Lily's Dream (Unexpected Lover Series) (4 page)

Lily said to Andre, “This is my sister,
Jenny, and Jack.” Andre put his arm around Lily as she said, “And this is
Andre.” Jenny took in Lily’s handsome boyfriend, Lily’s knockout looks and sexy
dress and seemed speechless. “Does Mom know you are in Miami?” she asked. Lily
responded, “Of course. I don’t think she knew you and Jack would be here,
though.”

“You look terrible and that dress you so-called
designed is tacky as hell. You look like a slut…”  Jacqueline quickly appeared
to see what the commotion was about and signaled to the security guards to
remove Jenny from the premises. She was still screaming insults as she was
taken out with an embarrassed Jack following.  Many people were crowding around
Lily trying to talk to her. She turned and began conversing with people in the waiting
crowd. Many had questions about the beading which she patiently explained.

 Andre got Lily a glass of champagne and
she sipped as she received compliments on her
Lily Collection
. Finally they
could leave and sank down into the soft leather seats of their car with relief.
“You did great, Lily. You looked wonderful and managed to give an unplanned
talk that was both moving and appropriate. You didn’t seem to let Jenny get to
you but I know you’re upset about the scene she created,” said Andre.

“Why does she hate me so much? She has
always gotten the flattery, attention and boyfriends. I think it was just too
much for her that I, for once, was getting flattering attention. She enjoyed
and expected it. I, on the other hand don’t like all the attention. She grinned
at him, “except from you, of course.”

There was silence for a while, and then
Lily said in a soft voice, “Andre, I am scared. I think she has had a breakdown
of some sort. Even for Jenny, that was not normal behavior. I think she would
have attacked me if she could have.”

Andre replied, “Try not to worry about
her, Lily. For one thing, now you have me to look after you. Perhaps Jack will
have some control over her, although he didn’t help much at the fashion show.”
He chuckled, “I think he was speechless by the way you looked. Just don’t go
anywhere unless you are with me. I will leave special instructions with Luis
and if needed, I will hire a bodyguard for you.”

In a few minutes, Lily said, “Andre, I
think I had two glasses of that wonderful wine. It was much better than the white
wine you usually bring me.”

Andre laughed and replied, “That’s
because it was champagne, not white wine. I didn’t think you had two glasses,
though.”

“Yep. I wanted another but I was just
too tired.”

“It’s a good thing you didn’t or you
would have been dancing on the tables.” Andre looked at her with amusement and
thought that he would have to watch how much champagne she had in the future.
She would be tipsy and he realized that she was a bit tipsy now.

“You’re so sweet to me, Andre,” she said
and snuggled up and pulled his head down and kissed him on the lips. She ran
her tongue along his lips and he felt himself responding. He put a hand on each
side of her face and reluctantly pulled her back. “You’re tipsy, Lily. It would
be better if you went to sleep.” With an “Okay”, she promptly did as he
suggested. He had responded to that kiss and it was absolutely not something he
wanted to do.  He was becoming attracted to her, not only because she was sexy
as hell but her sweetness and upbeat personality was appealing. He determined
that he would have to put more distance between them. He didn’t quite know how
to handle this situation.

The next day Lily took five dresses in
to Jacqueline’s shop. She was delighted and told Lily, “I am selling your
dresses almost as fast as they are put on display. I have a check for you in my
office.”  Lily’s eyes widened when she saw the amount on the check.

Jacqueline commented, “You will be a
wealthy woman if you keep this up. I expect to sell out of your dresses now
that the fashion show has introduced them to so many people. Have you seen the
Society Section in the morning newspaper?”

Jacqueline gave Lily a newspaper and she
saw to her shock that her picture was on the front page along with a number of
photos of the fashion show and a flattering article about her design and
beading ability. Lily sank into a chair in shock. She was speechless. “I didn’t
expect this. All of a sudden I’m famous and going to be rich. It’s almost too
much for me to take in.”

At that moment Andre walked in and said,
“Come along, Lily. I have been waiting for you.”

“Calm down, Andre. It’s not every day
that a girl is on the cover of the Society page of the newspaper and is told
she can become rich, as well. She’s in a state of shock, I think,” said
Jacqueline.

She handed him the newspaper article
which he obviously had not seen and he was impressed and pleased for Lily.
“Congratulations, Lily. This is really something! I am honored to be escorting
such a famous designer. Good picture, too. Now let’s go touch up that color so
you’ll be beautiful tonight, as usual.” He took her hand and they walked over
to his salon.

