Tiger Lily: Part Three

by Duncan, Amélie S.

  “Well donate them if that will make you happy. Seeing you happy works for me,” he said with a wink. “Get a purse, too. But don’t throw this one across a room to hit me with like you did at Sir Harry’s.”

  I giggled. “I most certainly did no such thing!”

  His eyes danced and my heart flipped over. “It worked. You got me,” he said in a soft tone.

  My eyes misted and I lowered my head to hide the overwhelming feelings I had in the moment.

  He lifted my chin. “No crying. Happy thoughts. We’ll have a read later.” That, of course, had my tears flowing down more, He clicked his tongue in mock admonishment and took his handkerchief out to dab my eyes. “See you soon.”

  I nodded and touched my lips, staring after him as he strolled out.

  “That was beautiful,” Kate said softly, calling my attention back to her. I smiled and followed her back to finish up as memories of the serendipitous encounter with Jonas at Sir Harry’s played through my mind. That night had been perfect until Declan interrupted our conversation. After six months of silence, he arrived with a surprise fiancé that couldn’t wait to show off her ring. Her boulder-size ring, like the woman on the street.

  My pulse increased as recognition surfaced. Heather, Declan’s fiancé. The one he claimed he had broken up with. She was the woman who had been outside Arch looking for me.

  Did Declan send her to me? Was he angry about not being able to reach me by phone?

  I absently changed back into my old clothes as Kate chatted about a delivery later today. My mind was too preoccupied with worries and the implications of what could arise from more contact with Declan.

  Jonas wasn’t willing to tell me about what was going on. Perhaps I could find out from Heather? But would finding out cause Declan to do something even more desperate with the photos?

  Even as I stood waiting for David, a plan hadn’t formulated. It took me a few minutes before I realized someone was tapping me on the shoulder. I looked up at the stunning blonde trying to get my attention. Melissa. She was dressed to the nines, as she had been a few days before, in a fitted dress and heels. Her face narrowed as her eyes shifted over me.

  “Well played. I have to hand it to you. Bravo. You not only duped Jonas into buying the whole collection, but he left with a ridiculous smile on his face. He keeps missing work for you, but you obviously don’t give a shit about his career or him because you don’t have one.”

  I lifted my chin. “I didn’t mean to…” I took a breath and stopped myself to rethink what I was saying. While I had problems, she wasn’t my therapist, nor did she in any way have any objectivity, being that we were both in love with the same man. “It’s none of your business what we do together. He’s heading off to work right now and his smile wasn’t ridiculous, it was genuine, because he’s happy. Something I doubt he ever experienced with you.”

  She flinched a little, but seemed to regain her composure quickly. “Oh now you have claws? I was out-trumped yesterday. You running out into the rain after you found out we had sex.” Her eyes darted and returned to me.

  I glared at her. “He didn’t have sex with you. You left your filthy underwear in our bed.” Then another thought occurred to me. “How do you even know about what happened? You spied on us? I understand now that you’re a pathetic liar, but a stalker too?”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Now I see why your boyfriend hit you. But don’t worry, I’m above such primitive means.”

  I lowered my head. “That was low, even for you,” I said, my voice hollow.

  She lowered her eyelids. “That was terrible. I didn’t mean it, but Jonas and I did share the morning in bed and that must hurt. You can chose to believe it or not. I just thought you should know. We did things you can’t even imagine together,” she said.

  I shook my head. “I know he didn’t, but let’s just say he did. He’s still with me. He chose, relocated, and moved in with me. Jonas loves me, and that must hurt.”

  Her lips curled. “Jonas doesn’t love you,” she snapped. “Jonas doesn’t know what love is after Dani. He loved her. You may, in your inexperience, believe he loves you. But he doesn’t.”

  I folded my arms. “He said he loved me. I’m surprised you missed that in your stalking.”

  She blanched. “Even if he said the words, he’s impulsive,” she said, speaking over me. “He gets bored easily too and is virile. Why else do you think Dani agreed to an open relationship? She knew the score. Don’t believe me? Ask Kate how many women have come here. How many he’s done the same routine for.”

