Denial (8 page)

“Your suitcase!”

“Under the bed.”

Finding it,
Amy
opened a couple of drawers, and threw whatever she could find into it. Aware the redhead was particular about what she wore,
Amy
knew Maggie was in for a shock when they got to Barbados.

While helping Maggie get organized, Josh then Irene called.
Amy
struggled to speak. She kept each conversation brief, hoping they would think she was too excited about the trip to chat for long.

“Are you ready?”
Amy
asked when the taxi arrived.

Maggie nodded wearily.

“Let’s go.”

Soon they were at the airport. To
Amy
’s relief, when they arrived, her friends were all nursing serious hangovers, which meant they were too tired to give her much attention. It wasn’t until they were boarding the plane that Maggie finally remembered about
Celeste
staying over.

“Did you get a chance to chat with twinnie last night?”

Amy
tensed. The color drained from her face.

Frowning, Maggie looked at her. “I hope everything was all right? I know you’ve found her a wee bit awkward.”
 

Amy
looked down and muttered, “Everything was fine.”

Maggie persisted. “Where was she this morning then?”

Wanting to end the conversation,
Amy
replied, “She left early.” Leaving no room for Maggie to ask further questions, she called to her friend, Islay, who was preparing to sit in the seat across from her, and asked, much to her cousin’s confusion, if she would like to sit next to her.

Chapter 10

About to leave her room, the phone rang. Hesitating at the door,
Amy
let it ring a few times before picking it up. “Hello?” she answered cautiously.

“Hi, honey.”

Amy
rubbed her forehead, relieved it was Josh. Closing her eyes, she exhaled slowly. Since that night, last week,
Celeste
had haunted her thoughts. On the one hand, she was relieved she was here in the Caribbean and out of reach, but on the other she desperately wanted to resolve it—whatever ‘it’ was with
Celeste
—and get back to her life. So far, there had been no communication.

“Hi, Josh,”
Amy
replied, trying to clear her mind of images of
Celeste
.

They briefly chatted about some issues Irene was having with the wedding arrangements then Amy said her goodbyes. Each time they spoke, guilt filled her, and left her throat as dry as a bone. Thankfully, her friends thought her distraction was just a bout of pre-wedding jitters, but Maggie was a different matter. She had picked up that something was wrong.
Amy
’s stomach lurched. Suddenly nauseous, she headed to the bathroom. When she eventually came out, Maggie was there.

“That’s the third morning this week you’ve thrown up, isn’t it?”

Wiping her mouth with a tissue,
Amy
nodded weakly.

Maggie hugged her. “C’mon,” she said with a note of concern. “I think you should go for a wee nap.”

Amy
nodded, and headed for her bed.

†

“Wake up, jellybean.”

Amy
blearily opened her eyes.

Maggie looked down at her.

“What time is it?” Amy asked, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

Maggie looked away at the alarm clock. “It’s let’s find out time.” Producing a package from her pocket, she rattled it.

Amy
squinted at the package. “What’s that?”
 

Nudging
Amy
over, Maggie sat beside her. “A pregnancy test kit.”

Color drained from
Amy
’s face. Groaning, she lay back down. Covering her eyes with her arms, she whispered, “Impossible. I’m always careful.”

“
Amy
, you know you recently changed to a new pill because your body reacted badly to it,” Maggie said, gently removing
Amy
’s arms from her face.

Amy
’s voice grew huskier than normal. “I can’t be?”

“Jellybean,” Maggie said softly, “you’ve been off the pill for two months.” Trying to make a joke of it she added, “I know you’re blonde, but is that really an excuse?”

Tears welled in
Amy
’s eyes. “I’m just about to start my career. Having a baby right now is not part of the plan.”

“Men,” Maggie said, stroking
Amy
’s hair. “Didn’t you tell him you like your eggs unfertilized?” She shook her head. “If Josh didn’t want to use protection, you should have put a staple through his nob.” She smiled. “He’d have got the message pretty quick that you weren’t ready for the pitter-patter of tiny feet.”

“Look, Maggie,”
Amy
protested. “Do you think I’m daft or something? Believe me,” she said indignantly, “we used protection!”

Maggie rattled the package. “Let’s see if it was effective then.” Raising her eyebrows, she said gently, “Don’t be scared.”

Amy
sniffed.

“Jellybean,” Maggie said standing, “if you used protection then it’s highly unlikely you’re pregnant.” She held out her hands. “But, we need to be sure.”

Amy
threw the bed sheets back and took her cousin’s hands. “Maggie,” she said, standing on shaky legs. “I’m ninety-nine point nine percent sure I’m not!”

“Then, it’ll do no harm to round it up to a hundred, will it.”

Amy
lowered her dark blond eyelashes.

“Jellybean, one way or another you’ll find out. And it’s better now rather than later.” Handing
Amy
the pregnancy kit Maggie shooed her into the bathroom. Pulling the door closed, she leaned against it. “I’m here if you need me.”

After a few minutes,
Amy
opened the door. Taking her hand, Maggie led her into the kitchen.

“Well?”

