For All Time

by Jude Deveraux

  For a moment there was something in his eyes that she couldn’t read, but it was gone in an instant. “Not possible,” he said and tried it again, but his middle sank. “I start thinking of all I should be doing and I become a lead weight.”

  Toby put her hands on the small of his back and pushed him upward. “There! Now relax. Clear your mind and think of how beautiful Nantucket is.”

  He closed his eyes. “I’d rather think of a mermaid with a long blonde braid who holds me aloft,” he said softly.

  “Think Victoria would like mermaids as a theme?” Toby asked.

  Graydon opened his eyes to see that she was several feet away. Instantly, he went underwater—and came up coughing. “You abandoned me!” he said.

  “I heard the call of a merman and went after him. He offered me pearls. I couldn’t resist.” Turning, she swam away.

  Graydon dove under and caught her by an ankle to pull her down.

  Toby had always been good in the water—and in high school she’d had some experience getting away from testosterone-laden boys. She put her free foot on his shoulder and pushed away to do an underwater somersault. She went up for a gulp of air, then back down.

  Graydon went to the surface but she was nowhere to be seen. She grabbed his foot and pulled him down. When they were under the water, he looked at her for a moment. She was clad in her two pieces of thin cotton, her body sleek and creamy, her long braid across one shoulder. She looked like some divine, mythical sea creature. When she turned and swam away, he followed her, staying behind so he could look at her. The women of his country had dark hair and eyes, and Toby’s blondeness was exotic to him.

  Yet again, he thought how he’d like to stay in the house with her. He knew that all he’d have to do was contact Rory and a place for him to stay would be found. If Plymouth was out of the country, his house was probably empty. It would have a housekeeper-cook, access to a nice car, maybe a boat. Plymouth could arrange for people to visit, so there could be dinner parties with some of the illustrious visitors to the island. There would be beautiful women, laughter, wine. It could be a bachelor party in the truest sense of the word.

  As he watched, Toby left the water and walked onto the shore. Her wet underwear was transparent, making her attempt to pull it into place useless—which made him smile.

  Graydon went onto his back, his arms out, barely moving. He’d always been good at floating. Not as good as he was when she had her hands on his body, but enough to stay on top of the water.

  He felt comfortable with her, enjoyed being with her. Today had been ordinary to her, but to him it was a rarity. As soon as he’d finished at the University of Lanconia, he’d gone into military service. Three years later he’d been released and had returned home to find that separate quarters had been set up for him in the palace his ancestors had built. It had been a shock to go from busy campus living and barracks to a rambling apartment where everyone addressed him as “sir.”

  He was given a full staff and a calendar of engagements so packed it made him tired just to look at it. It hadn’t been easy, but he’d gradually adjusted. Only when Rory came home or when he was in Maine did Graydon get any relief from the day-to-day tedium—and the loneliness that went with the job.

  But today had been a true pleasure—and he didn’t want it to end. Not yet. He just needed to figure out a reason to stay with this beautiful young woman. He needed to find a way to make her need him.

  He watched Toby wrap herself in a towel and sit down on another one. He swam for a while longer, and got out. “A merman theme?” he said as he picked up a towel. “With pearls everywhere?”

  “That’s possible,” Toby said. “Maybe I could hire costumed bodybuilders to carry Victoria down the aisle.”

  “Think the groom would like that?”

  “Good point.” She looked at him. “Victoria’s daughter calls her mother’s bedroom in Kingsley House the Emerald City because it’s all green. To match Victoria’s eyes. Dark green, light green, yellow, pale, even a kind of greenish red. It’s quite nice, really, but a bit …”

  “Over the top?” he said. “But that’s a good idea. We’ll do something green. I was wondering how you’re going to present these ideas to her.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that,” Toby said. “I guess I’ll just tell her.”

  “On the other hand, it might be nice to present sketches with colors on them. It’s my experience that people react to visual presentations better than to just words.”

  “I don’t think I can do that,” she said hesitantly. “I have to go to work tomorrow and I don’t know if I’ll have time.”

