I nodded and Duffy got up to retrieve the bottle. I was in a hazy, sleepy mood at this point, feeling really relaxed. My eyes wandered to Duffy’s rear as he went around the counter. He had a nice ass. Almost as nice as Dutch’s. Thinking of Dutch made me suddenly melancholy, and I could feel the hurt beginning to burble up, so I shook my head and squared my shoulders, pushing back thoughts of him and focusing on the present.
“You okay?” Duffy asked me.
“Huh?” I said, startled by the question.
“You looked so sad for a second.”
“Yeah,” I said, nodding. My lip quivered in spite of my best efforts to push the hurt away.
“Hey, there,” Duffy said as one tear formed, then leaked out of my eye down my cheek. “Come here, girl,” he said as he set the bottle of wine down and pulled me up off my chair into his arms. The move was tender and so unexpected that it just about killed me. I fought for control. I would not give in to this sudden bout of sadness.
“I’m okay,” I whispered, my voice shivering with emotion.
“Liar, liar…pants on fire…” Duffy chuckled into my hair. “Remember that?” he asked me. “You used to yell that at me every time I was trying to get away with something. I don’t know how you did it, but you could always tell when I was lying.”
Duffy was rocking me gently, stroking my back and holding me close. I swallowed hard. I didn’t want to be a soppy mess in front of him. I wanted to be cool, together, laid-back. It wasn’t happening. I closed my eyes and gave him a squeeze. It just felt good to listen to his throaty, masculine voice and rock in his arms.
He hugged me tighter, then wrapped his hands up into my hair and pulled my face up to look into his eyes. His expression was mixed. There were hints of a shared understanding of how it felt to get your heart trampled on, along with compassion and something else that was chemically charged. I realized this last part a moment before he lowered his lips to mine and kissed me.
He tasted like the wine we’d been drinking, and his mouth was soft and hungry. I felt a moment of guilt, because I’d been Dutch’s girl for so long that this was like cheating. But an instant later Duffy’s hand moved to my neck, and with his thumb he tilted my head back. Lowering his mouth to my neck, he worked his teeth and tongue expertly along my skin. I gave a soft moan, and thoughts of Dutch faded into one big, oozy feeling of need.
I wanted Duffy, and I wanted him badly. I gripped his sweater beneath my fingertips as the urge to absorb him into me intensified. Duffy must have sensed my increasing desire, because he pulled his lips up from my neck to look again into my eyes. His pupils were big, black, liquid pools of desire. Without a word he grabbed my hand and pulled me into his bedroom. He shut the door, and the only light left came in from a street lamp outside.
Again he curled his fingers into my hair and tilted my head up. “Do you realize what a knockout you are?” he asked me.
I grinned seductively at him and reached up to pull his lips on top of mine. I didn’t want to talk right now. I had other things on my mind. My other hand reached under Duffy’s sweater and played across his chest. He was built like the mountains in the distance. My fingers trailed over the landscape of his chest, hard, chiseled rock with valleys in between. My desire grew, and with one move Duffy’s shirt was on the floor. My sweater joined it a moment later, and as I fumbled with his jeans zipper I felt his hands at my lower back, working the skirt from my hips.
Kicking off his jeans, he pulled me into him, and our skin felt hot where it touched. We were kissing each other in mad, hungry, devouring moves, the frenzy to quench our thirst for each other driving our desire. His hands touched every sensitive place I had, and I moaned with each new caress. My hands also found things to play with, and it wasn’t long before Duffy inched back toward the bed, pulling me with him. Just before lying down he asked me, “Top? Or bottom?”
“Side to side,” I said wickedly.
He nodded his head as he stuck out his chin thoughtfully. “This could be fun,” he said as he pulled me down to the comforter. And God help, me…it was.
Chapter Nine
We both woke with a start as the phone rang at seven A.M. the next morning. Duff reached over me to grab it and said in a throaty whisper, “’Lo?” I could hear the faintest hint of a voice coming through the receiver, and Duffy answered, “Good morning, Viv. What’s wrong?”