“What is this about becoming rich?” he
asked. She showed him the check Jacqueline has just given her. “This is for the
last five dresses.” Andre’s eyes widened at the amount of the check. “I see
what you mean. I’ll come a little early tonight and we’ll talk about it then.”

Lily was dressed in the white dress
adorned with red beads and embroidery when Andre arrived. He had her model the
dress and liked the addition of the embroidery together with the beads. “Not
your usual style but I like it,” was his verdict.

“I had no idea you were getting so much
for your dresses. What have you been doing with these big checks?”

Lily responded, “I opened a bank account
at the bank down the street and am depositing them. I don’t spend much money so
I am accumulating more each week. I think I need a financial plan but I don’t
know where to go for advice. I have never had so much money in my life. Right
now, I’m the current popular designer but that could change. Sales could drop. But
for now, things are looking good.”

“You are smart to start with a financial
plan now. I am very pleased with my financial consultant. He has handled my
money and property for many years. I gave him a call this afternoon and told
him to expect you so tomorrow you need to go by and get his advice. I recommend
him and I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. If the demand for your dresses
continues and the price stays stable, you will indeed be a rich woman one of
these days. Assuming, of course, that you can keep putting out the product.”

Lily said thoughtfully, “Thanks so much
Andre. I will see him tomorrow. I also realize that I need help in keeping the
product coming, as you put it. Do you have any idea how I can find a good
seamstress to hire?”

“Not right now but I know who to ask.
Marko has so many relatives that he probably knows several. I’ll walk down to
his bar and ask him tomorrow. Now, let’s get ready for a party.

 “One of my clients, Marcella Devereaux,
called and invited us to a small gathering at her penthouse. Of course, she
wants to meet you as she has heard about you. Marcella’s idea of a small
gathering is probably a few hundred people but you will be interested in her
apartment and probably meet some new people. I have been doing Marcella’s hair
for years and she is a nice, gracious lady. I think you’ll like her,” Andre
replied. “They are very wealthy and her husband is a collector of antique
artifacts with some very unique things. Their apartment is like a museum.”

As it turned out, the apartment building
was on Miami Beach. “This is a lovely location. I’ve never been to the beach. My
parents always went to the mountains on vacation,” exclaimed Lily. “We almost
never went on vacation, though. Jenny wanted to be where there were people
around, not trees.”

Lily gasped when she saw the apartment.
It looked like a museum with artifacts everywhere. Some were in cases, on
stands and beautiful tapestries hung on the walls. Lily was looking around
taking it all in when they were approached by their hostess. “Welcome to you
both. I am Marcella and you must be the talented Lily with, of course, Andre.”

Lily was surprised that Marcella was an
overweight woman in her late 40’s or early 50’s. Her hair was artfully arranged
by Andre and colored a light brown. Her clothes, however, were very
unflattering to someone with her shape. She wore a tight black long velvet
skirt, flowered blouse with a jacket of black velvet. Lily wished she could
design a flattering dress for her. She had a bad habit of designing clothes in
her mind, she thought.

Andre hugged Marcella and said to her,
“Yes, this is Lily. I told her she would enjoy your apartment since it’s most
unique and filled with precious objects you and your husband have collected
over the years.”

“Please enjoy yourselves. There is a
large upstairs balcony with orchestra for dancing and a buffet and bar,” said
Margo. “My husband and son are around somewhere. Ah, here is my son, Andre and
Lily, this is my son, Julian.” Lily looked up into the most arresting masculine
face she had ever seen. He was handsome with very black hair and sharp dark
eyes. The description
tall, dark and handsome
certainly applies to him,
she thought. He politely greeted Andre in his charming French accented voice and
then turned to Lily taking her hand, kissing it, “I am honored to meet the
beautiful Lily who is so talented. My mother has told me of the beautiful
dresses you make. We are delighted you are here tonight. Perhaps you will save
me a dance.” Lily didn’t know how to answer him so she just smiled.  .

She and Andre walked around the large
salon admiring the various articles from many countries of the world. Andre was
very quiet and Lily knew he was not happy at the interest Julian had shown in
her. This was one situation, however, that he could not control without
offending their hosts.

She was very interested in the display
of Egyptian artifacts they were looking at. “It would be nice if someone were
here to explain the story behind these objects. It would be very interesting,
don’t you think?” Andre just answered with a terse, “Yes.” I sure hope I don’t
have to spend the evening with a pouting Andre, she thought. Julian probably
was just being nice and says that to all the women present. When she glanced toward
the doorway, Julian and Marcella were greeting guests but Julian was standing
where he could watch Lily. He glanced at her when he wasn’t greeting guests.

