A Touch of Temptation, page 27
*
Chris stopped, pulling Kate into her arms and kissing her again. At this rate it would take days to make it through the garden to the main house. Fine by her. She didn’t relish seeing Cecelia.
“You two might age me ten years.”
Chris turned toward the voice. Katherine. Sitting on a bench beside the path. “Tell me something. Did the pond pump break on its own or did it have help?”
Katherine fixed her with a piercing look, perhaps laced with a spark of humor. “I’m clever, but not that clever.”
“But you were clever enough to send Kate to Felton.”
The corners of Katherine’s mouth turned up. “I had a hunch your paths should cross.”
Kate’s mouth dropped open. Then she pulled her gran up and hugged her. “I love you. I love you. I love you.”
“I’ve never been prouder of you.” Her gran held Kate’s shoulders. “Now go live the life you’ve chosen.” She started for her cottage.
“I tried to contact Olivia,” Kate said.
Katherine stopped. Her shoulders lifted as if taking a deep breath. She turned around. “I know.”
“What?” Kate’s look of surprise was adorable.
“She told me.”
“And?”
“I’ll let you know.” She resumed walking toward her destination.
Kate squeezed Chris’s hand. “Come up to my bedroom while I pack. Then take me home.”
“Are you sure about—” Kate’s mouth pressed against hers. God, she could kiss. “You need to pack fast.” Her sex throbbed.
Chris tried to let go of her hand as they neared the house, but Kate held tight. She opened the French door and they stepped into the dining room. Nicole paced by the table. She cut her gaze toward Chris. Everything about her screamed “how dare you.”
Chris strode to her. Gripped her shoulders. Kissed her cheek. “Thank you.”
“For?” Nicole arched one eyebrow. Her makeup was subdued today. Not the exaggerated, overdone look she wore as Raven. How sad not to be yourself.
“Making me face my worst fear.”
“I’m your worst fear?”
“People like you. People who make me feel I’m not good enough for whatever reason.”
“This thing needs to end.” Nicole’s voice went hard as she turned toward Kate, who looked puzzled by their exchange. “Cecelia collapsed when you left. I had to help her upstairs.”
“This thing,” Kate said. “You mean the chance for a lifetime of happiness with the woman I love?”
“It’s not love. You’re infatuated with her sexual prowess.”
“Believe that if it makes you feel superior,” Chris said. “What I don’t get is why you don’t want Kate to be happy?”
“I’d like to know that, too,” Kate said.
Nicole’s eyes widened with surprise for an instant. “I do want you to be happy. That’s why I’m trying to keep you from making a huge mistake.”
Kate walked toward her. “As my best friend, shouldn’t you be saying, ‘I don’t agree with this, but I’ll support you?’”
“Truth is hard, but I wouldn’t be your friend if I didn’t raise the important issue.” Nicole crossed her arms. “What kind of life would you have with her?”
“Someone who treats me like a princess? Who’s been kind and attentive?” Kate spoke to Nicole, but her gaze locked on Chris, blue eyes feisty. “Who’s shown her love for me in a hundred ways?”
“You can find someone more suitable. More—”
“Like you?” Chris almost laughed as the pieces fell into place.
“Exactly.”
“This isn’t about my not being good enough. This is about your wanting to be with Kate.” Geez. This wasn’t high-stakes class issues. This was common jealousy. Run off the competition.
“That is ridiculous.” Nicole’s voice was icy, but her eyes betrayed her with the way she looked at Kate. Hungry.
“Why would you say that?” Kate frowned.
Chris walked to Nicole. “You should tell her the truth.”
“Don’t threaten me.”
“You think you’re better than me. I’m not the one lying.” She lifted Nicole’s hand and looked from the engagement ring to Kate. “I left my toolbox by the pond. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” She walked toward the French doors. Then stopped and went back to Kate. Pulling her close, she kissed her as Nicole looked away.
*
Kate watched Chris stride across the patio. The love of her life and she’d almost lost her. She nearly ran after her. Being away from her for even a few minutes was painful. But Nic was her best friend. “Talk to me.” Silence. Head was down. What she could see of her eyes looked bruised and far away. “I love Chris. I love you, too.”