I could hear Viv’s voice more clearly now as Duffy held the phone slightly away from his ear. I thought I heard her say something like, “Ee’s missing.”
“No, she’s here at my house. We were catching up with each other last night and it got late, so I put her up in my guest room.”
I distinctly heard a snort come through the other end of the line, followed by something that sounded like, “Testing the swimmers out on her, huh?”
Duffy’s face turned red as he sat up and scratched at his chin. “I’ll bring her by later, Viv. Thanks for calling.” And he hung up the phone.
“Uh-oh,” I said with a giggle. “We’re busted.”
“Looks like it. If I know Viv she’ll be on the phone with my mother in five…four…three…”
“She’s going to tell Nina?” I said, horrified at the thought.
“Count on it, Abs. Sorry, but Viv lives to make my mother miserable. She’s gonna have a field day with this latest development.”
“Ohmigod, I’m so embarrassed,” I said, burying my face in my hands.
“Come on, go shower and I’ll make us some breakfast. We’ll work on getting our stories straight after we’ve had something to eat.”
Duffy showed me into the bathroom and pulled out a clean towel for me to use. I took my time, allowing the hot water to wash away much of the guilt I was now feeling. Don’t get me wrong: Last night had been wonderful. But in the clear light of day my conscience was having a hard time with the fact that a week after getting dumped I was hopping into bed with someone else. Was I a slut, or what?
I wrapped myself in Duffy’s flannel robe and slippers and padded out to the kitchen, where the scent of French toast and coffee made my stomach grumble. “That smells fantastic,” I said as I took a seat.
“I aim to please,” Duffy said, setting a plate of steaming French toast and a cup of coffee in front of me. He then grabbed a second plate, flipped two pieces off the grill for himself and joined me at the bar.
“What are we going to tell everyone now that the word’s out?” I asked as I cut into my breakfast.
“What would you like to tell them?” Duffy asked. Why did men always answer tricky questions with a tricky question?
“What would you like to tell them?” I answered. I could play that game too.
Duffy chuckled. “I get to go first, huh?”
“Age before beauty,” I said with a wink.
“Ahh, that’s how it’s gotta be, huh? Okay, well, let me think,” he said, and took a few bites of his breakfast, then gave me a rather serious look. “My guess is that you’re fresh off the broken-heart tour, and probably need a little time to think about how you feel.”
“Pretty much,” I said, thankful that he understood how I felt.
“So, while you’re thinkin’…how about we just keep it low-key to everyone else. We’ll stick to the ‘she slept in my guest room’ story, and if anyone wants to assume something else happened, then that’s their problem.”
“Sounds good,” I said, and reached over to squeeze his arm. “And thank you.”
“For what?”
“For growing up to be such a great guy,” I said, and meant it.
Duffy dropped me off at Vivian’s an hour later, and luckily she wasn’t home when I arrived. There was an envelope taped to her door with my name on it. It said that the back door was open and to let myself in. She’d gone to get her hair done and do some shopping for a dress appropriate for her grandniece’s wedding. I headed around back and then inside and quickly changed, anxious to put on clean clothes. While I was applying my makeup I hea
rd my cell phone give a little chirp. Hurrying over to it, I flipped open the lid and said, “Hey, Cat!”
“Hi, sweetie! We’re here!”
“Denver?”
“Yep. We just checked into the Brown Palace. Tommy is tired and wants to take a nap, so I thought this would be a good time for us to catch up.”
“Great, what’d you have in mind?”
“Well, the boys would love to see you. And I still need to buy a wedding present for Ellie and Eddie. How about I come pick you up and we can do some shopping with the boys?”
Cat was referring to my nephews, Mathew and Michael. They were five years old and full of mischief. “Absolutely, honey. Bring them by.”
“Where are you now?”
“I’m at Viv’s. Hold on and I’ll get you her address.”
