Page 9 of Kiss Me at Midnight
“I’d forgotten how blunt you can be.” Some of the energy seemed to drain from Abe. “Rachel plans to have a small wedding on our yacht Friday, which leaves port for Miami tomorrow morning. But it’s not a happy time for her. All her wedding invitations have been turned down, even by the castmates on her TV show. She’s taken it very hard.”
For the first time that evening, Lily felt sorry for Rachel.
“She’s my little girl,” Abe went on in a near-broken voice. “I want to help her, but she’s shut me out. I just turned sixty. I know I don’t understand your generation, but I need someone to help her see how jumping from relationship to relationship isn’t the answer. The answer is family. Me.” He choked up. “I know what you’re thinking. How can you help? You and Rachel haven’t talked in forever. But you used to be best friends. I think you can help Rachel realize she should cancel the wedding. My hope is that a break from all this foolishness will open the door to a better relationship for me and Rachel.”
“I’m not following how your goals for Rachel have anything to do with Hot Meals and Shelter.” Lily crossed her arms over her chest.
Grandma Dotty mirrored her stance. “Same.”
Jud frowned. “It sounds like Abe wants you to talk Rachel out of getting married in exchange for…a donation?”
Their host nodded.
“There’s no chance I can stop Rachel’s wedding.” Lily shook her head. “Jud has higher odds of blocking the nuptials by stealing Rachel from Paulo.”
“You leave Paulo to me,” Grandma Dotty said with a toss of her head. “Men find me irresistible.”
“It’s your singing voice,” Jud deadpanned, causing Grandma Dotty to beam.
“Hey.” Abe snapped his fingers several times to get their attention. “I’m serious, folks. In her quest to be the most dramatic ratings-grabber, Rachel has lost sight of what it’s like to live a real life away from the cameras. I know she doesn’t love Paulo. He’s just her…her…her boy toy.” Abe grimaced. “I’m willing to pay someone to help me reel her back in. If you stop the proceedings, Lily, I’ll sponsor Hot Meals and Shelter in its entirety for one year.”
Lily gasped. Just last week she’d told the director of Hot Meals and Shelter that she’d do anything to keep the charity open. The organization was near and dear to Lily’s heart. But that bold statement Lily had made to the director was now being put to the test. Was she willing to risk hurt to feed and shelter thousands in need?
Grandma Dotty gave her a speculative look.
“And for my daughter’s favorite actor…” Abe rubbed his jaw as he considered Jud. “If you help stop the wedding, I’ll back your directorial debut by investing twenty-five percent of your film’s budget. You’re working with twenty million, right?”
Jud drew back. “How did you know I wanted to direct? Or the size of my budget? I haven’t told anyone but my agent.”
“And he, in turn, put out feelers with several producers.” Abe settled back in his chair like a man certain he was about to win a poker match. “I’m plugged into the entertainment industry. My father used to own several theaters on Broadway. And I made my first million producing scaffolding for use in construction and entertainment production. People have been talking for months about you seeking financial backing for a small film with big heart.”
Jud frowned.
“What do I get?” Grandma Dotty tightened the power cord around her waist. “I’m worth something.”
“You’re not going,” Lily blurted. It was bad enough that she was considering Abe’s proposal. She didn’t want her grandmother involved in this.
Abe didn’t miss a beat. “You get a berth on my luxury yacht, Dotty. You’d like that, wouldn’t you? I once heard you tell my mother you’d love to sail onMy Private Dancer.”
Grandma Dotty’s forehead puckered. “Your mother’s been dead five years.”
“I have the memory of an elephant.” Abe tapped his temple. “And in case you’re thinking my pride and joy is outdated, I just upgraded her last summer with Rachel’s design help. All one hundred and eighty-six feet of her.”
“Grandma Dotty’s not going,” Lily said again, louder this time and directly to Abe.
“Fine. Just you two lovebirds then. What do you say?” Abe cracked his knuckles one-by-one, adding to the tension in the room. “Will you help me?”
Lily’s stomach knotted. Her wounded teenage self said no. The humanitarian in her said yes. She turned toward Jud to break the tie.
That Hollywood hunk stared deeply into Lily’s eyes, as if to say he’d do it if she did, as if he truly had her back.
For a moment, Lily could imagine she and Jud as a couple. They both came from prominent, wealthy families. They both had demanding careers. They wouldn’t date so frequently that they’d suffocate each other. The press would dub them with one of those ridiculously cute monikers that was a result of combining their names, like Judlily or Lilyson.
Lily rolled her eyes. This was so not her. Where were her sisters and the Kissing Test when she needed them? They’d developed the test as a way to weed out fortune hunters and bad boys. In Lily’s experience, men who kissed women they’d just met–no matter how skillfully–were a caution. Judson Hambly had dated more women than Leonardo DiCaprio. And if Lily went through with Abe’s scheme, there was a high probability that the world would add her to the list of his conquests.
“I can see you still have doubts, Lily.” Abe was back to smiling and rubbing his hands together. “If you’re thinking Rachel won’t want you on this trip, rest assured. I talked to her about inviting you before she left for the fundraiser tonight. She gave me her blessing. The past is just water under the bridge.”
Easy for Rachel to say. She was the one who’d saved herself and left Lily in danger.
