Twenty-Four Days Page 13

  They all grabbed a crystal flute of chilled champagne that floated by on a silver tray and filled a small plate with delectable hot hors d'oeuvres that were being carried around the room by a couple of tuxedoed waitresses.

  "Don't eat too many, Tommy," Valerie reminded her husband as he loaded a heaping pile of them onto his plate. "You'll ruin your appetite for dinner."

  "Don't nag me, woman. I'm at a party." He made a production of popping an entire crab stuffed mushroom into his mouth and chewing it defiantly.

  "Okay, stuff yourself. Who cares?" Valerie dismissed him with a wave of her hand. "You'll be up half the night with indigestion and then you'll say I didn't warn you."

  "If I do have indigestion, I'm not going to tell you."

  "Right. I should be so lucky."

  "Hey, you two. Knock it off," Miranda said. "Let him eat what he wants, Val."

  "Yeah, Val. You heard the doctor. Say what you want, but I'm going to enjoy myself and if I have to pay for it later, that's on me. I think I'll go over and talk to Josh and his wife. You coming?"

  "No. I'll say hello later. You'll just talk politics and that'll give me indigestion. I'm liable to say something bad about Josh's precious Republicans and get arrested for treason. They'll put my name on the FBI list or something for being too liberal minded."

  "You can say whatever you want around me. I love my little flaming liberal, left-wing wife." He kissed her and walked away.

  "He's such a pain," Valerie mumbled to herself.

  "Never mind that, Val. Will you look at this room? It's like the living rooms you see in House Beautiful...God." Miranda could hardly take in the beauty of it--the coordinated drapery and furniture fabrics in vibrant reds, warm browns and tranquil blues and the walls painted in the perfect complimentary shade of an incredibly soothing blue. Stripes were perfectly matched with floral patterns in a way only a professional decorator could envision and nothing in the room shouted out its presence, nothing jarred the senses. Everything flowed seamlessly to create a concept of subdued luxury.

  "Excuse me for not reacting. It's just that I've seem it all before. She hired an interior decorator to do the main rooms. She and Gina did the upstairs rooms. You won't get to see the other floors, but they're just as beautiful."

  Eve came back to join them, put her arm around Valerie and said, "I've missed you, Val. We really should get together more often. Let's have lunch real soon, okay?"

  "Okay, we'll do that. I'll call you, I promise."

  Once that was settled, Eve turned her attention to Miranda. "I've been meaning to ask you. How did you like being a cruise ship doctor?"

  "The work was more demanding than I thought it would be, especially when I was the only doctor on board, but for the most part I enjoyed it." Miranda spent the next fifteen minutes or so telling Eve about her daily work routine on the ships and to make things a bit more interesting, she threw in some of her more memorable anecdotes.

  "What did you think of the all lesbian cruises?" Eve asked.

  "They were great. I never heard any complaints and most of the guests told me they appreciated being free to be themselves. That's always a good thing."

  "That's what my people tell me, but I wanted to hear what you thought. Early on, Gina and I went on a couple of the cruises, but now we're too busy. We have employees who go on random cruises to make sure things are going well. Quality control, so to speak."

  "Now there's a job perk for you," Valerie remarked.

  "Are you interested, Val?" Eve teased.

  "No, not me. I've got enough to do and no offense, but I don't think we belong on the ocean. It scares me to death."

  "Wait a minute," Miranda protested. "You talked me into going. Weren't you afraid the ship would sink or your only sister would fall overboard and be eaten by sharks?"

  "Nah, you needed to get away."

  After the laughter subsided, Eve continued her conversation with Miranda. "Valerie told me you bought a house in...excuse me, I hear the doorbell." She looked around. "I don't see Gina around anywhere. Stay put, I'll be right back."

  As soon as Eve left them, Miranda leaned closer to her sister and said, "You never told me what an attractive couple Eve and Gina make. They're both handsome women."

  "I didn't?" Valerie sounded surprised. She grabbed Miranda's sleeve and tugged at it. "Eve's coming this way. She's got a couple of women with her."