  “I’ll help,” Graydon said. “Is there an art supply store on the island?”

  “Yes. There’s a very good one on Amelia Drive.”

  “What if I go there tomorrow, pick up some supplies, and when you get home we work on the designs together? And maybe you could show me what to do with your garden and I could help there too.”

  She knew that he was asking to stay in the house. Not finding a new place, but remaining with her. She shouldn’t. Someone could find him a place to stay. But not tonight. It was getting late and they hadn’t even looked for lodging. So maybe he’d stay tonight, and tomorrow at work she could ask around.

  “That would be nice,” she said as she got up, a big towel wrapped securely around her. When Toby got back to the truck she had some difficulty pulling her clothes on over her wet underwear but she did it. “Bath,” she mumbled as she struggled with the damp elastic that didn’t want to move.

  She looked in her bag for her phone and saw that she had an email from Lexie.

  I’M IN NEW YORK NOW. PLYMOUTH WENT TO CA SO I’M STAYING AT HIS APARTMENT. IT’S NICE, COZY EVEN. WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT OF HIM? I FLY OUT TOMORROW MORNING.

  HOW DID YOU LIKE THE PRINCE’S COOKING? AND DID YOU LIKE WHAT HE DID TO THE SUNROOM? HE COULD STAY IN PLYMOUTH’S BIG HOUSE, AS IT’S EMPTY. BUT THEN, ARE YOU STILL PLANNING TO SEND YOUR PRINCE AWAY? TELL ME ALL! LEXIE.

  He cooked the breakfast? Toby thought. He cleaned up the sunroom? She was beginning to see why Lexie had said she didn’t think Graydon was helpless.

  When Toby looked up, she saw him walking toward the truck. His clothes were so clean and unwrinkled, his hair perfectly groomed, that he could have been going to a dinner party.

  They got into the truck, with Graydon driving, and started toward home. “Want to get sandwiches for dinner?” she asked.

  “That sounds fine.”

  “Or would you like to cook something? Or clean a room?”

  Graydon laughed. “How was I found out?”

  “Lexie ratted on you. If you’re such a busy person, what are you going to do while I’m at work all day?”

  “Read? Find a beach and lie on it for hours?”

  “You couldn’t stay still for even an hour this morning, but you think you’re going to do nothing for days at a time?”

  “You need any help at your florist shop? I work cheap.”

  Toby shook her head. “How are you going to last for a whole week?” She didn’t wait for his answer. “Maybe you should stay somewhere that has some entertainment. With a boat maybe.” She was looking straight out the truck window.

  “Speaking of staying someplace, I don’t mean to complain but the mattress on the couch upstairs is like trying to sleep on steel coils. They cut into a person.”

  “Maybe that’s the reason that couch was tossed into a corner of the Kingsley attic.” She smiled. “This is a bit like the Prince and the Pea.”

  Graydon started to laugh, but then they looked at each other.

  “I don’t think so,” Toby said, reading his mind. “Lots of mattresses around? Strings of peas? Not very wedding-like. Will your wedding have a theme?”

  “I have no idea. I won’t be asked. It’s a national event, so I’ll just be told when to show up and what to wear.”

  “A uniform? With lots of medals?”

  “Scads of
them. All on the left side. Four weeks beforehand I’ll have to lift weights with just my right hand to be able to balance myself.”

  “You always make things sound funny,” Toby said.

  “Not to most people. My brother thinks that I’m incapable of what he calls fun.”

  “Mmmm,” Toby said. “Let me guess. His idea of fun is fast cars, steep mountainsides, jumping out of planes, all with barely clad women hanging on to him.”

  “I think you know my brother well.”

  Toby hesitated before replying. “You could have some of that on Nantucket,” she said softly.

  “And miss out on coming up with some ghastly theme that would please the very discerning Victoria for her wedding? No, thank you.”

  Toby couldn’t help the grin that spread across her face. Never in her life had she lived alone and she had no desire to find out what it was like. “All right,” she said. “You can have Lexie’s room.”