“I didn’t look,”
Amy
replied shakily. “Can we have a cup of tea first?”

Nodding, Maggie sat
Amy
down at the breakfast bar before putting the kettle on.

After her third cup, Maggie said, “You should go and check.”

Amy
nodded but didn’t move. “I just remembered something.”

“What?”

“A couple of weeks ago,”
Amy
replied eyes downcast. “We were out with friends, and Josh was up for celebrating…” Her voice trailed off.

“And?”

“And, we ordered champagne.”

“How much did you have?”

“I don’t know,”
Amy
shrugged. “There were four of us.”

“And?”

“And, I can’t really remember. But, I could’ve sworn that we used protection.” Amy rubbed her forehead. “But now, I’m not so sure.”

“Hmmm.” Maggie looked at
her cousin
then nodded toward the bathroom.

Amy
didn’t move. The thought of being pregnant terrified her.

Maggie nodded toward the bathroom again.

Amy
sighed. “Will you go?”

Maggie looked at
the blonde
for a long moment then headed for the bathroom to retrieve the results. Returning, she gave
Amy
a sad little smile.

Covering her mouth,
Amy
burst into tears.

“Aww, c’mere,” Maggie said, holding out her arms. “It’ll be all right, jellybean.”

Chapter 11

“Mike, it’s Friday afternoon and I’m at the house. Just wondering where you are. Give me a call when you get this message.” Hanging up, Amy looked around and noted with a detailed eye the work still to be done. She shook her head, unable to believe that after all the hard work the contractor was now slacking off just when the house was in the final stage of the build.

Amy
wondered what to do, and decided to look the house over thoroughly. She wandered around the interior and thought about how tough this, her first real project, had been. The project was overbudget, and six weeks late, but given all of that she thought, taking an appreciative look at her designs, it was worth it.

The blonde
smiled when she heard a car coming up the drive. Thinking Mike hadn’t taken the afternoon off after all, she made her way out of the house and onto the front porch. When Amy got there she froze, and her heart almost leapt into her mouth when she recognized
Celeste
’s car.

On her return from the Caribbean, a few weeks ago,
Amy
had mentally prepared herself, even psyched herself up for some sort of showdown, but to her surprise there was no contact whatsoever from the elusive Doctor Cameron. All she knew was what she had gleaned from Josh’s increasing complaints that
Celeste
was never around.

As the weeks passed, with no word,
Amy
eventually rationalized her bizarre encounter with
Celeste
. Although she couldn’t fully explain why it happened, she had read somewhere a woman’s hormones tended to be all over the place when pregnant, which led to erratic behavior and mood swings. With some relief,
Amy
decided her encounter with
Celeste
was nothing more than a hormonal blip.

Drawing in a breath,
Amy
watched
Celeste
get out of the car and look around. Accepting that a conversation with the brunette was long overdue, she unconsciously firmed her chin then squared her shoulders before making her way down the stairs.

Approaching
Celeste
,
Amy
couldn’t help but admire her outfit. She wore a tight-fitting white shirt, which showed off her tanned complexion, and sleek black trousers. She’s so incredibly beautiful,
Amy
thought. Since their first meeting,
she
had admired
Celeste
’s style, particularly, the way she used a rich color palette to bring together fabric and textured clothing. No synthetics for this girl,
Amy
thought. Stopping in front of the brunette, she noticed her hair had been restyled. Normally longer, it was layered, and a few inches above her shoulders. Overall,
Amy
thought, she definitely has that French chic look nailed.

†

Closing the car door,
Celeste
was surprised by the rush of desire that swept through her when
Amy
stopped in front of her. “Hi,
Amy
.”

Amy
frowned. “Hi. What brings you here?”

Taking off her shades,
Celeste
looked at
the blonde
. She liked her style, and fully appreciated the sexiness of her look.
Amy
’s white T-shirt accentuated her full breasts and her boots and her jeans showed her shapely legs off to their maximum. Ignoring the sudden charged air between them, and fighting the urge to touch
her
,
Celeste
looked away. She took a moment before meeting
Amy
’s intense gaze. Slipping her shades on top of her head, she replied, “I know it’s…unexpected, but I spoke to Josh on the phone this afternoon, and he mentioned you were here and since I was in the neighborhood, he suggested that I stop by and see the house.” She looked toward the house. “This is quite spectacular, how about a tour?”

Amy
eyed
Celeste
. “Okay.”

Celeste
walked toward the house. At the top of the stairs, she stopped and looked back in surprise,
Amy
hadn’t moved more than a few steps. She gestured with her hand for her to follow.

†

Amy
didn’t move when
Celeste
made her way toward the house. Instead, she watched her. She had always known
Celeste
was an exceptionally beautiful woman, but now she wasn’t just admiring the way she looked. Now, she realized, stomach knotting, she was responding to it.

When
Celeste
looked back at her inquiringly,
Amy
smiled briefly. Swallowing hard, she followed.

Amy
showed
Celeste
around. Initially, she found it difficult to focus on anything other than the physical proximity of the brunette and how her body was reacting to her closeness, but as the tour continued, her enthusiasm, and
Celeste
’s easy manner, eased her tension.

