Redemption: Lily's Surrender Read online

  “You make it sound like I have Griffin chained to a desk.”

  “Ha, as if you could keep him from your side. I’m just saying maybe you both need to learn to loosen up.”

  “Actually, Mom, you’ll be happy to know I’ve accepted a dinner invitation.”

  “With people?”

  “No, Mother, with the inhabitants of the local zoo. Of course with people.”

  “Are these people who take their clothes off for a living and twirl on poles?”

  Sheesh, spend one Christmas with a stripper and your mother never lets you forget it. “She was an exotic dancer, Mom.”

  “She was naked.”

  It wasn’t like she had done her routine in front of his younger siblings, but his mother couldn’t let it go.

  “No, Mom, it’s not a stripper. She’s a nice girl.” Man, he was repeating Griffin’s lines now.

  “Well, who is she?”

  “Lily Weller.”

  “Lily Weller. Hmm, Helen’s daughter?”

  “Yes.” Maybe telling his mother about Lily wasn’t such a good idea.

  “Oh, she is a nice girl.” His mother’s “hoping for a wedding” detector went off. His mom had tried to inspire wedding bells before, but he wasn’t ready to settle down. Not until he had his business with River Bend and the triumvirate completed first.

  “I love you, Mom, but I am not having this conversation.”

  “Marc, I just want you to be happy.”

  “Mom, I will be fine. Don’t worry, enjoy your Thanksgiving, and tell everyone I said hello.”

  Hanging up the phone, Marc’s gaze drifted back to the basket and his thoughts to the woman who had given it to him. If things went according to plan, he would have his vengeance and maybe Goldilocks, too.

  Redemption: Lily’s Surrender

  Chapter Three

  Lily swiped her sweaty palms on her woolen skirt. For a simple family dinner she was feeling extremely nervous. Biting her lip apprehensively, she glanced at the clock again. Eleven fifty-three. This would be the first time her family — minus her father — had all been together for a holiday in over fifteen years. Hopefully it would end a lot better than the previous ones that had included Mike — cursing, fighting and passing out at the dinner table. Some family traditions were meant to be broken.

  After the incident with her father smashing up her television earlier in the week, she had finally decided that cutting him out of her life was the only healthy option she had left. She couldn’t allow herself to be sucked under by such a controlling jerk ever again.

  Eleven fifty-four and counting. If she kept telling herself she was nervous because of her family, then she could pretend the fact that Marc was coming wasn’t the real reason for the butterflies and nasty sweaty palms. Yeah … family getting together … not Marc. Eleven fifty … Stop it, Lily, she ordered, turning her back to the clock. He’s just a guy. A simple guy she had adored since she was a child.

  A loud knocking startled her out of her discussion with herself. Jumping up from the couch, she rushed to the front door, grabbing her coat and purse along the way. Pulling open the door she smiled quickly at Marc and began to struggle into her coat. Clearing his throat, Marc put his hand on her arm, stilling her pinwheel motions as she attempted to find the armhole.

  “Let me.”

  Flushing with embarrassment, Lily handed him her coat then turned her back to him. Taking it by the collar he gently guided her arms into the coat before turning her around and, one by one, buttoning her up.

  “In a rush for turkey?” he teased, as he fastened the last button.

  “Not especially …” she hedged, more nervous now than she had been before he had arrived.

  “Do you meet all of your guests at the door like this?”

  Lily closed the door firmly behind her. “As opposed to meeting them in the bathroom?”

  Instead of smiling at her joke, Marc merely raised a brow. “Is there a particular reason I’m not allowed in your house?”

  “I don’t like to be late.”

  Yeah, late. Sure, that was it, and not the sad truth that people who lived in shopping carts had nicer furniture than she did. Lily wanted to escape the small confines of her apartment before he noticed the shabby furnishings and broken television.

  “Hmmm …” was all he said. Taking a step back, Marc gestured in front of him for her to proceed down the stairs. Following behind her, he softly spoke. “Once dinner’s over, what will you come up with next, Goldilocks?”

