by Sarah Hegger
Lucy grew suddenly light-headed. He was awfully close. It would be laughably easy to lean slightly to her left. She would tuck her face into that sweet spot between his neck and his shoulder. His chest would be broad and impenetrable beneath her cheek. She would feel the warmth of his body as his arms closed around her. And everything would be all right.
“Lucy?” He frowned at her. Clueless as to what was going through her mind. “What are you doing out here in your pajamas?” He looked down at her legs and then turned his head to the side and looked some more. “Is that SpongeBob SquarePants?”
“Yes.”
“And Patrick?”
“Yup.”
“This is pretty desperate stuff, Luce.” He took a sip of his coffee and nudged her cup to her lips. Lucy sipped obediently and cradled her hands around the warm ceramic. “Sitting out here in the snow in your Patrick pants and crying.”
“What do you recommend?” Lucy gave a watery chuckle.
“A good, stiff shot of—” He stopped suddenly and looked stricken.
“I tried that.” Lucy took another sip of the coffee. “It didn’t work so well for me.”
“Shit, Lucy, I’m sorry.”
“Forget it.” Lucy waved a hand dismissively. “I’m not going to go flying off on a five-day bender because somebody makes a remark.” She sniffed and he handed her a dishcloth. Lucy took it with a laugh. She scrubbed her face with the cloth. “I’m feeling sorry for myself.”
“So you decided freezing your ass off would be a suitable fate?”
He surprised a snort of laughter out of her. “No, I was getting some space. Dad is bad this morning.”
“Yeah.” He exhaled softly. “I tried having a talk with your mother yesterday. She doesn’t seem to want to hear it.”
“I know,” Lucy said, shrugging. “Every time I try to get her thinking about making any sort of choices, she digs in her heels.”
“Lucy”—he rapped her knee gently—“are you sure your mom wants to do something about this?”
“Nope.” Lucy sipped her coffee and sighed. “She sounded so desperate on the phone. I thought if I came here, I could help her, be here for her to lean on, like I should have done all these years.”
He took a sip of his coffee. “People have to want you to help them for that to work.”
“Now you sound like Mads.” Lucy laughed softly. “My sponsor,” she told him when he gave her a questioning look. “She is always saying stuff like that to me.”
He opened his mouth to speak and then shut it again. He’d done that before and she suddenly wanted to know.
“What?”
“Nothing.” He shrugged, not at all convincingly, and Lucy continued to glare at him.
“What was it like?” he asked suddenly. “Getting sober.”
“Pretty hellish,” Lucy answered, grimacing. “But the worst part is staying sober. Being here”—she motioned to the house behind them—“brings all the stuff up again, all the reasons why I drank.” He waited for her to say more. “Having to face up to all the stuff I did. What a total screwup I was. That’s the hard part.”
“You weren’t that bad.” He tried, but Lucy gave a snort of laugher.
“I was a nightmare.”
“Okay,” he said, grinning sheepishly. “There were certain parts of your past behavior that still make me want to break out into a cold sweat.”
“Is that all?” Lucy said a little breathlessly as they skirted closer to dangerous territory.
“It wasn’t all bad.” His voice deepened slightly or perhaps it was her imagination, but Lucy forgot how to form a sentence. Not when he looked at her with those summer-sky eyes gentle on her face. She had been sure she’d banished that look from his eyes forever.
“You look tired.” He reached out a finger and gently traced the dark patches under her eyes.
Lucy forgot to breathe. His touch against her skin was blissful.
His eyes grew dark and he didn’t rush to take his fingers away, but traced the line of her cheekbone to the edge of her mouth. His focus narrowed onto the small spot occupied by his index finger.
“I’m not sleeping too well,” she admitted.
“Don’t be too hard on yourself, Lucy. I think if you look fast, you’ll see that even we are becoming friends again.” The blue of his eyes grew hotter, more intense. “Or something.”
