Tomorrow Will Be Too Late (29 page)

Soon they reached
Interstate
90, connecting Mercer Island with the inland, the blue of the water incredibly vivid in the setting sunlight. Kate inhaled deeply the fresh
,
slightly
salty breeze that came from the ocean and ruffled her hair. Everything seemed almost unreal in the golden pinkish haze, the screeching of the seagulls adding to the vacation
-
like atmosphere. She liked being back home, she thought
,
almost surprised by this sudden outpour
ing
of local solidarity she had rarely experienced. Her two years in Australia had been wonderful
,
and she appreciated the rough and intense beauty of the land Down Under, never ceasing to be amazed by the vivid red of the soil and the lush beauty of the local flora.
It was exhilaratingly beautiful and interesting
,
but at the same time she
hadn’t realized
how much she missed the green and the cool of the West Coast.
Even the blue of the water had a hue of green to it, she thought now as they drove deeper
into
the island to Faben Point, where Lucas resided. The lush greenness of the trees and lawns and the mild air that offered soothing coolness even on the hottest of days weren’t something to be duplicated anywhere else in the world, she thought
,
her throat tightening with emotion.

She was getting overly
sentimental
, she scolded herself instantly, embarrassed by this sudden outburst of civic pride. It was beautiful here, but then again, why shouldn’t it be? They were driving into the
crème de la crème
of the island, the beauty of the properties matched by the insane price tags, as far as she knew.

Lucas’
s
home proved to be no
exception
. Arriving at the large,
wrought
iron
gate offered her the first glimpse of his impressive property, the
canopy
of the large stately palm trees lining the long driveway to the hidden
-
away house just the beginning. The landscaping vision of including just
a
touch of the tropics by mixing them with the local green cedars in regular intervals worked beautifully. Tall smooth trunks gleamed whitish grey in the setting sunlight, the dark green
fronds
vibrant
in the light of the strategically placed in
-
ground lamps casting their warm golden shine upward.

‘Don’t ask how they manage to survive the winters
here.’
Justin’s voice held a note of amusement as he watched her awe
-
struck gaze follow the hypnotic movement of the large frayed leaves, ruffled by the picking
-
up evening breeze. ‘But they do, judging by the size of them.’

‘It’s so beautiful
.
’
She
smiled, shaking her head in amazement. ‘
Feels
just like in Australia
,
minus the heat and the bugs.’

‘
Keep
the thought for
Lucas
,
’
he
said with a grin
as the driveway broadened, the trees replaced by sprawling lawns and low, perfectly manicured hedges. The house stood at the
end of the road, ablaze with lit windows. It was getting darker
,
and the walls of the
R
oman
-
style villa took on
a
pink hue, warm and inviting. Slender columns and porticos blended well into the pure, clean lines of the house
,
making it seem light and airy even with its impressive size.

M
usic and laughter
spilled
out of the open doors, Kate
’s
ears picking up the familiar sound of Beethoven’s concerto.

‘Here we are, for better or for worse
.’ T
he car came to a
standstill,
parked between two impressive machines in the round driveway on the side of the house. She could tell Justin felt at home
in
this place, his
friendly grin
for
the uniformed man who seemed to have materialized out of thin air at their side met with a corresponding grin.

‘Welcome, sir
and madam
.’ She felt Justin’s arm sneak around her shoulders, a gesture she welcomed in its reassurance.
It felt good to feel him close, she thought, the grandeur of the place and the
worries about what would happen next filling her with trepidation. The warmth of his palm against the skin of her back was real and tangible, offering support in the world of lies and
pretenses
she was about to enter.

They walked up
to
the impressive door, led by the butler who chatted pleasantly with Justin. It felt absolutely weird to have this kind of welcome, she had to think, even Tom’s family
’s
posh attitude paling in comparison.

‘It was Marcy’s idea
.
’ Justin’s whisper tickled the fine hair behind her ear, as he
leaned
closer, his voice conspiratorial. ‘Lucas isn’t much into all this stuff, but whatever she wants, goes.’

They reached the marble stairs leading to the impressive main door. It stood open,
the cream and pink-veined stone basking in
the warm glow of
light.

As if on cue, a man appeared
at
the top of the stairs, his solitary figure in a white jacket and dark pants
matching the elegance of the place. Even before he waved at them, his face joyous to see Justin, she knew it must be their host, Lucas. Rather short and a bit on the heavy side, he grinned widely, the gap between his front teeth giving him a boyish appearance that was very charming.