“She deserves you. I don’t,” Nic said in a flat voice.
“Melodrama doesn’t suit you.” No smile. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Slowly Nic lifted her head. Every muscle in her face was taut, her mouth a tight line, her eyes sparking with danger. Her fierce, go-away look.
“You’re not chasing me off.” Kate pulled out a chair and sat.
Finally Nic took the chair beside her and clasped her hands in her lap. “Before you… ” She let out a long breath. “I never had a close friend. Hell, I never had a friend. Best three years of my life rooming with you. I thought I’d always have that connection. Then your illness. Scared me how close I came to losing you.” She brushed her fingertips under her eyes. Tears. She’d never cried in front of Kate. “You were seeming like your old self, and then you moved away. I missed you,” Nic said slowly, like she wasn’t used to the words. “Then I discovered you were involved with Chris.” She met Kate’s gaze. “Why not me?”
Kate felt crumpled by the hurt in Nic’s eyes. “Oh, Nicki. I didn’t know.”
“There’s more. Chris and I know each other from Georgia’s parties.”
“What!”
“Not like that. I go to Georgia’s parties. I go to other parties like that.”
“You’re engaged to Brian.”
“I do love Brian. But it’s not enough. Sexually. I need… things. Different things… ”
“BDSM things.” Kate wanted to laugh that she knew the term, but there was nothing funny about this. “When you told me I could date men for cover and have women on the side… That’s what you do, isn’t it? And you wanted me to be the woman on the side?”
“Guilty on all counts, Counselor.”
Kate tried to wrap her head around this. She should be angry. Nic had deceived her, but hadn’t she deceived her mother by avoiding the truth? Love was complicated in ways she’d never imagined. “So you’re bisexual?”
“I can’t explain it. I won’t explain it.” Anger spiked in her voice and eyes.
“I’m not judging you. Why didn’t Chris tell me?”
“There’s an unwritten code. You don’t talk about what happens at the parties. You don’t out people. And I gave her a hard time when I realized she was your Chris. Threatened to go to Cecelia about—”
“You didn’t send her up to—”
“God, no!” Nic looked shocked by the accusation.
“Don’t mess with Chris. That would end our friendship. I’m going to Felton for a few days. We’ll have dinner next week. You’re still my bar-exam coach, and I’m your support system for work. I love you. Not the way you want me to, but I love you.” She wrapped her arms around her.
Finally Nic hugged back, barely. “Tell Cecelia I had to leave.” She strode from the room without looking back.
Chris set her toolbox on the table on the patio. Kate opened the door for her. Holding her hand, she walked through the house and up the stairs to her bedroom. Shutting the door she gripped Chris’s jacket and pulled her close.
“Don’t you want to check on Cecelia?”
“Kiss me.”
“Kind of bossy.” Chris’s eyes sparked with desire.
“Not likely to change so get used to it.”
“I can live with that. I love you.” Chris cupped Kate’s neck and pulled their mouths together for a long kiss.
“I know about Nic going to Georgia’s parties. She explained why you didn’t tell me.”
“I won’t keep anything from you again.”
“And I should have stood up for us. The next person who hassles us will wish they—”
The door opened. “Kate, I want to—” Her mother froze. “What is she doing up here?”
“‘She’ is the woman I love. Chris. Who is here while I pack. Then we’re going to Felton.”
“Kate, please. You don’t know the mistake you’re making.”
“I’ll never be poor, Mother.”
“Perhaps not, but you’ll be ostracized for being gay. For being different.” Her mother’s face looked pained.
“I don’t believe that. We’ll live in a different world than yours. A world we build together. Based on love.”
“Kate, you must—”
“Pack.” Kate took her mother’s arm and led her out of the bedroom. “Don’t come into my bedroom again without knocking.”
“I can’t be alone. Not with my condition.”
“We’ll call your friends. Maybe Lucille Cavanaugh, to see if you can stay with her. Or I’ll arrange for full-time nursing care.”