  “Why would I have to come up with a story?”

  “Why indeed?”

  Griffin stood outside of a dark Mercedes as if the snow on the ground didn’t faze him. He smiled as they neared him, his imposing features lighting up. “I thought it was against the female code to actually leave on time. Don’t you know you’re supposed to make us wait at least fifteen minutes?”

  “Goldie, here, has a thing about being on time,” Marc said dryly, his disbelief in her excuses as apparent as the chill in the air.

  “What’s wrong with wanting to be on time?” Her defenses were up. So, not a good way to start a date … or a not-date, in their case.

  Griffin glanced back and forth between the two of them before sweeping open the passenger door of the car and signaling for her to enter.

  “Oh, I’ll be fine in the back.” Lily tried to step back but Marc was standing directly behind her. He leaned forward and whispered in her ear, “Get in the car,” before giving her a little push towards the front seat.

  “But what about Griffin?”

  “Griffin brought his own car.”

  “But why?” she insisted, refusing to just be pushed into the car.

  “I’m not normally in the habit of bringing extra men on dates with me, Goldie.”

  “This isn’t a date.”

  Marc slowly smiled, as if she was dimwitted.

  “It’s not,” Lily insisted again, noticing the amusement on the two men’s faces. Knowing she was not going to convince them, she flounced into the seat, arranging herself before leaning out and snagging the door handle. “Well, are we going or are we going to sit around here all day?” Frowning at their continued amusement, Lily pulled on the door, slamming it shut.

  Marc and Griffin spoke for a moment, and then Marc came around and slid into the driver’s seat. It was the most elegant vehicle Lily had ever been in. The leather seats, if she weren’t mistaken, were heated, and the dashboard looked like some kind of starship computer.

  “So, to your mom’s house then.” Marc started the car and smoothly pulled away from the curb.

  “Ahh, actually, dinner isn’t at my mom’s.” Marc turned and looked at her questioningly. “It’s at Evelyn’s,” Lily finished in a rush.

  “You mean at your brother Logan’s house?” Marc clarified with sharp precision.

  “They are married, so yeah, they’re having Thanksgiving together.” Lily usually made smart-alecky comments when she was nervous, and they were just flowing from her mouth today.

  “You know, that mouth of yours is going to get you into trouble some day.” Marc turned the corner and headed towards their destination.

  “Steven always told me it was better to be a smart ass than a dumb ass.”

  “Your brother’s wit is extraordinary,” Marc retorted dryly.

  “Granted, he’s not rearranging the letters in his name to come up with an evil corporation title, but I think I’ll keep him.”

  Pulling up to a red light, Marc turned and put his finger under her chin. Tipping her head up, he moved in close. “I told you that mouth would get you into trouble.” Leaning in, he softly touched his lips to hers, pressing against her but not invading her mouth. It was the first time, since junior high at least, that a man hadn’t immediately shoved his tongue down her throat. It was nice. His lips were warm and soft, and she felt restless under his touch, as if she were expecting more.

  Suddenly the car phone rang, startling them both out
of the embrace. Straightening up, Marc glanced into the rearview mirror before answering the phone. “Yeah.”

  Although Lily couldn’t hear the other end of the conversation, she was sure it was Griffin on the line. He had probably seen Marc kissing her. Marc kissed her! Oh, my God, she had finally kissed Marc Gossnor. She felt like a schoolgirl.

  “Yeah, well, slight change of plans. Seems we’re going to a big family shindig. Uh huh, okay.”

  As he set the phone back into the cradle, Marc quickly glanced at her before turning his attention back to the road. “Griffin brought up a very valid point, just now.”

  “Did he?” Lily’s voice was husky even to her own ears.

  “Our change of plans seems a bit fishy.”

  Flushing a bit, Lily looked out her window. “The plans weren’t exactly changed.”

  “You don’t say.” The words were lighthearted but his tone wasn’t. There was sudden steel in his voice that had Lily looking over at him.

  “Yes, the plans were always to go to my brother’s house. I just didn’t mention it.”

