FF (March 2013) Jennifer Lyndon - An Infatuation

Lise Cabot has it all. A successful realtor in Aspen, Lise is married to her high school sweetheart and is the mother of two great kids, Michael and Candace. To her two closest friends, Kitty and Cheryl, Lise's life appears ideal, until her husband Scott is passed over for the partnership in the architectural firm where he works. At the party to welcome her husband's new boss, a woman she's determined to despise, Lise meets Juliana Rhodes. The attraction is immediate and unsettling for Lise, sending her perfectly balanced life into a tailspin.

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Sample

Chapter 1

“Why are we going to this party again?” I asked before applying my lipstick. I eyed Scott in the mirror as he struggled with his tie, the one I gave him three weeks earlier for his birthday. As I reflected on the color I experienced a twinge of regret over the gift. The blue was a little too bright for his suit, or maybe just too bright in general. It was slightly jarring to the eyes.
He offered his most charming smile. “When we get back this evening I’ll make it worth your while,” Scott promised. The unfaltering faith he held in his animal magnetism almost made me smile, but then I imagined the torturous evening ahead of me, and my mood darkened.
“You were passed over,” I replied, trying to temper the anger in my voice. Still, he winced slightly. “We should skip this ridiculous party and go out to dinner somewhere, just the two of us.” I turned around and started undoing his tie.
“What are you doing, Lise?” he asked as he pulled away from me. “I just got the knot straight.”
“Almost straight,” I teased. “And it doesn’t match your suit, Scottie.” I went into his closet and selected a grey tie. I held it up to show him. “This one works better.” I lifted his collar, wrapped the tie around his neck, and then quickly tied the knot. “So how about it? Why don’t we do something different?” Scott checked out his reflection in the bathroom mirror, admiring my flawless knot.
“This tie is better,” he offered, grinning at his reflection before combing his fingers through his hair. Scott had great hair, thick, wavy and blond without even a hint that it was thinning. I rolled my eyes as he admired himself, running his hand over his stomach, sucking in his slight paunch.
“We could go to The Wild Fig or Syzygy. You realize we haven’t been to The Wild Fig in close to a year. It used to be your favorite restaurant. But then we haven’t been anywhere but to these parties. Wouldn’t it be nice to spend an evening alone?”
“Listen, hun, this is the last party I’ll ask you to go to for a while, I promise,” he assured me.
I cut my eyes away from him and started gathering my hair up off of my neck. It looked shockingly red in the mirror, but it was just the lighting. I never really thought of my hair as red. My cousin Tiffany had red hair, curly, bright, and eye catching. I thought of mine as a subtler ginger, almost but not quite blond, at least during the summer months. I gathered my hair back as I stuck pins in it.
“Fine, Scott. You know Cher’s going to be impossible. She’ll try so hard not to say the wrong thing I’ll end up strangling her.” Scott chuckled softly.
“Just stay close to Kitty. She’ll keep Cheryl in check for you. And try to relax and enjoy yourself.”
“I will not relax,” I replied, raising my eyebrows in emphasis. “I refuse to like that Juliana Rhodes person. And I’m not going to have a good time. Don’t even suggest it.”
“That’s the attitude,” he said, chuckling, and for the moment, enjoying my indignation over his treatment.
“Kitty’s uncomfortable about what happened. She thinks I blame her because Joe agreed with his partners about bringing this Rhodes woman in. She could hardly look at me during her pool party on Saturday. It was extremely awkward. I was almost tempted to hide in the bathroom, or to sneak off, but I couldn’t show my back to that group. And all anyone talked about is how talented that woman is, and how it’s such a coup for the firm to get her. Can you believe it? They actually used the word coup.” I stuck the last pin in my hair with too much enthusiasm and managed to stab my scalp. I blinked as tears came to my eyes making me worry over my eye makeup. I quickly dabbed my eyes with a tissue, rescuing my mascara.
“You just have to meet her, that’s all, and this whole nightmare will be over,” he assured me.
“I’m going to hold you to that. Thirty minutes, that’s all I’m giving this party. I’ll be waiting by the door for you.” Scott didn’t respond. “I’m serious. We need to make a statement. Honestly, we shouldn’t be going at all.”
“I know you’d handle this differently, Lise, but you’re going to have to trust me here.”
“Jacobs has been dangling that carrot in front of our noses for five years, Scott. I’ve tolerated his inappropriate comments and wandering hands, and you’ve worked until all hours of the night more times than I can count. And then you’re passed over without even the courtesy of an explanation. It’s wrong. This entire situation is wrong.”
“Just get through tonight with me and we don’t have to do any more work related socializing for a while.” Scott looked tired. My complaints probably weren’t making it any easier for him.
“I’m sorry, Scottie.” He met my eyes in the mirror, his expression softening. “I’m making it worse, aren’t I?” He smiled.
