Despite his complaints, Kevin was surprised how quickly the next hour passed. He poured coffee, carried food back and forth, entertained the guests, and swiped some of Molly's pancakes for himself. She was a great cook, and he got sparks out of her by telling her he'd decided he'd let her keep the job.
Seeing those eyes flash felt good. Last night's confrontation seemed to have lifted some of her depression, and she had a little of the sparkle back that he remembered from Door County. He, on the other hand, had stared at the bedroom ceiling until dawn. Never again would he be able to think about the baby as an abstraction. Last night had given her a name.
He blinked and grabbed the coffeepot for another round of refills.
Charlotte Long peeked in to see how Molly was doing and ended up eating two muffins. The sticky buns had gotten a little burned at the corners, but the French toast was good, and Molly didn't hear any complaints. She'd just downed her own breakfast standing up when Amy appeared.
'Sorry I'm late,' she muttered. 'I didn't get out of here until like eleven last night.'
Molly spotted a fresh hickey on her neck, this one just above her collarbone. She was ashamed to feel another pang of jealousy. 'You did a good job. The house already looks better. Why don't you get started on those dishes?'
Amy wandered over to the sink and began loading the dishwasher. Clips with tiny pink starfish on them held her hair away from her face. She'd outlined, shadowed, and mascaraed her eyes, but either she hadn't bothered with lipstick or Troy had already eaten it off.
'Your husband's really cute. I don't watch football, but even I know who he is. That's so cool. Troy says he's like the third-best quarterback in the NFL.'
'First-best. He just needs to control his talent better.'
Amy stretched, hiking her purple top above her navel and forcing her shorts even lower on her hipbones. 'I heard you just got married, too. Isn't it great?'
'A dream come true,' Molly said dryly. Apparently Amy didn't read
'We've been married like three and a half months.'
Just about the same as Kevin and Molly. Except Kevin and Molly weren't having any trouble keeping their hands off each other.
Amy resumed loading the dishwasher. 'Everybody said we were too young-I'm nineteen and Troy's twenty-but we couldn't wait any longer. Me and Troy are Christians. We don't believe in sex before marriage.'
'So now you're making up for lost time?'
'It's so cool.' Amy grinned, and Molly smiled back.
'It might be better if you didn't try to make up for any more of that lost time during working hours.'
Amy rinsed out a mixing bowl. 'I guess. It's just so hard.'
'The slave driver will probably be checking up on you today, so why don't you get the bedrooms done as soon as you're finished here?'
'Yeah…' She sighed. 'If you see Troy outside, will you like tell him I love him and everything?'
'I don't think so.'
'Yeah, I guess that's immature. My sister says I should be a little more standoffish or he'll take me for granted.'
Molly remembered the adoration on Troy's youthful face. 'I don't think you have to worry about that yet.'
Kevin had disappeared by the time Molly was done in the kitchen, probably tending to his hangover. She made iced tea, then phoned Phoebe to tell her where she was. Her sister's confusion didn't surprise her, but she couldn't explain how Kevin had blackmailed her into going with him without revealing too much about her physical and emotional condition. Instead, she just said that Kevin needed some help and she'd wanted to get away from the city. Phoebe started clucking just like Celia the Hen, and Molly got off the phone as quickly as possible.
She was tired by the time she finished baking Aunt Judith's citrus Bundt cake for afternoon tea, but she couldn't resist sprucing up the parlor a little. As she filled a cut-glass bowl with potpourri, Roo began barking. She went outside to investigate and saw a woman emerge from a dusty burgundy Lexus and turn to gaze out over the Common. Molly wondered if Kevin had checked the computer to see if any new guests were arriving. They needed to get better organized.
Molly took in the woman's oyster-white tunic, bronze capris, and sculpted sandals. Everything about her was stylish and expensive. She turned, and Molly immediately recognized her: Lilly Sherman.
Molly had met a lot of celebrities over the years, so she was seldom awed by famous people, but Lilly Sherman made her feel starstruck. Everything about her radiated glamour. This was a woman accustomed to snarling traffic, and Molly half expected some paparazzi to jump out of the pine trees.
The stylish sunglasses on top of her head held the rich auburn hair that had been her trademark away from her face. Her hair was shorter than it had been in her days as Ginger Hill, but it still had a sexy, tumbled look. Her complexion was pale and porcelain-smooth, her figure voluptuous. Molly thought of all the girls she'd known with eating disorders that had left them cadaverously thin. In earlier times women had aspired toward Lilly's figure, and they'd probably been better for it.
As Lilly headed up the path toward the house, Molly saw that her eyes were an unusually vibrant shade of green, even more vivid than on television. A faint web of lines fishtailed from the corners, but she looked barely forty. The large diamond on her left hand sparkled as she bent down to greet Roo. It took Molly a few moments to accept the fact that her poodle's stomach was being rubbed by Lilly Sherman.
'This place is a bitch to get to.' Lilly's voice had the same husky quality Molly remembered from her days as Ginger Hill, but now it was a shade more sultry.
'It's a little isolated.'
Lilly straightened and came closer, regarding Molly with the neutral politeness celebrities adopted to keep people at a distance. Then her attention sharpened, and her eyes frosted. 'I'm Lilly Sherman. Would you have someone bring in my suitcases?'
Uh-oh. She'd recognized Molly from the
Molly stepped aside as Lilly climbed the steps to the porch. 'We're sort of reorganizing at the moment. Do you happen to have a reservation?'
'I'd hardly come all this way without one. I spoke with Mrs. Long two days ago, and she said you had a room.'
'Yes, we probably do. I'm just not exactly sure where. I'm a big fan, by the way.'
'Thank you.' Her reply was so cool that Molly wished she hadn't mentioned it.
Lilly gazed at Roo, who was trying to impress her with his Bruce Willis sneer. 'My cat's in the car. Mrs. Long said it wouldn't be a problem to bring her, but your dog seems a little fierce.'
'It's all show. Roo might not like having a cat around, but he won't hurt her. Introduce them if you like while I go inside to check on your room.'
Lilly Sherman's star might have faded, but she was still a star, and Molly expected her to object to being kept waiting, but she said nothing.
As Molly headed inside, she wondered if Kevin knew about this. Had they been lovers? Lilly seemed too intelligent, not to mention that she spoke flawless English. Still…
Molly hurried upstairs and found Amy bent over one of the tubs, her tight black shorts forming a world-class wedgie.
'A guest just arrived, and I don't know where to put her. Is anybody leaving?'
Amy straightened and gazed at Molly strangely. 'No, but there's the attic. No one's stayed up there this season.'
'The attic?'
'It's pretty nice.'
Molly couldn't imagine sticking Lilly Sherman in an attic.
Amy settled back on her heels. 'Uh, Molly, if you ever want to talk about, you know, things with me, you can…'
'Things?'
'I mean, I noticed when I cleaned Kevin's room that you didn't sleep there last night.'
Molly found it irritating to be pitied by someone with connect-the-dots hickeys. 'We're estranged, Amy. Nothing