  Miranda looked at Eve first and then at the other women. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until what was in front of her actually registered in her brain. She almost fainted right there on the spot. Jesus Christ, it can't be. Seizing her sister's arm, she held onto it with all her might to keep from falling on the floor. Her other hand, she clamped securely over her mouth to stifle a gasp. Never in her wildest imaginings, would she have dreamed she'd come to this party tonight and see Jamie Jeffries casually strolling toward her.

  Jamie stopped dead in her tracks the instant she saw Miranda standing in front of her. Her eyes opened wide and her mouth dropped open in disbelief. "Oh, my God, I can't believe it! It's you, Miranda. I never expected to see you here."

  "Jamie..." Somehow, Miranda managed to say that much.

  "I take it you two know each other?" Eve looked quite puzzled. She searched Valerie as if looking for a clue to what was going on, but Valerie merely shrugged her shoulders.

  Miranda regained enough composure to speak again. "Sorry. Yeah, we do. Jamie and I were on the same ship for a while." Everyone just stood there silently while Miranda and Jamie continued to stare at each other in disbelief.

  Valerie got things moving again. "Well, Miranda, why don't you introduce us?"

  Even in her state of shock, Miranda noticed that her sister was looking at her as if she'd just been beamed down to earth from a space ship and frankly, she felt like she had. This was an alien experience and so unexpected, so unreal to her that she didn't even respond to Valerie's request.

  "I'll handle the introductions," Eve offered. "This is Jamie Jeffries. She's a friend of Gina's. Obviously, Jamie, you've already met Miranda and this is Valerie Fuller, Miranda's sister, and my longtime friend."

  Jamie offered her hand to Valerie. "Nice to meet you. Miranda told me about you."

  "I'm sorry to say she never mentioned you," Valerie said, shaking Jamie's hand. After she let it go, she turned toward Miranda and frowned at her.

  "She didn't? Well, I'm sorry to hear that," Jamie said. She didn't extend her hand to shake Miranda's. Instead, she introduced the young woman next to her. "This is my date, Lilly Benson."

  "Will you two excuse us?" Eve asked Valerie and Miranda. "There are some people I want Jamie and Lilly to meet and I also want to let Gina know they're here." Eve took Jamie by the hand and dragged her and her date off to another part of the room. As they walked away, Jamie quickly glanced over her shoulder and met Miranda's eyes for an instant. Then, just a quickly, she turned around.

  "Get Tommy. Right now. We have to leave." Miranda squeezed her sister's arm with all her might. "Right now. Hurry up!"

  "Ow, you're hurting me." Valerie yanked her arm free. "What's gotten into you? Are you crazy? I've never ever seen you act like this in my entire life."

  "I'll tell you about it later. Please find Tommy. I want to go home, right now."

  "Absolutely not. I am not leaving this party. We haven't had dinner yet and it would be incredibly rude. Now you get a grip on yourself and tell me what's going on." Valerie grabbed Miranda's sleeve. "Come over here." She pulled Miranda off into a secluded corner of the room. "Does it have anything to do with that woman we just met?"

  "Yeah, it has everything to do with her."

  "You mean the gorgeous, obviously lesbian person named Jamie? Jesus, Miranda, this isn't like you. Did the two of you..." Valerie's mouth dropped open. "Hold on, I get it now. She's the one who bought you that necklace."

  "It's not what you're thinking. We liked each other and we spent some time together, that's all. We were friends. I..."
Miranda covered her face with her hands and slowly shook her head back and forth. "This is awful," she mumbled through her fingers.

  Valerie grabbed one of Miranda's hands and gently peeled it away from her face. "Miranda, you can tell me all about this later, but for now, would you please try to get yourself together? I value Eve's friendship and I hardly ever see her anymore. I don't want to hurt her feelings. If you insist on leaving, I'll have her call you a cab."

  Miranda held onto her sister's hand to steady herself. "You're right. I'm behaving in a ridiculous manner and I wouldn't want to offend Eve and Gina, either. Obviously, they've gone to a lot of trouble. I was shocked to see her, that's all." Miranda pressed her other hand on her chest and took several deep breaths. "Give me a minute."

