These Foolish Things (17 page)

“Easy, there,” he admonished. “Remember, keep your eyes on
me.”

“By the way,’ he said casually, “I hear you had a nasty
confrontation in the ladies room.” She felt his hand tighten on hers. “Are you
okay?” His eyes searched her face.

“Yeah, it was nothing, really,” Liz said. “Some angry words
and…”

“She shoved you.” He finished.

“Yes.”

“You didn’t fight back.” It wasn’t a question.

“I’m not a cat fighter,” she said. “I didn’t want to cause a
scene.” She tried to sound dismissive.

Ty pulled her closer. “You don’t have to be afraid. I sent
her home.”

Annoyed, Liz pulled out of his arms and looked at Ty. “Thank
you, but I don’t need protection.” She turned to leave and heard him say,
“Maybe I want to protect you.”

For the next couple of hours, Liz danced with various
partners, most of them men she knew, including Frank McCafferty, and socialized
with her friends, admiring Millie’s ring and joining the gang in toast after
toast. The ball was finally winding down when Liz felt the hand on her
shoulder. The hand belonged to Ty. He hastily downed the drink he’d been holding
and disposed of the glass. “Last dance, Counselor,” he said as he led her out
to the floor. “You might even be ready for a dip.”

Liz noted that where the dance floor had been fairly crowded
earlier, it was nearly empty at this late hour. Ty swept her into his arms and
the band struck up “At Last.” He saw the question in her eyes and said, “No, I
didn’t arrange it. They just happen to be playing it.”

Ty pulled Liz even closer than he had earlier. They looked
into each other’s eyes as they danced.

Liz marveled, “I’ve never been very good at slow dancing and
you’ve got me moving like Ginger Rogers.”

Ty smiled and squeezed her hand. “It helps to have the right
partner,” he said quietly.

They had made their way to a darker, more private area of
the dance floor when Ty looked up. Liz followed his gaze and saw a sizable
kissing ball liberally spiked with mistletoe hanging just above them. Ty looked
into Liz’s eyes. She could see the warmth and anticipation in them. “Guess I’ll
have to do this right then, won’t I?” he whispered. And before Liz knew it, Ty
was kissing her.

He started off softly, gently until Liz parted her lips
under his. Her head was spinning and she put her arms around his neck to steady
herself. Ty tightened his hold on her. She felt his tongue slowly ease into her
mouth and touch hers, gradually deepening into something that made her sway.
Liz put one gloved hand to his face and felt one of his hands slide up from her
waist to brush, then cup her breast.

She tentatively slid her tongue into his mouth, tasting the
Scotch he had been drinking. She didn’t care. Ty pulled her even more closely
against his body. Liz felt his hand go above the bodice of her dress to touch
the soft skin, then try to slide a finger underneath it. He pulled her even
closer with his other arm, sliding his hand down to her bottom and pulling her
against himself. Liz could feel his erection and stopped breathing.

They were still there…

Jeering faces, bodies against her, semen being shot into her
unwilling hand, her voice begging them to stop…

She froze.

Ty broke off the kiss. His breathing was ragged and heavy.

“I have a suite at the hotel tonight, Liz,” he finally
managed to say. “Come with me, Darling.” He began kissing her neck, down her
shoulder and lower. “I want you. I want us to be together tonight.” He began to
push the stiff bodice out of the way of his questing mouth.

“Ty, please, no.” Liz tried to push her dress back into
place. He raised his head, misinterpreting her panic.

“I’m sorry. You made me lose my head there for a minute.” he
kissed her forehead and raised her chin to kiss her again, just as softly and
warmly as he had started. He raised his head. “Come back to my room with me,
Liz and we won’t have to stop.”

Liz’s spine stiffened and she tried to pull out of his arms.
Ty looked confused.

“I can’t.”

He kept his grip and read her face. “High school?”

She nodded, barely moving her head. Her heart was still
pounding as she forced the horror out of her head.

He kissed her forehead. “There.” He kissed it again. “They’re
leaving.” Liz found he was right.

“Let me help you put that ugliness behind you. Come with me
and we’ll have a beautiful night making love.” He stroked her face. “Trust me.”

Liz realized that she did trust him. And more.

