Magnificent Folly - Iris Johansen [24]
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I damn well don’t like your digging into my past.” Lily turned away and ducked from beneath the rocky overhang of the cliff. “Back off, Andrew.”
“It had to be open and clear, so that you’d realize what happened in the past with Baldor simply cannot happen with me.”
“You bet it can’t.”
“For God’s sake, Lily, I’m no con man trying to hurt you.”
“How do I know? Tait was a hell of a lot less mysterious than you. You work for a corporation located conveniently in a foreign country. You supposedly have all the time in the world at your disposal.” She paused. “And, when I come to think about it, the way you’ve played me bears a remarkable resemblance to stalking.”
“Yes, it does,” Andrew admitted. “So does that mean you’re going to cut me out of your life and not see me again?”
Pain shot through Lily with a force that startled her. Not see Andrew again? Andrew was youth and radiance, sexuality and sensitivity. How could she give him up? She hadn’t realized until that moment how totally he had captured her, both mentally and physically. “No,” she said as she started across the sand. “Why should I care why you want to see me? You said I should take what I wanted from you, and that’s what I’m doing.”
“Lily.”
She stopped and looked over her shoulder.
“I’m bringing Quenby and Gunner to meet you tomorrow, if that’s all right.”
“I thought you wanted to wait a while.”
“Things have changed.”
She nodded jerkily. She, too, was aware that their relationship had changed in some significant manner that night. Andrew’s probing had brought back too much pain, had opened wounds she had thought long since healed. And by identifying himself with her pain Andrew had drawn closer to her emotionally than he had by making love to her. She would never again remember that horrible episode with Baldor without recalling the moonlit night when she told Andrew about the pain and betrayal. He had made himself part of it and brought them to a greater level of intimacy than Lily ever would have thought possible. Had he been perceptive enough to realize that this closeness could blossom from anger and pain? The ease with which Andrew was able to read her was beginning to make her edgy.
“May I bring them tomorrow afternoon?”
“Suit yourself.” Her pace quickened as she strode down the beach away from him.
“Their coloring is so similar, they might be brother and sister,” Lily said as she watched Cassie playing beach ball with Quenby and Gunner Nilsen. Both Gunner and his wife were tall, blond, and possessed the type of splendid good looks prevalent in Scandinavia. It was difficult to determine their ages. If there were threads of gray in the Nilsens’ hair, they were lost in the white-gold fairness. Both of them were running around shouting and hurling that enormous red ball with a vigor and youthfulness that made them appear little older than Cassie. “Are they both Swedish?”
Andrew shook his head as he lifted a cup of coffee to his lips. “Quenby’s of Swedish descent, but Gunner isn’t Scandinavian at all. He’s from Garvania.”
Lily frowned. “Garvania? I never heard of it.”
Andrew shrugged. “It doesn’t exist anymore. Garvania was annexed by Said Ababa over twenty years ago.”
Lily’s brows cleared. “Well, at least I’ve heard of Said Ababa. That’s the totalitarian country that’s always having border disputes with Sedikhan and Tamrovia. Right?”
“Right.”
Lily’s gaze returned to the trio playing a short distance away. “Your friends are nice people,” she said sincerely. “And they’ve certainly charmed Cassie. I’ve never seen her take to anyone but you this quickly.”
“It’s not surprising. Quenby says Gunner never grew up. He’s probably enjoying Cassie as much as she is him. And Quenby’s always been a sucker for kids.”
“Does she have any children of her own?”
Andrew nodded. “A son attending the University of Marasef, in Sedikhan. Jed’s a nice kid.”
“How patronizing you sound. He can’t be that much younger than you.”
Andrew’s hand clenched on the Styrofoam cup. “Are you trying to relegate me to the