Tender Deception: A Novel of Romance (25 page)

After the exciting weekend in Sacramento, she returned to San Francisco. She had rented a room there. It was a modest place, a far cry from the luxurious Victorian mansion she had shared with Kirk Remington. But she was satisfied and comfortable enough. The ceilings were high, the closet spacious. And the bay window looked down on the trolley car track. All during the day, she could hear the cheerful jangle of bells as the cable cars rumbled past under her window.

After she was settled, she wrote long letters to Raven and Glenn Marshall. To Raven, she confided her feelings about seeing Jimmy again. She described the Sacramento jazz concerts, and the thrill of coming face to face with Jimmy LaCross. “My masquerade is working!” she wrote. “Jimmy didn’t recognize me. Now I plan to visit The Landing, where he’s playing. I plan to do a little subtle flirting! Pray for me, Raven....”

To Glenn Marshall, she wrote, “I’m happy and comfortable in my new quarters here. I have enough reserve so money is not an immediate problem. But I plan to start looking for work before it gets to be a problem!”

She had success almost immediately in that area. Before the first week was over, she had auditioned for a job at a piano bar at a businessmen’s dinner club that had recently opened. She would play from seven-thirty to eleven-thirty in the evening with Sunday and Monday nights off. Since Jimmy’s band played until one
A.M
., she could hurry over to The Landing any night when she got off work to catch the last hour of his performance.

She used her new name, Billie Smith, at her job. The name was on a placard at the entrance to the cocktail lounge. “Billie Smith at the Piano.”

When the matter of supporting herself was taken care of, she made plans to see Jimmy again. Her strategy required a suitable dress. She spent a day shopping and decided on a red knit that was ideal for a brunette in the chilly San Francisco climate. The fabric was soft and lustrous. The design was classic and could be dressed up or down depending upon the occasion. It was a pullover dress with a ruffled edge around a “V” neckline and surplice front. The shirred, drop-front shoulders joined long sleeves with ruffled, elasticized wrists.

The dress made her feel utterly feminine. She stared at her reflection in the fitting room mirror with a sense of unreality. As difficult as it had been for her to adjust to the new appearance of her face, living as a brunette after being a blonde all her life was equally difficult. However, she had to admit that the darker hair went well with the new, slightly oriental slant of her eyes.

That night she caught a cab to The Landing when she finished her stint at the piano. It happened to be a slow night and she was able to find a table not far from the band. But it soon became obvious that Jimmy was not going to see her. She had to make herself more obvious. The chance didn’t come until the band played its closing theme for the evening. Jimmy left the stand and stopped at the bar for a nightcap.

Lilly gathered her courage and moved to where he was sitting. “Good evening, Mr. LaCross,” she murmured.

He turned. “Hi.” For a moment his face was blank. Then he exclaimed, “Hey, you’re the Charleston dancer.” He grinned.

As usual, when she was near him, warmth stole through her heart. “So you remembered me.”

“Sure. Are you kidding? A neat-looking chick like you? Why wouldn’t I remember? How did you like the records?”

“Fine.”

He glanced over her shoulder. “You, ah—here with a date?”

“No,” she said, looking directly at him.

He grinned again. “What’s the matter with the guys in this city? How did they overlook you?”

She smiled, growing warmer at the obvious interest he was showing.

Jimmy said, “Well, under the circumstances, how about having a drink with me, then?”

“All right.”

She took a seat beside him.

He ordered a drink, then turned to her, giving her a thoughtful look again. “I’ve been trying to think where I saw you before. It’s been bugging me ever since I met you in Sacramento. Are you certain we never met before?”

She looked down at her drink. “Certain,” she murmured. “You’re mistaken, Mr. LaCross.”

“Hey. All my friends call me Jimmy.”

“All right—Jimmy.”

“Let me see, you’re—”

“Billie Smith.”

“Sure. I remember now.”

They chatted over the drinks. Lilly was amused at the obvious line Jimmy was handing her. He hadn’t changed since high school. He still radiated charm, as irresistible as ever. The Irish would say he had kissed the Blarney Stone.

Of course, it was the way he charmed all the girls. When she had been Lilly Parker, Jimmy had treated her with a kind of amused, protective air. Now, she was like one of the pep squad leaders who rode around their home town in his convertible. He found her attractive. She was a target for his appeal.

Jimmy...Jimmy
, her heart smiled,
you don’t have to work overtime to charm me. I succumbed to you a long time ago. All you have to do is ask and I’ll say yes.

Yes to what? Once before, in New Orleans, she had been ready to invite him into her room. But she had been more cautious then. She had been afraid to trust herself to him. She had wanted something more permanent than she thought Jimmy could give her. Kirk had offered her that—marriage. And look what it had gotten her!

Now she was bitter and disillusioned. Nothing was permanent. If Jimmy wanted her, she was in a reckless mood to live only for the moment. Perhaps in Jimmy’s arms, she would forget the heartbreak Kirk had brought to her life.

When the club closed, Jimmy took her to her rooming house in a cab. On her doorstep, he kissed her.

She slipped her arm around his neck. “Don’t rush me, please, Jimmy? I have fallen for you in a big way. But give me just a little more time. Okay?”

For a moment he looked frustrated, but then fell back on his easygoing, cheerful manner. “Okay. So I’ll play it cool.” He kissed her again.

She closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth of his kiss, being held.... When the kiss ended, she reached up and brushed back the unruly lock of hair from his forehead. “I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time,” she whispered.

He gave her a puzzled look. “What do you mean, a ‘long time’?”

“Never mind. You wouldn’t understand.”

He continued to look puzzled. “You’re a strange little chick. But you’ve sure got me turned on.”

