Friends--And Then Some Page 3

  Chapter Two

  “A message?” Lily’s gaze clashed with Jake’s as excitement welled up inside her, lifting the dark shroud of depression that had settled over her earlier.

  “Thanks, Henry.” Lily gave the hotel’s senior bellhop a brilliant smile. Two minutes before, Lily would never have believed that something as simple as an envelope could chase the clouds of doubt from her heart.

  “Well, what does it say?” Jake questioned, leaning through the open car window. He appeared as eager as Lily.

  “Give me a minute to open it, for heaven’s sake.” She ripped apart the beige envelope bearing the Wheaton’s logo. Her gaze flew over the bold pen strokes, reading as fast as she could. “It’s from him.”

  “Daddy Warbucks?”

  “Yes,” she repeated, her voice quavering with anticipation. “Only his real name is Rex Flanders. He says he got hung up in a meeting and couldn’t make it downstairs, but he wanted me to know he heard the song and it was just as good as he remembered. He wants to thank me.” Searching for something more, Lily turned over the single sheet, thinking she must have missed or dropped it in her hastiness. Surely he meant that he wanted to thank her with more than a simple message. The least she’d expected was a dinner invitation. With hurried, anxious movements she checked her lap, scrambling to locate the envelope she’d so carelessly discarded only a moment before.

  “What are you looking for?” Jake asked, perplexed.

  “Nothing.” Defeat caused her voice to drop half an octave. Lily couldn’t take her eyes from the few scribbled lines on the single sheet of hotel stationery. Shaking her head, she hoped to clear her muddled thoughts. She’d been stupid to expect anything more than a simple thank-you. Rich men always had women chasing after them. There wasn’t one thing that would make her stand out in a crowd. She wasn’t strikingly beautiful, or talented, or even sophisticated. Little about her would make her attractive to a wealthy man.

  “Lily?” Gently, Jake placed a hand on her forearm. His tender touch warmed her cool skin and brought feeling back to her numb fingers. “What’s wrong?”

  A tremulous smile briefly touched her lips. “Me. I’m wrong. Oh, Jake, I’m never going to find a rich man who’ll want to marry me. And even if I caught someone’s eye, they’d take one look at Gram and Herbie and start running in the opposite direction.”

  “I don’t see why,” he contradicted sharply. “I didn’t.”

  “Yeah, but you’re just as weird as we are.”

  “Thanks.” Sarcasm coated his tongue. So Lily thought he was as eccentric as her grandmother. All right, he’d agree that he didn’t have the corporate ambition that drove so many of his college friends. He liked his life. He was perfectly content to live on a sailboat for the remainder of his days, without a care or responsibility. There wasn’t anything in this world that he couldn’t walk away from, and that was exactly the way he wanted it. No complications. No one to answer to. Except Gram and Lily. But now even his platonic relationship with Lily was beginning to cause problems. He admired Lily. What he liked best about her was that she had no designs on his heart and no desire to change him. She was an honest, forthright woman. She knew what she wanted and made no bones about it. Their kiss from the day before had been a fluke that wouldn’t happen again. He’d make sure of that.

  “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded,” Lily mumbled in apology. “You’re the best friend I’ve got. I’m feeling a bit defeated at the moment. Tomorrow I’ll be back to my normal self again.”

  Silently walking around the front of the taxi, Jake climbed into the driver’s seat and started the engine with a flick of his wrist. “I can’t say I blame you.” And he didn’t. After everything she’d gone through to find that song, she had every right to be disappointed.

  “It’s me I’m angry with,” Lily said, breaking the silence. “I shouldn’t have put such stock in a simple request.”

  Jake blamed himself. He should have cautioned her, but at the time he’d been so surprised that he hadn’t known what he was feeling—maybe even a bit of jealousy, which had shocked the hell out of him. Later he’d discarded that notion. He wanted Lily to be as happy as she deserved, but there was something about this Texan that had troubled him from the beginning.

