“Oh.” It had been years since she’d driven in the snow, and she found it wasn’t like riding a bike. She’d forgotten how. She’d much rather slide through stop signs in Henry’s big silver car rather than her Miata. “Thanks, I’ll pick it up tomorrow.”
After lunch, she took the rest of the day off and drove to Lisa’s to drop off some books on braids and pick up her bridesmaid dress. The red stretch velvet dress was the color of wine in one light but changed to a deep burgundy in another. It was beautiful, and if it hadn’t been for Delaney’s hair, it would have looked great on her, but so many different shades of red all on one person made her look like a Picasso. She ran a hand over her stomach, smoothing the cool material beneath her palm.
“I didn’t think about your hair,” Lisa admitted as she stood back and viewed Delaney in her bedroom mirror. “Maybe you could wear one of those big straw hats.”
“Not a chance.” She tilted her head to the side and studied her reflection. “I could always go back to my natural color.”
“What is your natural color?”
“I’m not really sure anymore. When I retouch my roots, it’s sort of a warm blond.”
“Can you change it back without having your hair fall out?”
Delaney put her hands on her hips and turned to face her friend. “What is wrong with you people in this town? Of course I can remove the tint without my hair falling out. I know what I’m doing. I’ve been doing this for years.” As she spoke, the volume of her voice rose. “I’m not Helen. I don’t give bad cuts!”
“Geez, I just asked.”
“Yeah, you and everyone else.” She unzipped the back of the dress and stepped out of it.
“Who else?”
The image of Nick sitting on her couch popped into her head. His hot mouth on hers. His fingers pressed into her thigh. She wished she could hate him for making her want him, for making her tell him that she wanted him, then leaving her alone to dream about him all night. But she couldn’t hate him, and she was so confused about what happened that she didn’t want to talk about it with anyone until she figured it out. Not even with Lisa. She laid the dress on the plaid quilt covering Lisa’s bed then stepped into a pair of jeans. “Never mind. It’s not important.”
“What? Is your mother still bugging you about being a stylist?”
“No, in fact she asked me to style hair for the Christmas fashion show.” Delaney looked up from the button on her pants. “She thought she could trick me and get me to do that mother-daughter thing I had to do when I was growing up.”
Lisa laughed. “Remember that gold lamй dress with the big sash and that bow on the back?”
“How could I forget.” She pulled an angora sweater over her head then sat on the edge of the bed and shoved her feet into her Doc Marten’s. “And then my mother is going on a Caribbean cruise over Christmas with Max Harrison.”
“Your mother and Max?” Lisa sat next to Delaney. “That’s weird. I can’t picture your mother with anyone but Henry.”
“I think Max is good for her.” She tied one boot, then worked on the other. “Anyway, this is the first time I’ve been home for ten Christmases, and she leaves. That’s pretty typical, when I think about it.”
“You can come to my house. I’ll be living with Louie and Sophie, and we’ll have Christmas there.”
Delaney stood and reached for her dress. “I can just see myself breaking bread with the Allegrezzas.”
“You’ll be ‘breaking bread’ with us at my wedding dinner.”
Apprehension settled in Delaney’s stomach as she slowly put the dress on the hanger. “It’s a buffet, right?”
“No. It’s a sit-down dinner at the Lake Shore Hotel.”
“I thought the dinner was after the rehearsal.”
“No, that’s the buffet.”
“How many people will be at this dinner?”
“Seventy-five.”
Delaney relaxed. With so many guests, it would be quite easy to avoid certain members of Louie’s family. “Well, don’t seat me by Benita. She’ll probably stab me with her butter knife.” And Nick? He was so unpredictable, she couldn’t guess what he might do.
“She’s not that bad.”
“Not to you.” Delaney gathered her coat and headed outside.
“Think about Christmas,” Lisa called after her.
“Okay,” she promised just before she drove away, but there wasn’t even a remote chance she would sit across the table from Nick. What a nightmare. She’d have to spend the entire time trying not to get drawn in by him, looking anywhere but his eyes and mouth and hands. You better not be around here on June fourth, otherwise I’m going to take what you‘ve owed me for ten years.
She didn’t owe him anything. He’d used her to get back at Henry, and they both knew it. Exactly when was that? When you begged me to touch you all over? She hadn’t begged him. More like asked. And she’d been young and naive.
Delaney pulled her little car next to Nick’s Jeep and bolted up the stairs. She wasn’t prepared to see him. Each time she thought of his mouth on her breast and his hand between her thighs, her cheeks got hot. She would have had sex with him right there on her couch, no doubt about it. All he had to do was look at her and he sucked her in like a Hoover. All he had to do was touch her and she wanted to suck him like a Hoover. He had the ability to make her forget who he was. Who she was, and their past together. I told you not to worry and that I’d take care of you, but you looked at me like I was some kind of rapist and left with Henry. She didn’t really believe him now any more than she had the other night. He had to be lying. But why would he lie? It wasn’t like he’d been trying to sweet-talk her out of her clothes. She’d pretty much abandoned all modesty by that point.
She laid her dress on the couch and reached for Nick’s txapel sitting on the coffee table where she’d left it. Her fingertips traced the leather band and smooth wool. It didn’t matter now. Nothing had changed. That night at Angel Beach was old history and best left in the past. Even if it weren’t for Henry’s will, there was no future for the two of them. He was a womanizer and she was leaving just as soon as possible.
With the beret in one hand Delaney walked back outside to the parking lot. Nick’s Jeep was still there, and she opened the driver’s side door. The beige leather interior was still warm as if he’d arrived just before she’d returned to her apartment. The Jeep key was in the ignition, and his Basque cross hung from the rearview mirror. A big box of tools, an extension cord, and three jars of wood putty were tossed in the back. He’d obviously been living in Truly too long, but she supposed if she were a thief, she’d think twice about stealing from an Allegrezza. She set his beret on the leather seat, then turned and hurried back up to her apartment. She didn’t want him to have any reason to walk up her stairs. Obviously, she had no willpower where he was concerned, and it was just best to avoid him as much as possible.
Delaney sat on her couch and tried to tell herself she wasn’t listening for sounds from below. She wasn’t listening for the rattle of keys or the crunch of gravel beneath heavy boots. She wasn’t listening, but she heard his office door open and close, his keys and the scuff of boots. She heard nothing but silence when he discovered his txapel and she imagined him pausing to look up the stairs at her apartment. The silence drew as she listened for his footsteps. Finally, the Jeep’s engine rumbled to life and he rolled out of the parking lot below.
Delaney slowly let out a breath and closed her eyes. Now all she had to do was get through Lisa’s wedding. With seventy-five guests, she could easily ignore Nick. How hard could it be?
Chapter Fourteen