  “That’s very kind of you. I never imagined that—”

  “Are you kidding me? Of course you imagined staying at my house. You’ve worked at it. Your hints weigh about a ton each. Whales are lighter than your hints.”

  Graydon was laughing. “I thought I was being subtle, but it is true. I meet so many strangers and—”

  “Spare me the Poor Prince act,” Toby said. “You cook, you drive, you boss people around, you settle arguments. You even run around half naked in front of my roommate—”

  “And you.”

  “And in front of me,” she said. “It’s my opinion that you’re more than competent at everything. In fact, it’s my guess that you could probably run an entire country all by yourself. So why do you want to stay with me? And your answer better not be about sex.”

  “You wound me,” Graydon said, his hand melodramatically over his heart. “I’m not my brother. I do thank you for the remark about the country, though. I’m going to try to do just that.” He pulled into the drive of the house they shared and shut off the engine. When he turned to look at her, she saw not one trace of humor. “I don’t know the answer to your question,” he said. “Right now nothing in my life makes sense. I have some problems that I don’t know how to deal with—I won’t bore you with them—but there’s something about you that makes me feel calm enough to believe that I can eventually solve them. I know I could go elsewhere and have some so-called excitement but …” He motioned toward the little house. “This is what I need now. Solitude with a garden and a young lady who makes me laugh and talks to me of mermaids. Does any of this make sense?”

  “It does,” she said. “When I left my parents’ house to be on my own, I was quite scared. Lexie took me in and—” She broke off. “All right. We’ll be friends and you can stay here while you’re on the island.” She reached for the truck handle but looked back at him. “If you ever want to talk about what’s bothering you, I’m a good listener.” She got out.

  He watched her walk toward the house. Right now the only thing bothering him was the vision of her in her wet underwear.

  He took his time before he got out of the truck, then began to remove the supplies from the back. Toby’s red metal toolbox was on the bottom and it made him smile. Not many women had a toolbox of their own. He carried everything back to the little storage shed by the greenhouse.

  He didn’t know much about gardening but to him it looked like everything in the greenhouse needed to be watered. He picked up the hose that was coiled on the floor, turned on the water, and went from one plant to another. It was soothing work and he thought he should use the time to think about Lanconia and Danna and Rory and what his future was going to be after he was married and …

  He couldn’t seem to focus on any of that. All he could think about was Toby in her lacy blue underwear.

  When Toby’s cell phone rang, she and Graydon were at the dining table eating the frittata he’d made and a salad she’d put together. The ID said it was Victoria. “She can’t possibly already want to know what we’ve come up with,” Toby said as she answered.

  Graydon was so pleased by her use of “we” that he didn’t reply.

  “Darling,” Victoria said, “I hope you know that the island is buzzing about the mysterious man who’s moved in with you.”

  With a glance at Graydon, Toby put her napkin on the table, got up, and went into the living room. She didn’t want him to hear whatever Victoria was going to say. “We’re roommates and that’s all.”

  “I know that but they don’t. I fear that your reputation has been damaged beyond repair.”

  “Good,” Toby said. “I’ll no longer be some plastic trophy the boys want to win.”

  Victoria laughed. “That’s a beautiful way of looking at it. Anyway, dear, I have something to ask you. Yesterday I spent hours with Jilly and found out a great deal about your prince. His country is very important to ours since they have that metal we so desperately need. I think you should stay with him while he’s here.”

  “How could I do that? I have a job.”

  “I have many friends on the island and I’m sure I could find someone to temporarily take over your job at the florist shop. If you approve, that is?”

  Toby walked to the doorway to look at Graydon, who was still sitting at the table. He’d stopped eating and was waiting for her to return.

  “Toby, darling, could you stand some vacation time so you can be with your prince? Show him around Nantucket, that sort of thing?”

  “Yes,” Toby said. “I could.”

  “I’m so glad,” Victoria said. “And how are you doing on the wedding plans?”