  The moment Lily had mentioned she’d met someone, warning lights had gone off inside his head. His protective instinct, for some reason he couldn’t put into words, had been aroused. That alien impulse had been the cause of the incident in the attic. He didn’t honestly regret kissing Lily, but it was just thae type of thing that could ruin a good friendship. The Texan meant trouble for Lily. It’d taken him half the night to realize that was what bothered him, but he was certain. Now, after Lily’s revelation, Jake could afford to be generous.

  “How about if we go fishing tomorrow?”

  Lily straightened, her dark eyes glowing with pleasure at the invitation. Over the past year, Jake had taken her out on the sloop for only short, limited periods. Lily loved sailing and was convinced that the man she married would have to own a sailboat.

  “With Gram,” he added, smiling. “We’ll make a day of it, pack a bottle of good wine, some cheese, and a loaf of freshly baked French bread, and beer for me.”

  “Jake, that sounds wonderful.” Already her heart was lifting with anticipation. Only Jake would know that an entire day on his sailboat would cheer her like this.

  “We deserve a one-day vacation from life. I’ll park the cab, shut down the laptop, and take you to places you have never been.”

  Lily expelled a deep sigh of contentment. “It sounds great, but Thursday’s Gram’s bingo day. Nothing will convince her to give that up.”

  A smile sparked from Jake’s cool jade eyes. Lily’s grandmother had her own get-rich schemes going. “Then it’ll have to be the two of us. Are you still game?”

  “You bet.” Lily pictured the brisk wind whipping her hair freely about her face as the boat sliced through the deep-green waters of San Francisco Bay.

  * * *

  Within ten hours, the daydream had become reality. The wind carried Lily’s low laugh as she tossed back her head and the warm breeze ruffled her thick, unbound hair. The boat keeled sharply and cut a deep path through the choppy water. Lily had climbed to the front of the boat to raise the sails and was now sitting on the bow, luxuriating in the overwhelming sense of freedom she was experiencing. She wanted to capture this utopian state of being and hug it to her breast forever. She didn’t dare turn back and let Jake see her. He’d laugh at her childish spirit and tease her unmercifully. Lily wanted nothing to ruin the magnificent day.

  For the first hour of their trip, Lily remained forward while Jake manned the helm. Keeping his mind to the task was difficult. He couldn’t ever remember seeing Lily so carefree and happy. She was a natural sailor. He’d taken other women aboard Lucky Lady and always regretted it. Elaine, for one. In the beginning, she’d pretended to love his boat as much as he did, but Jake hadn’t been fooled. Elaine’s big mistake had come when she suggested that he move off the boat and into an apartment. Pitted against his only true love, Jake decided to keep Lady and dump Elaine. And not for a moment since had he regretted the decision.

  Watching Lily produced a curious sense of pride in Jake. Laughing, she turned back and shouted something to him. The wind whirled her voice away and he hadn’t a clue as to what she’d said, but the exhilaration in her flushed face wasn’t something that could be manufactured. It surprised Jake how much he enjoyed watching her. She reminded him of the sea nymphs sailors of old claimed inhabited the waters.

  As he watched her, Jake realized that Lily was his friend and they were fortunate to share a special kind of relationship. But it wasn’t until that moment that Jake noticed just how beautiful she was. In the year he’d known her, Lily’s youthful features had filled out with vivid promise. Her long hair was a rich, dark shade of mahogany and he’d rarely seen it unbound. That day, instead of piling it on top of her head th
e way she normally did, Lily had left it free so that it fell in gentle waves around her shoulders. Her natural gracefulness was what struck Jake most. Her walk was decidedly provocative. Jake smiled to himself with an inner pride at the interest Lily’s gently rounded hips generated from the opposite sex. If that Texan had seen her walk he would have given her more than a simple thank-you. But what Jake loved mainly about Lily was her eyes. Never in his life had he met anyone with eyes so dark and expressive. Some days they were like cellophane and he could read her moods as clearly as the words in a book. He could imagine what it would be like making love to her. He wouldn’t need to see anything but her eyes to …

  He shook his head and dispelled the disconcerting thoughts. His fingers tightened around the helm and he looked sharply out to sea. What was the matter with him? He was thinking of Lily as a prospective lover.