With a little coaxing,
Amy
showed
Celeste
the design plans for the house, explaining her inspirations, and detailing what was still to happen.

Coming close to
Amy
,
Celeste
looked at the plans. “Josh mentioned the house was being put forward for some sort of award for green homes in Florida.”

Amy
nodded. “A lot of that’s due to your dad,
Celeste
,” she replied. “I owe him big-time. I would never have managed without his help. He gave me a crew, and he was the one that negotiated this acre of infill redevelopment.”

“Yeah, he’s a generous guy,”
Celeste
said. “Tell me about the green aspects of the house.”

“Well,”
Amy
began. “Most of the house is built from materials from the local area. We’ve recycled construction waste onsite to create our own mulch. We’ve saved and transplanted trees, including live oaks and magnolias, and where possible used engineered lumber made from shredded wood or junk trees.”
Amy
looked at
Celeste
, and catching her eyes blushed. “I’m sorry, I could go on forever.”

“I want to hear more,”
Celeste
replied, leaning against the kitchen counter. “I’m impressed. This place is something else.”

Amy
watched
Celeste
’s shirt pull against her breasts as she rested her hands on the counter. “There’s a whole-house vacuum and there’s automatic faucets.”

Suddenly aware that she was staring at
Celeste
’s chest,
Amy
focused quickly on the floor. Embarrassed, she cleared her throat. “Uhmm, and the bamboo flooring is renewable, maturing in five years rather than the typical thirty for traditional wood.”

“Sustainability, I like it,”
Celeste
said staring intently at
Amy
.

Amy
locked eyes with
Celeste
.

“Tell me more.”

“Ermm, there’s also cork flooring throughout, which is harvested without harming the plant. The lighting,” Amy added, feeling flustered as she flicked a switch on and off, “uses less energy, generates less heat, and lasts longer than normal lighting.” She pointed upward. “There’s high-efficiency air-conditioning.”

“It’s wonderful,”
Celeste
responded quietly.

Amy
’s pulse picked up. Needing to put some distance between them, she said, “Let me show you some more.” Quickly, she led the way through the house. “The pool uses natural salt for purification, taking away the need for chlorine. The photovoltaic heater will warm the pool with solar energy.”

Aware she sounded like some sort of energy-saving zealot
Amy
said, as they walked back to the kitchen, “You get the gist; living in this type of house is really all about using resources and energy wisely.”

“I didn’t realize you were such a green ambassador.”

“This place means a lot to me,”
Amy
replied, genuinely, delighted that
Celeste
liked it. “I wanted the house to blend with its natural habitat, but I also wanted it to be sensitive… environmentally.”
Amy
blushed. “My father,” she said, looking at
Celeste
and wondering fleetingly if they would have got on, “was a keen environmentalist and many of the green elements I’ve incorporated,” she pointed to several areas on the plans, “would be constructs that would have met with his approval.”

Celeste
moved closer to
Amy
. “I’m sure your father would be as amazed as I am,” she said gently. “I love this house. It seems to reflect a lot of your personality, and probably his too.” She touched
Amy
’s arm reassuringly. “There is no doubt you have a real talent. That’s evident in your art, and in the design of this house.”
 

Aware of the searing heat of
Celeste
’s hand on her bare skin,
Amy
took a deep breath.

“Do you find it completely different from what you would have built in Scotland?”

Eyes wide,
Amy
nodded. Aware of nothing but
Celeste
’s touch, she swallowed. “In some ways it’s very different, and in some ways not,” she said, her voice sounding weird to her ears. “Here, everything tends to be big in scale in terms of the size of property. But in reality, the homes here are notorious for having small garages and limited storage space.”

“How so,”
Celeste
asked, her hand still burning
Amy
’s skin.

“Uhmm,”
Amy
said, fighting the strong urge to pull her arm away from the intense heat. “Builders are sneaky and save on construction costs by making closets, attics, and garages smaller. With not very many basements because of the sandy soil and wet conditions you get huge houses with no storage.”

Celeste
smiled. “Is there more?”

Suddenly aware that
Celeste
was engaging her but keeping conversation away from anything too personal,
Amy
pulled away. “Loads and loads more,” she replied. “But I won’t bore you.”

They looked at each other for a long moment.

Celeste
moved closer. “
Amy
, I want to—”

Amy
jumped when her cell phone burst into life. She looked at
Celeste
, and tried to communicate her regret as she answered it. “Hello,” she said her eyes on
Celeste
.

“Hi,
Amy
, it’s Mike. Look, I’m sorry I wasn’t there, but —”

“Mike,”
Amy
interrupted, watching
Celeste
pick up her car keys. “Look, don’t worry about it,” she said hastily. “We’ll talk about it tomorrow. I’ll call you. Bye.” She hung up.

“
Amy
, I have to go,”
Celeste
said. Frowning, she looked at her watch. “I’m meeting Alex at three.” She motioned to her car. “Walk with me?”

Amy
lifted her eyebrows in surprise at the sharp sense of loss. Nodding, she murmured, “Sure.”