Wedding Bell Blues - [51]

and took her again. Lily clutched the headboard and bit the pillow to stop the scream that she felt buildingup in her throat. After her third climax, she gasped, “We’re gonna have to take it easy a minute. I thinkI’m losing brain cells here.”

Jack slowly withdrew her hand. “Well, why don’t we try this instead?” Jack threw the quilt overLily’s naked body and burrowed under it until her head was between Lily’s thighs. Lily closed her eyesand sighed. For the first time since Charlotte’s death, her mind was clear and empty, and she gave herselfover to pleasure. Her orgasm was beautiful and shattering, and tension drained from her eyes in the formof tears.

As Lily lay exhausted in Jack’s arms, she said, “Your turn.”

“Huh?”

“Your turn. You did me; now I do you.”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. A lotta girls, I wear ’em out so bad, they pass right out.”

Lily smiled at Jack’s cockiness and slid on top of her. “Not this girl.” She pressed her lips to Jack’sand let her hands trail down her lean, muscular body.

As they lay holding each other, Jack said, “I wish you could stay the night. I’d make you breakfastagain.”

“Peaches and coffee?”

“Mm-hm.”

“I’d love to stay, but you know I can’t.”

Jack grinned. “Gosh, you don’t think your husband suspects you’re a dyke, do you?”

Lily laughed. “I’d better get dressed.” She rose and walked across the room to retrieve herunderwear. “How did my panties end up all the way over here?”

“Beats me.” Jack watched her dress. “Any chance we could maybe do this again?”

Lily buttoned her dress. “Well, I’m not in a position right now to make any promises, but yeah, Ithink maybe we could.”

Jack pulled on her underwear. “You know, don’t you, that I don’t just do this with any girl. I usedto, but I don’t do it anymore unless it means something.”

“I know.” Lily looked at Jack, vulnerable in her underwear. She felt like she should say somethingelse, but she couldn’t find the words.

Jack zipped up her coveralls. “I’ll walk you to the door.”

Downstairs, they kissed good night in the same place where earlier kisses had begun their evening.

“Wait. Don’t go yet.” Jack disappeared into the kitchen for a moment. When she came back, she pressedsomething soft and round into Lily’s hand. “Eat it when you wake up in the morning, and think aboutme.”

In her car, in the dark, Lily stroked the soft skin of the peach and smiled.

CHAPTER 18

The hearing was tomorrow. Lily couldn’t sit still for a second. She paced around the house like acaged panther, rehearsing the lines she and Buzz Dobson had gone over, making sure her outfit for thenext day wasn’t wrinkled. She felt like an actress preparing for opening night of a play, except that if theplay bombed, her life and her daughter’s life would be permanently damaged.

Even Ben, who had been discounting all of Lily’s fears about the hearing, was showing signs ofnervousness. He kept riffling through the suits and ties in his closet. If he was going to try to pass himselfoff as heterosexual, he couldn’t be too well dressed.

Granny McGilly had taken Mimi out for a few hours this afternoon, on the theory that Ben andLily needed some grown-up time to collect themselves. Granny McGilly also wanted Mimi to get used tospending time with her, since she was serving as babysitter during the hearing.

For their grown-up time, Lily and Ben had invited Jack and Ken to come over—to comfort themin their time of hysteria. At first Lily had been wary about inviting the two of them over so much, but Benassured her she had nothing to fear: In Faulkner County, the rumor was that Lily and Ben were playingmatchmaker for the bachelor professor and old-maid veterinarian. Once again, Lily found herselfmarveling at the obliviousness of straight people.

As they waited for Ken and Jack to arrive, Ben sat on the couch and Lily paced the length of theliving room. “Could you just light for a minute?” Ben asked. “I feel like I’m living with a gianthummingbird.”

Lily forced herself to sit in the armchair. Her knees bent, but her body didn’t relax. “We wereinsane to think we could pull this off. We should’ve stayed in Atlanta and fought this honestly.”

“I still like our chances here. And besides, if we hadn’t come back to Versailles, I never would’verun into Ken, and you never would’ve met Jack. Who’d have thought a sham marriage would put us in asituation where we’d both fall in love?”

“Hey, you fell in love, buddy. I’ve never said anything about being in love.”

Ben rolled his eyes. “Well, no, you’ve never said anything, but I have a sneaking suspicion thatyou and Dr. Jack have been doing more than trotting off to farms and giving pigs enemas.” He leanedforward. “I saw your face when you came home the other night, Mrs. McGilly. I know the face of anadulterous wife when I see one.”

Lily smiled and shook her head. Jack had been a comfort to her since the moment she met her — aremarkable friend and, as of the other night, a remarkable bedmate. But she couldn’t just pretend the yearsshe had with Charlotte didn’t exist, couldn’t just climb up the ladder and dive into another relationship ...