The party was in full swing by the time Rheyna arrived at Phil and Jesse"s place. At the front door, she grabbed a gla.s.s of wine offered by a waiter and made her way to the party room. She took a position against the wall near the stage and surveyed the room to look for Caroline, in case she had arrived early.
She recognized several faces from the local newspaper"s business section and could see that anyone who was anyone in Half Moon Bay and Palo Alto was there. She spotted Jesse and Phil across the room. They were engaged in an animated conversation with the mayor and four of the five members of the city council. She thought they made a handsome couple in their matching tuxedos.
Jesse looked up and smiled at her. He held up his gla.s.s in a mock salute and then made his way over to her. He threw his arms around her shoulders and hugged her.
"You look fabulous. Girl, I swear if I wasn"t gay, I"d go after you in a heartbeat."
Rheyna laughed and hugged him back. "You"re too kind and thank you, I think," she said.
"Where"s Caroline? I thought the two of you would come together," he asked, and then proceeded to pull her onto the dance floor.
"She should be here anytime."
They hadn"t been dancing long when Rheyna felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see Phil standing next to them.
"You look ravishing," he said, grinning from ear to ear.
Rheyna felt the color rise in her cheeks. "I have to say, you look rather handsome yourself."
Jesse smiled and winked at her, and then wrapped his arms around Phil"s shoulders. "Down, girl ... he"s all mine."
"Where"s Caroline?" Phil asked.
"She"s on her way," Rheyna answered as the band started up with a new song.
Caroline fidgeted in the backseat, tearing a paper napkin to shreds without realizing it. She wadded it up and stuffed it in the ashtray. Joey pulled into the driveway and stopped the limo in front of the entryway.
Caroline waited for him to come around and open the rear car door. She swung her legs gracefully out the side and stepped out of the car. She smiled at the sound of cat whistles coming from a group of young men huddled near the doorway.
Several tendrils had escaped from her upswept hair and hung down around her neck. Her make-up was flawless. She had gone all out and the result was breathtaking. She had chosen to wear a gold, low-cut lame" gown with slits up the sides. It hung seductively across her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, revealing the lush curves of her body, leaving very little to the imagination.
Her thoughts immediately turned to Rheyna, hoping that she liked how she looked, too. She pa.s.sed through the door and smiled at the waiter. She took the drink he offered and stopped in the entryway. She needed to calm her nerves. She downed the drink and quickly selected another from a different waiter"s tray. She could hear the music coming from the adjoining room and slowly made her way toward the large crowd.
She scanned the throngs of people dancing. It didn"t take her long to spot Rheyna. She was up by the stage, sandwiched between Phil and Jesse, dancing seductively. She was seeing a new side to Rheyna and smiled. She liked what she saw.
Rheyna knew Caroline was there before she saw her. She felt her presence. I have died and gone to heaven, surely I have, she thought as their eyes met. Jesse turned to see where Rheyna was looking and nudged his lover.
Phil grinned and wrapped his arm tight around Jesse"s waist. He bent to whisper in his ear. "Do you think they"ll ever admit to having feelings for each other?"
Jesse nodded and took Phil"s hand in his. "Yeah, in their own time and in their own way," he said, turning to Rheyna. "Will you excuse us for a few minutes, Rheyna, while we address our guests?" he asked, pulling Phil up on the stage.
The crowd erupted in loud cheers and whistles as Jesse and Phil stood beside the gorgeous lead singer, dressed in tight ripped up jeans. Phil bowed toward her and then took the microphone.
"Let"s hear it for Sienna and Evening Shade, ladies and gentleman."
Rheyna took the opportunity to make her way through the crowd over to where Caroline was standing.
Caroline smiled at her. "You sure looked like you were enjoying yourself."
"I was thank you very much," Rheyna said as she hugged her a little longer than she probably should have. "You look fabulous," she whispered in Caroline"s ear, not one bit ashamed to admit that she had noticed. Rheyna leaned back to look at her. She was powerless to stop her eyes from slowly traveling the full length of Caroline"s body and felt an all-too-familiar ache as she looked at Caroline"s mouth. When she moved to Caroline"s eyes, she could have sworn they were laughing.
Caroline leaned over and whispered in her ear. "In case you didn"t know it, you are the most beautiful woman here tonight."
