HOLIDAY ROYALE (17 page)

She wanted to whine at him, to remind him that they had so little time left and he should get those meetings over with and get back to her fast.

But she caught herself. She had him with her only because of those meetings and whining never did anyone any good. She threw back the covers and went to kiss him good-morning.

He and Quentin were gone by a little after eight. She went down to her place to shower and change, stopping to knock on Viv’s door on the way out. No answer. The sisters were probably both at the hospital.

She ran into Marie, the super’s wife, on the elevator.

“I’m so sorry to hear about Viviana Nichols,” Marie said. “I talked to one of her daughters yesterday evening. They say she should pull through all right. I wonder if she’ll be moving to be closer to her family. It seems likely, doesn’t it, at her age? That’s such a nice apartment....”

“I have no idea what Viv’s plans are.” Lucy gave her a bland smile.

“How’s the prince? I didn’t realize you two were so...close.” The elevator reached the first floor. Lucy got off, Marie right behind.

“Fine,” Lucy said. “His Highness is doing fine. And yes, we
are
close. He’s a friend of the family.”

“But is that
all?
” Marie wanted to know.

“He’s been very kind to me.” Lucy headed for the door and couldn’t resist adding sweetly under her breath, “Last night, he took off all my clothes and was kind to every inch of me.”

“What was that, dear?” called Marie.

Lucy gave her a wave and called back, “Merry Christmas, Marie,” as she went out the door.

* * *

At the hospital, she sat with Marleah and Shoshona. The sisters reported that Viv was holding her own and would be in CICU for another few days at least. After that, if all went well, she would be out of intensive care and into a regular hospital room. If she continued to improve, they hoped that by the weekend she could go home.

The nurses let Lucy go in and visit with Viv briefly.

Viv was awake but still very weak. She whispered in a ragged little voice, “Hello, sweet girl.”

Lucy’s heart lifted at the words. She pulled up a chair and sat by the bed until the nurse came in and said she had to go.

Dami called her at a little after eleven. His meetings were going late. “It will be after four, I’m afraid, before I can get out of here.”

Lucy, in a cab on the way back to the apartment building, tamped down her disappointment and told him that Viv was doing well. “So, um, call me when you’re finished?”

“You know I will.” And he was gone.

Lucy wanted to cry. Like some big spoiled baby, she wanted to burst into tears because they only had until Thursday and now most of today would be gone before she saw him again. Really, how silly and selfish was that?

She stared out the window at the people rushing by on the street, at the Christmas decorations and window displays, at the Salvation Army bell ringer on the corner and the strange raggedy bearded fellow wearing a dirty fringed rawhide jacket and a coonskin cap. He stopped to throw bills into the bell ringer’s bucket.

It was the happiest time of the year. All the Christmas songs said so.

What was there to cry about?

Nothing, she told herself. Not one single thing. Viv was getting better and she would be with Dami that night.

She had the cabbie let her off in front of the Paradise Diner, where she had a bowl of clam chowder and told Tabby about Viv.

Tabby pulled her up out of her seat, hugged her and asked her why she seemed so down. “I mean, she’s going to make it, right?”

“Oh, yeah. I’m sure she will. And I’m not down.”

Tabby gave her two bags of oyster crackers. “Where’s the prince?”

“Working,” Lucy grumbled.

“Uh-oh. You’ve got it bad.”

“Oh, I do not. It’s not like that.”

Tabby frowned. “Like what, exactly?”

“I mean, we’re just, you know, having fun....”

“How long’s he here for?” Tabby asked way too gently.

Lucy opened one of the little bags and poured the crackers onto her chowder. “Not long enough.”

Nestor yelled something in Greek. Tabby turned around and yelled right back at him, also in Greek. Then she muttered, “Why do I put up with him?”

“He makes great clam chowder?” Lucy suggested.

About then, Nestor bellowed, “Order up!”

Tabby waved a dismissing hand in his direction and said to Lucy, “I’m off at two. And I do need to tell you all about Henry....”

“The Saturday-night guy?”

“Oh, yeah.” She put her hand against her chest and mimed a fast-beating heart. “He’s the one.”

