The Redemption Of Lillie Rourke. Loree Lough

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СКАЧАТЬ Hurt. To her credit, Whitney got hold of herself quickly.

      “Only four or five times,” she said. “But what girl doesn’t like hearing her guy thinks she looks good!”

      Lillie didn’t. She’d waved off every word of praise that came her way, whether about her good looks or her vocal and artistic talents. “I can’t take credit for any of that,” she’d say. “It’s built into my DNA. My parents and grandparents should be hearing the compliments, not me!”

      “You sure you don’t want to go to Sabatino’s? We still have the reservation.”

      “Yeah, okay,” she said, echoing his earlier words. “I’d like that.”

      He squeezed her hands, then let go as she stood.

      “Just give me a few minutes to freshen up.”

      While she was gone, he walked from the kitchen to the living room, where she’d arranged sleek, modern furnishings on a white shag rug. Tall narrow black figurines stood on the marble mantel, and heavy swirled-glass bowls decorated the teak coffee table. He could see storm clouds through the sheer white curtains.

      “You about ready, Whit? Looks like we’re in for some rain...”

      “Just two more minutes, hon,” he heard her say from the bathroom doorway.

      Hon. If anyone else had said it, Jase would have chalked it up to a “Baltimore-ism.” But Whitney had never been one to imitate others.

      Unlike Lillie, who loved colloquialisms and spouted them every chance she got.

      He caught himself smiling, and didn’t like it one bit. Jase ground a fist into a palm. He’d worked hard to get her out of his system, to get on with life, without her. And he’d succeeded. He couldn’t—wouldn’t—let her destroy that!

      * * *

      “IT’S ABOUT TIME you got here.” Jase’s sister-in-law leaned in and lowered her voice. “Your mom is looking a mite peaked today.”

      “Is that right.” He hadn’t planned on stopping by to visit his mother this evening, so her snappish comment didn’t make sense. “She looked fine when I was here the day before yesterday.”

      Dora huffed. “Well, she doesn’t look fine now. She’s in her office.” She made a shooing motion with her hand. “Go. I’ll bring you both some iced tea.”

      “Okay, thanks. That sounds great.” He paused in the kitchen doorway. “Where’s Drew?”

      Dora rolled her eyes. “Working. Naturally.”

      Perhaps that explained her surly mood. “You and that brother of mine put in way too many hours.” He would have added, It’s probably a good thing that you two don’t have kids, but his dad had made that mistake once, years back, and immediately regretted it. “He’s joining us for supper though, right?”

      “Your guess is as good as mine.”

      “He’s nuts if he doesn’t show up. Something smells delicious.”

      “Stuffed shells. My grandmother’s recipe.”

      “Now I’m glad my dinner date was canceled.”

      “Oh? Trouble in paradise, huh?”

      In place of an answer, Jase raised his eyebrows.

      “Let me be more precise. Are you and Whitney fighting?”

      “No.” Times like these, he didn’t need to remind himself that Dora was a lawyer. “Why do you ask?”

      “You look a little down.”

      “It’s been a long, weird day.” Weird, and exhausting. The on-then-off-then-on-again restaurant date had killed his appetite, and he’d been relieved when Whitney called it off...again. When she’d come out of the bathroom, the bad weather seemed to have shifted her mood again, and she’d asked for a raincheck.

      Dora shrugged. “This is out of line, so I’ll apologize ahead of time for saying, right up front, that I’ll never understand what you see in her.”

      Jase stepped back into the kitchen.

      “She seems nice enough, and there’s no denying she’s smart. Everyone at the firm thinks so. But I get the feeling you’re not very comfortable with her. Whenever she’s around, you seem like you’re walking on eggshells.”

      Women’s intuition? Or more proof that she was a good attorney? Jase had always worked hard to keep things like that to himself.

      Dora held up a hand and continued with, “I know you didn’t ask, but if you had, I’d say you just don’t seem happy with her. Not like you were with Lillie, anyway. I loved watching you two together, the way you’d go back and forth, cracking jokes, laughing, so at ease with one another.”

      Jase had never put much stock in metaphysical stuff, but it sure did seem like the universe was conspiring against him today. First, he’d run into Lillie and her dad. Then, Whitney got all bent out of shape over the meeting. And now, here was Dora, telling him that he’d seemed more content with Lillie than with Whitney. Had she forgotten everything Lillie had put him through, everything she’d cost him? Did she think he’d forgotten?

      Dora pressed a tumbler against the ice dispenser. “I know what you’re thinking,” she said as cubes clinked into the glass. “You think I’ve forgotten everything that happened after her accident. To be more precise, everything she did after the accident.” She filled a second glass with ice and all but slammed it onto the counter. “You know we were friends. I remember how quickly she went downhill. Was I hurt by it? Of course. Was I disappointed in her? You bet! But addiction is a sickness, Jase. If her doctors hadn’t overprescribed those meds in the first place, then cut her off just like that...” She snapped her fingers. “Suffice it to say we could all have been there for her. We were supposed to love and support her.”

      He had loved Lillie, more than he’d loved any woman before or since. Loved her still, despite his best efforts to smother it. As for being supportive, how many chances was he supposed to give her?

      “Look, Dora, I know you mean well, but trust me, there were a lot of things you didn’t see or hear, things I’ve never talked about.” Like the times Lillie had overdosed, and if he hadn’t been around to rush her to the ER...

      He knuckled his eyes, hoping to rub away the painful images. “Anyway, I appreciate your concern, but you can relax. Whitney and I aren’t fighting.”

      She stared at him for a few seconds before saying, “That’s good, because you’re the closest thing I have to a brother, and I want you to be happy.”

      “I have everything a guy could want—good job as CEO of a thriving company, nice condo, enough money to keep the wolf from the door, loving family, gorgeous, successful girlfriend—who just hinted that she loves me, for your information—so why on earth wouldn’t I be happy.”

      “Oh, Jase...she did?”

      Unless he’d lost all people-reading skills, Dora looked pained.

      “How СКАЧАТЬ