  I bit the inside of my cheek and glanced toward Kate, who was boxing up the clothing. Had Jonas done the same with other women?

  “He has his slip-ups, like he did with you at the gala when he was starting again with me. He’ll do it again. I’ll leave you to think on that.”

  “Lily,” David came up and I went to follow him, but turned back and said, “Even if Jonas becomes bored and leaves me, he won’t return to you. He’s had plenty of chances to and keeps choosing otherwise. How about you think on that.”

  I BREATHED IN AND tried to relax, letting my thoughts drift back to all that had happened during the day. I watched the dark sky overhead through the glass of the car, guessing there would be another downpour coming along at any minute.

  I pulled out my phone and typed, Guess who I ran into at Barney’s. My finger hovered over the send button, poised to tell Jonas all that had occurred in the shop between Melissa and me. But I stopped and thought for a second.

  What would I gain by running back to Jonas, equipped with her words?

  Melissa was aware that my insecurities were my weaknesses and played on them. I had little doubt her words had been carefully crafted in a way to cause a rift between us. I had to be smarter. After all, Dani had been married to him for sixteen years, and she had warned me that there would always be women like Melissa after Jonas. I shuddered at the thought. But it was up to me to try to rise above them.

  Then again, that didn’t leave Jonas without some responsibility. He would need to do something.

  I erased the message. No. Her words were not going to come from me.

  Miraculously, there was a momentary break in the clouds as we reached Tribeca. The sun shone, warming up the cold industrial area surrounding the loft apartment and brightening my view of the day. As I played it over again in my mind, Melissa was a small bump in what had otherwise been a joyous day.

  There was something else my mind tried to conjure to dampen my mood, but I pressed it down and gave David a grin as I practically skipped up to the loft. I went about my new ritual of changing into comfortable clothes (a tank top and sweatpants), collecting my lunch (tuna on rye) and setting up my laptop to check over my messages. As I settled down at the table, I was pleased to find a new one from Ms. Parker, head of the Salomé Love Legacy Art program. I immediately opened it up to read.

  Dear Lily,

  The program is coming along great so far this year. We had a surplus in donations, as well as the large contribution from the Finch Foundation. I wanted to know if you would be interested in assessing a few new schools to include in the program for next year. This is getting bigger than me, and with the class and summer coming up, I won’t be able to take on more. We may be able to hire someone from the colleges as an intern for the summer? Let me know.

  Ms. Betty Parker

  Marymount Elementary School

  I beamed as I wrote out a quick reply.

  Dear Betty,

  I’ll take over the responsibility of the assessments, and possibly more.

  I’ll be in touch soon.

  Lily

  I tapped my finger against my lips, then sent a text message to Jonas, though I knew he wouldn’t get it until later.

  Do you know anyone that I can speak with regarding learning how to manage the Love Legacy Art program?

  I ate the rest of my lunch and cleaned up, then carried my laptop to the living room and turned on t
he TV. Flipping through the channels, I discovered there was a rental option and chose an old movie. I watched it between researching evening courses and programs at the local universities that would work around my job. As I finished sending my last inquiry email, my phone buzzed with a reply message from Jonas.

  I’ll get someone to help you. Glad you asked.

  I grinned and placed my phone down on the table, then stretched out on the couch and drifted off to sleep.

  I don’t know how much time went by before I heard, “Oh don’t wake her. She looks adorable curled up.”

  My eyes blinked open and I found a pair of eyes hovering above mine. I startled.

  Paul laughed. “Hi, kid. Ready for our date?”

  I rubbed my eyes. Was I dreaming? Nope. Jonas’s son, Paul, was leaning over me, dressed smartly in a button-down shirt and dark slacks. His longish dark wavy hair was even neatly tied back. A doppelganger of what I imagined a teen Jonas had looked like, though his smile was all Dani. Even his eyes were assessing me in a manner so similar to Jonas, it was unnerving.

  I broke his laser-eye gaze. “What’s going on?”

