Lovers and Other Strangers Box Set: The Boston Stories (48 page)

    "Mmm, mon amour, embrasse-moi." she slurred. Then she curled up on her side and went back to sleep. He smiled to himself, she had asked for a kiss, it would be rude not to do as she requested. He didn't want to wake her so with the lightest caress he ran his lips across her cheek and temple. Tearing himself away was harder than he anticipated. His whole body burned to curl up around her, she was warm from sleep and he could feel that warmth melt into his soul. It hurt to breathe he wanted to wrap her in his arms so badly. He took another deep breath filling his head with her scent and closed his eyes. Holding that breath till he felt light headed. When he knew he'd be missed downstairs he carefully pulled the covers out from under her and tucked them around her. Maybe she would dream that it was him holding her close like he had last night.

    When he got downstairs he was surprised to find Violet cleaning up by herself.

    "Where is that supposedly chivalrous husband of yours?"

    "He has an early surgery call so I sent him to bed. Besides I wanted to talk to you..."

    "Vi, if this is about Smith again..."

    "Yes and no. Look I just want you to consider what I am saying and then you can shoot it down but no interrupting."

    "I'll try."

    "I want you to start dating La Reine." Allyn choked but Violet just glared at him. He motioned for her to continue. "I know she is a little young for you but I think if you gave her a chance you'd see she is more substantial than you think. I know you still see her as a silly pest but she has grown up."

    "I don't see her as a silly pest." he said quietly.

    "Good. I know you two have stopped bickering, thank God, could you just take her out? I want her distracted so she isn't so wrapped up in Smith. I'll give you whatever pointers you need." He cocked an eyebrow at her.

    "What makes you think I need pointers in how to date?"

    "Oh come on, when was the last time you went on a date that wasn't one of the stable of wealthy women that you escort to those dull parties."

    "Now you make me sound like a gigolo." he laughed. Violet turned bright pink. "What exactly did you want me to do with her?" The whole conversation was absurd. She wanted him to date Marie to distract her from him. Violet was either going to laugh about this when all was said and done or she was going to kill him. "What exactly would you have me do to distract her, she seems pretty happy with him by the way?"

    "I don't know. Romance her."

    "Let's assume for a moment that I can overcome my lack of romantic chops, as you pointed out, and manage to sweep her off her feet." Violet glared at him though for what he wasn't quite sure. "What do I do then? Are you okay with her falling in love with me?"

    "I... Well, I guess... Can I tell you something without you teasing Marie about it?"

    "Of course."

    "She had a major crush on you when we were kids."

    "I guessed as much from all the times she used to make me miserable. You're hoping that if I start paying her that kind of attention she will have a crush on me again? You still haven't worked out the part of what happens if she does?" He was pushing her to tell him how she felt about he and Marie having a relationship but she was being so vague. "Violet, if Marie and I have a relationship how would you feel?" His sister bit the end of her finger while she considered her answer.

    Finally she blurted out, "Oh, you are so stubborn! Fine, the truth is that I invited her here to live with us in the hope that you two would figure out you are perfect for each other! Happy?" He stood there blinking for a minute. Not only was she okay with it she had actually set up the damn situation.

    "In that case, it seems like the least I can do is play along." and he walked out of the kitchen. He managed to shut the door to his study before bursting into laughter. He was a fool and had made a simple situation infinitely more difficult than it needed to be. Of course he couldn't say that it had been entirely unsatisfactory either. Now all he needed to do was get rid of Smith and romance Marie as himself. He poured himself some brandy and came up with a few ideas.      

    A week and a half later, Allyn looked over at the couple sitting across the aisle in his row. They were obviously on their way back from their honeymoon. She was flushed and breathy. He couldn't look anywhere but at her. Neither of them looked to be thirty yet. They hadn't even closed the airplane doors before the man had pulled a blanket over the two of them and the woman's eyes flashed as her new husband took a few liberties with her apparel. She then curled up with her head on his shoulder.

