"Yes, that"s my little precious now. Once you meet this dog of mine, you may never want to come back . . . She knows I"m talking about her . . . She"ll probably run under the bed as soon as 165 you walk in. That"s how she usually handles strangers." It was also how she handled their shoes, but Carmen didn"t add that.
"Okay, fly safely . . . I can"t wait to see you."
She hung up and sighed. Besides dinner, there wasn"t much else to do to get ready for her arrival. The cleaning lady had come this morning, and Carmen had put the finishing touches on the place with fresh flowers in the dining room and sandal-wood incense when she first got home. Now if she could only get the clock to move faster.
A half hour ticked by as she prepared the chicken and put it in the refrigerator to marinate. She was about to draw a bath when her phone rang.
"h.e.l.lo . . . You"re kidding." Judith"s plane was late, something about the weather in Miami delaying the inbound flight. Then she remembered the day. "This isn"t an April Fool"s joke, is it?"
The estimate was forty-five minutes late, which would put dinner at around nine-ten for Judith, since she was on Eastern Time. "Why don"t you go ahead and eat on the plane? I don"t want you to have to wait so long . . . If you"re sure . . . Okay, I"ll have it ready as soon as you get here."
They said good-bye and Carmen studied the clock. Lots of time. Too much time. How was she going to kill three and a half hours? Why had she left work so early? She should have worked late to pa.s.s the time and brought something in for dinner. This was going to be torture.
No, it wouldn"t. She would soak in the tub and go over that report Richard had given her at lunchtime. She had brought it home only to justify tearing out of the office at a quarter to four because she couldn"t concentrate anymore. She had planned to read it Sunday night.
No sooner had she settled in the tub than her cell phone, which was on the kitchen counter, began to chirp. Not wanting to miss an update from Judith, she wrapped herself in a towel and raced to answer it.
166.
"h.e.l.lo . . . That"s fantastic!" The airline had miraculously produced another crew and plane, one that was leaving at seven.
She would be only a half hour late after all. "Nothing important, just bathing away the grime of the day. You know how dirty office work can be."
That laugh again. She wanted to hear it all weekend. Well, not all weekend. A little screaming and moaning mixed in would be nice.
"Call me when you"re in your seat . . . Prissy"s very excited.
I"ve told her all about you."
She took the phone into the bathroom this time, and climbed back into the tub. The water had cooled, so she let some out and added more hot. Only an extra half hour. That wouldn"t be so bad. She could shave her legs . . . maybe even trim a little of her pubic hair. She expected that particular section of her anatomy to get a good bit of attention over the next couple of days.
She smiled immediately when the phone rang again. Judith was buckled in and on her way, for sure.
"h.e.l.lo . . . No f.u.c.king way . . . I don"t believe you." A security scare at LaGuardia was prompting an evacuation of the entire concourse. "I smell a conspiracy. Who did you p.i.s.s off at the airlines?" Judith had no idea how long the process would take, but all outbound pa.s.sengers would have to be rescreened. "Call me again when you know something."
So much for the perfect evening. There was probably no way Judith would arrive before eleven. She would be exhausted and wound tight from her ordeal. There would be no romantic candlelight dinner tonight, and no breath-stealing seduction scene.
If they were lucky, they would have tomorrow to try again.
"Thank you very much." Judith tried to hand the driver a twenty, but he waved her off.
"Ms. Delallo already took care of it. You have a nice evening."
167.
"Thank you," she said again, turning to the building"s doorman. He was smiling his welcome and ready to help her with her bag. "h.e.l.lo, I"m Judith O"Shea."
He stopped suddenly as if surprised, then smiled again. "I"m Luis. You"re Miss Delallo"s guest. She"s expecting you."
"I think she"s been expecting me for quite a while. My plane was late."
"I"m so sorry. Where were you flying in from?" He led her to the elevator and pressed the b.u.t.ton.
"New York."
"I hope you have a pleasant stay. Miss Delallo is on the fifteenth floor, unit A in the corner."
"Thank you," she said as the doors closed. It was nearly eleven o"clock, but she was too keyed up to be tired. If all those calls from Carmen were a clue, she was excited too.