  He gave me a lopsided smile. “Game’s postponed for Saturday and Dad didn’t know if he would get back in time after Miami tomorrow to hang out, so he invited me to come tonight. Right now, he’s working up to dinner. So as his wingman, I’ll be your escort.”

  “Yes. Jonas called,” Lin said, entering the room and confirming their arrangement. “He’ll meet you there. Your shopping is upstairs.”

  I lifted the corners of my mouth. “Thank you very much, Lin.” I looked at Paul and smiled. “Great. Where are we going? I should get dressed.” I sat up with an enthusiastic bounce.

  He chuckled. “Oh, this is going to be fun.”

  “No, it won’t be. You’ll behave,” Lin said to him in a stern tone. He gave her the cutest sad look, which had her giggling. “Why don’t you play the piano and let Lily get ready,” she suggested.

  “It’s my day off, too,” he said, his full lips poking out as Lin half-dragged him over to the bench before the piano.

  “Oh, I’d love to hear you play,” I said, clasping my hands together.

  He flashed a bright smile at me. “Do that a few more times and I’ll play all night,” he said.

  “Stop flirting with your Dad’s girlfriend,” Lin scolded. “Lily, it’s close to five. You really need to get dressed.”

  Paul titled his head. “I’ll play you out. Your own theme song.”

  I stood up and headed for the stairs as Paul began to play. The musical arrangement was nothing I recognized, but his playing was nothing short of brilliant. I slowed down at the stares and glanced back to watch him. The playful teen was replaced by a skilled master, completely absorbed in the music. I wanted to stay and listen but forced myself up the stairs to change.

  I took a quick shower and used my daily skin moisturizers before leaving the bathroom. Standing at the closet, I found the new lingerie was already there and quickly changed into it and thigh highs. I applied a little makeup and decided to wear my long black hair down. I ended with a little fragrance and the embroidered dress Jonas had selected. Collecting my heels, I went downstairs and was delighted to see Paul was still playing. When he saw me, he started banging out Fountain of Wayne’s “Stacey’s Mom.”

  “Knock it off Paul,” Lin said.

  He gave her a sheepish grin. “How do you know that song?”

  Laughing, she said, “Your face told me.”

  “I’ll have to work on my poker face then,” he said and kissed her cheek.

  He turned to me. “You ready, doll? David’s downstairs ready to take us to Per Se.” He held out his arm.

  I put on my heels and hooked my arm to his. “I haven’t broken these in, so I’ll need your help on the cobblestones.”

  “You look beautiful, Lily,” Lin said, kissing my cheek. “See you Monday.”

  “Thank you so much, Lin,” I gushed before the door closed and we left for the restaurant.

  We walked arm and arm through the glass doors housing Per Se in Columbus Circle, and a new Paul took over. He helped me out of my coat and spoke quietly to the hostess, who immediately had the staff collect our coats and gave us a personal escort to our table in the main dining room. The formal cloth tables had elegant chairs, along with soft lights and floral arrangements decorating them.

  Our table was situated before one of the large windows, and I was in awe of the view. We were looking out at Central Park, which was spectacular, even at night. Paul held out my seat and I sat down, “Thank you.”

  His phone buzzed as he took the seat across from me. He held up his hand to answer it. “It’s Dad. He said he tried to phone you, but got voicemail.”

  I searched my purse, realizing that I didn’t have my phone. “Sorry,” I said sheepishly.

  Paul gave me a wink. “She’s fine.” He held the phone away from his ear. “He stopped by Mom’s for a quick change. He should be here in ten minutes. Oh, and he said to order a glass of wine for me.”

  I squinted at him. “He didn’t say to order you wine.” He gave me an innocent look, and was ready to hand me the phone. But before I took it, he put it down and laughed.

  “I thought you were fun. Mom lets me have a glass with dinner,” he said and simpered.

  I lifted my shoulder and offered the only compromise I had available. “If Jonas says it’s okay when he arrives.”

  “Then the answer is no,” he said and laughed.

  The waiter brought waters and a basket of bread and left.

