by Autumn Skye
“Mom, this is Danielle.”
“Hello, nice to meet you.”
“I’m glad to meet you, Mrs. Branson. I’d love to show you the house.”
“That’s why I came.”
We walked her through the downstairs. Danielle rambled on about the plans we’d made for the place, once in while throwing me a secret look of admiration over my mother’s shoulder. I could tell she’d missed me the same as I had her and neither one of us could wait to get my mother out of there so we could be alone. The week had seemed longer and lonelier than I’d imagined it would.
“Why don’t you show yourself the upstairs, Mrs. Branson? I need to talk to Lily about a few ideas I have for the library, but we’ll be right behind you.”
“Call me Sharon,” my mother said, stepping onto the staircase. “Is it safe up there?”
“Perfectly. The house is quite sturdy. The work we do will be cosmetic only.”
“This banister sure isn’t sturdy. It’s shaky as all get go.”
“We know, Mom. We’re replacing it.”
“Well, I’ll go ahead and have a look for myself, then.”
I knew that tone of hers. It suggested we were very poor hostesses not to escort her along. I stifled a giggled which was cut off when Danielle grabbed me and planted a deep kiss on my lips. Nothing she hadn’t done before, but my mother was just up the stairs. It would have been a raunchy move for anyone else to make, but coming from her it felt adventurous, carefree and hot. I couldn’t complain, since I’d been dying to steal a kiss from her the second I’d arrived.
“I like the way the rooms are situated. They’re so spacious,” Mom called down to us.
We both snickered as we pulled away from each other. We still had to make it through lunch before seeing my mother off. We joined her upstairs and finished the tour as quickly as possible.
“I do see the potential. I admit that, but it seems like such a big undertaking for just the two of you. I wish you the best of luck.”
“How about lunch, Mom? I’m starving.”
“I am, too. You suggested that little café we passed on the way, didn’t you?”
“Yes, why don’t you go on and we’ll catch up. I need to talk to Danielle about some plans I made for the sitting room.”
“More plans. You two are quite ambitious, aren’t you?”
“Ah, yes, something about larger windows to let the sun in,” she played along.
“And I chose a brighter color scheme. I have samples in the car.”
“This can’t wait until we eat? I was looking forward to getting to know your friend better.”
“It won’t take long, Mom,” I assured her.
“Okay, then, I’ll see you when you get there.”
The second we heard the Mercedes engine fire up we were in each other’s arms again, stepping backwards until I found my back to the wall. My hands were clutching her waist as hers disappeared under my skirt. I turned to face the wall, placing my palms flat against it. There were a lot of buttons on the front of her dress, from her neck to her waistline and she took her time undoing everyone before stepping out of it. It was as if she sensed how frustrated I was having been away from her for what seemed like forever and was enjoying making me wait for it. One thing I’d learned about her in our brief time together, if she was going to do something, she was going to take the time to enjoy it.
When she was completely naked she lifted my skirt so it was hiked over my waist and gently pulled my panties down to my knees. The fact that my mother would be sitting in a café sipping iced tea, waiting impatiently for us, made this feel so dirty, so wrong, and so damned right all at the same time. I couldn’t believe we were doing this, fooling around here and now, but I couldn’t deny that I wanted it.
Her hips thrusted forward and I felt her wetness as she pushed against me. Her fingers came around to find my clit. I reached an arm behind me and rested a hand on her thigh as her free hand kneaded one of my breasts.
“Oh, Danielle. Oh, fuck,” I wailed into the humid air.
“Come for me, Lily. That’s all I want,” she said.
This is what it had come to, I realized. I couldn’t be near her without aching for this. She dropped to her knees and her head was between my legs in an instant, her tongue gliding over my folds and pushing deep into them. She took me to the edge and over it quickly, moaning and murmuring my name as I came in a helpless rush.
Once she’d risen to her feet and we had our clothes arranged I gave her a guilty frown.