He felt it too. Lucy knew he did. The flame between them flared into life too bright and too hot for him not to be part of it. With a soft sound of something close to regret, he dropped his finger and took a sip of his coffee. It was a diversionary tactic, but it gave Lucy a chance to release the breath she’d been holding.
“I should go in,” she murmured and got to her feet.
He stood with her.
Like this, they were mere inches apart, but neither of them increased the distance. They were close enough to touch. If he moved one arm, he could draw her closer against him. His eyes drifted over her face like a touch and flickered across her mouth. The frigid air grew heavier and lambent with forbidden thoughts and desires.
“So what happens now, Lucy Flint?” The loaded question hung heavily between them.
“Now,” she said softly. “I finish doing what I came here to do, fix what I can, and go back to Seattle. And I try not to fuck up any more than I have already.”
Chapter Thirteen
“Lucy?” She could hear by her mom’s tone that something was wrong. She had been in the process of dealing with some of the accumulated clutter in her bedroom. It made her feel as if she were making some sort of progress. “Can you come down?” Her mother’s voice rose at the end of the sentence. Something was very definitely up.
“Coming,” she called. It couldn’t be Carl; he was safely ensconced in his new chair and watching some TV show at an ear-splitting level.
Lucy got to her feet. She had been sitting for so long, her knees creaked as she stood. She trotted down the stairs and stopped.
Ashley stood in the hallway, but not looking anything like her memories of the other woman. Dressed in a severely cut black skirt and a silk blouse, she looked sleek and commanding. It was a little intimidating. Ashley’s puppy fat had redistributed itself over her body into enough lush curves to make a forties pinup gnash her teeth. Next to Richard, this was the meeting she’d dreaded most. Hell really did have no fury like Ashley scorned.
“Hi.” Lucy sounded like her mom as she greeted the other woman.
Ashley subjected her to the same minute scrutiny.
“Lucy.” Her voice was the same, with a lacing of steel through its honeyed tones. There was nothing reassuring about the tone. Ashley didn’t seem to have softened toward her in the least.
“Look who it is?” Lynne chirruped enthusiastically. “It’s Ashley, Lucy. She’s come to see you.”
“Thanks, Mom.” Lucy took the remaining stairs at a slower pace. The air between her and Ashley was so thick it clung to the inside of her throat. There was so much to be said, and yet none of it came to mind.
Lynne stood uncertainly between them, ringing her hands over and over like a dishcloth.
“Would you like something to drink?” Her mother peered anxiously at Ashley.
“No, thank you.” Ashley gave Lynne a tight smile. “This will not take long. I came to see Lucy.”
“Isn’t that nice,” Lynne said.
“Yes, Mom.” Lucy moved past her mother. Ashley stood eye to eye with her, thanks to a nosebleed pair of red heels. Lucy motioned toward the living room. “Shall we?”
Damn, awkward didn’t even cover this. Ashley stayed right on her heels as Lucy led the way.
They stopped just inside the room and Lucy motioned toward a chair.
Ashley shook her head. “I am not staying long.” Her eyes narrowed slightly in an expression Lucy recognized. Mentally she got ready. Here it came. “I had to see for myself that it was actually you.”
“Yes.” Lucy cleared her throat. “My dad hasn�
�t been too well. I am here to help my mother.”
“Really?” Ashley’s red mouth puckered up into a tight bow. “I find the timing very interesting.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Richard and I are separated and Lucy Flint comes back to town.”
“One thing has nothing to do with the other,” Lucy said. She had a good sense where this was going. “I came back to help my mother. I didn’t even know about you and Richard until I got here.”
Ashley’s mouth split into a derisive smile. “Of course you didn’t,” she drawled. “And I would believe you, Lucy. Except we both know that I know you a whole lot better than that.”
Ashley had her there. They had been friends for so long. Long enough for everything to have gone so horribly wrong. Lucy was well aware what her part was in the ugly mess they’d made of their friendship.
“Used to know me.” Lucy bit back the surge of hot denial. Losing her temper would not help this situation. “You and I haven’t spoken in over ten years.”
