Two Weeks in August (27 page)

She stilled immediately and searched hard through the restaurant’s dimness. Was it Hazy? It was hard to tell because every time she spied the person, her companion, another tall blond woman, blocked Nina’s view.

Several moments later, she caught a glimpse of a too-familiar face. It
was
Hazy Duncan.

Chapter 40

She was sitting with another of her conquests, a tall, elegant woman who had matching platinum hair. The new girlfriend was dressed in a simple green dress and it was obvious to Nina that simple was her way; she was so beautiful that she needed no decoration.

They were laughing together and Nina was angered by Hazy’s apparent happiness and nonchalance when she herself felt so badly.

Looking up, Hazy caught her eye and Nina found satisfaction in the shock that registered on her face. The shock was soon replaced by cool animosity and she studiedly turned her face away.

“Nina? What’s wrong?” her father said next to her ear. “I didn’t step on your toe, did I?”

She leaned back and smiled up at him. “Of course not. I just thought of something I need to do later.”

Like knock Hazy’s head off
,
she finished to herself. How could she be out with another woman so quickly after professing to care for her so much?

She had half a mind to seek out Mama New and show her evidence of this scoundrel’s infidelity. Rational thought intruded; she too was guilty in this scenario of infidelity.

She was also out dancing. Still, she was with her family and it galled her to think that after Nina’s rejection of her, Hazy had immediately arranged something with another woman. The bitch!

She craned her neck slightly, trying to get another glimpse of her. Imagine having dinner together out in the public eye! How many times had people warned her about the smallness of the island and how everyone knew everyone else’s business? Hazy was deliberately hurting Mama New by her careless actions.
 
Nina chewed her bottom lip, frustration and hurt filling her completely.

The music ended and she and her father returned to their table. Patrick was watching his daughter closely, as if sensing that something was wrong. Nina tried not to see as he exchanged a puzzled glance with her mother. He bent to his peach cobbler, delivered to their table as they danced.

Nina took a deep sip of water and tried to avoid looking at Hazy’s table. She could feel those bright blue eyes on her though, and she fancied the gaze burned as it touched her bare skin. Unavoidably her eyes were compelled to study Hazy again.

She looked so beautiful this evening. Wearing a short white jacket, tailored to hug her broad shoulders and tight waist, she had countered it with loose trousers of pale linen and a cobalt blue shirt, low cut and rounded at the neck. The shirt was tight and hugged her perfect body closely. Simple but elegant.

She finally realized what was so very different about her appearance; she had pulled her shaggy hair into two decorative combs along the sides of her head, which gave her a very different appearance. The style highlighted her sharp cheekbones and gave her face a more severe, mature air.

Nina imagined she could smell her scent and a strange tingling sensation overtook her body.

Quickly she surveyed her own table. Had anybody noticed? No one was looking at her, so she continued her observation.

Hazy was talking animatedly to the blond woman and Nina’s mind drifted as she watched. Her thoughts flew back to the night they’d shared, when Hazy’s touch had been like a brand marking her skin. It was amazing the heat of this one woman. Perhaps her many hours in the hot sun stockpiled the sun’s energy and she only let it escape after the sun left for the night. She smiled dreamily at the thought. Hazel, the solar storage unit.

Moments later Nina sensed a different type of heat and realized Hazy was eyeing her angrily. She was mortified. She’d caught Nina watching her, caught her mooning like any stupid schoolgirl. Nina tucked her head and saw Mrs. Loreli regarding her closely. It was all a bit too much.

Standing suddenly, Nina excused herself and walked purposefully toward the ladies’ room, praying neither her mother nor Mrs. Loreli would follow. She ran cold water in one of the basins and gingerly patted her face and neck with it.

She definitely needed to cool her ardor. How many more times was she going to make a fool of herself over this ogre of a woman? Hazy must be having a jolly laugh telling her girlfriend about the stupid woman who took her into bed, then rejected her persistent advances outright, and later mooned over her in public places. No, how ridiculous. She would never warn this new victim of her own impending fate.

She felt like such an idiot. Clasping a paper towel to her face, she blamed Hazy. If she didn’t possess such magnetism, Nina wouldn’t be in this predicament.

She studied her reflection in the mirror with jaded eyes. Every time she was near Hazy, she felt as though she were moving through a sensual fog, a fog that made her oblivious to everything around her except Hazy.

Probably the same thing had happened to Mama New several years ago. She probably fell for her when she was married to Newt, unable to help herself. Well, now she was paying the price.

Straightening her clothing and stiffening her spine, Nina checked her appearance one last time in the mirror and opened the door.