“What?”
“My mother. She’s the last person I need on my mind right now.”
“Oh, well, we’re adults. I like sex. You like sex. Don’t you think she’d understand that?” she asked with a sarcastic grin.
“No.” I shook my head. “You’re bad.”
“Only when you’re around,” she countered. “Don’t blame me. I couldn’t have possibly made it through lunch without having you. It’s been too long.”
I gave her a smug shrug. She brought out the naughty in me. It was satisfying to think I did the same for her.
“She’s waiting.”
“Then we should go.”
“Later, I have something I need to tell you,” she said.
“I have something to tell you, too, if we can get through this lunch.”
“Aw, Lily, it won’t be as bad as all that.”
“You don’t know my mother.”
“I know plenty of women like her.”
“I guarantee you, she tops them all when it comes to attitude.”
“I can handle her. I’m not scared.”
“Well, I’m scared for you. Swear you won’t hold anything she says against me?”
“I swear, now let’s go.”
We both got into my car and headed to town. The Mercedes was parked in front of the café when we got there. I could see my mother sitting at a table near the window. I decided to give Danielle one last chance to opt out.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come down with a headache?”
“Lily, I can hold my own. It isn’t as if your mother is going to go rabid and bite me.”
“Maybe she will. Maybe she won’t. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“You know, it’s kind of sweet that she came out here to see the house. She seems to be trying. You should, too. We all need our mothers, even when they drive us crazy.”
Of course, I knew that. It was why I had invited her. I hadn’t expected to be so nervous about Mom meeting Danielle, though. And to make matters worse, we both smelled like sex.
We went into the café and the waitress gave Danielle a nod. She was a regular in this town. She had a place where she fit well and I felt a twinge of envy. I’d never had that, not anywhere, not even in my own home.
“You two certainly took your time,” Mom sniffed when we sat down in the booth.
That was an ironic thing for her to say. We hadn’t taken our sweet time at all. That’s why they called it a quickie. “Sorry, Mom. We got caught up.”
“That’s all right. Now that you’re here, I have a question for Danielle.”
“Yes?” Danielle asked.
“I’ve been wracking my brain. You see, as I told Lily, I feel as though I should recognize your name. Then it hit me where I’ve heard it. Are you by chance related to Jared Whitemore?”
“Um, I used to be. He’s my ex-husband.”
“Oh, that’s that, then. I was wondering how a young woman like yourself could afford to start a real estate venture. Made out like a bandit in the divorce, did you?”
“Mom! Don’t you think you’re getting a little personal?”
“It’s a matter of public record. If I really wanted to know I could look it up in the gossip columns. They’re just a Google away.”
“No need to Google, Sharon. I confess, I made out bigger than DB Cooper and I didn’t even have to jump out of a plane.”
“Ha!” my mother chortled. “I like your friend
, Lily. Maybe her sense of humor will rub off on you.” To Danielle she added, “Lily never jokes. She’s so serious.”
My jaw dropped. Serious was the last thing she’d ever accused me of being. She’d used my so-called lack of seriousness about my education as an excuse to hold up my trust fund so long even she’d had to admit it was preposterous. And speaking of having a sense of humor, when did she get one? Ann was the only person who could make her laugh.
“I haven’t read the gossip columns in a while. Can you tell me what I’m up to these days, Sharon? Spill.”
My mother rewarded her with another laugh boisterous enough to turn customer’s heads. Why were they getting so chummy? The good nature my mother was setting forth was making a liar out of me. Danielle looked as if she thought I’d been exaggerating about how hard it was dealing with my mother. I was feeling as shut out as I would have felt if Ann joined us. What was it about Danielle that had caused my mother to latch on to her? Her beauty, or her wit, or her style? I was, oh fuck, I was jealous of my mother and my girlfriend! That brought me to new pathetic low. Did I really prefer Danielle to think my mother was an asshole?