“No, you never make anything worse, Lise.” He placed his hand on the back of my neck. “You almost ready? I don’t want to get there too late.” I went back into my closet to get my black dress. I lifted the hanger and walked out with it. “You’re wearing that?” he asked, raising his eyebrows and grinning.
I stopped and glanced at the dress I’d chosen. I’d meant to select my new black gown, the one with the long slit up the leg. Instead I held a scrap of a dress that was cut almost to my navel in the front. The back was even less substantial. I’d bought it while shopping with Kitty the previous spring, planning to wear it to one of Cheryl’s themed galas, the roaring twenties. I’d intended to have some fringe added so it would resemble a flapper’s dress. In the end I thought better of it and wore something more conservative. As I eyed the dress a sharp current of rebellion whipped through me.
“What do you mean? What’s wrong with this dress?” I met Scott’s eyes, daring him to argue.
“Jacobs might have a heart attack.”
“Good,” I said sharply. “Then I won’t mind the party as much.”
“And the other wives will whisper about you.” I laughed.
“Maybe then I won’t be invited to another one of these absurd galas.”
“Like it or not, you’ll always be on the guest list, hun.” I rolled my eyes in response to that awful thought.
I slipped into the dress and surveyed myself in the mirror. I’d never worn anything quite so revealing in public. I took a deep breath, picked up my evening bag and glanced over at Scott expectantly.
***
As I walked into the party, I skirted past Cheryl and Bruce Weiner. They were waiting to greet us near the doorway, but I managed to avoid them. Scott received a slap on the back from that old goat, Jacobs, and I narrowly missed being trapped as well. I snuck around the group of my dearest friends, trying not to be noticed. As I caught my reflection in a mirror I froze. My jaw was set, my eyes steely. I hardly recognized myself. The cut of my dress was possibly even more extreme than I’d realized, my light skin standing out against the darkness of the material. I straightened my posture and made an effort to soften my expression as I crossed to a quiet corner, away from everyone, prepared to wait the evening out.
When I raised my gaze to survey the crowd again, I realized I’d caught the attention of one of the other guests, a girl appearing to be in her early twenties, with dark curly hair and intense coal-black eyes. When I returned her stare my stomach tensed, becoming suddenly hollow and tingly inside. She continued to appraise me, unabashedly, her gaze deliberately traveling the length of me. When she held my eyes again a gentle smile lifted the corners of her mouth. Without intending to, I took a step toward her, but then I stopped, glancing down at my feet with curiosity. When I looked back up, Joe Walsh was approaching the girl with a flute of champagne. Her attention shifted to him as she inclined her head, accepting his offering.
I watched, transfixed, as he led her over to Kitty. The girl gracefully lifted the flute of champagne to her lips as Kitty spoke. She responded, but then her gaze escaped back to me. My heart started thumping harder in my chest and my body temperature rose a couple of degrees as I experienced what I could only imagine a hot flash must feel like, though I was more than a decade too young for menopause. I stepped back into the corner for support, both hands bracing the solid surface of the wall, waiting for my body to rebalance. Kitty was laughing and placed her hand on the girl’s arm. She stiffened visibly, and then gestured boldly, breaking Kitty’s hold of her. That’s when I noticed the wrist brace the girl was wearing.
Scott discovered my hiding place in the corner and couldn’t resist coming over to chastise me. I was so wrapped up in studying the girl that his approach escaped my notice. He took me by the arm and led me out of the corner, as if I were a recalcitrant child.
“Lise, why are you hiding?”
“I’m not,” I protested. “I’m just hot. I’m trying to cool off away from all of that body heat.” Scott offered a skeptical glance, obviously not buying my story.
“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s barely over sixty degrees in here.” I glared at him. “I don’t want everyone thinking we feel we have to hide from them because of what’s happened. I have to work with these people.”
“Why am I sweating?” I whispered, more to myself than to Scott. “I think I may be coming down with something.” He shook his head.
“I’ll get you a drink. It’ll help you relax,” he replied, leaving me happily alone for the moment.
I touched my forehead to confirm it was in fact damp. I wasn’t imagining this bizarre reaction within my body. Out of compulsion, I lifted my gaze to the girl again. She was truly beautiful, and extremely poised for being so young. She smiled sweetly as Bruce Weiner joined their little group. Her profile was almost perfect, marred only by a tiny bump across the bridge of her nose. From the slight imperfection of her nose, my focus shifted to her lips. They were full, even sensual some might say, inviting. She bit the corner of her lower lip as her dark eyes inevitably returned to me. I started feeling dizzy from the heat and took several deep breaths trying to relax.
Scott came up next to me offering me a drink. I took a sip and had to force myself to swallow. The drink had bourbon in it. I was tempted to remind Scott that I loathe bourbon, but I controlled myself. I forced another sip, trying not to gag, numbing myself to the strange disorientation I was experiencing. The party had been a bad idea.