Rheyna felt her heart skip a beat. She started to respond, but thought better of it. She was grateful when the crowd started cheering again. She and Caroline turned to look at the stage.
"Thank you for helping us tonight and for joining our fight to find a cure for AIDS," Jesse yelled into the microphone. He turned and handed the microphone to Phil.
"As everyone knows, we hold this benefit party every year to raise research money for the Pediatric Aids wing at Children"s Hospital. Although Jesse and I are both resident Physicians, we still rely on your funding to cover the cost of the research, in hopes of one day finding a cure."
The crowd let out a huge cheer. Phil held up his hand to quiet them. "Last year, all of you, our generous friends and colleagues, donated over two and a half million dollars."
The crowd cheered so loud, Rheyna was sure it could be heard in the next city.
Jesse held a green envelope over his head and waved it in the air. "We have donation envelopes like this located on the table in the entryway, or you can get one from any of our gracious servers walking around," he said, handing the envelope to a young man in front of the stage. "And without further ado, I will now turn things back over to Ms. Sienna and Evening Shade." He smiled and then yelled, "Let"s party!" as he and Phil jumped from the stage and immediately started gyrating to the beat as the band broke into a raucous pop song.
It didn"t take long for the dance floor to fill up. Rheyna turned to Caroline. "Dance with me," she yelled over the music, pulling Caroline onto the dance floor.
"Do I have a choice?" Caroline asked, raising her voice loud enough for Rheyna to hear.
Rheyna grinned at her, shook her head, and mouthed the word, "No."
They danced for several minutes and then the lights began to dim.
"What"ya say we slow things down a bit?" Sienna purred into the microphone.
Caroline turned to leave the floor as a slow, melodic number began.
Rheyna grabbed her by the hand. "Where are you going?" she asked.
"It"s a slow song," Caroline answered.
"So what?" Rheyna said, pulling Caroline into her arms.
Caroline laced her fingers around Rheyna"s neck and looked up at her. "Do I lead or follow?"
"Neither," Rheyna answered, wrapping her arms tightly around Caroline"s waist. Their bodies brushed sensuously against each other in time with the rhythm of the music.
She feels so good, Rheyna thought as she pulled Caroline closer. She could feel her own body trembling and wondered if Caroline was feeling it, too. She looked into Caroline"s eyes and she felt more want and desire than she could have ever imagined possible.
Her body ached for Caroline"s, and every single fiber in her being wanted her. All she could think about was how right it felt, how it was where she was meant to be. It was just her and Caroline. No one else existed at that moment but them. For the first time in a long time, she felt at peace.
Caroline raised her eyes to meet Rheyna"s, her lips slightly parted.
Rheyna lowered her head to kiss Caroline as if it were the most natural thing in the world to do. With Rheyna"s mouth less than an inch from hers, Caroline pulled away. Rheyna saw the confusion in her eyes.
She pulled out of Rheyna"s grasp. "I ... I can"t."
Rheyna put her hand on Caroline"s hand and felt a stabbing pain in her chest when Caroline jerked her arm away. Rheyna looked questioningly at the blue eyes staring back at her.
"I have to leave ... I have to leave now," Caroline stammered.
In shock, Rheyna watched Caroline turn and run from the dance floor. "Caroline, wait!" she yelled as she weaved her way through the crowd toward the front door, her progress greatly slowed by the crowd.
She stepped out on the driveway just in time to see the limo"s taillights turn out of the gate.
"d.a.m.n it," she yelled at the top of her lungs. I"m an idiot, a complete and total f.u.c.king idiot, she thought to herself as she ran her fingers through her hair out of pure frustration. "d.a.m.n it to h.e.l.l, Rheyna, what have you done?" she yelled, getting the attention of a couple standing near the door. She hoped that she hadn"t completely blown things with Caroline. Her lapse in judgment was unforgivable.
Chapter 21.
Rheyna was distraught. She couldn"t eat, couldn"t sleep, and was just downright having a hard time with basic functions. It had been twenty-four hours since Phil and Jesse"s party, and Caroline hadn"t returned any of her phone calls. She dialed Caroline"s number again for the umpteenth time, and once again waited for the answering machine to pick up.
"Caroline, if you"re there, please pick up," she practically begged. "I"ve left countless messages. Why won"t you return my calls? I need to talk to you. I need to explain. I"m so sorry; please don"t do this."