“Since you made it your mission to take Richard away from me.” Ashley’s nostrils flared slightly.
“I was in love with Richard,” Lucy replied.
“Bullshit.” Ashley’s composure cracked a teeny bit, her eyes narrowed viciously at Lucy. “I had something and you wanted it. Like everything else I had.”
It was such a one-sided view of the situation, but Lucy kept silent. This could deteriorate into a kindergarten scrap faster than she could blink. She was not going to go there.
“And now you are back to do the same again.” Ashley took a step forward. The heel of her shoe resounded against the wooden floor. “I thought Brooke must be talking shit when she told me, but here you are.” Long, lacquered fingernails swept Lucy from top to toe. “Here to do what you always do.”
“I am not here to cause trouble.” If she said it enough, Ashley might just let this go.
“I don’t care what you say, Lucy.” Ashley shook her head angrily. “I know what you are and I know what you want here.” She took another step until they were almost nose to nose. The musky scent of Ashley’s perfume filled the tiny space between them. “So, I am here to tell you, not this time, Lucy. You will not get away with your shit again.”
“I am no—”
“You can’t have Richard and you can’t come back to town and mess with everybody’s life again. I am giving you this warning.” Ashley raised one of her red-tipped fingers. “And I will warn you only once. If you insist on staying here, fine, I can’t stop you. But if you go near Richard, you will be very sorry.”
Lucy was momentarily taken aback. “Threats, Ashley?” This was like being trapped in a soap opera.
“One warning.” Ashley’s eyes could burn a hole in her chest.
Lucy could see she was deadly serious. Some demon made her ask. “Or what?”
Ashley gave a reluctant huff of laughter. “I know things about you, Lucy.”
“Shit, Ashley,” Lucy said, shrugging. “I didn’t exactly make a secret of my behavior. The whole of Willow Park knows things about me.”
“All of it?” the other woman drawled.
The skin at the back of Lucy’s neck prickled. Ashley was very sure of herself.
Ashley’s smile turned predatory as she watched Lucy’s face. “That’s what I thought,” she murmured.
Lucy watched her turn and stalk out of the room. Her mind cycled rapidly, so many mistakes and so many dirty little secrets. They all crowded around her brain and demanded to be heard. Lucy took a deep breath. She couldn’t go there. She was not that girl anymore.
Ashley stuffed her arms into her coat. A smug smile tilted the corners of her bright, red mouth. Lucy had come home with some vague idea that she might be able to deliver an amends to Ashley. There would be no such conversation with Ashley. It made her sad. It also pissed her off. Ashley could give as good as she got. And she had. The door shut behind the other woman on an ominous bang.
“That was nice of her to visit.” Her mom slipped into the room, worrying her fingers together.
Lucy murmured something noncommittal and escaped upstairs. She suddenly felt like she needed to take a shower. She needed to get rid of all that anger aimed her way.
“Ashley?” Richard blinked at his wife stupidly. He was sitting in the kitchen going through some admin when she let herself in. It irked him and it shouldn’t have. This was Ashley’s house too. He was the one who wanted her to come back to it.
She looked good as she slunk into the kitchen. Ashley had that way of moving like a pampered house cat, all voluptuous and slithery.
“Hello, Richard.” She bent and kissed him on the cheek. Her perfume surrounded him. It was such a familiar Ashley smell that it made his chest ache a bit. She slid into the seat opposite him. “So, are you busy?”
“No.” He pushed his laptop away from him. It was not like Ashley to drop by and shoot the shit. He studied her, searching for a clue. Since the day she’d walked out, Ashley tended to only communicate with him through her lawyer. It was one of the things that drove him batshit crazy. He knew if he could talk to her face to face, then he could get her to see things his way. Yet, here she was, sitting opposite him and not looking like she was going anywhere in a hurry and he couldn’t think of a damn thing to say to her. “How are you?” It was so lame he almost cringed.
