Chapter Fifteen #2
A couple hours later, Lily was still seated at her picnic table, though now she was draped in a blanket supplied by a Jupiter firefighter who had arrived with his team not long after Rhett rescued her from the flaming cottage.
Several Jupiter police vehicles had trailed the fire rescue vehicles in and remained until the firefighters extinguished the blaze.
Her blanket-bearing firefighter told her the fire inspector would go over the scene later with a fine-tooth comb to determine the exact cause of the blaze and the extent of the damage.
Rhett stood near the shadehouse with the Incident Commander, giving a step-by-step account of the exploding propane tank and resultant fire.
Watching him in the distance telling his story, she wondered if he would tell the Incident Commander how close she came to dying tonight.
The commander’s questions for her had been blessedly brief, no doubt because she looked pitiful. This she knew because she felt pitiful.
The trauma of watching the enormous fire hoses extinguish the flames in her cottage and leave behind a blackened shell had left her feeling numb. The pain and anguish would come later.
Rob appeared alongside the picnic table carrying her purse and the keys, which he had retrieved from her truck parked outside the nursery office.
Luck for her, she had been so upset when she locked up and headed out of the officer earlier, she hadn’t remembered her truck parked out front.
If she had remembered her truck, she would have been at the cottage when the propane tank blew.
She had trouble working up any enthusiasm over not losing her money and credit cards in the fire along with everything else.
“Rhett saved us tonight,” Rob grudgingly admitted. “We would have lost the shadehouse and maybe the annuals and interiors greenhouses too, if he hadn’t been here to help.”
She glanced up at Rob, and what he said finally pierced the protective shield she had erected to fight off shock. She slowly nodded.
“Why was Rhett here, anyway?” Rob asked. “And at night?” His face probably mimicked hers, blackened with long smudges of soot.
She glanced back up the drive at Rhett, still gesturing to the commander with his tale, and a spark of hope flared in her heart. Then another and another, like the shower of sparks that fluttered over her in the cottage.
Turning back to Rob, she felt the cool relief of tears forming in her dried-out eyes. “He came back for me,” she said softly.
His eyes widened slightly. “Because?” he asked warily.
“Because Rhett’s sorry. For everything.” More sparks of hope fluttered over her as she recalled his words right before the explosion.
Rob frowned. “How sorry?”
“He explained things. We’re okay, Rob.” She gave him a weak smile, all she could manage, considering her present condition and frame of mind.
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”
“I’m real sure. Now.”
He sighed heavily, and something like relief filtered through his expression. “Well, Rhett saved you and he saved the nursery, so I guess he’s okay with me.”
Her smile felt stronger this time. She had lost her pictures and her mementos, but she had her memories, and her future suddenly looked brighter.
“Come on, Lil. You need to get some rest. I’m taking you home with me,” Rob said.
“The hell you are!” The deep voice sounded from behind them, and an angry Rhett stepped into the circle of light near the table.
Rob didn’t flinch or step back from the glare that would make any sane man falter. He stood his ground and glowered back at Rhett.
“She’s going with me,” Rhett said, brooking no disagreement and reaching for Lily. “I’m taking care of her tonight.”
Rob glanced at her. “Lily?”
She smiled up at Rhett’s sooty frown. “I’ll go with Rhett.”
~ ~ ~ ~
Rhett insisted on carrying Lily into his mansion and up the stairs.
Too exhausted to argue now that the adrenaline had worn off, she wrapped her arms around his neck and tucked her head on his shoulder to marvel at how easily he carried her up the stairs as though she weighed no more than a feather.
He strode down the upstairs hall and into what had to be the master suite due to the sheer size alone.
An enormous king-size bed sat against the far wall with end tables and lamps on either side.
An office space with desk and computer setup occupied one corner, and a furnished sitting area and fireplace took up half of the room.
The masculine décor had Rhett written all over it, and Lily wondered whether Delia had a hand in the decorating.
She immediately ejected the mutinous thought from her head.
She’d had enough unpleasantness tonight to last a lifetime, and she suddenly had a more pressing issue to deal with—Rhett was tugging off her sneakers and socks.
“Um, Rhett?”
He glanced up. “You okay?”
She nodded.
“We need to get out of these smoky clothes, and I know you want a shower,” he said and gave her such a tender look her heart turned over.