She straightened her shoulders, fixing Kate with a puzzled look. “I’ll manage.” She walked slowly down the hall.
“What?” Chris was frowning when Kate returned to her.
“That seemed a little harsh. It matters to me that you stood up for us but—”
“I can’t let her run my life.”
“It must scare her to think she’s losing you.”
Kate wrapped her arms around Chris, soaking up the strength she needed. “When did you get so smart about relationships?”
“About a minute ago?”
“I’ll talk to her, and then take me home, stud. Unless… ” She tugged on Chris’s fly. “Kidding,” she said, when Chris looked shocked. Then she took Chris’s mouth in a possessive, bruising, very long kiss. Sure of the life she wanted. The life with Chris that made her happier than she’d thought possible.
Epilogue
Chris handed her dad a glass of champagne and took her place beside Kate in the center of the foyer. Kate’s big day. She was beautiful in her dusky-pink suit, looking every bit the new managing partner of Dawson Law Firm. Several dozen guests fell silent as Cecelia held up her glass.
“A toast to my daughter, my pride and joy, on this stupendous occasion. The end of a long journey… ” Cecelia looked elegant in a black suit. She’d lost considerable weight and seemed healthy after the surgery to imbed the ICD pacemaker. She’d thrown herself into her position as president of her sorority’s national organization with boundless energy. “Your father would be so proud of you,” Cecelia said, concluding what for her was a restrained speech.
Chris sipped the French champagne as she watched Kate accept congratulations from one person after another. She was getting used to it—the champagne and Kate’s role in society. She took her hand from her pocket and fingered the skinny tie, a gift from Kate this afternoon as they dressed for the party. Pink. Like her boxers. Like her toenails. Her heart pounded and her sex contracted behind the cock as she replayed what else they’d done while dressing.
Katherine came to stand beside her. “I looked over the lease and faxed them suggested changes.” Katherine was legal counsel for her new Brent Landscape corporation. Chris had promoted Regina to project manager for jobs in Santa Cruz, while she opened the new office and handled the influx of business in the aftermath of the Sunset article. The lease was for office space in Palo Alto, where she and Kate lived during the week, spending most weekends in Felton.
“Having fun?” Kate asked, joining them and linking her arm through Chris’s.
“Yes.” Chris meant it. As with gardens, life was best as a balanced design. Motorcycling was a part of their life but so were social functions. As long as she was with Kate, she could handle anything.
“You sure you’ll be all right?” Katherine asked Kate. “Two weeks is a—”
“Stop,” Kate said. “You are getting on that plane tomorrow.” A trip to New York. Kate had finally convinced her that love was worth the risk and she’d regret it if she didn’t give the relationship with Olivia a chance.
“Uh-oh,” Kate said, nodding at Cecelia bearing down on them. “Betcha she’s coming for you.” She nudged Chris in the ribs. “You haven’t lived until you’ve been Mother’s pet project.”
Chris groaned but put a smile on her face. She wasn’t rocking the boat with Cecelia.
“Christine, dear, you must come meet Mrs. Shepherd. She wants to renovate her backyard for their Fourth of July party. I told her I had just the right person. She sits on the board of the San Francisco botanical garden. You must make the right contacts, which will open doors for you.”
Chris let Cecelia take her arm and lead her away. Another reason her business was flourishing. She’d never have believed it. Looking back over her shoulder she winked at Kate, who covered her mouth to stop from laughing.
After making the rounds with Cecelia, Chris came up behind Georgia and slipped her arm around her waist. “You have to know what she wants before she does.” She handed her a glass of champagne.
“Love suits you, sugar.”
“You knew it before I did.”
“You had all the essentials. Just needed refining.” Georgia motioned to Nic, who joined her. One of the biggest surprises of the last four months was the friendship between them. Neither would talk about it, but Nic seemed calmer and steadier.
“Dinner tomorrow night?” Nic asked Chris, wearing a black dress and her trademark red lipstick and nails. The engagement ring was gone.
“Giants game, but we can do lunch.”
