James handed it over obediently. While she entered in Beth’s contact information he asked, “What’s she like? I mean, really like.”
“We’ve been best friends for yea–”
James sat back and stroked his chin thoughtfully. “We just met this evening, but I have to tell you I think I would have been able to pick her out of a screaming crowd. She’s got something. It’s hard to describe, exactly.” He glanced around for his drink, and unable to locate it waved at the waitress to bring him another. “She is quite the beauty, but I don’t think she thinks she is. She’s funny too. Talks non-stop. I love that. She has a running narrative going all the time.”
“She sounds a lot lik–”
“And her car. Ah, it’s a great car. I told her so and I could tell by the look on her face she thought I was giving her a hard time about it. It’s got a lot of personality, that car, just like her.”
“She’s always been pra–”
“And that dress.” He rolled his eyes with a blissful sigh. “I mean, pardon my saying, you being a right proper unmarried lady and all, but she is a luscious bit of woman. The women I see are like sticks most of the time, rail thin and naught but hard edges to hold on to. Beth is soft and curvy and…” The server arrived with his wine, and he downed half of it in one gulp. “…Christ almighty, listen to me. I’m going on like a teenage boy. Yeah, I liked her.”
“So are you pla–”
“I asked her to go back to my hotel and have a drink, and that’s when she took off running. I thought maybe I offended her or something. I guess I’m used to having to move quickly. I’m never in one place for too long.”
“What if you were to–”
James opened his mouth to speak again, but Lily raised a warning hand and laughed. “Shut it, James.”
He laughed too. “I get that a lot.” He raised his glass in mock toast and said, “So now you tell me about her.”
Lily smiled. “Beth been my best friend since…well, forever…and I love her dearly. She lost both her parents when she was very little, and she lived with her aunt until she passed away a couple of years ago. She’s been on her own since that. She’s a little rough around the edges sometimes, and her mouth tends to get her in all kinds of trouble, but a lot of that is just self-preservation. She’s as tenderhearted and sweet as they come.” Her voice lowered conspiratorially. “I’ll tell you a secret and if you ever tell her I told you this, I’ll kick you into the middle of next week.”
James flinched and raised his hand. “I solemnly swear. Jaysus, do you threaten Ian like this? No wonder he’s toeing the line now.”
Lily giggled. “Stay on point, James. Beth has been crushing on you for years, and she was completely floored–as was I, I must say–to find out you are Ian’s brother. Now she’s coming face to face with one of her fantasies, and I think she finds you more than a little intimidating.” She took a sip from her own glass and smiled when Ian winked at her from across the room. “If you’re really interested, you’re going to need to convince her that you’re sincere. I mean, your reputation isn’t exactly spotless, you know.”
He sighed and his shoulders sagged a little. “Years ago, a tiny bit might have been deserved, but a lot has been exaggerated to the point that even I’m shocked at what I’ve supposedly done. Most of it is just rumor and publicity, I swear.”
“I already knew that, James,” Lily smiled. “You were raised in a good family and I know you’re a true gentleman at heart.”
His cheeks burned at the unexpected compliment. “Gentleman, I don’t know, but one thing you’re right about is that I do come from a good family.” His gaze swept the room, lingering on Ian, Meg and Heather laughing at a shared joke. “The old man never approved of my leaving school for the band. He wanted me to finish my studies first and find a good woman to settle down with.” He looked down at his hands and for the briefest moment his eyes misted over, the pain of losing their father in a car accident two years ago still fresh. “He would have wanted to be here for this,” he mumbled.
She leaned over and gently patted his hand. “I have no doubts he’ll be watching over us.”
He nodded once and straightening up smiled back at her. “So how do I go about convincing Beth I’m sincere?”
Lily rubbed her hands together. “Well…” she began slowly, “I just might have a few ideas…”
4
Beth was by nature an early riser, but the prior evening’s potent combination of mead, wine with dinner and the near kiss that made her go screaming off into the night had taken its toll, so it was nearly eleven before she awoke. Her eyes barely opened when the silence was shattered by the Wicked Witch of the West theme from the Wizard of Oz. After a moment of lazy deliberation, she rolled over to answer her cell phone, curious at the unknown number.
“‘Lo?” she mumbled.
“Good morning, sunshine,” that damnably musical voice said. “Are you not up yet? Jaysus, gal. It’s all of eleven o’clock. It’s James, by the by. James Kelly? You might remember, we met last night in a dark and scary parking lot…”
She bolted upright in the bed. She quickly smoothed her mussed hair, her braid having unraveled in the night. “James! Um…yes, I’m up. Uh…Hi! What’s…going on?”
He laughed and a small chunk of her emotional armor fell away in response to that warm, rich sound. “I’m calling to see if you’d like to go to lunch. Someplace out in public during the broad daylight hours so I don’t frighten you off again.”
Still not quite certain she wasn’t deep in the throes of a really excellent dream, she thought fast. Surely there’s no harm in just having lunch, a little inner voice chided. “Okay,” she agreed. “What time? Would you like me to meet you somewhere?”
“How long will it take you to get ready?” he asked. “I think I’m pretty close by, I can pick you up.”
“I can be ready in just a few minutes,” she said, then added warily, “Just how close are you?”
“Very,” he snickered.
She rocketed out of bed and ran to her bedroom window, yanking the blinds open to reveal the parking lot. Just as she suspected. There he was, leaning against the hood of his rented Lexus, clad in faded jeans, a Tampa Bay Bucs t-shirt and ball cap, running shoes, and the most devastating smile she had ever seen. Yup, still dreaming. She giggled in spite of herself and waved.
He waved back. “So…how long will it take you to get ready?” he repeated patiently.
“Give me just a minute.” She breathed then hung up before her mouth could betray her thoughts. Her mind was racing as she began trying to talk herself off the ledge. “Yes, he’s sitting out there waiting for me. Me. Okay, don’t panic. Jeans, jeans…where the hell are my jeans…”
She hopped through the bedroom on one leg as she pulled them on, thanking the Goddess she had finally gotten around to doing laundry yesterday. Pulling on a light knit top, she ran to the bathroom, dabbed on a little makeup and yanked a brush through her hair until she was satisfied it didn’t look like she had just crawled out of bed. She found one sneaker in the closet–one of the good pair that she saved for special occasions–and after a brief but harrowing search found the other one under the bed. She laced them up, grabbed her purse and ran for her front door.
Stop right there! Her inner voice screeched before she could fling the door open and sprint down the stairs three at a time. Walk. Do not run. Taking a deep breath, she counted to ten, then twenty, then fifty. When her pulse was as close to normal as she was