She loved him. She’d fought against it and lost. Elizabeth
Gardner had fallen in love with Tyrone Hadley. And he was asking her to spend
the night with him. He was murmuring something as he was kissing her neck, a
caress that made her go limp. “You look like a queen in that dress, Counselor,
but I can’t wait to get you out of it.”

Reality hit Liz. He’d see what the cut of her dress was
hiding. She opened her eyes. “Ty, I…”

He cut her off with a kiss. “Sssh, Baby. Let’s go. I’ll have
room service bring us champagne and you’ll see. I’m not going to hurt you.” He
kissed her again. “I love you too much to ever hurt you.”

Liz froze. She had almost whispered, “I love you, too” until
the aroma of Scotch from his breath hit her nostrils. It was the liquor
talking, not Ty.

She pulled away from him, reluctantly disentangling herself.
Ty’s bewilderment showed in his eyes, those eyes she longed to see on the
pillow next to hers and wouldn’t. He reached for her, but she stepped further
away.

“Liz, don’t run away from me.”

She shook her head. “Please, it’s been a beautiful evening.
Let’s not ruin it. This is wrong. You’ve been drinking; you don’t know what
you’re doing or saying. I know what I’m doing. Believe me, I know best.”

“No.” The one word was quiet, firm and held an undercurrent
of anger. Ty shoved his hands into his pockets, ignoring what it did to the
line of the tuxedo jacket. He was staring at the floor and continued to stare
as he spoke, still quiet, still angry.

“No, Liz, I don’t think you know what you’re doing.” He
looked up. “I want an explanation.” He held up a hand to stop her protest. “Not
tonight. The only thing I want to hear from you right now is ‘Yes, Ty, I’ll
come with you’ and we know that isn’t going to happen. So, you go. But know
this, Elizabeth: we’re not done.” And he abruptly turned and stalked off.

Liz closed her eyes. The pain she had just inflicted on him
had hurt her, too, but she reminded herself that she was only protecting
herself and her heart before the real damage could be done.

The good thing about Hyannis in December, reflected Liz as
she drove along Route 132, is that you pretty much have the town to yourself
and it’s not too difficult to get a hotel room at the last minute and get one
for a song, at that. Yeah, it was fun in the summertime with all the crowds,
but she craved quiet and solitude right now and Hyannis would offer that. Over
the years, it had proven itself as a place to hide and heal.

It had been one week since the Barrister’s Ball and Liz
couldn’t keep her mind off Ty’s kiss. Just thinking about it, she could feel it
all again, Ty’s lips on hers, the warm, sensual probing of his tongue, his arms
around her, his hands on her bare skin and how she had so eagerly responded.
Part of her wondered if she should have gone back to his room with him.

All hell had broken loose after the ball; the society
columnists for the local papers kept calling. Women Liz had never heard of
either called the office or dropped by to “go grab a bite.” Corey informed Liz
all of them had been previously been linked to Ty Hadley. Liz saw none of them,
having Corey issue a polite refusal (he had trouble with the polite part).
According to Millie and Joe, hiring partners from some of the other firms in
town had begun to “sniff around,” calling contacts within the Hoffman, Lovell
and Dennis to find out more about her. Dan was not pleased and he took his
irritation out on Liz by dumping work on her. The Monday after the ball, one
dozen sterling silver roses were waiting for her at the reception desk with a
note indicating that these were the first of fifty-two weekly bouquets she’d be
receiving, per the instructions of Tyrone Hadley, Esq. who’d bought them at
auction. Liz was unable to eat, substituting iced coffee for anything more
substantial. With the nervous tension added to the caffeine, she had been
unable to relax. More than once, Liz had bitten Corey’s head off for no good
reason. Even Millie was puzzled that Liz refused to confide in her when she was
clearly upset and confused. Beanie would chase his toys around in front of Liz,
energetically batting and running, then sitting back on his haunches, tail
wagging and awaiting praise. When it didn’t come, he’d philosophically stretch
and curl up in Liz’s lap, purring while she mechanically stroked his coat, her
mind on a man with a devastating touch.

And there were the phone messages. A small stack of pink
paper squares with “Ty Hadley – please call” noted on them. And voice messages
both at work and at home. As soon as she heard his voice, Liz erased them
without listening.