Walking into the front hall I picked up an electric bill on Viv’s side table and read off the address to Cat, who promised to be there post-haste. I rushed back into the bathroom and spent some time on my long hair. Next I changed into a pair of camel suede pants and an off-white V-neck shirt with a matching suede jacket. I completed the ensemble with a fabulous pair of brown leather boots I’d picked up at Nine West. As I was putting on some earrings I heard a beep outside. Hurrying to retrieve my purse, I bustled out of the house after writing a quick note to Viv.
In the driveway was a stretch limo the size of a small whale. A driver got out of the front seat and came around to get the door for me. The moment the car was opened a flurry of noise greeted my ears as Cat competed with her spoiled-rotten sons, who were bouncing around in the limo and making a commotion. Seeing me she yelled, “Look, boys, it’s Auntie!”
Matt and Mike paused in their romp across the limo’s seats long enough to take in the sight of me; then they continued as if they’d never been interrupted. “Good to see you too, monkey men,” I said as I climbed in the limo and snatched Mikey off one of the seats, kissing and tickling him half a dozen times until he squealed with delight; then I moved on to his older-by-one-minute brother. After letting go of Matty, I turned to Cat and said, “Hello, sis! Wow, you look great. Have you done something to your hair or is it that you’ve been working out?”
“Ohmigod you’ve had sex!” Cat said, her mouth opening into a huge O of shock.
My own mouth dropped open at her declaration and I felt my cheeks grow hot. “I have not!” I said, working on a falsely-accused attitude.
“Mommy, what’s sex?” Mikey asked.
“It’s a game grown-ups play, sweetheart.”
“I want to play!” Matty shrieked, and jumped over to sit by my side.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart; it’s only for adults.”
“I want to play sex!” Mikey yelled in full support of his brother.
“Now you’ve done it,” I said to her. “See what throwing that word around does? It’s just trouble.”
“So, dish! Who’s the lucky man?” Cat persisted as Matty picked up her purse and turned it upside down, allowing all the contents to scatter on the floor. I bent over and helped Cat pick up her belongings as two additional pairs of hands reached for anything interesting. “Matt, give Mommy back her cell phone,” Cat demanded while my nephew flipped open the lid and punched in a number expertly.
With a growl of irritation, Cat reached for Matt, but he scurried to the other side of the limo and a moment later was yelling into the phone, “Hello, Daddy? Mommy and Auntie are playing sex and they won’t let us play.”
“Oh, God, will you stop him?” I said as I grabbed Mikey by the middle and clung to him while my sister got up and moved across the stretch limo to deal with Matty.
Giving him a dark look, she grabbed the phone out of his hand and said, “Tommy? Ha, ha, is that you?”
There was a reply, and Cat’s face fell as her complexion paled noticeably. “Ah, sorry, wrong number!” she said, and clicked the phone closed.
“Uh-oh,” I said. “Who was that?”
“Mr. Ling Hong. He’s one of my top clients. But I don’t think he recognized it was me,” she said in a voice that wasn’t convincing.
“Let’s just hope he doesn’t check his caller ID,” I said before I could stop myself.
“Oh, noooooo!” Cat wailed. “I can’t believe this is happening to me! Matty, you are a very bad boy!”
“I want to play sex!” Matt insisted, folding up his arms and screwing up his face into a really good pout.
“Fine, but we’ll need to get it for you at the toy store. Driver? Take us to the nearest mall.”
“What, exactly, are you going to buy him at the toy store?” I whispered when she’d settled next to me again.
“The biggest, loudest humdinger of a truck I can find. Once he’s got that to occupy his mind, he won’t give S-E-X another thought.”
“Parenthood One-oh-one by Cat Masters,” I said, shaking my head.
“It’ll work,” Cat insisted. “Trust me.”
Fifteen minutes later we were inside the same mall Ellie and I had ventured to just the day before. Fortunately I’d been spared any further grilling by my sister, as my two nephews had done a splendid job of keeping her attention focused on them. “Stay with Mommy!” Cat said as she tried to hold on to each of their hands. The twins were having none of it. Surrounded by sights and sounds and wide-open spaces, all they wanted to do was run pell-mell across the floor.