“You do look a little flushed,” Scott observed. “Let’s get the introduction over with and take you home.” I shook my head in an effort to clear it.
“All right. I’m ready. Where is she?” He laughed as I scanned the party searching for the woman who’d ruined my life.
“I thought you knew.” I cut my eyes to his. “Lise, you’ve been staring at the woman since we arrived.” I closed my eyes, unwilling to accept the obvious.
“That’s not possible. How old is she?” I scrutinized her again, wanting to find something to hate about her. “She’s just a child,” I whispered.
“Maybe, but that child’s my new boss.” My jaw tightened almost painfully as I glared at her. When her gaze returned to me, as it had been doing constantly, an expression of confusion transformed her features. Her dark eyes shifted to Scott and she looked away quickly. “Come, I’ll introduce you.”
My feet remained rooted. Scott placed his hand in the small of my back and guided me forward. “This is a bad idea,” I replied. “I shouldn’t meet her. I’m not sure what will happen,” I said under my breath.
“Don’t be so melodramatic, Lise. What’s gotten in to you tonight? Just offer the woman a quick greeting and we’ll go.”
“All right, but please, stay close to me.”
As we took the last few steps toward them, Bruce Weiner caught Scott’s attention and he turned away from me, leaving me standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, between several conversations but too mentally scattered to join any of them. My eyes moved over the girl’s dark hair. Some part of me wanted to run my fingers through it. I clenched my fists and tried to shake off that last thought. I overheard Scott behind me. “Bruce, my man, how was the game today?”
Their conversation was about golf, which meant my husband was lost to me. I looked up as Kitty made eye contact and beckoned me with a quick tilt of her head. I took one hesitant step, and then Joe moved past me, squeezing my shoulder in greeting, before joining Scott and Bruce to discuss their day on the golf course. Another couple of steps and I was next to Kitty and Juliana Rhodes. I took a deep breath, refusing to make eye contact, working to appear composed and confident, though I felt anything but. Before I could decide whether to flee, or make an effort at conversation, her silky voice intruded into my mind.
“You must be Elise Cabot.” As I met her eyes an overwhelming awareness of my own vulnerability pervaded my senses, leaving me slightly unsteady. Suddenly the sounds of the room became less present. I stared at her red lips and licked my own.
“I must be,” I quipped, smiling to cover my disorientation, and struggling not to touch her. “And you’re Juliana Rhodes.” She nodded, returning my smile with her more genuine version.
“Lise, sweetie, I’ve been trying like mad to get your attention for twenty minutes. What were you doing hiding over there in the corner by yourself?” Kitty scolded. I shrugged, unable to speak.
“I’ve been admiring your dress,” the girl offered, her gaze shifting from my legs to my chest and then back to my eyes.
“You and every red-blooded man in this room,” Kitty retorted, chuckling. “I think I prefer what you wore to my pool party Saturday. Your bathing suit would be far more appropriate for this function, sweetie, and less revealing.” Juliana tensed next to me, an eyebrow lifting as she appraised Kitty.
“Probably,” I admitted.
“If I had your shoulders I’d show them off too,” Juliana said, coming to my defense.
“Showing off your shoulders is one thing. Coming to one of Cheryl Weiner’s galas in a flimsy handful of black fabric, that’s something else,” Kitty replied, winking at me so I’d know she was only teasing. “If I were you I’d avoid Cher tonight. You know Bruce has always had a soft spot for you. Well, his gaze has hardly left you since you arrived. I assure you, it hasn’t gone unnoticed by Cheryl.”
I gazed down at my dress, my stomach tightening slightly with regret, and then raised my eyes to Juliana. I could tell by the way she watched Kitty, with those sharp dark eyes and tension in her body as if she were holding herself in check, that she was becoming incensed.
“You’re injured,” I said in an effort to change the subject, more for Kitty’s sake than my own. Juliana’s sharp gaze shifted from Kitty down to her wrist and she sighed.
“Yes. The reason I’m wearing this suit,” the girl replied. “I had some free time Saturday, so I decided to rent a mountain bike and explore the Elk Mountains.” I stared at her perfect, heart shaped, red lips as she spoke. “I guess proficiency on a road bike doesn’t equate to even marginal competence on a mountain bike. I’m apparently hopeless. I hit my front brake instead of my back one when I came down over a rocky patch, and flew over the handlebars. I caught myself with my left hand.” She lifted her wrist to show the brace.
“Is it broken?” I asked. She frowned slightly as she appraised her wrist.
“It is. And, unfortunately, it completely disrupted what I planned to wear tonight.” Juliana cut her dark eyes to Kitty. “I have this vibrant red dress. It comes to about here.” With her finger Juliana indicated a ridiculously short skirt length near the top of her thigh. I couldn’t help but grin at