When the elevator stopped, she stepped out with her bag and looked around in the hallway before knocking on the door. Her place in New York was a ghetto compared to this building. At least, that"s probably what Carmen had thought. She knew she shouldn"t feel this way, intimidated by Carmen"s hard-earned prosperity. Carmen said she wanted to share her world this weekend, and this marvelous home was part of it, just like the first-cla.s.s ticket and the limo at the airport.
Standing before unit A, she took a deep breath and gently rapped on the door. Inside, a dog began to yap frantically. She could hear Carmen trying in vain to shush the animal before she finally opened the door.
"Welcome, finally."
The wait was definitely worth it, Judith decided instantly.
Gone were the stylish silk suits and cashmere sweaters she had seen in New York. This Carmen looked sensational in faded jeans and an oversized denim shirt.
"Hi." They embraced in the doorway, a hug that seemed to grow stronger every second until Judith dared to wonder what it 168 meant. She had missed Carmen too, but she hadn"t expected a welcome like this. "I"m sorry it took me so long to get here."
"I"m sorry too. I bet you"re exhausted."
Prissy barked and lunged forward, demanding attention.
"Look at this little sweetheart!" She tore herself from Carmen"s embrace and knelt down, holding out a hand for the black-and-tan dachshund to sniff.
Prissy sniffed, barked and jumped back. Then she edged forward to lick the outstretched hand.
"That little sweetheart only likes you if you"ve brought beloved possessions for her to destroy. I expect her to run under the bed any second to lie in wait."
But Prissy didn"t run. She dropped to her side to expose her belly, wagging her tail excitedly.
"She looks pretty friendly to me." Judith scratched Prissy"s tummy, delighted with the idea that this little one likely had Carmen wrapped around her paw. "She"s still a puppy?"
"A little over a year. She"s a miniature, though, so she won"t get much bigger. Thank G.o.d for that, or she"d be turning over the furniture."
"She"s precious, Carmen. I can"t believe the way you malign this sweet dog."
"You"ll believe it when she eats through the strap on your purse." Carmen rolled her suitcase in and closed the door before dropping to the rug beside her. "And whatever you do, don"t feed her any people food while you"re here, no matter how much she begs. Priscilla did that last weekend and she threw up on my bed in the middle of the night."
Judith looked up to take in her surroundings. The apartment looked like something out of a decorator magazine. The floors were dark oak, which matched the wainscoting and door frames.
Expensive-looking artwork adorned the dark green walls of the foyer. "This is gorgeous, Carmen."
"Thank you. Prissy likes it, and that"s all that really matters."
169.
With Carmen beside her, she gave herself a tour of the modern kitchen and dining room. "I already have square footage envy, and I haven"t even seen the other rooms."
"But you have an upstairs."
Judith looked down at Carmen"s bare feet and kicked her own shoes off.
Carmen leaned over and picked them up, placing them on the third tier of a bookshelf in the hallway, next to her own. "Don"t ever leave your shoes there. You won"t recognize them the next time you see them." She shoved her hands in her pockets and led her across the foyer to an alcove that served as an entry to the guest bedroom, the guest bath and her office. "If it makes you feel better about the s.p.a.ce, the office is the only part of this whole apartment that"s mine. The rest belongs to Prissy."
Carmen looked nervous, Judith thought.
Next, they entered the living room, which was dominated by an enormous leather sectional sofa. Across from that, a fire burned low in the gas log fireplace. From the small balcony, Carmen explained, she had a distant view of the lake across Lincoln Park.
From there they strolled into the master bedroom, which held a king-sized bed in rich mahogany, with a matching dresser and nightstands. The fireplace from the living room opened into this room as well. Carmen wrapped up the tour by showing off the master bath, with its marble shower and oval tub, and enormous custom-built closet.
"See what I mean about my closet reminding me of how you organized things at your place?"
Judith noted with irony that the closet was roughly one-third the size of her place. "Would you like to hear again how jealous I am?" As she looked around, she gave in to the urge to yawn, covering her mouth. She always yawned after flying, her body"s way of equalizing the pressure in her ears.
"You shouldn"t be. Your apartment"s perfect for you. This is 170 perfect for Prissy. See how the shelves keep things off the floor so she can"t reach them. I highly recommend dogs with very short legs."