  “Dad already set us up for the tasting menu and champagne for you. I get some sparkling kiddie drink, but I don’t care. The food here will blow your mind,” Paul said.

  “Paul, what was that music you were playing earlier?” I asked.

  “That was something I’ve written recently. It’s not finished,” he said.

  “It’s brilliant,” I enthused, and he actually blushed for me.

  “Thank you,” he said in a soft tone.

  “How long have you been playing?” I asked.

  “For as long as I can remember. Mom says two. I sat down at one of her hippie chants and pressed down on the harmonium, and someone said I was an old soul, but dad didn’t buy it. He gave in once he was convinced that I was a natural. He gave me the ‘as long as it makes you happy, son,’ speech. Ba da Bing, I’m at Julliard.”

  I laughed then grinned. “Yes. Jonas mentioned you were there. My Dad was a principal viola for the Boston Symphony before he passed away.”

  Paul took a hold of my hand and gave it a squeeze. “Mom and Dad told me. That must be hard. Sorry.”

  I couldn’t help but smile at the teen. Old soul, indeed. “Thank you. It is…was…I think it gets…it becomes little less painful every day. They’ll always be a part of me.”

  He patted my hand. “Good. I’d love to hear his performances. I’ll give you my email and, well, now you’ll have to come to my performances.”

  My heart expanded. I could have hugged him at that moment. “I’d like that very much.”

  He laughed. “You look like I gave you a Christmas present. Sweet. I’ve got to toughen you up. Throw a tantrum while Dad’s here.” We laughed.

  “Time to put you in the hot seat.” His tone became serious. “What are your intentions with my dad?”

  My mouth dropped open. “Uhm…we…”

  “We plan to keep your nose out of our business,” said a deep, rich voice behind me, and Paul laughed.

  I looked up and my heart stopped. Jonas looked devastatingly handsome in an impeccable dark grey suit. His dark waves were slightly curlier, due to the humidity and rain I suspected, but that only added to his beauty. He leaned in and met my eyes and I forgot to breathe. I could feel the heat of his skin, even before he kissed the side of my face.

  “You look stunning,” he said in a low tone.

  My eyes flicked to his lips and back to his eyes that were glimmering. “So do
you.”

  “Okay, we all look hot. Am I going to have to watch you two ogle all night?” Paul said, exasperation in his tone.

  Jonas kissed my lips lightly and took the seat next to me. “One day you’ll understand.”

  “Ha. I already do, Dad. Mom didn’t tell you?” Paul said mischievously.

  Jonas’s eyes widened and then narrowed as realization crossed his face. “Please no, way too soon,” he grumbled. He took a generous sip of the Scotch that the waiter placed before him.

  I suppressed a giggle by holding up my glass of champagne and drinking it too quickly, though I could see Jonas had shifted his reproving glare to me.

  Paul pushed out his chest. “What? I’m almost sixteen. I’m a man. Well, soon will be if all goes to plan.”

  “Is this what you want to talk about over dinner?” Jonas said in a tone that made it clear he didn’t. “Lily will never want to go out with us again.”

  Paul shrugged his shoulders. “The tables are private here, so no one besides the three of us can hear what we’re talking about. And anyway, we have to squeeze in these talks when you’re around.”

  Jonas looked like he had been stung, and tapped his finger on his glass.

  “I didn’t mean that like it came out. I added to your calendar everything that’s coming up,” Paul said with a lift of the side of his mouth.

  “It’s alright. I’m changing, son. I’ll be around more. And taking off more time, too, now that I’m back in New York. We’ll be seeing each other outside of the dates,” Jonas said.

  The waiter came over and announced our first course, “Sabayon of Pearl Tapioca with Island Creek Oysters and Sterling White Sturgeon Caviar.”

  The presentation was so pretty, I didn’t want to ruin it. But then I bit into it and moaned, flushing as both sets of sea blue eyes swung over to me.

  Paul batted his long lashes. “You’ll need to control yourself, Ms. Salomé. I’m an impressionable child and this is an upscale establishment.”

  Jonas snorted. “Who was just talking about a losing-his-virginity plan?”