intentions laid out like a deck of cards, exposing my hand. It’s up to Lee to determine if it’s good or bad. I wouldn’t blame her if she kicked me out, told me to never come back.
Lee reaches up and cradles the back of my neck with her cool fingers. She pulls me down just shy of her lips and hesitates. My lips part in anticipation. I close my eyes never wanting to open them again without tasting her first. Lee brushes over me with a barely there pass of the lips. I’m not one to ignore an invitation, so I press in—sealing my mouth over hers then delving into the holy of holies and swiping my tongue ever so softly until she meets me with her own. I kiss her back, longer, much stronger than she most likely anticipated. Lee strokes her tongue over mine in smooth clean swipes that hold the flavor of strawberries and wine. She dives in deeper, probing me, telling me she loves me with the warmth of her mouth in an exchange that feels like a slow sweet eternity.
My arm glides around her waist, and I bump into Stella. I forgot she was nursing, and this arouses me on an unnatural level. I keep my lips conjoined with Lee’s. There’s no way I’m stopping. I’ve waited my entire life for this moment. All those years of worshiping at the altar of Lee Middleton and finally a victory kiss—a sober, heartfelt testament of my affection for her.
Stella kicks, and I catch her tiny cold foot, warming it in my hand. This is what it would feel like to have a family. A wife. A baby. Not just any family. Not with Viv playing the spousal role—not with her satanic spawn.
No. This is Lee.
This is heaven.
5
The Wedding
Eighteen months later
Lee
Kat and I hover over a picture of our parents—my mother with lemon-yellow hair, my father’s shock of white at forty. They wear clean, dutiful smiles. My father gazes at the camera with a daring twinkle, sharp angled cheekbones that neither Kat nor I were blessed with. My mother is stunning, almost arrogant in her beauty. She adorns herself with layers of gold glittering necklaces. Long, pink seashells dangle from her ears. My uncle managed to keep her collection intact, mostly costume jewelry. It was all tarnished and broken by the time I was twelve.
“Funny how that happens,” Kat muses, pulling out a bucket of crayons for Stella from her kitchen drawer and enough coloring books to keep her busy until she hits her freshman year in college. “Every time some big event is on the horizon that picture hooks me.”
In two weeks I’ll be married to Max. That’s the big event—the next big earthquake in our existence.
“I know,” I say, running my finger over the photo, the paper is tattered and soft as velvet. “I wish they could be here. I wish a lot of people could be here.” I flatten the tablecloth with the palm of my hand, trace the woven border with my eye. “But then I guess if Mitch showed up, there wouldn’t be a wedding.” I blink back tears.
“If Mitch showed up there would be a shootout.” Kat gives a gentle laugh while entombing our parents in the family album.
“Any news on the baby front?” I ask. Kat and Steve are in full throttle baby making mode after a long hiatus.
“I started.” She shrugs it off, pretending to pick at the chipped polish on her fingers. “It’s only been three months, and God knows I’m not in a hurry. If it doesn’t happen soon, I might take a year off. Steve and I are thinking of starting up the business again.”
I make a face at the thought of them reigniting their printing business. It was lucrative the last time they ran it, but Steve was offered a position at Global Pacific as a software consultant, and the real job won out.
“What’s the face?” Kat makes crazy eyes at me because she’s insane like that, plus she knows me too well. It’s impossible to keep my opinion to myself.
“Nothing.” I twist the napkin until it’s thick as rope. “It’s just that the last time you did this you said it
Lee reaches up and cradles the back of my neck with her cool fingers. She pulls me down just shy of her lips and hesitates. My lips part in anticipation. I close my eyes never wanting to open them again without tasting her first. Lee brushes over me with a barely there pass of the lips. I’m not one to ignore an invitation, so I press in—sealing my mouth over hers then delving into the holy of holies and swiping my tongue ever so softly until she meets me with her own. I kiss her back, longer, much stronger than she most likely anticipated. Lee strokes her tongue over mine in smooth clean swipes that hold the flavor of strawberries and wine. She dives in deeper, probing me, telling me she loves me with the warmth of her mouth in an exchange that feels like a slow sweet eternity.
My arm glides around her waist, and I bump into Stella. I forgot she was nursing, and this arouses me on an unnatural level. I keep my lips conjoined with Lee’s. There’s no way I’m stopping. I’ve waited my entire life for this moment. All those years of worshiping at the altar of Lee Middleton and finally a victory kiss—a sober, heartfelt testament of my affection for her.
Stella kicks, and I catch her tiny cold foot, warming it in my hand. This is what it would feel like to have a family. A wife. A baby. Not just any family. Not with Viv playing the spousal role—not with her satanic spawn.
No. This is Lee.
This is heaven.
5
The Wedding
Eighteen months later
Lee
Kat and I hover over a picture of our parents—my mother with lemon-yellow hair, my father’s shock of white at forty. They wear clean, dutiful smiles. My father gazes at the camera with a daring twinkle, sharp angled cheekbones that neither Kat nor I were blessed with. My mother is stunning, almost arrogant in her beauty. She adorns herself with layers of gold glittering necklaces. Long, pink seashells dangle from her ears. My uncle managed to keep her collection intact, mostly costume jewelry. It was all tarnished and broken by the time I was twelve.
“Funny how that happens,” Kat muses, pulling out a bucket of crayons for Stella from her kitchen drawer and enough coloring books to keep her busy until she hits her freshman year in college. “Every time some big event is on the horizon that picture hooks me.”
In two weeks I’ll be married to Max. That’s the big event—the next big earthquake in our existence.
“I know,” I say, running my finger over the photo, the paper is tattered and soft as velvet. “I wish they could be here. I wish a lot of people could be here.” I flatten the tablecloth with the palm of my hand, trace the woven border with my eye. “But then I guess if Mitch showed up, there wouldn’t be a wedding.” I blink back tears.
“If Mitch showed up there would be a shootout.” Kat gives a gentle laugh while entombing our parents in the family album.
“Any news on the baby front?” I ask. Kat and Steve are in full throttle baby making mode after a long hiatus.
“I started.” She shrugs it off, pretending to pick at the chipped polish on her fingers. “It’s only been three months, and God knows I’m not in a hurry. If it doesn’t happen soon, I might take a year off. Steve and I are thinking of starting up the business again.”
I make a face at the thought of them reigniting their printing business. It was lucrative the last time they ran it, but Steve was offered a position at Global Pacific as a software consultant, and the real job won out.
“What’s the face?” Kat makes crazy eyes at me because she’s insane like that, plus she knows me too well. It’s impossible to keep my opinion to myself.
“Nothing.” I twist the napkin until it’s thick as rope. “It’s just that the last time you did this you said it
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