Page 41 of The Heiress
“A sliver,” Phoenix said, “but that’s way more than usual. I think she’s been existing on tea.” He clenched his fists nervously. “I think you’re good for her. I know she likes you.”
I appreciated the compliment and smiled, discreetly blotting at the corners of my eyes “Thank you. I like her too. But you two seem to get along great. I don’t see any conflict?”
Phoenix stared back at that spot behind me, allowing himself no mercy. “No, I’ve been a jerk to her, I’ve laid all this guilt on her. I’ve hurt her.” There was a sudden influx of tears and his voice cracked. “But now she does it to herself.”
I stood before him, taking hold of his clenched hands, stroking the tension out of them. He seemed to understand and eased off his seat and I wrapped my arms around his waist, careful to avoid his hip and pelvic area. I had no words, no advice—heck, my own life was a mess—but one thing I could do was be there for him.
Our hearts beat in sync, our chests rising and falling in rhythm and a wave of warmth washed over me as his fingers traced through the ends of my hair. Engulfed by his fresh fragrance, I tilted my head back and steadied myself, lips slightly parted as I wondered what it would feel like to kiss Phoenix.
My only experience with kissing had been a fleeting summer romance in the Hamptons. Thane was from Florida, the son of a friend of a friend of one of Dad’s business colleagues. It was a fun time of beach barbecues, sailing, and swimming in the pool on hot, humid nights, but we knew it was only for a few weeks. The kisses had been sweet but with no emotional attachment, assembly line kisses I’d called them—mechanical, efficient and kind of a one-size-fits-all. I was under no illusions that I was the only girl Thane had been kissing over the summer.
The sound of the front doorbell ringing caused me to jump, the unexpected chime like a fog horn in the night. I backed away from Phoenix like a kid caught reading on their phone after lights-out. (Mrs. Pritchard was well-known for springing sneaky random checks on the dorm.)
“Must be the food,” Phoenix said matter-of-factly, now dry eyed. He headed to the door, seemingly unaware that I’d been swooning in his arms and dreaming about his luscious lips. I shuddered in an attempt to restore my blood flow and ran my hand through my hair and straightened my sweatshirt.
Phoenix suggested we eat in the living room since his mother wasn’t home. This appeared to be a bit of a novelty for him. He turned on the television and scrolled through the channels, stopping on a tennis match. He said it was the Davis Cup, an annual international teams event in mens tennis. He put his food on his lap and looked like he was set for the rest of the evening. I worried about eating on the pale gray couch while wearing white pants, so told Phoenix I’d eat in the kitchen. He nodded, already enthralled by the game on the screen, and seemed to have forgotten the tender moment we’d shared. I could only be thankful that the doorbell had prevented me from making a fool of myself.
After finishing my meal, I poured myself a glass of water, intending to ask Phoenix if he wanted a drink. Coming down the hallway, I could hear him talking so I waited outside the door.
He was speaking in intermittent phrases,Yeah, sure. Okay. Uh-huh. Yep, that’s fine,like he was doing more listening than talking. Then he laughed and said, “Oh, yeah.”
And his voice lowered for his next words. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” and it was followed by a pause, then “Awesome,” and “Can’t wait.” And then the gentlest and softest, “See ya.”
My heart pitter pattered and stirred, wildly jealous of the whisper for someone else. I swallowed, nearly choking on a lump of pride. Silly me for thinking Phoenix didn’t have someone special. Silly me for thinking I could help him out. To him, I was someone who was making a difference to his Mom, who was going through her own battles—yeah, his Mom’s new bestie.
Chapter 13
Phoenix
Elisha changed hermind and said she didn’t want to go in the plunge pool. She had an English Lit essay to complete and she had hardly written a page. I’d been looking forward to it—and not just from a recovery point of view—so it was disappointing to be turned down. And I didn’t want to go in by myself in case I slipped or fell.
I thought things had gone well between us, you know, giving her my hoodie to wear and holding hands and then the hug in the kitchen. I mean, it had been totally unexpected, and I wasn’t declaring my undying love to her or anything, but it had been nice to connect. But apparently none of it meant anything to the ice queen, and now I was regretting spilling my heart to her, because she’d gone up to her room like she was running for the hills. Well, earlier than that—she’d ditched me when our food came, eating on her own in the kitchen. Probably couldn’t get away fast enough from the teary-eyed wimp with a limp.
When the tennis finished, I watched the earlier games that I’d missed. Tennis kept me focused. It meant I didn’t have to think about Elisha, and by the time another three sets had passed, I’d convinced myself I could probably go through the next two days without seeing her at all if I timed things right.
I considered staying up and waiting for Mom. Now that I’d told Elisha about the lawsuit, maybe I needed to tell Mom before Dad sprung it on her. But Mom had been happy for the past few days and I didn’t want to be the one to sink her ship. Dad could be the bad guy, not me.
