Page 24 of Stay Here Tonight
Yes, a diamond tennis bracelet was certainlycatch-all!Lydia gasped when the light caught the sparkling diamonds.Like looking into the river on a sunny day.Lydia had spent half her childhood by rivers, getting sunburned and learning how to swim in the calmer spots. Every so often she thought that the twinkling water looked like diamonds glistening among the rocks.
“You honestly should not have.”
Maxine removed the bracelet from the box and helped Lydia put it on. “I found it in my things. I have no need for something like this. You can have it. Sell it, if you want to.” Her lingering touch had Lydia too spellbound to respond. “Should fetch a few dollars if you go to a reputable jeweler. But you need to wear some expensive candy to go with your new look. People will expect it.”
“Right.” This wasn’t a present from the depths of Maxine’s heart.
She had agreed to this after careful consideration and an extensive lunch with Joanie.“Are you kidding me? Do it! How many women get to say they’re Maxine’s girlfriend? For God’s sake, everyone’s talking about you on Twitter! Look!”
Yet Lydia hadn’t been sure at first. Maxine made a tempting offer, and shedidstill have a crush on the hard-working heiress. What sealed the deal on Lydia’s decision-making skills, however, was the flirty insinuation that they may have a Round 2 in bed at some point.Maybe tonight? Oh my God, what am I thinking? I’m pathetic. She’s going to see other women on the side, and I’ll have to deal with it.Still, Lydia could not forget how good it felt to make love to Maxine that first time.Yeah, lovemaking. That’s what it was.
Something akin to love certainly fluttered in Lydia when she checked Maxine out, though. A sapphire-blue long-sleeved blouse almost perfectly matched the navy of Lydia’s dress. Two sapphire studs lit up those detached earlobes, and the cufflinks? Black onyx. What kind of woman had black onyx cufflinks?She does.Every woman should have them!
“We need to get going soon.” Did Maxine’s eyes linger longer than Lydia anticipated? The last time that happened, they ended up in bed together. “It’s a long drive down to LA.”
Lydia assumed that they would have a small entourage in the back of the limo, but the bodyguard got in the front seat with the driver, and no one like Angela was anywhere in sight.
The limo looked like any other Lydia often saw around southern California. She didn’t see the insides of them very often, though. Last time she rode in the back of a limo was for a friend’s bachelorette party in Vegas. That had been a template-type limo, and while fabulous at the time, it didn’t hold a single candle to what a personalized limo of the rich looked like.
Soft, leather interior with heated/cooling seats. A fully-stocked minibar inside oak finish. A likewise fully-stocked pharmacy that even includedtampons.Music was speaker controlled and connected to either satellite radio or someone’s cell phone. One of the seats folded out into a comfortable twin bed. Lydia sat in the far corner and buckled up. Maxine didn’t buckle her seatbelt when she slid in next to Lydia, because rich people were above such peasantry.
“Comfortable? We can change the temperature.”
Lydia had barely registered that they were moving. “I’m fine.” No, she wasn’t. She washot.Stifling! Suffocating! Lydia was ready to rip off her clothes to free her skin. Being in such close proximity to Maxine Woodward in such an enclosed space was going to be the end of her.
You’re not really her girlfriend. You’re not even dating. You’re merely helping one another out. That’s it.
They rode in silence for the first twenty minutes. Maxine spent most of that time scrolling through her phone and answering texts. The phone was perpetually plugged into an outlet hidden in a panel. Lydia soon realized that she could also plug in her phone so it would stay charged throughout the party that night.
Something gnawed at the back of her mind, however.
“Can I ask you something?” Lydia sucked in her breath once she caught Maxine’s attention. “It’s personal, but I need to know before I sink deeper into this.”
The woman studied her with the cautious reserve of a woman sizing up a potential enemy. “Go on. You won’t offend me.”
The sparse countryside dashed by the tinted windows as they headed south toward LA. “What that tabloid said… is any of it true?”
Maxine didn’t waste her breath. “You mean what Penelope said about me abusing her.”
“Yes. I’m sorry. I know that’s a sensitive thing to ask, but…”
“What? I’ve asked you to become more involved with me. It’s only fair that you ask something like that. Who knows what I’m capable of, right?”
“I didn’t mean it that way.”
“You did. You’re asking if there’s a chance I’ll abuse you too.”
Lydia couldn’t swallow, her mouth was so dry.
“I never laid a hand on her like that.” Maxine gazed out the window, hand going limp in her lap. “I loved my wife more than I loved myself. Perhaps that was the problem. She saw that weakness in me and took advantage of it. She only married me for my money and to make her more famous. Yet I’m the one asking myself what I did wrong. What did I do to make her so spiteful? Everyone tells me that she’s the crazy one. Even my therapist has somewhat diagnosed her with NPD or psychopathy. So why do I keep blaming myself? Is it that same weakness? Ah, but you don’t care about that.” Maxine glanced at Lydia, although her eyes were anything but clear. “You care that you’ll be safe around me. Well,Iwon’t do anything to you. I hate weapons. I hate having to push someone in self-defense. I’m a dirty, bleeding-heart pacifist. I’m sorry her shitty words have you wondering such things about me, but I don’t blame you.”
“You said that you never laid a hand on her likethat…”
Maxine snorted. “Caught that, did you? I’m suing her for slander, but my lawyer is afraid that she’ll use some of our more unconventional history together as her defense.”
“Unconventional?”
“Do I really have to explain it? Woman was kinky. You’re the only one who seems to enjoy a good spanking more.”