    Allyn tried not to look over again, hell, it had been a week since he had seen Marie and promised to take her out for a weekend on the boat. He missed her with a physical hunger he hadn't thought possible. He planned to sail around the Cape, wine and dine her some, he didn't think it mattered what he did as long as they got to spend some time alone together. He was hoping to come up with some kind of explanation or even a plausible excuse at this point for the whole Smith thing. Maybe he could just ignore it. Smith could just disappear never contact her again. It was cowardly but if she really did feel about him the way Violet claimed maybe it wouldn't matter.

    Midway through the flight the woman gave a yelp and her husband chuckled. Subtle they were not. Unfortunately knowing what they were doing was making it hard to concentrate on the papers in front of him. The figures swam before his eyes as he thought of Marie in his arms and how she had responded to him. Hell, he reached over to the empty seat next to him and grabbed the blanket he'd tossed there and put it in his lap.

    He dug out his headphones to drown out the lovebirds and turned on the noise canceling. He searched his phone and found Gould playing Bach's French Suites and took a deep breath. The first notes sounded in his ears and he felt his shoulders relax at the deceptively simple tune. This particular piece had always reminded him of Marie, subtle, simple and complex at the same time. At least this way he wasn't thinking about making love to her but dammit to hell his next trip to Paris he was bringing her with him.

    The water was too rough, the waves were going to swamp the boat! He was trying to hold the rudder but it was wet and kept slipping from his hands. His mother appeared before him, warm and alive. How? She had died shortly after having him. The waves came and took her. Next his father and Xeniade, his nanny as well as Violet's mother, appeared.

    He had always felt guilty for loving her more than his own mother. He used to tell his father that she loved him first and his father should find someone else to marry. She used to laugh and say that that was why she married his father, so she could be his mother because she did love him first. The black waves took them too. He tried to pull them back onto the boat, he'd be all alone.

    Then Violet, she was so little not even a teenager yet and so hurt. He couldn't lose everyone! He clung to her, together they held on to the rudder. Then out of the corner of his eye he saw Marie she was trying to walk toward him in the storm but the waves were too much. Time after time the waves looked ready to snatch her from the boat. She was almost to him, when he reached out his hand to her, she was gone.

    "Mr. Bellows." Allyn startled at the stewardess' touch. "We'll be landing at Logan soon. Can I take your cup from you."

    "Yes." His throat didn't want to work. He cleared it and took a deep breath. "Sorry must have fallen asleep."

    "It must not have been a very pleasant dream." Allyn cringed at being caught in such a personal moment.

    "No, I'm afraid it wasn't. Thank you for waking me." He got his things together and prepared for landing. He looked over at the honeymoon couple and the woman was asleep on her husband's shoulder. Allyn hoped for her sake he had at least thought to button her up after he'd had his way with her.

    Harold was waiting for him at baggage claim.

    "Harold, good to see you. Did I miss anything interesting?"

    "No sir. Mademoiselle Marie asked me to take her to lunch a time or two while you were gone. I didn't think you'd mind. I think she was just homesick."

    "No, I don't mind. She is a menace on the road. For the good of society you should be the one driving." He smiled at the thought of her reckless driving. "I didn't hear from my sister so I assume I am not an uncle yet?"

    "No sir, though your sister is... ready to be done with this part, shall we say."

    "Harold, you might have missed your calling. I think you'd make an excellent politician."

    "Heaven forbid. Home sir?"

    "Yes, Home please. Actually I'll need to make a stop at the florist first. I believe the ladies would like some flowers, yes?"

    "Yes sir."  