The kicker had been an email from a society photographer who
had been at the Ball. He’d attached pictures of Ty and Liz dancing together and
kissing. Liz had been shaken that even this most intimate moment had not been
private. She’d gone into Dan’s office, told him she was using some of her
accumulated vacation time and doing so immediately. When he started to deny
her, Liz gave her two weeks’ notice. Back at her desk, Liz had made three phone
calls: one to Judge McCafferty to accept his offer, one to book a room in
Hyannis and one to Vincenzo’s.

Once she’d arrived on the Cape, Liz turned into the parking
lot of her hotel, patting her car on the dashboard. “Good boy. Just get us back
to Salem in a couple of days and I’ll buy you a tune-up, I promise,” she said.
Liz found that a certain amount of begging and bribery kept her ancient VW
Rabbit running. It wasn’t exactly an image car for a lawyer, but it was paid
for, passed inspection, still got fairly good gas mileage and ran.

As Liz waited for the clerk to complete the check-in, her
mind went back to her last conversation with Millie and Corey before she left.
Millie had just looked at the circles under Liz’s eyes and nodded. She knew
about the chaos, but suspected there was something more and it had to do with
Ty. When Liz told her she was going to Hyannis for a few days, Millie had
finally broken down and asked what the hell was going on. Liz replied “Please,
Mill. I just want to be left alone for a couple of days. We’ll talk when I get
back, I promise. Right now, Boston’s just too insane.”

Millie had nodded and hugged her friend with a silent prayer
that Liz would find the answers she sought. Corey had remained silent except
for a request that Liz bring back a snow globe for his collection.

After dropping her bags in her room, Liz headed back out
into the chilly air of Hyannis. Fortunately, her destination was close and she
quickly made her way into Cucina Vincenzo.

A handsome man in his late sixties was seated at the bar
reading a newspaper and drinking coffee under a picture of the Rat Pack with a
much younger version of himself. He looked up at the tinkling of the bells on
the front door and got up to greet Liz.

“Here’s our girl!” Vincent DiNardo wrapped Liz in a bear
hug. “Lizabetta!”

Vinnie held her out at arms’ length and searched her face.
“What’s wrong? Are you in trouble? I’ll kill him.” Vinnie hugged her again and
Liz returned it, feeling better than she had all week.

“No, I’m not in trouble,” she said, still holding Vinnie,
“Everything’s fine.”

“Bullshit,” Vinnie answered pleasantly.

“Vincenzo!” A sharp yell from the kitchen.

Vinnie turned his head towards the voice, “Angie, I’m old
enough to curse if I want to. Save it for the boys, Darling,” he said sweetly.
He turned back to Liz. “As I was saying, in my own way, I don’t believe you for
a minute everything’s fine. Look at your face. Belle of the Ball and you look
like you lost your best friend.”

“The bookstore is holding an order for me and I want to
check out some more properties for investment. I thought I’d do some work here,
too.” And hide, she added silently.

Vinnie released her. “I still don’t believe you. The
bookstore could have shipped your order and you don’t need to personally
inspect your rental properties,” he pointed his index finger at her, “You, my
girl, do not drive for hours with a snowstorm following you just to come visit.
I won’t pry, but I’ll bet it’s some man.”

Liz shrugged and managed a bright smile. “Hey, we both know
Angie got the last good man. I’m just waiting for her to kick you to the curb
so I can make my move. You, me and a bottle of Viagra. Whaddya say?”

“Hey!” Vinnie playfully slapped her wrist. “Nice girls don’t
talk like that!” He put a hand to her cheek. “It’s no good you being alone,
Liz. You need a good man. We worry about you.”

She opened her mouth, but Vinnie cut her off. “You need
love. You need to be loved and you need to give love. End of discussion.”

Papa Vinnie had spoken. He put both hands on her face and
frowned in concern.

“Your face is so cold! Where did you walk from, Alaska?
Angela! Get out here!” Vinnie yelled the last in the direction of the kitchen.

Angela DiNardo emerged from the swinging doors leading to
the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. “Vinnie! Could you be any louder?” She
spotted Liz and held out her arms. “My girl! Lizabetta! Vinnie! Why didn’t you
say so?” This, thought Liz, was exactly what she needed. Mama Angie gave hugs
that could cure just about anything. It wasn’t just the firm embrace and
Angie’s softness that made them special. Somehow, some of the warmth from her
big, generous heart would find its way through Angie’s arms and into Liz’s
soul.