  “How about a cup of coffee?” Lily called, standing beside the mast. The wind whipped her hair behind her like a magnificent flag and Jake sucked in his breath at the sight of her.

  “I’ll get it,” he shouted. “Take over here for me, will you?”

  A quick, tantalizing smile spread across her features as she nodded and hurried down to join him at the helm. She laughed as he gave her careful instructions. She didn’t need them. She felt giddy and reckless and wonderful.

  Turning away, it was all Jake could do not to kiss her again. Mumbling under his breath, he descended to the galley and sleeping area of the boat.

  Lily didn’t know what was troubling Jake. She’d witnessed the dark scowl on his face and been surprised. He returned a few minutes later with two steaming mugs, handing her one.

  “Is something wrong?” she ventured.

  “Nothing,” he said, keeping his gaze from lingering on her soft, inviting mouth.

  “You look like you want to bite off my head again.”

  “Again?” Jake was stalling for time. This foul mood was Lily’s fault. She didn’t know what she was doing to him, and that was his problem.

  “Yes, again,” she repeated. “Like you did the other night when I told you about Rex.”

  “I’ve been doing some thinking about that ungrateful Texan,” he said, narrowing his eyes. “There’s something about him I don’t trust.”

  “But you’ve never seen him,” Lily countered, confused.

  “I didn’t have to. Just hearing about him was enough. I don’t want you to see him again.”

  “Jake!”

  “I mean it, Lily.”

  Astonished, Lily sat with her jaw sagging and turned away from him, cupping the steaming mug with both hands. Jake had never asked her to do anything. It wasn’t like him to suddenly order her about and make demands. She swallowed her indignation. “Will you give me a reason?”

  Drawing in a deep, irritated breath, Jake looked out over the green water and wondered at his own high-handedness. The Texan had been bothering him for two days. He hadn’t wanted to say anything and even now, he wasn’t entirely convinced he was doing the right thing. “It’s a gut feeling I have. My instincts got me out of the war alive. I can’t explain it, Lily, but I’m asking you to trust me in this.”

  “All right,” she agreed, somewhat deflated. At the rate things were progressing with Rex What’s-his-name, she wouldn’t have the opportunity to see him again anyway. In reality, Jake wasn’t asking much. He was her friend and she trusted his judgment, albeit at the moment reluctantly.

  “Someone else will come along,” Jake assured her, and a lazy grin crept across his face. “If not, you’ll trap one as effectively as the fish we’re about to lure to our dinner plates.”

  “You make it sound too easy.” He wasn’t the one who sat at that piano night after night playing those same songs again and again and again.

  “It is.” He handed her a fishing pole and carefully revealed to her the finer points of casting. Luckily, Lily was a fast learner and he took pains not to touch her. Shaking off his mood, he gave her a friendly smile. “Before you know it, our meal will mosey along,” he said with a distinct southern drawl. “And who knows? It could be an oil-rich Texan bass.”

  Lily laughed, enjoying their light banter.

  “Every woman scheming to marry money has to keep her eye out for a tightfisted shark, but then again”—he paused for emphasis—“you might stumble upon a flounder in commodities.”

  “A generous flounder,” Lily added.

  “Naturally.” Cupping his hand behind his head, Jake leaned back, crossed his long legs at the ankle, and closed his eyes. He felt better. He hadn’t a clue why he felt so strongly about that rich Texan. He just sensed trouble.

  * * *

  “There’s another message for you, Miss Lily,” Henry informed her when she arrived at the hotel the following evening.

  Lily stared at the envelope as if it were a snake about to lash out at her. “A message?” she repeated, her voice sounding like an echo.

  “From the same man as before,” Henry explained with ageless, questioning eyes.

  Undoubtedly the elderly bellboy couldn’t understand her reluctance now when only the day before she’d behaved as if she’d won the lottery.

  “Thank you.” Lily took the folded note and made her way into the grand lobby. The manager acknowledged her with a faint nod, but Lily’s answering smile was forced. The message lay on the keyboard of the piano for several moments before she had the courage to open it.

  Hello, Lily—the bellhop told me your name. He also told me what time you’d be in today. I’ve thought about you and your music. I’m hoping that a sweet filly like you won’t think it too forward of me to suggest we meet later for a drink.