Lily suggested they go out on the
balcony where she could hear the ocean and was enthralled with the smell of the
ocean, the beautiful star-filled sky and swaying palm trees. The moon was at
its fullest and hung in the sky over the water. “Isn’t this the most beautiful sight
you’ve ever seen?” asked Lily. “Yes, beautiful,” agreed Andre but he was
looking at Lily. “Please get over your annoyance at our host. I had nothing to
do with anything he said or did,” Lily asked. “He’s probably charming to all
women.”

“Sorry I have been acting annoyed. He
came on so strong. He was practically making love to you standing there with
his mother present.” Lily started laughing when Andre made this comment. “Let’s
forget it, okay?” she asked.

“I’d love to go swimming in the ocean
sometime. Could we do that?” she asked.

“Of course. I should have thought of
that myself. We’ll go this week if you want and, of course, if we both can take
off from our work,” replied Andre.

They walked onto the penthouse balcony
which was very crowded and saw several people they knew. After all these
parties, Lily thought, it was nice to see familiar faces. “Do you suppose there
is champagne?” asked Lily. “I’ll go see,” replied Andre and returned with two
glasses of white wine. Lily sipped her wine and was pleased to see four of her
dresses among the crowd of dancers. There was such a large crowd of people that
she realized Marcella’s idea of a little gathering meant exactly what Andre had
predicted.

Suddenly standing next to her was a man
she had noticed staring at her earlier.  “My name is Jay Johnson and, although
we haven’t been introduced, I know you’re Lily. Would you dance with me, Lily?”
he asked.

Predictably Andre immediately said, “She
is with me.” Jay raised an eyebrow and responded, “And that means she cannot
dance with anyone else even if she wants to?” She could see Andre was getting
very annoyed and to avoid a scene, she replied, “I’m sorry Jay but I promised
this dance to Andre.” Jay looked skeptical but said, “Another time then” and
walked away. Leaving her glass of wine on a table, she and Andre walked onto
the dance floor.

She was annoyed with Andre but assumed
if they were pretending to be an item, it wouldn’t have been appropriate for
her to dance with Jay. She would be angry if Andre danced with another woman.
She needed to keep that in mind. On the other hand, how would she be able to
meet someone to date? She wanted to have a relationship that wasn’t pretend.
She and Andre had started this charade and she was presently stuck. She thought
about this a lot lately. For obvious reasons she couldn’t fall for Andre and it
would be so easy to fall for him.

As Andre danced with her, he realized
she was annoyed. He wondered if she was attracted to Jay. She was keeping him
at a distance and he didn’t like that. “What’s wrong?” he asked. “Nothing,” she
replied. “Yes, there is something. You are mad at me about Jay, aren’t you? Did
you want to dance with him? He is still over by the balcony staring at you. You
are not to have anything to do with him, period. If you had danced with him,
you would be out on the balcony with his tongue down your throat right this
minute.”   

Lily gasped. “That’s crude, rude and
unnecessary. Tears started to appear in Lily’s eyes and then roll down her
cheeks. Andre was looking down at her and gently pushed her cheek down on his
shoulder. “Aww Lily, honey, I’m sorry. I’m an ass for saying that to you. I was
jealous. I thought maybe you wanted to dance with him and it made me jealous.”
Lily looked up at him. “You were
jealous?
” she repeated. “Yes, I was
jealous. I’m so sorry I hurt you. You can hit me if you want to.” She laughed
and promised to hit him later. “Forgive me?” She pretended to think about it
but smiled and said she’d think about it.

They visited the lavish buffet and
settled down at a table to enjoy their food. Once finished, Lily commented that
she saw a few of her dresses on the women present. Adrian walked up to their
table and told them his mother had instructed him to chat with the guests and
dance with all the women. “Lily, may I have this dance?” he asked.

Lily did not give Andre a chance to say
anything. She stood up and Adrian led her onto the dance floor. He looked into her
eyes and commented that he had noticed her crying earlier. “What upset you?” he
asked. She hesitated before replying and then decided to tell him. “Andre was
upset because a man named Jay asked me to dance. He wouldn’t let me and said
some inappropriate and nasty things.”

“Now my curiosity is aroused. What did
he say that caused tears?”