  Much to Miranda's relief, they were summoned to dinner before Valerie could say anything further or ask her any more questions. They hustled over to join the queue and filed into the dining room behind the others to find their assigned places at the immense table. Miranda's relief was short-lived when she discovered that she'd been seated on the opposite side of the table, very close to Jamie and her date.

  During dinner, she talked to the people on both sides of her, but did not speak directly to Jamie or Lilly. Whenever she thought they weren't looking, she glanced over at them, wondering what Jamie was doing in DC and how much Lilly really meant to her.

  After dinner, Miranda promptly got up and made her way to one of the sofas in the living room, hoping to avoid her sister and sit by herself for a while. The shock of seeing Jamie still echoed through her and she found it tough to stand around and talk to the other guests about trivial things. Almost as soon as she'd made herself comfortable, she caught sight of Jamie talking with a group of women, her arm around Lilly's waist.

  As if Miranda's eyes sent off some kind of signal, Jamie turned and scanned the room. When their eyes met, Jamie looked at her briefly, but her eyes seemed empty and her expression was blank. She turned back to Lilly, whispered something to her and then walked across the room toward Miranda. "Mind if I sit down?"

  "Please do."

  "I bet you never thought you'd see me tonight," Jamie said, sitting forward with her elbows on her knees, her face resting in her hands and her eyes fixed straight ahead.

  "You know I didn't. I still can't believe it even though you're sitting next to me." I can feel you. All this time and now I'm close enough to reach out and...

  "I didn't know you were going to be here or I wouldn't have come. I'm sorry." Jamie sat back and turned toward Miranda. She extended her arm across the back of the sofa.

  Jamie's words stung, causing Miranda to wince involuntarily. She shifted sideways in her seat and dove straight into the cerulean eyes she remembered so well, eyes as blue as the Aegean sea on a cloudless day. As they always had, they warmed her frozen soul and reminded her of one of the last times she'd felt truly alive. "I hardly think you have anything to be sorry for."

  "Maybe not, but I can see that I've upset you by being here."

  "It might have seemed that way when we first saw each other, but I was just so floored when I saw you walking toward me." Miranda said. "To be honest, I'm really happy to see you, Jamie."

  "Are you really?" Jamie asked, her face a contest of pain and anger.

  "Yes. Are you visiting Lilly for the weekend?" Miranda asked.

  "What? No...no, I live here now."

  "You live here in DC?" Miranda had no idea Jamie was in the same city, but then, how could she have known? "Where? When? Since when?"

  "Since about six months ago. I have an apartment in the Adams Morgan section. I couldn't afford to buy a house after I sunk almost all of my money into my new gym."

  Miranda touched Jamie's arm, but quickly withdrew her hand when she saw Jamie's reaction. "Your new gym? That's wonderful, Jamie." More questions came rushing out. "When did you do this? Is it open yet? Where is it?"

  "Hey, slow down. One question at a time." Jamie's face came to life for the first time since she'd come over to sit next to Miranda. "I found the property a few months ago. It's also in the Adams Morgan section and no, it's not open yet."

  "Why did you decide to open it there and not somewhere downtown?"

  "There are too many gyms downtown, but the biggest reason was because I like the area and I wanted it to be a friendly, neighborhood type of gym. The renovations are almost done and if everything goes as planned, I should be able to open soon."

  "I'm so happy for you."

  "Me too." Jamie almost smiled. "So, where do you live?"

  "I have an older townhouse in the Kalorama section.

  Remember, I told you about it? The one I went home and bought before I arrived on the Sea Goddess?"

  "Yeah, I remember. That's one of the hottest areas in the city right now."

  "I got a good deal."

  "Well, you're a doctor, so I'm sure you can afford it. If my gym does well, maybe I'll be able to buy a house someday. Right now, I'm pretty much broke except for a modest emergency fund and enough money to get me through about six months of bills."

  "I'm sure it'll be worth the risk."

  "I hope so, or I'm really going to go under." Jamie became quiet. She removed her arm from the back of the sofa and rubbed her hands together in her lap. "You look good, Miranda. Your hair's a little shorter."

  "I just got it cut." Miranda swallowed hard. "You look good too, Jamie." You're so good-looking, just sitting next to you makes me dizzy.