Tears stung her eyes and blurred her vision.
“Lily? What’s wrong” His hand cupped her cheek.
“I don’t have any clothes except these,” she whispered.
“Aw sweetheart, I’ll buy you a store full of clothes tomorrow.” He tugged her into his arms. “I’ll get you a robe for now, and we’ll wash and dry these clothes tonight.”
She hugged him tight. “Thank you.”
He leaned back and palmed her cheeks. “You’re going to be okay, Lily. I’ll make sure of it.”
She could tell from the look in his eyes he meant every word.
Rhett would make sure she was okay. Life was funny.
She had just lost everything she owned—up in smoke—and she didn’t think she had ever felt happier.
Here was the Rhett she had fallen in love with.
He had come back to her. Her heart ached from wanting to hold him, and just this morning, she had thought they were through forever.
She leaned forward and touched her lips to his, desperate to feel that same connection they had shared earlier in the evening, to be sure she hadn’t imagined the whole scene.
Rhett held very still and made no effort to press closer.
Had she imagined everything earlier? No more guessing for her. She needed to know for sure where she stood. Now, not later.
“You’ve been through a lot tonight, Lily,” he said against her lips, and his voice had that wonderful husky sound he always got when they kissed.
“Yes,” she whispered and pressed her lips harder against his and tentatively brushed the tip of her tongue across his bottom lip.
He groaned low in his throat, and his arms snaked around her, pulling her tight to his chest. His mouth slanted hard across hers, passionately stroking into her mouth, but in the next instant, he gentled his kiss, tasting and sampling and relearning.
Intent on reinforcing their earlier reconciliation.
She melted against him and threaded her fingers into the curls at the back of his head, tightening her grip and urging him closer to deepen the kiss.
He chuckled against her mouth, and she felt herself smile. He retreated in full grin, though his eyes had gone black as onyx and his breath sounded as labored as hers.
“You drive me crazy,” he said hoarsely.
“Ditto,” she whispered and leaned in for another mind-numbing explosive kiss.
He inched back maintaining the distance between them. “We need a shower, sweetheart. We smell like a fireplace.”
The fire reference sliced through her sensuous haze. Rhett meant to shower with her! He’d said we.
“Rhett, I—”
Puzzled, he waited.
“I can’t.”
His brows went up. “Can’t shower?”
Lily looked away. What had she gotten herself into? Why hadn’t she just gone home with Rob?
“I c-can’t shower with you.”
“I see.” He stiffened. “I hadn’t asked you to, but okay.” He huffed out a hard exhale. “Geez, Lily, I wasn’t going to pressure you tonight. Give me a little more credit than that.”
She had hurt him. She could see the pain in his eyes. Everything was going south and quickly. She reached up and brushed a hand along his cheek and over his hair.
“I’m sorry. I just got nervous.” She blurted, “I’ve never showered with anyone before. I mean, with a man.”
He looked stunned for a moment and then stared intently into her eyes as though searching for something.
She held her breath and waited for his suspicions to resurface, an affirmation of what he believed to be her earlier betrayal.
She held his gaze and prayed he could see through to her very soul.
Moments passed, and still she was afraid to move, to blink, to breathe. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears.
“You’re telling the truth,” he said quietly.
She saw no incredulity in his eyes, but rather what resembled awe.
Emboldened, she added, “I’ve never lied to you, and I never will.” She swallowed hard. “I only left out a few things before. And I won’t do that ever again.”
“A few things,” he repeated slowly.
“That I owned the nursery and . . . and I haven’t ever . . .” She hesitated.
Better he find out now, rather than later in a moment of passion. Tonight she would find out what they were made of, if there was even a they. She tried to find the right words as he held her gaze, this man who made a fortune—and an art—out of reading people.
His eyes suddenly widened.
There it was! Understanding had just dawned like a newly risen sun, glaring with newfound brightness.
“You truly are innocent,” he whispered.
She nodded slowly and almost mouthed the words I’m sorry, a throwback from past dating experiences when the news had always started an argument.
Tonight she kept silent and refused to say the words aloud.
She wasn’t sorry. She would be overjoyed to give her precious gift to this man she loved. At the right time.
Would he be overjoyed? Or angry at having to wait like the rest of the guys she’d dated?