Rheyna wasn"t sure if she was more afraid of losing Caroline, or more afraid that she had blown their operation. What she did was wrong, and she had risked everything without giving it a second thought.
Caroline sat on the edge of her bed, listening to Rheyna"s message. Why had she run like that? Was that not what she wanted? She grabbed her car keys off the dresser and left the room.
Joey looked up from his magazine and started to walk around to the rear of the car. She stopped him with a shake of her head and smiled.
"Not this time, Joey. I want to drive myself," she said as she slid behind the wheel of her Jaguar.
Rheyna was surprised to open her front door and see Laura standing there. She hadn"t spoken to her since she had broken into Castrucci"s office, but she knew this could mean only one thing-they finally had enough to bring down Castrucci and the Pandora"s Box Operation was over.
Laura followed Rheyna inside, her grin quickly turning to a scowl. She pulled out one of the stools and took a seat at the counter. Rheyna instantly sensed something was wrong. Without fail, her mind churned out several worst-case scenarios.
"What is it, Laura? What"s wrong? Did something happen with Castrucci?"
Laura shook her head, her eyes watering. "No, no, nothing like that. I didn"t want to tell you over the phone, but Lynn pa.s.sed away."
Rheyna felt a lump form in the base of her throat. "When?" she asked. It took everything in her to keep the tears from falling down her cheeks.
"Yesterday morning. Complications from pneumonia. Ron said his immune system just wasn"t strong enough to fight off the infection."
Rheyna thought about the pain she went through when Jenny died. "How"s he holding up?" she asked.
"He seems to be doing okay under the circ.u.mstances, I guess. His parents arrived this morning, along with Lynn"s family."
"When"s the funeral?"
"Tomorrow afternoon. He said Lynn wanted to be cremated and made him promise not to have anything too fancy, so they"re just having a small memorial service for the family and a couple of friends."
"I wish I could be there."
Laura sighed heavily. "He knows you"d be there if you could, and I hope you don"t mind, but I went ahead and ordered flowers and added your name."
"Thank you. I appreciate that."
"Well, besides being the bearer of bad news, I thought you"d be a little happier to see me."
Rheyna leaned over and hugged her. "I"m sorry," she said, pulling out a stool.
"Once we get the indictment, Kyle"s pulling you. Your work is done here. Because of you, Castrucci will be spending the rest of his miserable life behind bars. You did a good job, Rheyna."
Her words did nothing to lighten Rheyna"s mood or make her feel better as her thoughts turned to Caroline.
"You really like her, don"t you?" Laura asked, though it was more of a statement.
"Yes, I do."
Laura continued to watch her. "Are you in love with her?" Her question only half surprised Rheyna. For as long as she could remember, Laura seemed to have a second sense when it came to Rheyna"s feelings. Laura affectionately shoved her, nearly pushing her off the stool. "You are! You fell for her, didn"t you?"
Rheyna decided to play dumb, knowing that Laura knew her better than she sometimes knew herself. "I don"t know what you"re talking about," she lied. She had known for some time that she was in love with Caroline. She just didn"t want to admit it. She didn"t want to accept that she was in love with a woman she could never have-it hurt too much.
Laura ignored Rheyna"s halfhearted attempt at denial. "Sure you do. You"re in love with her. I can see it on your face."
Rheyna got up and poured herself a cup of coffee.
"Is it mutual?" Laura asked.
"I don"t know," Rheyna, answered honestly. She felt a small twinge of pain in her heart. It was a physical pain that ached in her chest. She tried to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat as she thought about the party. "She won"t return any of my phone calls. I think I blew it."
"What"d you do? Try to kiss her?" Laura asked jokingly.
Rheyna jerked her head up in surprise and then slowly nodded, causing Laura"s eyebrows to shoot up. "Yeah, that"s exactly what I did."
"Oh, Rheyna, you still need to be careful. This thing isn"t over yet."
"I thought you said that we had enough to put Castrucci away for years."
"As far as Castrucci"s concerned, we have enough to send him away for life. But he"s still free until we get the indictment."
Rheyna looked at Laura. She could sense that something was troubling her and she had an idea of what it was. "And Artie?" she asked.
Laura shook her head. "Something doesn"t feel right."