I sat silently as my mother recounted the latest Houston gossip to Danielle, who seemed to be hanging onto every word, peering at the woman as if it were all so fascinating when I knew she couldn’t care less about what the elite were up to these days. I mean, she was an elite herself, but she wasn’t in their club. Obviously, she was patronizing my mother, but it was pissing me off just the same. I hardly tasted the tuna fish salad on wheat I ordered. I waited impatiently for the two of them to finish lunch so I could rush my mother off.
“Well, it’s a bit of a drive back. I guess I should hit the road.”
Finally. “You be careful, Mom. I’ll see you soon.”
“Oh, Danielle, why don’t you join Lily and me next month in Dallas? My oldest daughter, Ann, is having a baby shower. I’d love for you to come and then we could all have a night out, maybe see a show or something. How does that sound?”
“I’d love to, Sharon. Thank you for inviting me along,” Danielle answered before I could butt in and tell Mom the last thing Danielle wanted to do was sit through a baby shower for a woman she’d never met.
Fuck! “That’s thoughtful of you, Mom,” I said, rising to my feet and giving her a peck on the cheek.
“Now that you’ve got a friend to bring along, there’s no backing out. You will be at that shower, right, Lily?”
“Mom, I wish Ann all the best with the new baby. It is my niece or nephew. Of course, I’ll be there.” Of course, I would. She’d been mostly on her best behavior. I was the one being a bitch.
“I didn’t tell you? It’s a boy.”
“That’s wonderful. I can’t wait to celebrate with Ann. I’ll pick out the perfect present. I promise.”
“I’ll help. I love to shop,” Danielle added.
“Something tells me you have exquisite taste,” Mom said.
“I don’t know about that, but together Lily and I should be able to find something suitable.”
“Lily isn’t much of a browser. She usually grabs the first thing she come to and calls it a day.”
“I’m perfectly capable of buying a present for a newborn baby. It isn’t as if there are a lot of choices to pick from. What do they really need? They sleep and poop.”
“And that’s the attitude I was referring to. Do you see what you’re in for?” my mother shook her head. “Thank goodness I can count on you.”
“We won’t let you down,” Danielle said with a chuckle.
“Well, you two got along splendidly,” I said in an accusatory tone when my mother had left.
“You’d have preferred that we’d not gotten along? I thought that’s what you were worried about.”
“Of course, I wanted you to get along with my mother. Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Then what’s the problem, Lily?”
“She’s an asshole, remember?”
“Maybe, but she seemed to be trying very hard to have a nice day with you and she even went out of the way to include me.”
“Are you insinuating that I’m not trying? Is this your way of calling me a brat?”
“An overly sensitive one at that,” she smirked. “Your mother does bring out the toddler in you.”
I let out a heavy sigh of surrender. “You’re probably right. She is trying. That’s what I wanted to tell you earlier. Somehow, my father talked my mother into releasing my trust fund to me. I’m no longer cut off.”
“That’s great!”
“It means I don’t have to keep my job with Farah if I don’t want to,” I said.
“Then you’re available to work full time with me?”
I liked the way she said, “with me,” instead of for me. At this point, I felt more like her partner than her employee and she validated that even if she didn’t come right out and say it. The ball was in my court. Was I ready to commit? Would I be committing to a business deal, or much more? There was no way to know because she refused to define what we had. Who could blame her considering how badly her marriage had ended. She was still reeling with the repercussions of her divorce, but sooner or later she was going to have to tell me where I stood. Entering a business partnership with a woman I had feelings for could be messy if those feeling weren’t returned on the same level. They say mixing business and pleasure was never a clever idea and I could see the philosophy behind it. I just thought I was already in too deep to walk away. All I could do was hope she gave me a reason to stay.
“I’m available, but I should be totally honest. I’m not sure it’s wise of me to give up my job.”
