Lily gave a deliberate snort. “I’m not even going to dignify that with a response.”
Pausing in mid-gloat, an uncertain look crossed Beth’s face. “Wait…what about Lucas?”
“Lucas…” Lily tapped her chin. “Maybe I’ll just let Bella decide.”
Beth raised her eyes heavenward and folded her hands in prayer. “Please, oh please let Prince Charming be a cat lover.” Giving Lily a sidelong glance she said, “You were serious, right?”
Lily sighed. “It doesn’t matter anyway. I’m only up to the I’ll call you phase so it’s still just a dream except now I’m awake. Besides,” she added, thinking about her handsome new acquaintance, “he probably won’t call. My luck just isn’t that good.”
The rest of the evening flew by and worn out from the excitement, Lily readied for bed as soon as she got home. Undressing, she pulled her cell phone from her skirt pocket and saw she had missed a call. In her haste, it took several tries to retrieve her voicemail but when she finally reached her message, her heart skipped a beat at the lilting voice.
“Hello, Lily, this is Ian Kelly. It was a pleasure meeting you and I wish you the sweetest of dreams this evening. We’ll talk soon.”
She replayed the message over and over, and her last thought before falling asleep was that first thing in the morning she needed to buy a lotto ticket in honor of her improving luck.
* * * *
When Lily awoke Monday morning, the very first thing she did was listen to Ian’s message again before she even got out of bed. She stretched languidly and pulled her card for the day, the Six of Cups. Someone from my past, happy memories, she thought. Her gaze landed on the picture still lying face-down on the nightstand and a wave of guilt made her flinch. “I have no reason to feel guilty,” she reassured herself, “I’ve made no commitments to Lucas.” She rose at once and took the picture to the living room, settling it on the bookcase. Chewing her lower lip in indecision, she laid it face-down then turned to find Bella perched on the back of the couch. The cat’s mouth opened wide and she hacked as if dislodging a particularly stubborn hairball.
Lily burst into laughter. “Your opinion has been duly noted,” she said.
The office buzzed with the latest news–another woman had been found in the river, not far from the first. The other two ladies in the office, middle-aged Janice and twenty-something Irena, could talk of nothing else. Captivated by the events of yesterday and the possibility of what lay ahead, Lily only half-listened to the whispered conversations and called several times to hear the deep, sensual voice in her saved messages. It was a day of pure futility as she steeled herself not to think about it, but sat perched atop pins and needles waiting for her phone to ring again.
Later in the evening the call finally came. Trying her best to maintain both composure and dignity, Lily scrambled across the couch to answer it, knocking over a bottle of spring water and startling Bella into running for cover.
She paused before answering, taking a deep breath. “Hello?”
“Lily? This is Ian Kelly. We met at the Castle this past weekend?” he prompted.
Like I could forget that. “Yes, I remember,” she said, wondering if he could tell she was grinning like an idiot.
“I’m calling to see if perhaps you are free Thursday evening…” She was familiar with the upscale restaurant he suggested, although she had never been there. She gave him directions to her apartment and he repeated them back to her twice. “I transpose numbers sometimes,” he explained.
“You can always call if you get lost,” she said, and warmed at the smile in his voice when he promised to see her promptly at seven on Thursday.
Lily gave the phone a moment to cool then nearly broke a nail dialing Beth. “Houston, we have a date,” she said, breathless with excitement. “We’ve got to get to the mall, stat. I’ll be at your place in ten minutes–ready thyself.”
Arriving at the mall twenty minutes later, they settled into the serious business of finding the perfect outfit. “Your wardrobe’s in sad shape, so anything would be an improvement,” Beth pointed out.
“Hey, now wait a minute…” Lily said.
Beth ignored her protests. “Everything you have says either Daddy’s girl or insurance agent. You need something that screams take-me-I’m-yours,” she said, wiggling her brows suggestively.
Lily grumbled despite the truth of the blunt statement. “I don’t want to look desperate and I don’t want to look cheap,” she snapped.
“Cheap, never, but you are desperate, darling. Let’s face facts. This might be your ticket out of Lucasville and I’m going to do everything in my power to help you pack your bags. Now, let’s start with a dress,” she said, pulling Lily into a fashionable boutique.
Almost at once, Lily found a strapless, calf-length dress with a fitted bodice, a full skirt and matching short jacket in soft combed cotton. The muted lilac suited her delicate coloring to perfection. “Excellent,” said Beth. “Now, you’ll need matching shoes and a bag.”
Lily looked at the price tag and gasped in dismay. “I can’t afford all this.”
“You can’t afford not to get this,” Beth assured her and with a sly grin, pulled out her credit card to help her buy the beautiful outfit.
The talk turned to hair, makeup and Beth’s solemn vow to haunt her in the afterlife if she didn’t shave her legs. “It’s not like anything is going to happen,” Lily whined.
“You have to,” Beth shook her head at her friend’s naivete. “If you don’t, it’s a given you’ll wish you did. And nothing will turn a guy off faster than having legs you could grate carrots on. Well, except for maybe braided armpit ha–”
Lily clapped a hand over her friend’s mouth. “Good to know. Thanks, Miss Cosmopolitan,” she interrupted, shuddering violently. Biting the inside of their cheeks to keep from laughing, the two women continued with Mission Accessorize until the mall closed for the evening.
5
As she dressed late Thursday afternoon, she surveyed herself in her bathroom mirror. It’s silly getting so worked up about this, she thought. It’s just dinner, and… A streak of black fur flew into the bathroom, landed on a leftover bath towel and surfed its way into the side of the tub with a thud. Bella looked around saucer-eyed, tailing whipping back and forth, and then like a shot was gone again.
Lily found herself with a case of nervous giggles that ended abruptly when the doorbell rang at seven. Taking a deep breath, she waited several moments before opening the door. Ian’s eyes widened when he saw her. “Good evening, milady,” he said. He stared for a moment longer. “You look lovely.”
“Thank you, milord.” She lowered her lashes with a shy smile then remembered her manners. “Please, come in and make yourself at home. I’ll just be a minute. May I get you something to drink?”
“No, thank you,” he said, taking a seat on the couch. “It’s very pretty, your place. It looks like you.”
“Thanks. I’ll be right back.” She hurried to the bedroom to check her makeup and hair one last time. Glancing at her reflection she called out, “I have a roommate, but I doubt you’ll see her.”
“I believe we’ve already met,” he answered with a low chuckle.
On the verge of saying she didn’t mean Beth, Lily walked out of the bedroom and saw Bella had jumped up beside Ian and was caught in the throes of bliss as he scratched her under her chin. Bella seems to like him, and he apparently likes her. He passes the cat test with flying colors, she thought. Ian One, Lucas Zero.