“And you didn’t bring your nanny with you because…?” I asked her as I picked a squirming Mikey up and carried him so he couldn’t run away.
“She said she needed a few days off.” Cat grunted as she did the same with Matty.
“Gee, can’t imagine her wanting to spend any time away from these two little angels,” I said.
“They’re hyper because they had a soft drink on the plane.”
“Why would you give them a soft drink?” I asked, running out of patience for my sister and her two monsters.
“They were making a lot of noise, and I thought if they had something to sip on, it might calm them down.”
“Ah, well, in that case—ow! Mikey don’t kick Auntie—great thinking,” I finished woodenly.
“Oh, look, Abby! There’s a cute little shop. I wonder if there’s anything for Ellie and Eddie in there,” Cat said, pointing to a gift shop with plenty of things the boys could break.
“Why don’t I stay out here with them while you browse?” I said as I set Mikey down and took a firm grip on his hand.
“Oh, okay,” Cat said, and handed Matty to me. “I’ll just be a minute.” And with that she dashed inside.
While I struggled with the boys, Cat took much longer than a minute and finally appeared in the doorway. “Oh, thank God,” I said, and got ready to hand off one of the boys. My arms felt like they were being pulled out of their sockets.
“Can you come in and give me your opinion for a quick second?” Cat asked.
“What about these guys?” I asked.
Cat squatted down and looked intently at the twins. “M and M,” she said sternly. “Mommy and Auntie need to go inside this store. Now, it’s a grown-up store and you will need to be on your best behavior. If you’re good then we’ll go to the ice cream parlor right afterward. Okay?”
Magically, both boys stopped struggling and nodded their heads. I personally thought that the last thing they needed was more sugar, but what did I know?
We all trooped into the shop, and Cat zigzagged her way over to a beautiful glass sculpture of two figures embraced in a kiss. “What do you think of this?” Cat said, letting go of Matty’s hand while she picked it up and showed it to me.
“I think that’s gorgeous, and Ellie will love it,” I answered, noting that the price tag put it upward of three hundred dollars.
“Or there’s this piece over here,” Cat said, trotting over to another sculpture that was etched in glass with a mermaid wrapping her long fish tail around a man sitting on a rock. “You know, because Ellie is a Pisces, it sort of fits.”
“I li
ke the first one better,” I said, looking back to the sculpture we’d just come from.
“Good! Me too!” Cat said with a hand clap. “Now let me flag down—”
Cat never got a chance to finish her sentence, because at that moment a loud Wonk! Wonk! Wonk! Wonk! came from the front of the store, followed by, “Stop! Thief!” from one of the salesclerks, who dashed out the door.
“Oh, my goodness!” Cat said, turning to me. “Can you believe there was a shoplifter in this very store? I tell you, America is no longer safe! Where’s Matty?” she said, looking around.
“He took that truck,” Mikey said.
“What truck?” Cat said, alarmed.
“The one on that table over there,” Mikey said, pointing to several model cars that were displayed neatly on one of the tables in the store. There was a space in between the other cars where obviously one had been.
“Mikey, tell Mommy where Matty went with the truck,” Cat said, her eyes darting around the store as she looked frantically for her missing son.
“He ran outta the store and that lady ran after him,” Mikey said, pointing to the front of the store.
“Oh, my God!” Cat shrieked, and dashed out of the store. I stood there with Mikey for a beat or two, wondering what to do. I decided to head over to the counter and wait for Cat to return.
As I stood by the counter and rocked with Mikey on my hip, the remaining sales girl gave me a dark look and asked, “Is that your son?”
“My nephew,” I said.
“What about that other child? The one who stole that antique model.”
“My other nephew.”
“That was a very expensive model,” the clerk said. “I may have to call the police.”
“Cut him some slack, lady. He’s only five years old.”
“They turn to the dark side so young these days,” she said, her eyes narrow and mean.
“What are you, Darth Vader?” I snapped, then pulled in my horns and said, “My sister will make amends if any harm comes to the truck.”
“Is that the woman who also ran out of the store?”
“She’ll be right back,” I growled.