  “And I wonder why that is?”

  Lily frowned. “Why do you think it is?”

  “Seems to go back to the Trojan horse again.”

  “Look, I’m flattered you think I’m so much of a temptation my brothers might use me to entice you over so they could bludgeon you with a turkey leg, but the truth of the matter, Marc, is I was afraid if I told you where it was, you wouldn’t come. And I really wanted you to come.”

  “Why?”

  He just had to ask why. “Good question; right now I’m wondering the same thing.”

  Marc suddenly pulled the car over to the curb, put it in park and turned in his seat, facing her. “Stop playing games, little girl, and tell me the truth.”

  Lily knew she was probably wide-eyed with surprise, and that was why she actually answered before censoring her mouth. “The truth is I have been fascinated with you since childhood and I wanted to spend the day with you to find out what you’re really like.”

  Marc stared at her for what seemed like a lifetime. Almost as if he was studying every line on her face, every freckle on her nose, every lie in her eyes. When the phone rang, he didn’t automatically pick it up, which unnerved Lily, who wasn’t used to being under scrutiny. “Are you going to answer that?” she finally questioned, when the noise became too much to bear.

  Marc waited another heartbeat while he pinned her with his gaze. Before picking up the phone, he said quietly, “Remember, don’t ever lie to me, understand?”

  Lily nodded jerkily as Marc answered the phone. “We had to clarify a few things.” There was a slight pause before he continued. “Yes, damn it, you will get some turkey sometime today, okay?”

  Putting the car back into gear, Marc pulled into traffic. The silence in the car was deafening, and Lily was unsure what to say. “It wasn’t exactly a lie,” she muttered. Marc had her feeling like a chastised child, and she didn’t like it one bit. It wasn’t like she had really lied. She just hadn’t been completely upfront … completely.

  “You interest me, Goldilocks. More so than anyone has in a long time.” Marc pulled into Logan’s driveway and cut off the engine before he continued. “And the thought of you lying, hiding things from me, bothers me more than I care to admit.”

  It didn’t get more honest than that. “I won’t lie to you, Marc.”

  “Ever?”

  “Ever,” Lily promised, caught up in the storm in his green eyes.

  There was a sudden knock on Marc’s window as Griffin leaned close to the glass. “Turkey, now.”

  “Is he always like this?”

  “What, annoying? Yeah, always.”

  Lily started to fumble with the car door and Marc reached across to still her motions. “I will come around and open your door for you. Understand?”

  Again his powerful gaze caught her attention and she nodded, unable to form words in her dry-as-cotton mouth.

  Marc got out of the car and came around to open her door, helping her out before setting the electric locks. Happy the earlier tense moment was over, Lily strolled side by side with Marc up the snowy walkway. Everything was going to be okay, she told herself as she rang the doorbell. And she believed it for the entire five seconds it took for Logan to open the door.

  “Lily, happy Thanks …” Logan trailed off slowly as his gaze slid over her to the men behind her.

  *

  Okay, so she’d had better ideas than this one. Ones that didn’t included stoic silence and weird breaks in the conversations. Apparently, her telling Evelyn she was bringing them to dinner didn’t necessarily mean her brothers would be informed of the addition.

  “I thought you were going to say something,” she muttered, taking the plate from the traitor in question’s hands.

  “Yeah, right. Like I was going to venture into No Man’s Land and tell Logan you were bringing Marc to dinner? You didn’t have the nerve to do it yourself. You’re crazy.”

  “Coward.”

  “Takes one to know one,” Evelyn sang in a childish tone.

  “What are you, two?” It wasn’t funny.

  “Ladies, ladies, ladies,” Samantha said, walking into the room with empty glasses in her hands. “And to think, I thought Nichelle was going to be the highlight of the evening. Ha.”

  “This is just horrible.” Turning around, Lily leaned against the sink.

  “It’s not that bad.” Evelyn walked over and tugged Lily into her embrace.

  “Evelyn’s right,” Samantha reminded Lily. “It could have been ten times worse. At least no one’s bleeding.”