Lucy hesitated. She did want to hear about Henry. And she could talk to Tabby. In fact, she might be tempted to start admitting things she hadn’t even admitted to herself yet. It would be wiser not to go there.

But who was she kidding? She needed to talk. “Come over to my place. I’ll be home.”

* * *

Lucy made them coffee. They sat in her living room. The view in there was of the wall of the building the next block over, but it was a cozy room, and you could see a little bit of the gray winter sky if you craned toward the window and looked up.

Tabby said she was falling for Henry O’Mara. “Saturday night, Sunday night. He’s coming over tonight, too.” Her parents weren’t happy. They were still after her to patch things up with the nice Greek man she’d almost married. “But
I’m
happy,” Tabby said with a giant grin. “Very, very happy in a big, big way.” She looked around the room. “Where’s the cat?”

“He’s up at Dami’s. We took him up there last night so I wouldn’t have to keep running down here to feed him. We took his litter box, too, which means if I haul him back down here, I need to bring the box. I mean, just in case, right? Ugh. It’s complicated.”

Tabby laughed. “So get a second litter box.”

“It’s only for a few days.”

“Ah, so that’s what’s going on with you. The prince is leaving soon and you’re missing him already.” Tabby sipped her coffee. “Ask him to stay.”

“It’s not like that. It’s not...that kind of a thing between us.”

“Do you want it to be
that
kind of a thing?”

Lucy put her hand on her chest. “My heart kind of does. A little.”
Liar,
a chiding voice whispered inside her head.
Your heart wants it a lot.
“But he’s not a ‘staying’ kind of guy—or if he was, probably he wouldn’t be with me.”

“Why not with you?”

“It’s just that it’s not that way with us.”

“What way?”

“We’re friends. With benefits, for now. That part—the two of us being lovers, was supposed to be just for Thanksgiving. And now it’s only until Thursday. And I’m just starting out, anyway. I’m not ready for anything serious, no matter what my silly heart keeps telling me.”

“Shut the front door. Just for
Thanksgiving?
”

“Please. Don’t ask me to explain. It’s...”

“Do not say ‘complicated.’”

“But it
is
complicated.”

Tabby set her cup down and leaned toward Lucy. “You need to talk to him about it, tell him how you feel.”

“But that’s just it. I don’t
want
to talk to him about it.”

“Yeah, you do.”

“No, I want to enjoy the time I have with him and then when it’s over, I want us to remain friends.”

“But you’re
not
enjoying it.”

“Yes, I am. Mostly. Mostly, I’m enjoying it a
lot.
”

“Lucy, sweetie, you should see your sad little face. Talk to him.”

“I feel like such a
child
again. It’s the one thing I hate, to feel like a child. I’ve felt like a child for most of my life, sick all the time, not getting to do any of the things other girls did, with other people hovering, worrying and having to take care of me. And the whole point in the first place with me and Dami being more than friends was for me
not
in any way to feel like a child.”

Tabby kicked off her duty shoes and folded her legs up to the side. “Is he treating you bad?”

Lucy gasped. “Dami? Never. Not in any way. And this whole thing, it was my idea. I’m the one who started it, okay? I asked him to be my first lover and he wasn’t into it, but as usual, he was a hero about it and tried to let me down easy. But then he discovered that maybe he
could
be into it with me.”

“Oh, right. He
discovered
this, did he?”

“No, Tabby. I’m serious. He always thought of me as a kid before, you know?”

“Oh, spare me. I’m a busy woman with my parents’ business to run, but even I read the
National Enquirer
now and then. The man is like some world-class lover, right? I’m sure he can tell if he’s attracted or he’s not.”

“Uh-uh. He’s not like that, not with me. He’s not a player with me. He really has been my friend first and foremost. And we really, truly were just friends until Thanksgiving. That’s when I went after him. I went after him and I kept pushing and finally, well, it happened. We made love and it was beautiful. Exactly what I dreamed it might be. And it’s been that way every time since the first time.”

Tabby had her lips pursed up and her brow furrowed. “It was supposed to be over after Thanksgiving, you said....”