A hatefully familiar voice whispered beside her. “Is the ladies’ empty?”

Nina turned toward Hazy, in shock. “What did you say?”

“I said,” she repeated slowly, one palm pressed firmly against the wall of the hall. “Is it empty?” She nodded toward the ladies’ room.

Nina’s mouth quivered and she bit her bottom lip. “Yes, it’s empty. Go right in.”

She turned to return to the dining room but Hazy moved swiftly and grabbed her hard around the waist, propelling her forcibly through the ladies’ room door. An image of a shattered cottage door filled her mind so she relaxed slightly and didn’t fight, although a muffled shriek of surprise did escape.

Hazy pushed her against the inner wall and propped her left forearm above Nina’s head to prevent the outer door from opening.

“Nina, you make me so...” she began angrily. But their lips were mere inches away and she simply leaned forward a bit and took possession of Nina’s trembling lips.

At first, Nina resisted, but the nearness overwhelmed her and she found herself lost in the kiss, hypnotized by the slow roving of lips and tongue as Hazy thoroughly kissed her. Soon the two were straining together, fumbling with each other’s clothing, blindly uncaring of where they were; only knowing that the need to be unclothed and connected together overrode all caution.

A sudden push against the outer door brought reality back with shattering force.

 
Nina gasped and clutched her loosened dress to her bosom. Her eyes found Hazy’s face and widened at what they had almost done.

Hazy still wore a dreamy expression, slow in returning from the web of passion that had snared her.

“Hazy!” Nina ground out in an urgent whisper as she tried to refasten her dress. “What are we going to do?”

Coming alert suddenly and acting with a speed borne from years of boating, Hazy held the door with one arm and her body while at the same time whirling Nina with her free hand and quickly fastening her clothing.

With shaking fingertips, Nina wiped away her smeared lipstick and tried to fan her crimson cheeks.

“Nina? It’s Mother. Are you all right? I thought I heard you cry out.”

 
Nina whirled back to face Hazy and wanted to laugh at the expression on her face. Some of her hair had come unbound and it framed her face, adding to her frustrated, woebegone look.

“Yes Mom, I’ll be right there,” Nina called. “Wait one minute, please.”

Of its own accord, one hand went up to caress Hazy’s cheek.

Turning her face, Hazy pressed hot lips into Nina’s palm, closing her eyes, seeming to savor the touch. She pulled Nina close and sighed deeply. “Ah Nina, bad timing is our enemy,” she breathed against her ear.

“I know, and I’m so sorry we can never be together,” Nina whispered back, tears in her eyes.

 
Hazy pulled away, confused. “Don’t say never, love. Meet me tonight, later. We need to work this through.”

 
Nina thought of the blond waiting for her outside and she grew cold. “I need to go, Hazy. And I can’t meet you tonight, or any night, okay?”

“Hell no, it’s not okay. What do you mean?” Hazy whispered urgently.

“Hazy, I have got to go,” she muttered, pulling away.

“Wait.” Hazy held her at arm’s length and studied her. “You look passable. We can’t do anything about your high color, but tell your mum it’s from the cold water or somethin’,” she told her coolly. “You go first, I’ll follow later.”

Hazy moved so she’d be behind the door as it opened and Nina left to reassure her worried mother.

Hazy leaned on the vanity and studied herself in the large mirrored wall. Her face bore a defeated expression. It was over. Her body told her differently but her heart knew the truth. Nina had meant what she’d said earlier that morning.

Finally, cloaking her face into a cold mask, she adjusted her clothing, repinned her hair, and moved toward the door.

As she opened the door, a small, elderly woman almost fell through. Hazy caught her and prevented her from falling onto the floor. “Why, Mrs. Harris, do be careful,” she chided. “That’s a good way to suffer a broken bone, you know.”

Mrs. Harris smiled at Hazy and waved one hand nonchalantly. “That’s what they give me all those pills for, Hazel, to make my bones strong. I guess I’d bounce like a buoy these days if I fell.”

Laughing with difficulty, Hazy left the ladies’ room.

Chapter 41

Back at her table, Nina found herself sitting like a corpse throughout the rest of the evening. She saw Hazy return to her table as if she were watching through a glass partition. There was no anger, no sorrow, only numbness.

When the evening was over, Nina bid her parents and Mrs. Loreli goodnight and returned to her cottage.

After sitting for some time, she rose, dropped her dress mechanically onto the chair and fell into bed. Tears found her then and she cried for a love that was lost and also because she knew now that she could never live in Grandpapa Tom’s house. This realization broke her heart for she had so looked forward to making the island her home.