Chapter Two #2
Lily gasped.
Tammy hooted. “This is great!”
“No, it’s not,” Lily said sternly. “I’ve changed my mind. I’m not going.”
“Yes, you are,” Tammy argued.
“Lil’s right, Tammy. This has mistake written all over it.”
“Are you crazy?” Tammy cried. “This is what she deserves.”
“A relationship built on deceit?” Rob stared open-mouthed.
“I don’t have a relationship,” Lily protested. “And right now, I don’t even have a date. I’m not going.”
“Wait just a minute, both of you.” Tammy held up both hands to silence any interference and turned to Lily. “You liked him, didn’t you?”
Lily could feel her cheeks growing warm again. The curse of being a fair-skinned blonde—everyone knew when she was embarrassed or upset. Her cheeks took out all the guesswork.
“Well?”
Lily stared at her friend for a long moment, then nodded.
“A lot. Am I right?”
Lily flinched under Tammy’s intense stare. She had never lied to either Tammy or Rob and never would. The truth was she hadn’t felt this excited over a guy since . . .
Well . . . Since never.
The butterflies in her stomach still fluttered, and just imagining Rhett’s face made her cheeks grow warmer still.
“I can see by your blush I’m right,” Tammy said softly. She held up a hand to silence Rob. “Lily, you deserve to be Cinderella for at least a little while. You can always tell Buchanan the truth later, and by then, he’ll love you as much as we do.”
Lily wanted desperately to go along with her suggestion.
Rob remained silent, and she knew what he was thinking.
Socialites considered gardeners to be dirty second-class citizens.
His own parents had disowned him for passing on a chance to enter the family investment business and for choosing instead to be a lifetime gardener.
Rhett Buchanan would never have asked her out if he had known she was the head gardener here.
“You’ve let this nursery suck all the life out of you for too long. You deserve some fun, Lily. You always make the sacrifices, but not this time,” Tammy prodded gently. “Maybe Rhett is Mr. Right. Maybe he isn’t. But you deserve to have the choice.”
Rob suddenly heaved a resigned sigh. “She’s right, Lil.”
Lily stared first at Tammy, then at Rob. He had surprised her. “Can I borrow the Porsche?” she asked.
“After I give you those pumpkin-coach-driving lessons,” he said, laughing, “and I’ve got time right now.”
~ ~ ~ ~
Lily slid the stick shift into second gear and steered the sleek sports car around the corner with a sigh of relief. Rob’s driving lesson had worked wonders, and she only had a little further to go, all of it down residential streets on Jupiter Island.
She pulled to the side of the two-lane road to call Rhett and briefly turned on the inside light to click numbers.
A glance in the rearview mirror, and a face she didn’t recognize stared back—eye shadow, blush, mascara, lipstick, and blond hair swept back in a graceful chignon, held in place with an elegant gemstone comb. Who was that woman staring back?
Cinderella.
Tammy was right. Tammy was always right.
Lily punched in Rhett’s number and turned off the interior light.
With the darkness came a jolt of panic. What if he didn’t answer?
He was arguably the most important executive on the entire eastern seaboard.
Why should he wait around for her call? What if something better had come up?
Or someone better? He probably had a hundred girlfriends.
Rhett answered on the second ring, and her heart woggled crazily in her chest. “I was afraid you’d changed your mind,” he said. “Where are you?”
Lily felt her whole face pull into a wide grin. He had worried too. How cool was that? Considering who he was. “I’m sorry I’m a bit late.”
It was Tammy’s idea to make you sweat, but I can’t tell you that.
“If I’m still invited, I’m at the corner of Gomes and Estrada.”
“Of course you’re invited,” he said quickly. “Come down three more streets to Larkin and take a right, second house on the right. I’m out front waiting for you.”
Lily heaved a loud and contented sigh. The way he said waiting for you made every single vertebra in her spine quiver in unison.
“I’ll be there in a few minutes,” she said breathlessly and didn’t even flinch at her inability to sound cool and calm.
Rhett Buchanan was waiting for her, and if his voice alone did that to her, what would his touch do? She felt her grin stretch even wider. For tonight, she was Cinderella. She intended to enjoy every minute and hope Prince Charming didn’t pry enough to find out she was a gardener.
At least she felt beautiful, arrayed in the brand new cocktail dress she and Tammy flew over to Niemen Marcus to purchase that afternoon.