“That’s right. But he had meetings here in New York and, well...”

“What you’re saying is
he
started it this time.”

“Well, he was here and all, and he lives in the building whenever he’s in New York, so of course we—”

“Oh, stop it. He’s a prince with buckets of money, right?”

“I don’t think I like the way you say that.”

“Too bad. The point is, if he didn’t want to be with you, he could have stayed at the Four Seasons. You’d have had no idea he was in town. He
wanted
to be with you.
You
want to be with him. It’s what I said at the first. You need to talk to him.”

“But I told you, this whole thing with him and me was always with the understanding that it was only for a little while.”

“And maybe that was your mistake right there.”

“What do you mean, my mistake? He’s my friend and I trust him and I asked him to do me this very special favor. That’s all it was supposed to be.”

“So? Now it’s more.”

“No. You’re not listening. I’m honestly not looking for forever right now.”

“Oh, honey. Maybe
you’re
not. But your heart? That’s a whole other story.”

* * *

Dami called at four-thirty.

The minute she heard his voice saying he was on the way, Lucy realized what an idiot she’d been. No matter what Tabby thought, she did
not
need to talk to Dami about how she wanted more from this thing between them.

She didn’t want more. She was happy with things as they were. Yes, all right, she would be sad when he left. But that was the way it went. That was life. You needed to revel in every moment. You needed to get through the heartache.

And move on.

He took her out to dinner at a great steak house on the Upper East Side and they shared a bottle of very expensive cabernet sauvignon. Lucy ate almost all of her filet mignon—not to mention a prosciutto-and-melon appetizer, cold asparagus salad and a baked potato the size of Long Island. They split a slice of New York cheesecake for dessert.

The restaurant was exclusive enough that no paparazzi popped up to take their picture while they plowed through the huge, delicious meal. They laughed together and toasted Viv’s recovery and Tabby’s new man and the holiday season in general.

Then he took her back to his place and straight to bed. He made love to her slowly, looking in her eyes. And when he whispered her name at the end, well, she could almost have wished she
did
want forever right now.

Tuesday, like Monday, went by too fast. Lucy went to the hospital in the morning while Dami worked. Again his meetings went on and on. Lucy had time to buy an extra litter box for Boris. Then she went up to Dami’s, got the cat and took him back to her place. He kept her company while she worked some more on the detailed sketch of Alice’s wedding dress.

They stayed in that night. And in the morning when she woke up, he wasn’t in the bed. But she could smell coffee brewing and something delicious cooking.

Breakfast in bed? Did it get any better? They were going to have a perfect day, lazing around without any clothes on, maybe getting up later and doing something festive.

How about a tree for her place? She grinned at the thought. They could get decorations, too. And then they could put up the tree together.

Her grin faded.

And then when he’s gone, won’t I love that?
whined the sad little voice in her head. Every time she looked at the tree she would have to remember this last perfect day, the beautiful time they’d had choosing it and decorating it together.

Uh-uh. Forget the tree. Bad idea. Better just to stay in bed late, make love a lot and go somewhere nice for dinner. And then make love for half the night. That would be a perfect goodbye.

Goodbye.
The word seemed to bounce around, echoing, inside her head. Her heart was racing. Her cheeks felt too warm.

She dragged herself up against the pillows and made herself take slow, deep breaths.

She was being an idiot and she was stopping that right now.

Big mistake to start planning out the day. They didn’t need a plan. It would be lovely whatever they did.

Her breathing evened out and her pulse stopped galloping. There. She was fine. She wasn’t going to break down in front of Dami just because she was beginning to realize she wanted more from him than she’d told him she wanted.

A whole lot more.

You need to talk to him,
Tabby had said.

But she wasn’t going to talk to him. It wasn’t
fair
to put all this emotional crap on him. He hadn’t bargained for anything like this.

And neither had she, damn it. Neither had she.

Breathe. Slowly. Deeply.

It worked. Her tight throat loosened. The pressure behind her eyes eased. The heat in her cheeks cooled. It was fine.
She
was fine.