  "I guess you found a job, huh?"

  "Yes, I did. I'm an ER attending at Georgetown University Medical Center and I'm also doing some teaching in the medical school."

  Jamie's eyes focused on Miranda's neck. "I see you found the necklace." She leaned a bit closer and sniffed. "And you're wearing the perfume I bought for you. I love the way it smells on you."

  Miranda's eyes willed Jamie to look at her and she did. "How did you manage to sneak them into my bag?"

  "It was easy. When I came to see you that last night, I hid one in my shirt and the other one in my pocket. When you went in to use the bathroom, I saw that one of your bags was open in the corner of the room and I slipped them inside."

  "Why didn't you just give them to me?"

  "I wanted to give them to you, I wanted..." Jamie paused. "I suppose I thought you might not accept them."

  "I might not have, not then, but I was very touched when I found them." Miranda had discovered the gifts in her hotel room in Barcelona. She'd cried for over an hour, grateful that her sister hadn't yet arrived at the hotel "I don't know how to thank you. It was so sweet of you to buy them for me." What she didn't tell Jamie was that she'd worn the perfume and the necklace almost every day since she'd returned home.

  "I wanted to give you something that would remind you of me."

  "Jamie...I'd never forget you. Why would you think that?"

  "I don't know, but I thought you might have and after a while, I was sure that you had. Just out of curiosity, why didn't you ever call me?" Jamie asked. "For a while there I prayed every day that you would until eventually, I stopped."

  "I can't answer that. I wanted to. I thought about it every day." Miranda felt as if a ten ton weight had landed on top of her chest. The pleading in Jamie's eyes, the sadness she saw in them almost ripped her apart. "I had no idea you were planning on moving here. I wish I had known." Forgive me, Jamie.

  "Why? Would it have made a difference?"

  "I don't know."

  "It was an idea I was toying with. That last night, if you'd showed the least amount of interest in seeing me when we got back home, I would have discussed it with you and I would have told you that I'd been thinking about moving to DC to open my gym."

  "So, when I told you we should say goodbye, you decided not to?"

  "That's about it. You obviously didn't want to see me."

  "That's not true. I..." Miranda grimaced. "Hell, I don't know. Sometimes, I think I'm such an idiot." Miranda felt the heat radiating from Ja
mie's body even though they weren't touching and her heart beat thumped inside her ears. Ten months had passed and still her body reacted to Jamie's presence with a force that frightened her. "I guess I was scared to death." I still am.

  "I don't understand why you're scared of me. I'm harmless, Miranda."

  "I know how I must sound." Miranda buried her face in her hands and sighed. "I can't stand to hear my own words. Why didn't you try to find me when you moved here?"

  "I wanted to, but what was the point? I didn't feel like being rejected again. It hurt too much the other times."

  "I know I've hurt you. It's hard for you to believe, I'm sure, but at the time, I thought it was the best thing for both of us."

  "You know what I think? I think you think too much." Jamie looked around and shifted in her seat. "I'd better get back to my date."

  Miranda had followed Jamie's eyes as they scanned the room and she'd seen Jamie's date gesturing for her to return. As Jamie started to get up, Miranda grabbed her arm and pulled her back down onto the sofa. "Jamie, are you involved with Lilly? Is she your girlfriend or your partner?" One look at Jamie's face and Miranda knew that her questions were not only out of line, they were not well received. "I'm sorry. I don't have a right to..."

  "You're damned right you don't." Jamie stood up and looked down at Miranda. "Why should it matter to you, anyway?"

  "I don't know. I just wanted to know, that's all."

  "She's a date, Miranda. I do have your permission to date, don't I? Honestly, I should think you'd be relieved that I'm bothering someone else and not you and believe it or not, unlike you, there are plenty of women who actually like me and want to be with me."

  "Of course there are. I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."

  "Are you involved with anyone?" Jamie planted her hands firmly on her hips.

  "No."

  After a moment, Jamie took a deep breath and forced it out through her tight lips. She returned to her seat on the sofa. "Look, this isn't the best place to talk, or the best time. Why don't we go out to dinner or something? There's no reason we have to avoid each other, is there?"