Jack took Lily’s glass and set it down on the coffee table.
“Can’t stand to see that champagne go to waste,” Jack said, leaning over and licking the spilled drops off Lily’s collarbone. Lily gasped with delight. “You know what?” Jack whispered in her ear. “I’ve never seen your bedroom.”
Lily giggled in spite of herself. “You really want to? With the boys just across the hall?”
“They’re busy. They won’t pay any attention to us. And we’ll be quiet.” She smiled. “Not like last time.”
In Lily’s room, inhibitions washed away by the champagne, Jack and Lily undressed each other and slid into a slow, sensual round of lovemaking. The first time they made love, it had been with the ravenous urgency of a starving person sitting down to a lavish meal. Today, though, with the whole afternoon ahead of them, they savored the experience, enjoying the taste of each other’s kisses, exploring the texture of each other’s skin, and breathing low sighs of pleasure.
Between the champagne and Jack’s capable hands, Lily felt the coils of tension she had been carrying for the past week start to unwind. Ever since she had come to Versailles, Lily had been trying to control a situation that seemed uncontrollable. But here, beneath Jack’s hands and mouth, she could allow herself to lose control—to turn off her brain for a few minutes and surrender to sensuality.
Afterward, as they lay naked beneath the cool sheets, Lily said, “Have you ever heard the expression that you grow a new heart for every child you have?”
Jack started. “You and Ben aren’t expecting, are you?”
Lily laughed. “Not unless a star is rising somewhere in the East.” She laid her head on Jack’s freckled shoulder. “No, I was just thinking about that idea. When I was with Charlotte, I didn’t know if it would be possible for me to love anybody else ... I just felt so full and content, you know?”
“Uh-huh.”
“And then we had Mimi, and I discovered this whole other capacity for love I didn’t even know I had. And then, getting to know you...I mean, it’s not that I love Charlotte less, but with you...I guess sometimes meeting someone can cause you to grow a new heart, too.” Lily laughed. “God, I never would’ve said something like that if I was sober.”
“Do you mean it, though?”
Lily thought for a moment. She had spoken just then without thinking, but she had meant what she said ... just as people usually did when they spoke without considering their words beforehand. “Yes.”
“Then I’m glad you’re not sober.” Jack and Lily’s lips met in another long, slow kiss. When they parted, there were tears in Lily’s eyes.
“I’m scared, Jack.”
“I know. Whatever happens, though, I’ll take care of you.”
Lily drifted off for a few minutes, letting herself feel almost safe in Jack’s arms. When she heard the footsteps in the hall, at first she thought it was Mordecai. But then she heard the voices: “Lil-ee! Ben!
You’ve gotta be home — the door was unlocked!”
Oh, shit. Sheila and Tracee — as always, just walking right on in whenever they felt like it.