“I am good, Richard.” She purred the ch sound through his name, like his mother did and she wasn’t even French. “Busy getting ready for the San Francisco opening.”
“That’s great,” he muttered. It wasn’t great at all, but it seemed the right thing to say. It wasn’t that he wasn’t pleased for her success. He was proud as hell of what she’d achieved. It’s that Ashley’s stores had become all she cared about, until her marriage seemed a nasty intrusion on her working life.
“You hate my stores.” She pulled a face at him.
“No, I don’t,” he answered truthfully. “I hate the way they took over our lives.”
“Richard,” she growled at him and rolled her eyes. “We are not going to have this argument again, are we?”
“I don’t know, Ashley.” He sat back and folded his arms over his chest. “Are we?”
Shit, it annoyed him when she dismissed him like that. This entire separation crap was about her career. He’d suggested they start a family and Ashley had gone into rapid retreat. She was getting her career started and she didn’t want to be tied down.
He got that. He knew how hard it was to build something up from the ground. But it hadn’t ended there. He had suggested they wait and that’s when the kicker had come. Ashley didn’t want to wait, because Ashley didn’t want children at all. It turned out Ashley didn’t want to be married either.
Annoyance turned her brown eyes hard like onyx. Surprisingly, she had no blistering comeback for him. Something here was a bit off. Ashley appearing in his kitchen was one thing, but Ashley not rising to the bait was just plain weird. And then he got it.
“You’re here because of Lucy.” He knew he’d guessed right the minute he saw her mouth tighten and her chin thrust out toward him. He had no idea why he said it, but the words seemed to come right out of his mouth. “Aren’t we all getting a bit old to be hanging on to our old grudges?”
“What the fuck does that mean?” she snarled and there was the girl he knew and loved.
Richard shrugged and kept it light. Lucy was a trip wire where Ashley was concerned. As far as strategy went, pissing her off now would be an epic fail. He softened his tone. “It means that it’s history now. Lucy is here to help her mother.”
“You’ve seen her?” Ashley’s eyes narrowed.
“Of course I’ve seen her,” he snapped, a bit exasperated. “I am her father’s doctor.”
“And now it’s all let’s forgive and forget?” Ashley’s eyes glittered dangerously.
“It’s not that, babe.” He leaned across the table and took her hand. He needed to diffuse the situation before Ashley went into full-on melt
down. “I think she’s changed.”
“Don’t be so fucking stupid.” She jerked her hand against his grasp. Richard tightened his grip. “People like Lucy don’t change.”
He opened his mouth to argue and then snapped it shut. He’d said the same thing to Lucy only a couple of days ago. Lucy did seem to have changed. There was a maturity about her now, but he sure as shit was not going to tell Ashley that.
“I don’t want to talk about Lucy.” He changed tack quickly. Under his thumb, her ring finger was bare. He gently stroked the empty place where his ring had rested all these years. His gut tightened, but he kept it out of his voice. You got nowhere by going head to head with Ashley. “You’re here, like I’ve been asking you to be, and I want to talk about us.”
“Actually,” she said, simmering right down again. That was the thing about Ashley, she got mad fast, but she cooled down as fast. “That is why I am here. I thought we could talk.”
Richard felt his heart clench and miss a beat. She was here and she was listening. This was his chance to make his wife see that their marriage was worth saving. He shoved aside the tiny niggle in the back of his mind. This is what he wanted.
Chapter Fourteen
Lucy let herself out into the bright morning sunlight. Her eyes watered slightly against the bounce of light off the snow and she dug in her purse for her sunglasses. She took a deep pull on the fresh morning air.
“Hey, Lucy, wait up.”
Just about forever if you wanted me to. The thought popped into her head, surprising her as she turned and watched Richard leap and slide his way through snow and ice toward her.
“Luce?”
“Yes, Richie Rich?”
“You know you’re my one, right?”
“Your one?”
“My one and only.”
“Wow, that’s pretty major.”
“Isn’t it, though?”
“You might have to keep reminding me that I’m your one.”