Page 32 of Kiss Me at Midnight
“We only planned on dating until tomorrow.” Lily glared at Jud. “But this changes everything.”
“Oh. Couples create dating plans now.” Grandma Dotty smoothing Lily’s hair over her ears, using both hands while murmuring, “Bedhead.” And then she crossed her skinny arms. “What happens in twenty-four hours? Does Jud propose? Do you upgrade to fiancée?”
Jud pushed his glasses up his nose. “She agrees to meet my parents.”
“That’s not likely.” Lily huffed even though a tiny voice in her head went,“Squee!”
“I didn’t think you were a quitter,” Jud said, still in that tight, angry voice.
Lily tried not to let that go to her head. She’d like to quit, more than anything.
“This has to do with the cage dancing, doesn’t it?” Grandma Dotty sat on her bed, a morose expression on her face. “You don’t want people to think that’s who you are. Oh, my dear, sweet girl. That’s not how the world works.”
“Cage dancing?” Jud quirked his brows. “Did I miss something?”
“No.” Lily didn’t want to tell him about her past, so she hid in her future. “I serve on committees for the state for children and families, for health, and for education. I want to move to the ethics and guidance committee. And someday, I want to be the first female mayor of New York City.” That hadn’t come out as strongly as she’d have liked. Regardless… “Pictures like this aren’t going to help me do any of that.”
“But they might help you get re-elected.” Jud tapped his chest with his thumb. “Imight help you get re-elected. If you date me, more people will know your name.”
“He’s got a point,” Grandma Dotty shook her finger at Lily. “But you’re glossing over the past. And you shouldn’t. Not when you’ve got a dating plan with Jud.”
“She’s right. We’re in this together.” Jud took Lily by the shoulders and gave her a gentle shake. “It’s one picture, babe. And we were fully clothed.”
Lily shook her head. “You were in a towel and I was in a bathrobe.”
“Tell him,” Grandma Dotty urged. And by the determined look on her face, Lily assumed if she didn’t obey that her grandmother would spill the beans.
“Okay.” Lily gave Jud a condensed version of the runaway events.
“What happened between the time Rachel left and you came back home?” Leave it to Jud to notice the gap in Lily’s story.
“I made my way home.” Lily held out her hands. “Can we focus on the picture problem? Abe sold that photograph. What’s to keep him from selling another?” If a hot tub picture went viral… Lily shook her head, dropping her hands before Jud noticed they were shaking. “Pack your things, Grandma. We’re leaving.” Before the situation got worse.
And there were so many ways it could get worse.
“That’s not the way to handle this.” Jud put his arm around Lily. “We have to control the narrative. And to do that, we have to think logically about who would release that picture. It wasn’t Abe. What does he have to gain from it?”
“You think it’s Rachel.” Lily slid from his side and slapped a hand to her forehead. “Of course, it’s Rachel. Her and that stupid intervention. She must know something isn’t right about us dating. Look at us. No one would pair us together.”
“I would,” Grandma Dotty said.
“I would, too,” Jud insisted. “Rachel probably knows Abe doesn’t want her to get married again and that we were the only suckers to show. She probably realizes we’re only here for the paycheck and she resents us…you.”
“Aha!” Grandma Dotty pointed at Lily. “And that’s whatLaw and Ordercalls motive.”
A feeling of doom filled Lily’s chest. “If Rachel knows we’re trying to stop the wedding, she’s not going to stop with one picture. I mean, the web site saidstay tuned for more.Rachel has more access to gossip sites than all of us combined. And last night…The hot tub.”
“One of those ugly lights is there, too.” Jud nodded grimly. “Do you think they have audio?”
“She better not.” Lily growled in frustration. She did a quick, mental replay of the night’s highlights and grabbed Jud’s arm. “Hang on. Last night when Paulo showed up…I thought I heard him wrong when he saidyou need air. I thought he was saying he needed space. But he must have meantyouas in you and me. You two need air.” Away from the camera.
Jud’s expression turned thunderous. “If he saw us in the hot tub–”
“He also enjoyed a musical rendition ofThe Music Man.” Grandma Dotty stared into the distance, smiling. “That must have been entertaining.”
Lily wasn’t smiling. “Should I thank Paulo for intervening or slug him for being a voyeur?”
Jud was breathing heavily. “Let me strike the first blow.”