Prissy had followed them from room to room, wagging her tail each time Carmen said her name.
"Let"s go sit in the living room. Could I get you something to drink?"
"No, thank you." Their words sounded so formal, not at all what she had expected after their good-bye kiss two weeks ago in New York. That should have gotten both of them past their insecurities. "I"m glad I"m here, Carmen."
"So am I." They sat on the soft leather couch, where Prissy jumped between them, determined to disprove her reputation as unfriendly. "Make that we. She"s usually shy and neurotic around new people, but she"s decided to be normal for a change."
Carmen seemed determined to use Prissy as a buffer until her awkwardness dissipated. "Maybe she thinks I"m somebody else."
She laughed at Carmen"s scolding look, and took her hand. It was their first physical contact since the hug when she first walked in.
"I think dogs are supposed to be smarter than people."
"You mean smarter than your doorman? You should have seen the look on his face when I introduced myself." She caught herself covering another yawn.
"Please don"t say he called you Mrs. Nance."
"No, but I think he was about to. You"re going to have to show me a picture of Brooke so I can see for myself."
"I will . . . but not tonight." Carmen looked directly into her eyes for what seemed like the first time and said softly, "I want tonight to be about you and me."
"That sounds like a great idea."
"But my plans for sweeping you off your feet with a candlelight dinner went all to h.e.l.l."
Judith was dismayed by the look of genuine disappointment.
171.
"You swept me off my feet already, remember? And we agreed you didn"t have to do that anymore."
"I know. But this wasn"t about impressing you with anything.
It was about me being romantic for a change instead of my usual h.o.r.n.y self." Carmen"s nervous demeanor had gone from casual to serious.
"I"m not sure you could get any more romantic than sitting here in front of a fire telling me tonight is about us."
"That was kind of profound, wasn"t it?" Carmen leaned closer, her lips poised to make contact. She hovered, sharing a breath. Finally, her mouth slid gently over Judith"s. The kiss was sweet and tender, the kind that warmed from the inside out.
Something was wrong. This wasn"t how they kissed. Where was the hunger? The heat?
As if confirming her worries, Carmen suddenly pulled away.
"You should get your rest tonight. I have a big day planned tomorrow."
Rest? Judith hadn"t come all the way to Chicago to rest. Was Carmen having second thoughts? That"s all it could be. Why else would she be pulling back? "You"re going to kiss me like that and expect me to sleep?"
Carmen smiled and gave her a peck on the nose. "You don"t have to sleep alone unless you really want to." Before she could respond, Carmen clarified, "If you leave your door open, I guarantee Prissy will visit you in the night."
"Fine, you go sleep with her. I"m trying to take the high road here," Carmen said to Prissy as she prepared for bed. "She thinks you"re adorable."
Judith had showered in the guest bath and was now blow-drying her hair.
If ever Carmen had needed a cold shower, it was tonight.
Restraint had never been her strong suit. All the excitement, the 172 antic.i.p.ation about taking Judith in her arms-and into her bed- had given way to something else the moment they hugged in the doorway. It wasn"t as if her desire had just flown out the window.
She wanted Judith even more tonight than she had that first night in the hotel. The difference was that it mattered to her now what happened next, and she wasn"t going to screw that up by pretending it was only about s.e.x.
"I can"t be in love with her already," she whispered. "She"d think I was nuts."
Though falling in love didn"t seem to follow any sort of rational progression, at least for Carmen. She could remember the very instant her feelings for Brooke Healey had vaulted to that realm, and there hadn"t been any logic to that either.
The hair dryer stopped and the bathroom door opened.
Judith was going to bed.
Carmen settled between her sheets and turned out the light, not feeling the least bit sleepy. Her head was full of questions.
What had happened at the front door to spin her insides out of control?
As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she noticed a faint glow of light in the living room, probably coming from Judith"s room.
"She"s waiting for you, Miss Priss." She nudged the dog gently, but Prissy was already comfortable by her feet. "Go on so you can report back. I want to know what she sleeps in."
The living room suddenly flooded with light and a silhouette filled her doorway.
"Carmen?"