Page 10 of Kiss Me at Midnight
Everyone stared at Lily, waiting for her decision.
“It sounds like an adventure.” Grandma Dotty pouted. “Do what you like, Lily. It’s not like you don’t leave me behind all the time on your adventures.”
Lily couldn’t remember the last time she’d been on an adventure.
“Do what’s right,” Jud murmured in her ear.
“What’s right is…” Lily began, trailing off when Jud took her hand once more. She stared up into those blue eyes, which was a mistake. He made her feel wanted. He made her want to agree just to stay by his side.
“We’ll do it, won’t we?” Jud murmured. “We’ll stop Rachel from making another mistake?”
Lily nodded numbly.
And just like that, it was done.
In a few short minutes, Abe produced contracts with stipulations and non-disclosure agreements, all of which Lily read through at Abe’s desk while her grandmother napped on the loveseat, clutching her precious flip-phone cord and snoring softly. Jud sat in a chair on the other side of the room, reading his papers.
They finished signing at about the same time.
The clock ticked like a timer on a bomb. For surely, this was going to blow up in Lily’s face, like that time she’d taken Dad’s Ferrari for a joy ride in the Hamptons and gotten pulled over in front of the trendiest restaurant that summer. She’d been fifteen and thought rules hadn’t applied to her, just like her dear friend Rachel, who got whatever she wanted regardless of the consequences. But unlike Rachel, Lily had grown up. And she had Rachel to thank for that.
Speaking of wanting…
Lily’s gaze drifted to Jud. He could have any woman he wanted. “Why did you kiss me?”
Jud capped his pen, set it down, and straightened his contract. “You know…Rachel is…There’s no easy way to say this. Rachel is a nice person. But she has a wandering eye and is free with her hands. When I told Abe we were a couple, it was because I thought he wanted me to sing at her wedding. I panicked. I wanted a defense.”
“And I was convenient.” Lily’s insides squeezed hard enough to squash what little confidence she had left. “Rachel’s engaged. You won’t need a buffer or a defense.”
Jud tsked, wagging his finger at her. “Don’t forget Rachel married someone else a little over two months ago. If you haven’t seen her lately, what Abe says is true. She can be…irrational when it comes to logic. And she’s a bit paranoid, as if everyone is out to get her.”
Great.“If this is your version of a pep talk…”
“If you’re looking for an excuse not to go…” Jud shrugged, studying Lily’s face. “From what Abe said, I take it you and Rachel had a falling out.”
“Growing up, Rachel, my sister Violet, and I used to be good friends.” It was Lily’s turn to cap her pen, set it down, and tidy her contract sheets. “And then when we were seventeen, Rachel’s mother died, and she fell apart.” Not even Lily’s good intentions could put her together again.
“Did she steal your boyfriend?” Jud asked straight-faced. “That seems to be her modus operandi.”
“If only it were that simple.”
Jud’s eyes widened. “What did Rachel do? You can tell me. I’ve already agreed to keep all the Cohen secrets. I may as well pinky swear to keep all yours.” His smile was magnetic, as disarming in real life as on the screen.
Lily wanted to smile, wanted to melt, but…
They may have teamed up on this task to save Rachel from herself but giving in to temptation with a hunky actor would only complicate things down the road. “I’d rather not say.”
“Come on, Lily. It helps to talk about it,” Jud said softly. His tone of voice reached something deep inside of Lily and grabbed hold, as if instinctively she knew they could be something to each other. “This is like the teaser my show does before a commercial break to ensure the audience hangs around to see what happens next to Titanium Talon.” The superhero character he played on TV.
“I’ll tell you what happened.” Grandma Dotty sat up and yawned. “After her mama died, Rachel got upset when Abe tried to rein her in. She ran away from home. Only she wasn’t brave enough to run away alone, so she took Lily with her. We were lucky Lily returned home unscathed.”
Unscathed?Lily forced herself to breath steadily–four counts in, four counts out.
Jud’s gaze turned compassionate.
Lily didn’t want his compassion or his pity. “Let’s just say that was the straw that ended our friendship.” After that, Lily’s adventures had been tests of her courage and limited to forays with Violet glued to her side.
Grandma Dotty harumphed. “Because of Rachel–”