“He said that Jay would have me out in a
dark corner of the balcony with his tongue down my throat before I knew it. I
thought it was ridiculous and he was making up things just to be nasty,” she
replied. Julian looked puzzled and told her, “He was concerned that Jay would
get you in a dark area and kiss you in an intimate way. If I were in love with
you, I wouldn’t want you in that situation either. He should not have spoken to
you that harshly, however. You should be treated like a delicate flower.”

 “That would be very nice,” said Lily
with a smile.

“You have an air of innocence about you
that is very appealing, Lily. How long have you and Andre been having this
affair?”

“We aren’t actually having an affair.
It’s all pretend. Our relationship is like a brother and sister. Julian looked
very surprised and commented, “This conversation is getting more and more
interesting. Why are you having a pretend affair?”

“I honestly don’t know. Andre agreed to
escort me to parties to show off my Lily line of dresses but for some reason he
wanted to pretend we are having an affair when actually we have a brother and
sister relationship. Yet he is jealous if any other man shows me any attention.
I don’t understand at all,” Lily replied.

“I truly am sorry this dance is about to
end. It has been most interesting. From a man’s point of view, it sounds to me
like Andre didn’t want to get into a real relationship and set the rules at the
beginning but has found himself in deeper waters than he anticipated.”

He led her back to the table where Andre
waited impatiently. Julian kissed Lily’s hand and thanked her for the dance. “I
have to return to France tomorrow but I look forward to seeing you again when I
return to Miami.”

Marcella appeared at their side and
asked if she and Lily could talk privately. “Of course, Mrs. Devereaux.” Lily
replied. “Please call me Marcella since we are friends. Let’s go into the
salon. Andre will wait for you,” instructed Marcella.

“I see the beautiful dresses you design
for slim young woman such as yourself. Women my size look so dowdy and
unattractive. Do you think you could design an evening dress for me that would make
me look less fat and maybe a little attractive?” Marcella had a very vulnerable
yet hopeful expression on her face as she asked this question and Lily realized
it wasn’t easy for her.

“Of course I can. I will be happy to
design something for you that will be beautiful on you and you will feel so good
wearing it. Come by
Jacqueline’s
in a week and I will show you the
designs and take your measurements. Call and make arrangements and I will meet
you there.” Marcella smiled happily and agreed to meet her next week. “I can
hardly wait,” she exclaimed and hugged Lily.

When Lily rejoined Andre, he asked, “You
have certainly been popular tonight. What was that all about?” Lily explained
Marcella’s request and he raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Marcella is very
wealthy and would be a feather in your cap but how are you going to get all
this done?” “She only asked for one design which will be easy to do.”Lily
responded. “I already have it designed in my head with a few variations for her
to choose from. She’s so sweet; I want to do it for her. I’ll manage it.”

Once in the limousine, Lily sat quietly
on her side of the back seat thinking about the dresses she’d seen that
evening. Suddenly Andre said, “Don’t have anything to do with men like Jay
Johnson or Julian Devereaux.” It took Lily a few moments to take this comment
in. “Why? What’s wrong with them? I thought they were both very polite and
nice.”

“Because they are both seducers of
women, particularly naïve ones like you. And definitely don’t have anything more
to do with Julian Devereaux. What were you talking about while you were dancing
with him?”

Lily was beginning to become very
irritated. “So you think if I danced with Jay, he would seduce me? And I guess
you think Julian was trying to seduce me, too? He was a perfect gentleman and I
am tired of being quizzed by you. We were talking about having affairs and
intimate kissing.”

Andre looked shocked and asked, “Lily, why
were you discussing affairs and intimate kissing with Julian Devereaux?” She
replied, “He asked why I was crying earlier so I told him.”

Andre was becoming aroused with thoughts
of kissing Lily and shuddered to think how easily either of these men could
seduce innocent Lily. He realized she is becoming annoyed because he didn’t
want her to dance with any other man and that it was inevitable that other men
would show an interest in her. He determined to squelch his attraction to her.
He did not want to become romantically involved with any woman, even Lily. He
reached the end of his patience with this line of thought and was becoming
uncomfortably aroused. “Let’s drop this discussion,” he said abruptly.

There was silence in the car until they
reached their apartment building

When they walked up to the door, Louis
said to Andre, “Mr. Andre, a couple of hours ago a woman asked me to let her in
Miss Lily’s apartment. She said they are sisters. I told her I couldn’t because
it was against regulations. She was very insistent and got real mad. Did I do
the right thing?”