Two hundred dollars’ worth of black chiffon in horizontal tiers with a silver pendant of cubic zirconia stones and matching drop earrings.
Tammy had also found a pair of sexy black sandals for her, not too tall since Lily didn’t often wear heels.
An outfit worth every penny she had spent.
“Well, here goes everything,” she murmured and put the Porsche in gear. “Please, Lord, just let me have a good time this one night.”
She made the turn as directed and found the entire street lined with cars on both sides.
The second house on the right was lit up like a Christmas tree, and as promised, Rhett waited in the middle of the front yard.
Attired in a navy blue suit, cream-colored shirt, and dark tie, he looked every inch the billionaire.
Good grief, Lily! The richest man in Florida is waiting out front for you like a high-school boy at a birthday party.
She forced herself to breathe. Why, oh why couldn’t Rhett be poor, so they could have a chance together? She didn’t want to like him because there could be no future for them. But just looking at him made her feel tingly all over.
Just one night. Keep telling yourself that, Lily. Just one night.
She slowed to a stop in front of the house, unsure what to do since there was not a parking place in sight.
Rhett spotted her immediately and hand-signaled someone in front of the house as he headed toward the car.
A valet jogged past him, and Rhett reached Lily’s side by the time the man climbed in the driver’s seat.
Rhett slid the valet a bill. “Don’t let anything happen to the lady’s car.”
The valet grinned and took off.
Rhett took Lily’s hand in his. His touch felt warm and confident. He pressed a kiss against her knuckles and smiled. “I’m so glad you came.”
Her hand sizzled at the spot where his lips had touched her skin. The man made her dizzy and weak-kneed, and she couldn’t ever remember anyone gallantly kissing her hand.
“Me too,” she said and inwardly groaned at her ineloquent response. “I mean, thank you so much for inviting me.”
He didn’t move and stared as though he were memorizing her features. She could drink in the sight of him all night, and his sensual gaze did funny things to her heart. Good grief, was this what the poets meant by love at first sight?
No, no, no. Just one night, Lily. Just one night.
“You look stunning,” Rhett said finally and stepped back to scan the dress too.
She felt a dorky grin explode onto her face, both ineloquent and involuntary. No help for it. “Thank you.”
Gracious, did he still have hold of her hand? How had she missed that? Without thinking, she squeezed his fingers, and his eyes immediately twinkled, then darkened. He leaned in and gently brushed his lips across hers like a stealth bomber on a strafing run, mission over almost as soon as it began.
Before disappointment could filter to her brain, his lips pressed again—more firmly now—and she felt the tip of his tongue part her lips.
The only other part of him touching her was the strong hand enveloping hers.
His tongue gently played with hers, their lips together with only a fine pressure, and the tingling sensuality made her sway.
His other hand cupped her elbow as he pulled away.
“Steady?” he asked softly.
She nodded, completely incapable of speech or even breathing for that matter.
How embarrassing.
“I hope my kiss did that,” he said, his voice whisper-smooth.
Her chagrin evaporated. She smiled and willed air into her lungs.
“I wanted to stake my claim before I took you inside and was forced to introduce you to anyone.” His eyes twinkled again. “I remember how you affected me the first time I laid eyes on you, and I don’t want anyone inside getting any ideas.”
Shoot me now, and I’ll die happy.
Her heart bucked wildly behind her ribs, and she wanted to ask, how did I affect you?
But no words would come with her heart bucking in wild-mustang pirouettes and making it hard to catch her breath.
So she kept silent, desperate to look poised and elegant for this beautiful man.
She attempted what she hoped was a dignified smile.
He smiled back. “All right, let’s head inside. Remember, you’re with me.”
Prince Charming refused to let go of her hand, and Lily trembled with pure unadulterated joy for the first time in her life.
~ ~ ~ ~
“Who the hell is that?” Delia Armstead hissed into Garrett’s ear as she dug her fingernails into his arm.
She nodded toward the front door, and he followed her gaze.
Rhett Buchanan guided a breath-taking blonde down the three steps into Delia’s massive great room, and Garrett quickly stifled the smile guaranteed to drive Delia’s talons in deeper.
Small wonder his boss had trouble concentrating this afternoon.
Of course, Rhett would argue if Garrett voiced that thought aloud. The man had a mind like a steel trap, and you never had to tell him something twice. Rhett Buchanan was the smartest man Garrett had ever known, and he long ago decided Rhett possessed a photographic memory.
But not today.