  Rex Flanders

  A drink … surely that would be harmless, especially if they stayed right here in the hotel. Jake wouldn’t mind that. Her hands moved to the ivory keys and automatically began the repertoire of songs that was only a step above the canned music that played in elevators.

  Although her fingers moved with practiced ease, Lily’s thoughts were in turmoil. She’d promised Jake she wouldn’t get involved with Rex. At the time it had seemed like a little thing. It hadn’t seemed likely she’d have the chance to see him again. Now she regretted having consented to Jake’s request so readily. Her big break had arrived and she was going to have to refuse probably the richest man she’d ever met. And all because Jake had some stupid feeling. It wasn’t fair. How could anyone have a feeling about someone he hadn’t even met?

  Later, when she had a moment, Lily penned a note to Rex, declining his invitation. She didn’t offer an excuse. It’d sound ludicrous to explain that a friend had warned her against him. You see, my friend Jake, who has never even met you, has decided you’re bad news. He felt so strongly about it that he made me promise I wouldn’t see you again. Rex would laugh himself all the way home to Texas. No one in his right mind would blame him.

  Jake was out front, standing beside his taxi when she appeared. She suddenly felt like taking the bus, but one look at the darkening sky convinced her otherwise. The night was overcast, with thick gray clouds rolling in over the bay. Lily didn’t need the weather to dampen her already foul mood.

  “I hope you’re happy,” she announced as she opened the car door.

  “Relatively. What’s your problem?”

  “At the moment, you.”

  Their gazes met, a clash of befuddled emerald and blazing jet. Lily had been waiting months for this opportunity—months of built-up fanciful dreams, months when she’d schemed and planned for exactly this moment. And now, because of Jake, she was walking away from the chance of a lifetime.

  “Me!” Jake cocked his head to one side, studying her as his gaze narrowed thoughtfully. “What do you mean?” His tone told her clearly that he didn’t appreciate being put on the defensive.

  “Rex asked me out.”

  “And you refused?” Instinctively he felt the hard muscles of his shoulders tense. So Daddy Warbucks was back. Somehow Jake had known the man would
return.

  “I’m here, aren’t I? But I’ll have you know that I regret that promise and would take it back in a minute if you’d let me.” She eyed him hopefully, but at the sight of the deep grooves that were forming at the sides of his mouth, Lily could tell he wouldn’t relent.

  Jake was conscious of an odd sensation surging through his blood. He’d experienced it only a few times in his life and always when something monumental was about to happen. The first time had been as an eight-year-old kid. He’d been lost in the downtown area at Christmastime and frightened half out of his wits. The huge skyscrapers had seemed to close in around him until he could taste panic. Then, the feeling had come and he’d stopped, gotten his bearings, and found his way home on his own, astonishing his mother. Later, in high school, that same feeling had struck right before he played in a football game during which he scored three touchdowns and went on to be the MVP for the season. He’d felt it again in the desert in Iraq, and that time, it had saved his life. Jake had never told anyone about the feeling. It was too complex to define.

  “No,” he said with cold deliberation. “I’m not changing my mind.”

  “Jake,” she moaned, feeling wretched.

  “I’m asking you to trust me.” He said it without looking at her, not wanting her to see the intensity of his determination. His fists were clenched so tightly at his sides that his fingers ached. Lily could bat her long eyelashes at him all she wanted and it wouldn’t change how he felt. Truth be known, he wished she’d find her Daddy Warbucks and get married if that was what she wanted so badly. But this Texan wasn’t the right man for Lily.

  Without further discussion, Lily slid inside the cab. Disappointment caused her shoulders to droop and her head to hang so low that her chin rested against the bright red collar of her gown. She was more tired than she could remember having been in a long time. Of all the men in the world, she trusted Jake the most. More than her father. But then it was difficult to have too much confidence in a vague childhood memory. Lily’s father had died when she was twelve, but she had trouble picturing him in her mind. As far as Lily could recall, she’d seen her father only a handful of times. In some ways Lily wished she didn’t trust Jake so much; it would make things a whole lot easier.