‘Finally
.
I thought you might cancel on me after all
.
’
With
three steps
,
he closed the distance between
them,
his grey eyes going
to Kate with one quick assessing
glance. He might look rather unimpressive, but he was definitely observant and eager to make his opinion of her, she realized.
And
,
she noticed, he seemed a bit nervous, her own heightened state of awareness making it easy to pick up
on
the vibes. She had a pretty good idea what the reason might be. Slim, dark haired
,
and elegant, it was lurking somewhere deep inside his house, ready to strike like a cobra.

Lucas
thanked
his butler
politely, his
courteous
behavior something she instantly liked. He seemed like a decent man, she decided, the hand she shook in introduction warm and firm.

‘I’m so glad to meet you
.’ H
e smiled at her, only the tiniest
hint of
worry
coloring his voice. ‘
Ever
since Justin admitted to
having
a
girlfriend
, I have to say we’ve all
been
eaten by curiosity who it
might
be. Now that I see you, I feel better
already
.
Marcy will be waiting for us inside, so please come in.
’

‘
Hey
, what did you expect? I always go for the best, don’t
I
?’ B
efore she knew what happened, Justin’s lips were on hers, the brief kiss taking her by surprise. Automatically, she responded, kissing him back. It
was an impulse
,
a
totally
instinctive reaction that had nothing to do with her acting skills and the part she was supposed to play.

She hoped he
hadn’t noticed
,
risking a look at his face.
Right away
,
she realized she had nothing to worry about. His attention was totally arrested with something else, past Lucas’s shoulder
, in the house.
She felt his fingers tightening on her arm, digging almost painfully into the soft flesh. He was looking ahead, his face set in stone. She followed his gaze, already knowing what she was about to see, even before her eyes rested on the slim silhouette appearing in the brightly lit doorway.

‘Hello, Justin
.
’
T
he husky voice carried a promise
that couldn’t be misread. ‘I was looking forward to seeing you again, darling.’ Stepping closer, Victoria smiled at Kate, the little condescending smirk accompanying her words. ‘And you
too
, of
course. We’ve
got a lot of catching up to do, don’t you think?’

‘What are you doing here?’ H
e knew it wasn’t the cleverest of questions, but at the moment
,
he
didn’t really care. Seeing Victoria glare at Kate with such malicious disdain crumbled
his entire
wish to remain civil and play along, if only for the sake of Lucas and Kate who were visibly uncomfortable.
He wanted her to disappear, he thought angrily, to go back into the
hellhole
she had crawled out from to make his life miserable
a
second time around.

Because he had plans for this weekend
, p
lans that involved Kate and himself, with no room for the hiccups from his failed relationship. He
had
had enough time to think it through as he
lay
sleepless in his bed, fighting the urge to call her and take her up on her offer of
no-strings-attached
sex. It
had
worked once, so what on earth was stopping him from repeating it again?

‘I was invited by Marcy, what else?’ Victoria was speaking again, her lovely face a picture of innocence. She might have fooled anyone, himself included, in the past.
The
downcast set of eyes, the slightly trembling mouth. A picture of a woman struggling to hide her sadness and trying to deal with the undeserved harshness of his
voice
.
Only
by now,
he knew better
.

‘Very convenient
.
’
He
nodded, his arm still around Kate’s shoulder. He could feel her tenseness
betraying
her inner agitation. For her sake and Lucas’
s
as
well, he had to remain cool and civil, he told himself, his face stretching into a polite,
non-committal
smile reserved for distant
acquaintances
. After all, wasn’t that exactly what they were now? She
had done
a hell of a job to bring it to this point two years ago, even that description of their relationship a polite understatement.

‘Well, I hope you’re having a great time, Vic.’ He spoke quietly, the dismissal in his voice unmistakable. ‘
If
you
’ll
excuse us, I need to show Kate around.’

‘Oh, the guided tour, of course
.’ S
he
smiled,
her face wintry enough to freeze over the water of the bay, visible
on the other end of the house. ‘I remember
that
part very well, Justin.
’

She didn’t try stopping them, to his surprise. Her eyes narrowed minutely
as
she watched them walk away, a ghost of a smi
le playing around her full lips. Something told him this was just the beginning.

He felt Lucas’
s
relief, radiating in waves as they walked together to the main entertaining area
at
the back of the house.
F
our pairs of
huge
French doors opened
onto
a paved back patio set with tables, chairs
,
and two huge barbe
c
ue stations. The scent of charcoal and smoke hung in the air, the mixture of food fragrances and the fresh salty breeze making him realize how hungry he really was.

‘Let me find Marcy real quick. She had picked the room for you two. She must be somewhere around.’ Lucas sounded just as embarrassed as he looked, the earlier exchange visibly shaking his laid
-
back attitude. Well, at least he could rest assured his friend was not onto this Machiavellian
plan,
Justin thought wryly, watching him walk out in search of his spouse.