“Why? You love rehabbing. I understand Farah is your friend, but you can’t tell me you enjoy being a secretary, Lily. Your passion lies elsewhere. And if Farah cares about you she’d want you to be happy, yes?”
“It’s not Farah. She loves me no matter what. It’s you.”
“I see,” she said, looking a combination of surprised and stung. “That hurts my feelings a little. Care to explain?”
“I never know where I stand with you. I get it. You don’t like to make promises half-heartedly. You’ve been there and done that. However, you can’t expect me to rearrange my life without some sort of commitment from you, Danielle.”
“Is that all? How’s this. I’m selling the house in Corpus. I’m going to live here and I want you to move into the manor with me while it’s being renovated. When it’s finished, we can find another place together. That’s what I wanted to tell you. Am I committed enough for you now?”
“Move in with you?”
“Yes, I want to wake up every morning and see your face. There’s just one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“If we’re going to live together, you’ll eventually have to tell your mother about us,” she smiled.
I mocked a grimace, my teeth gnashing down hard on my bottom lip. “That’s a big thing.”
“Now whose scared of commitment?” she giggled.
The waitress approached the table before I could reply. “Are you ready for your check, Danielle?”
No wonder she wanted to live here. She fit right in these days. The whole town knew her name and always said it with admiring tone. I thought it must have been a nice feeling to belong somewhere. Maybe I should make more of an attempt to blend into this little community if I meant to join it, even temporarily.
“Thank you, Donna,” Danielle said.
I fished a five-dollar bill out of my purse and put the tip in her hand. “Have a nice day, Donna.”
“Thanks-Lily, is it?”
“Yes, and you’re welcome.”
“So, I couldn’t help but overhear. You two have decided to stay in town?”
“I have. I’m hoping Lily will as well,” Danielle answered.
“In that case, welcome home,” she said.
And just as easily as that I became the newest addition to the town of Kinley, population no
w 602.
Chapter Fifteen
Danielle
If she needed commitment I could give her that, but I had some loose ends to tie up first. After lunch, Lily drove back to the lake to drop off her luggage and freshen up while I stayed at the manor trying to decide what furniture I’d need to buy to make it livable. I stood in the living room and dialed Jared’s number, hoping I wouldn’t regret it as I waited for him to pick up.
“I hope you’re calling to tell me you’ve come to your senses and dumped that new girlfriend of yours,” he said, skipping a greeting.
I held my tongue, wanting to retort by asking if he’d dumped his, but determined not to give him the satisfaction of letting him know he got to me. “I’m calling to make you a deal. I’ve decided to sell the Corpus house and I’m willing to let you have it for one point two million. I’ll need a fast answer, though, or else I’ll put it on the market next week.”
“You’d never sell that house. You love it.”
“Unlike you, I love people, not things.” That wasn’t exactly true. I did love the house. I loved this manor, too, but it was because I put a part of myself into them, not because of their material value. That had always been the difference between us. Lily got that. Jared never would.
“You’re asking price is half of what it’s worth. Why are you offering it up so cheap?”
“It’s my last tie to you. I’m cutting the strings. You take the house back, make a profit, and stay the hell out of my life.”
“But it’s me you’re making the laughing stock out of, running around town with that girl.”
“I could say the same about you. Katie is half your age, but I don’t care what you do anymore. If it makes you feel better, I don’t have plans to spend a lot of time in Corpus once I sell the house, so are you going to take it or not?”
“I’m going to marry Katie.”
“Good for you. I’m happy for you. The house would be a wonderful wedding present.” Katie had always wanted everything that was mine. Now she could have it. It probably wouldn’t even matter to her that just a few weeks ago Jared had been willing to leave her to reconcile with me. If anyone was making a laughing stock out of him, it was his young fiancée, but I was willing to step back and let him make that mistake. All I wanted was my freedom and unfortunately, a piece of paper stating dissolution of marriage hadn’t been enough. If he had the house back at a price low enough to make him feel as if he’d stolen it back from me, that might do.