    Marie concluded her presentation and turned off the projector. Allain had sat there quietly smiling through the entire thing. Was he thinking about this weekend too? She had butterflies in her stomach all morning. Not from having to do the presentation, that she could have done in her sleep. No, the butterflies were from the thought of getting to spend the whole weekend with him alone. The real Allain this time, though she wouldn't complain if he brought along a little of Monsieur Smith. Every time she looked at him the butterflies clogged her throat and she blushed. He must think she was a fool. He looked so handsome in his suit, the gray made the little bits of silver in his hair shine. His eyes crinkled from too much time in the sun. She would make him start wearing sunglasses more but the little lines there made her want to run her fingers over them and kiss them.

   One of the board members cleared his throat. "Young lady, correct me if I am wrong, but you are telling us that we are wasting untold dollars in Africa because we give the money to organizations that are run by men."

    "Oui, Monsieur. You are not wrong." She looked over at Allain who was hiding behind his hand but his eyes sparkled like they did when he was laughing and there were those crinkles. Why did he have to be so handsome, it made it hard to think. The man who asked her the question was blustering now. "Actually Monsieur, I only said that if the foundation was more sensitive to the cultural, qeul est le mot?, ah, disparities between our culture and and theirs. In the West, we usually let the men run the government, non? That is also true there, mais only because it is considered inferior work.

    In many parts of the continent there is a matriarchal culture. All I am suggesting is that based on the analysis I 'ave done, the foundation's money might go farther if it was spent through women's organizations." The older gentleman turned bright red. "Monsieur, you are not looking so well, perhaps a glass of water?" She smiled sweetly at him and then glanced at Allain. He had a very fake serious face on. It was all she could do not to laugh at him. She watched as Allain took a deep breath.

    "Yes, well... Marie has certainly given us something to think about. I believe we can try some of her suggestions on a small scale to gauge their impact." The older gentleman started to interrupt but Allain cut him off. "George, I realize the foundation has always worked with the established outlets but even you have not been happy with our results there. We can certainly try something new. As I said, we wouldn't have to change everything overnight just some well placed funding here and there and see what happens. Even you can't argue with that."

    "Your parents..."

    "Have been gone for almost twenty years. I think I'm a little behind putting my stamp on this place, don't you think?"

    "It is your funeral."

    "Not yet it isn't. Now if we are done here I have a date with a sailboat." He grinned at her and raised an eyebrow. It was silly but she felt like he was seducing her in public. The thought make her breath catch in her chest. "Marie, I'd like to see you in my office for a moment." Her heart pounded. Was he disappointed in her work? He sounded so stern. Had he decided that they shouldn't go away together? Merde! She would kill him.    

    "Oui, une minute." She used the time she spent packing up her computer and getting her notes organized to calm her nerves and take some deep breaths.

    When she walked into his office he was leaning against his desk with his arms crossed over his chest. All the confidence she had felt in the conference room seemed to evaporate. If Allain wasn't happy with her work it didn't matter whether other people liked it or not. She wanted to be his lover but more than that she wanted to show him that she could be serious too. She wanted a real partnership not just their bodies but their hearts and minds also.

    "Shut the door, please." he said it so quietly and with the commanding voice he used the first night he was Monsieur Smith. She reached back blindly and pushed the door shut. When she did, he uncrossed his arms and walked toward her. He had his head down but was staring at her above the tops of his glasses. She swallowed hard, the butterflies had become big black crows flying around in her stomach now. When he got to her he took the computer and papers from her hands and put them on the table next to her. Then without warning he bent down and reached around her waist lifting her up in the air and twirling her around, a huge smile on his face.

    "That was brilliant! I hope the old gas bag finally quits. My God I haven't enjoyed a board meeting more in my life." and then he kissed her full on the lips. Not the sweet soft kisses that he always gave her unless he was Smith. No, this was the kind of kiss you give in celebration to a lover. She was so surprised she gasped. When she did he immediately pulled away. She wanted to cry in frustration. "I'm sorry, I got carried away. I knew you would give the project careful attention, and I was truly impressed with the work you did. Including footage of the interviews was genius and even the format was so much better than the typical powerpoint disaster."

    "Merci, you scared me when you acted like you didn't like it. I wanted you to be proud of me."