  “When we have more ideas, we plan to make a presentation. Maybe in a few days we can all get together and—”

  “How wonderful! I’ll see you tomorrow at two. I must go now. Kiss your prince for me.” She clicked off.

  For a moment Toby stood in the doorway in silence.

  “Bad news?” Graydon asked as he got up from the table and went to her, but she didn’t respond. “Come and finish your dinner before it gets cold.” Taking her arm, he led her back to the table. When they were both seated, he said, “Tell me what Victoria said.”

  Toby picked up her napkin. “She says she can get someone to take my place at the florist shop so I can have time off while you’re here.”

  Graydon couldn’t hold back his grin. “I like that idea very much. Perhaps tomorrow we can see some of this pretty island.”

  “No. Victoria is coming here at two to see what we’ve come up with for her wedding. By the way, I’m sorry I took the phone call at dinner. Now that I’m to—according to Victoria—help your country and mine get along, I think I should mind my manners.”

  “Let me guess. It’s your job to save the vanadium?”

  Toby nodded.

  “I’m beginning to imagine Victoria as a charging horse. It goes wherever it wants to.”

  “More like twenty of them, and their riders have drawn swords.”

  “Shall I fight her for you?”

  Toby narrowed her eyes at him. “You wish! You have to help me come up with more ideas. Tonight while we tackle that mountain of luggage of yours we can brainstorm wedding themes.”

  After they’d cleared away dinner, working easily together, they went upstairs to unpack Rory’s luggage. Never in Graydon’s life had he packed or unpacked a bag and he had no desire to learn how. When he asked Toby about art supplies, she told him to search in the desk and he found an old sketchpad and pencils.

  Lexie’s bedroom was large and in the corner there were a love seat and a coffee table. Graydon sat there and started making quick sketches of every idea they’d had, while Toby took over the luggage. They came up with as many concepts as they could, some of them ridiculously far-fetched. He made her laugh when he drew a Lanconian warrior complete with bearskin and lance.

  “Don’t show that one to Victoria because she’ll love it,” Toby said. “She’ll try to make Dr. Huntley wear that. What in the world is this for?”

&n
bsp; Graydon glanced at the heavy wool uniform she was holding up. “First Lancers. Rory sometimes reviews their troops.”

  “Why would he take this on a pleasure trip to the U.S.?”

  “If there were a disaster, he’d have to—”

  Toby held up her hand. “I don’t want to hear the rest of that. I think I’ll put things like this way in the back. Jeans and casual shirts will go in front. We’ll have to get you some T-shirts that say Nantucket on them.” Her head came up. “Maybe we could do a Lanconian theme that’s not ancient. Something modern. What do people in your country wear today?”

  “Jeans and T-shirts with Nantucket or wherever they’ve visited written on them.”

  “Too bad,” Toby said. At the bottom of the pile she found a hard-sided case that held a laptop, an iPad, and an eReader, as well as several Bluetooth gadgets. On the bottom, inside a little box, was a leather wallet.

  As Toby took it out, she started to say something, but Graydon was bent over the sketchpad. She opened the wallet to see if the credit card was inside. It was, along with about three grand in American hundreds. But what interested her was a beat-up old photo of a beautiful young woman. She had long dark hair and sultry-looking eyes, as though she’d just stepped out of bed—or was about to get into it.

  From the wear on the photo it looked as though Rory had been carrying it for years. So Graydon’s brother was in love, she thought, and wondered how that fit in with his playboy antics.

  She glanced at Graydon, meaning to make a comment, but it was too soon for this kind of revelation. When they got to know each other better, she’d ask about his brother’s love life.

  “Catch!” she said and tossed the wallet to him.

  He caught it in his left hand, opened it, and pulled out the card. “Is this any good?” It was a platinum American Express card.

  “Unlimited credit,” Toby said. “We could go buy a Rolls.” She expected him to laugh but he didn’t.

  “Is that something you want?” he asked seriously.

  “No,” she said. “For my last birthday my dad wanted to buy me an expensive car but I asked for a refrigerator for the flowers.”