive.

  “At first. Then, you will grow tired of not seeing each other and want to be together physically.”

  “Wow.” Thrilled that Joy’s visions were sharp, Sally asked about Kimmie. “Will my friend Kimmie and Mark be happy?”

  “Your friend likes to have fun. Many men want to be with her, but Fortuna says it is time for her to settle down. You can help her,” suggested Joy.

  Sally looked at the clock and had only a few more minutes, so she turned the subject back to herself.

  “Um, when will I see Dominick again? Oh, and what does Gabriel want from me?”

  “You have to let Romeo go,” cautioned Joy. “Gabriel wants your body. He is physically attracted to you. Dominick, he is a thinker. He also finds you attractive, but he wants you for your mind and for…” Joy pointed to her heart.

  Sally nodded. “They are cousins,” confessed Sally. “And I’m afraid I like both of them. But I want to be with Dominick.”

  Joy’s eyes widened. Even she was shocked by the admission. “You know you cannot have both. You will see Dominick again. He will come to Boston again to see you. It is inevitable.”

  “How soon?” asked Sally. She couldn’t help her anxiousness.

  “I see the number eight. Maybe eight days, the eighth of August, or in August. That is all I can say. I hope I have answered your questions,” concluded Joy as she stopped the recording.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Sally and Kimmie listened to the tape in Sally’s apartment. Sally had bought a tape player from the thrift store on Charles Street.

  “Ugh. Who uses cassette tapes anymore? But she did say settle down, right?” questioned Kimmie.

  “Yes,” confirmed Sally. “I think it was her way of letting us know Mark is the one.” She didn’t want to burst Kimmie’s bubble by mentioning the generalities and possibilities.

  Kimmie tilted her head and said, “All right, I have to go back to work. I’ll call you later.” She gave Sally a hug.

  “Thanks for the sushi!” Sally had enjoyed the spicy tuna rolls from the Downtown Crossing food court that Kimmie had brought.

  “Fogettaboutit!” yelled back Kimmie.

  Sally fell asleep, having wrote all morning until Kimmie arrived. She dreamed about Dominick and massaging her legs with no cast. She woke up to her phone ringing. It was Dominick.

  “Hey, honey, I was just dreaming about you,” said Sally drowsily.

  “Nice,” replied Dominick. “Was it better than a phone call?”

  “Oh, not at all. Hearing your voice makes me happy.”


  “Your voice brighten my days, too, darling. I have great news. I’m going to be flying in next week.”

  “You are? That is great!” Sally sat up on her daybed.

  “It’s a red-eye. I should arrive on Saturday next about 4:00 a.m. your time. Do you think you could arrange a taxi to Logan Airport?”

  “Sure.” Sally wrote the information down on a notebook on her coffee table. “I can’t wait to see you.”

  “I apologize that I will be interrupting your writing schedule,” cautioned Dominick. “But please prepare to have no visitors all day once I arrive.”

  Sally got a beep and chose the “Ignore” button once she saw it was Gabriel’s number. He left a voice mail. She would check it later.

  “You still there?” asked Dominick.

  “Yes, I’m ecstatic and can’t wait to see you, even if it will be in the wee hours of the morning,” continued Sally. She thought of how wonderful it would be to have Dominick hold her again.

  “Sally, I have to ask you for a favor, though. You can’t tell Gabriel I’ll be in town.”

  “Why not?”

  “Well, since he doesn’t know about us, I wouldn’t have a good reason why I would stay anywhere else and not be around him.”

  “You’re right,” agreed Sally. She felt a twinge of guilt thinking about what happened at the ocean. Should she tell Dominick? Kimmie had advised her not to say a word, not one. “We’ll just have to be careful. How long can you stay?”

  “About a week. Then I hope you can come down for a month in December. Spend the holidays here in South Africa. It will be a lot warmer,” said Dominick cheerfully.

  Sally thought about how amazing it would be to travel all of the way there to see Dominick. A week until he arrived in Boston wouldn’t take very long. Joy was right. But then another several months would pass without seeing each other again. All of fall would pass by as she waited. “That would be wonderful,” she stated. “I can’t wait to see you.” She was eager to see Dominick again, regardless of the short stay.