  “Only in my family would that be considered a high point.” The women looked at each other before breaking into laughter.

  “Well, I don’t care what Logan says, I like Marc. I always have.”

  “You don’t blame him for what happened with your folks?” Lily couldn’t help but ask. It was her father who, after all, who had been the crazy lunatic in all of this, and if Evelyn and her parents weren’t going to blame her family for her father’s behavior, maybe they wouldn’t blame Marc.

  Evelyn tsked. “I know exactly where the blame lies, Lily. He, and only he, is the one I blame. Besides, I’ve always thought there was something … different about Marc. Something …”

  “Intense,” Lily added, not aware that her words and expression gave her away, until Samantha and Evelyn looked at each other with huge grins on their faces.

  “Intense, huh?” Sammy teased, with a wink. “Do tell.”

  Blushing, Lily turned away from their probing stares.

  “Come on, you can’t hide from us.” Evelyn pulled her down to sit at the kitchen table, and Samantha came over to join them. “So has he kissed you yet?”

  Lily knew her face must be on fire by this point. One of the hazards of being fair-skinned was she could never hide a blush. “Okay, fine, yes, he kissed me. In the car on the way over. But it wasn’t like you think. The jerk thought he was teaching me a lesson. He said I was being mouthy.”

  Samantha just giggled, but Evelyn had a gleam in her eye. “Teach you a lesson, huh? Interesting; very interesting.”

  “What do you mean, interesting?”

  “Nothing.” Evelyn stood up suddenly and moved back towards the sink to finish drying the dishes.

  “No, now, come on. You said it like you know something. Tell.” Lily was too interested in her opinion to be coy.

  “Yeah, girl, you got me curious now. What gives?” Samantha added.

  “Okay, but you may think I’m crazy. You said he wanted to teach you a lesson and that he’s intense. Plus he seems a bit, well, dominating to me.”

  “You don’t think …” Samantha trailed off, her gaze thoughtful as she turned back and sized up Lily.

  “What are you two talking about? I feel like I walked into the middle of a movie and I don’t know what happened in the first half.”

  “Your brother may have more in common with M
arc than you know,” Evelyn said with a laugh, enjoying some private joke.

  “What do you mean?”

  Just then the kitchen door swung open and the three women jumped. “Hey now, there is way too much frivolity going on in here.” Evelyn’s dad stood in the doorway for a second before coming into the kitchen with an empty pumpkin pie tin.

  “Sorry, Dad, just a little girl talk.” Evelyn took the pie plate and gave him a big hug.

  “Well, don’t mind me. I just thought I better let Lily here know that her young man is getting the third degree out there.”

  Lily flushed with embarrassment at hearing Marc referred to as “her young man.” “Oh, no, they aren’t …?” She headed for the swinging door.

  “Now, now, don’t you worry. He seems to be handling it just fine. More than fine, actually. I think he’s got them both in a twist.”

  Redemption: Lily’s Surrender

  Chapter Four

  This day was going about as well as he had been expecting. The funny thing, though, was Marc wouldn’t have it any other way. Something about the whole thing suited his perverse sense of humor, and instead of being insulted by the glares, he’d been amused. Steven had barely said two words to him, and Logan was even worse.

  Logan, who hadn’t changed much since high school, made sure to keep an eye on Marc all day. He still seemed as bullheaded as he had been as a teen. It was amazing a beauty like Evelyn had saddled herself with someone like him, but there was no accounting for some people’s taste.

  Here he was, sitting in the middle of Crane-Weller central with Logan and Steven both giving him the evil eye. To add fuel to the fire, Samantha Turner’s sisters were throwing in their comments left and right. And, to top it off, Griffin had pretty much abandoned him to go flirt with Lily’s mother. It was definitely a Thanksgiving to be remembered. And now it seemed as if he was about to become entangled in some sort of dominant pissing game with the brothers Grimm. Lovely.

  “So, Gossnor, how long are you planning on staying in town?” Steven dragged out his name mockingly, while Logan eyed Marc as if he were a piece of shit on his shoe.