“Perfect. Shopping after?” The corners of Nic’s mouth turned up as she sipped champagne.
“Don’t push it,” Chris said, returning the smile. She’d never fully trust her, but Nic was still Kate’s best friend, and she respected their relationship.
Two hours later, everyone had left except her dad and Cecelia, who were engaged in a discussion over what precise shade of white to paint the exterior of Cecelia’s house. She’d warned her dad what he was getting into by working for her, but he seemed more amused by Cecelia than put off by her.
“I called a cab for you,” Chris said to Cecelia. “I’ll walk you downstairs.”
“Where’s Kate?”
“Her office.”
“I’ll go—” Cecelia started in that direction and then stopped. “Well. Yes. I suppose it’s been an exhausting day for her. Tell her I’ll call in the morning.”
“Still on for our Sunday ride?” her dad asked.
“Yep. We’ll meet you at Alice’s at nine.”
“Honestly,” Cecelia said, crossing her arms. “Must you ride those awful things?”
“Why don’t you join us?” her dad asked Cecelia. “I’ll pick you up.”
“Oh, my, no .” Cecelia pressed her hand to her chest. “I’d be terrified.”
“I’ll escort you downstairs,” her dad said to Cecelia. “See if I can convince you to give it a try.”
Cecelia took his arm. “I’ve been thinking that I’d like to spruce up the inside of the house. Perhaps you could make recommendations on… ”
Chris shut the door behind them and went to the windows of the tenth-floor office. No matter how many times she’d been up here, the sun setting beyond the Golden Gate Bridge took her breath away. It still scared her how close she’d come to missing out on the best thing to ever happen to her. Yes, love could be messy, but it was more than worth the risk.
*
Kate twirled her gold Cross pen as she looked out the window at the sun setting beyond the Golden Gate Bridge, sifting through the many emotions the day had brought. Joy she’d accomplished her lifelong goal. Worry about whether she’d be a good steward of the law firm. Sadness that her father wasn’t here to share the moment. Or Todd. But then honeymooning…
She hadn’t wanted an opulent party or the announcement in the Chronicle, but she couldn’t begrudge her mother the celebration. Boundaries between them were a work in progress, but as Chris reminded her in moments when her patience was exhausted, all great designs took time to mature.
“You’re beautiful and I’m the luckiest woman in the world.”
Kate turned, her heart warming as Chris walked toward her, looking handsome in the custom-made, charcoal-gray suit. She still resisted Kate buying her things, but they were learning to compromise as they blended their lives. She fingered the skinny tie and used it to pull Chris close. “Kiss me senseless.”
Chris took her in her arms, eyes shimmering with desire, and dipped her backward for a long kiss. “You all right?” Chris asked, bringing her upright.
“I am now.” She wrapped her arms around Chris and then backed away, putting her hand to her chest as her heart jolted. There was something hard in the inside breast pocket. No, too big for a ring. Although when Chris asked her, she knew what she’d say.
“I’m proud of you and proud to be your partner.” Chris handed her a small package.
Kate tore through the pink paper, opened the box, held up the gold nameplate.
“No office christening is complete without one.”
“Nor is it complete without something else.” She took Chris’s hand and led her to the couch in her newly redecorated office. Her mother’s project, although Kate had insisted on keeping some of her father’s furniture. The burgundy leather couch and chairs were new.
“Sit.” She pushed on Chris’s shoulders, bending down for a long kiss. She closed the drapes and placed candles throughout the room, lighting them as she went, never taking her eyes from Chris. She locked the office door, took a bottle of lube from a drawer, and went to sit beside her. “Make love to me.”
“Here?” Chris’s eyes sparked with surprise and desire.
Kate brought Chris’s hands to her breasts. “This day won’t be complete without christening my office with you inside me.” They undressed each other slowly, caressing, kissing, building their arousal. Kate lay back and guided Chris’s cock to her opening, wrapping her legs around her. “So, Ms. Lesbian Casanova,” she said as Chris moved inside her, slow and deep. “Sex was the deal. Did falling in love ruin everything?”