He kissed her again and his hand moved up to cup her breast. She put her fingers over his hand. She let him caress her for a moment and felt a poignant sweetness, being close to him. She closed her eyes, swaying closer, feeling the warmth of his body.

But then, something intruded. A pair of dark, probing eyes flashed into her mind. Suddenly, Kirk’s face was there, as clear as if he were standing between them.

A shiver ran through her body. She pulled away from Jimmy. “Good night, Jimmy,” she whispered and fled up the stairs to her room.

Long after she had gone to bed, she stared up at the dark ceiling, her emotions in confused disarray. She was furious at herself for allowing the memory of Kirk to intrude that way. She owed no loyalty to Kirk. She hated him!

She had made the decision when Jimmy asked to drive her home, to sleep with him tonight. This was to have been the start of a new Lilly Parker. Her face was different. Her voice was different. She had a new name. And there was going to be a different man in her life. She intended to erase the memory of Kirk Remington from her existence.

Was he going to continue to haunt her forever?

She rolled over and pounded her fist into her pillow with mingled frustration and anger.

* * * * * * *

The following night, she went to work at the usual time. This was a club that catered to business executives. Often they came here to relax after a board meeting or to sit in a corner and discuss a business deal. For the most part, they ignored her. She was just part of the setting. She didn’t have to contend with the kinds of drunks who often hung around piano bars.

Tonight, as she played, she became conscious of one of the men in a group seated at a table. He was staring at her. When she glanced in his direction, her fingers turned to ice. She saw an olive complexion, heavy eyebrows, a pair of jet black eyes that drove searing rays into the depths of her being.

The man staring at her was Kirk Remington.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

He suddenly rose and headed straight for the piano bar. Lilly became stiff with consternation. Had he recognized her? What would she say? She was not emotionally prepared for a confrontation with Kirk. Where he was concerned her emotions were still too raw.

He took a seat at the bar, placing his drink before him. She felt his gaze fixed on her.

She fought a terrified impulse to leap up and run out of the room. What had possessed her to take a job at a club frequented by business executives? She should have considered the possibility that Kirk would come here. The anonymity afforded by a big city had made her too complacent.

She used all of her willpower to continue playing. She tried to convince herself,
Jimmy didn’t recognize you. There is no reason why Kirk should unless you panic and give yourself away.

She glanced up, catching sight of her reflection in a mirror behind the room’s main bar. She tried to gain reassurance from the face that stared back at her. It was not the face of Kirk’s wife, she assured herself. He couldn’t possibly see through her masquerade, and yet he continued to stare at her.

She finished the melody she was playing. Kirk spoke to her. “Miss, may I make a request?”

“Y—yes.”

“Do you know the
Moonlight Sonata
?”

Of course she did, but she dared not play it. It had been Kirk’s favorite, those nights she had played for him when they were living together. The association would be too strong, the risk too great. It might be the clue that would make him see through her masquerade and recognize her identity.

“No,” she murmured. “I’m sorry. I don’t know it. Is there anything else you’d like to hear?” She avoided looking at him, gazing instead at her fingers that roamed nervously over the keyboard.

“No. Whatever you want to play is fine. You’re very good.”

“Thank you,” she mumbled.

He sat at the bar for the next two hours. He didn’t make any more requests or speak to her again. He just sat there listening, lost in his own thoughts.

It was the worst two hours of her lifetime. She went home that night a nervous wreck. She had wondered how she would react if she ever saw Kirk again. Now she knew. All the emotions she had buried awoke in a raging storm—hurt, anger, jealousy...and bitter heartbreak.

She prayed he would not return the next night, but he did. This time he made no effort to speak to her. He just sat there in brooding silence, listening to her play, drinking steadily.

Before the evening was over, she had made up her mind that she would have to give the club owner her notice and try to find a job someplace else. But Kirk did not come back the following night.

Lilly regained an uneasy peace of mind. But she couldn’t feel totally secure. Kirk often had to fly out of town on business. Was that the reason he hadn’t returned to the club on the third night? Would he come back again when his business was completed and he returned to San Francisco?

Jimmy called, asking her to meet him again one night when his band finished playing for the evening. She was so unnerved, she put him off until the weekend. By then Kirk had not come back. She relaxed enough to meet Jimmy again.

On Sunday, Lilly experienced a spell of loneliness. She needed to talk with a friend, and her best friend was hundreds of miles away in Albuquerque. She decided to phone Raven.

“Lilly!” Raven cried when she heard her voice. “Gee, it’s good to hear you. I got your letter, but it didn’t tell me a whole lot. I’ve been hoping every day to get a longer letter from you.”

“I really feel guilty about that,” Lilly apologized humbly. “Raven, I’ve been selfish, I know. But so much has been happening, I couldn’t seem to get my thoughts organized to write a letter. I guess I’m not very good at letter writing anyway. That’s why I decided to phone instead.”

“I’m so glad you did! How are you? I guess you know Glenn Marshall has called me every day wanting to know if I’ve heard from you again.”

“Please tell him I’m fine. My health is entirely back to normal. I have plenty of energy to walk up these San Francisco hills. And the cool temperature out here is invigorating.”

“He’ll be glad to hear that. Be sure and keep on taking your vitamins. You don’t have any more of those headaches do you?”

“I haven’t had a single one since my memory returned.”

Lilly spent a few minutes telling her friend about her new living quarters and the job she’d found.

Then she said, “Raven, I told you in my letter I’d seen Jimmy in Sacramento where his band was playing at a big jazz festival.”

“Did he suspect who you were?”

“No! My masquerade worked! He told me I reminded him of someone, but he never suspected my identity. As far as Jimmy is concerned, I’m a new person, a woman he has just met.”