Easter's Lilly Page 6

As I was putting on my eyeliner, my dad stopped at the bathroom door. “So, Pierre now, is it?”

  “Yes, daddy,” I answered. “This should make you very happy.”

  “It does, it does.” He smiled. “He’s a good man who makes a good living.” I laughed inside. If he only knew about all the harassment I got from Pierre at work, he wouldn’t be saying that. I only accepted this date to make Johnny jealous. I knew if I became less available, Johnny would want me more.

  “Where’s he taking you?”

  “Some new restaurant called The Lobster Bisque. It’s a local chef gathering.” I answered.

  He smirked. “Is Johnny going to be there? Isn’t he a chef at The Grey Willow?”

  “I’m sure if he were going he would have told me,” I answered. “Don’t worry.”

  He didn’t look satisfied with my answer. “I’ll let you know when he gets here,” he said, walking towards the living room. I didn’t give any previous thought to whether or not Johnny was going to be there. I put on a form fitting red dress with a low cut neck. The dress came just below the knee and had a slit down the side. When I walked out into the living room my dad whistled. “Does John ever take you out?”

  “No, he doesn’t. But I’m going out now, okay dad?” I was a little embarrassed that Johnny never did take me anywhere. “Oh and by the way, he calls me Marilyn.” My dad laughed at that.

  “Marilyn Monroe? I see the resemblance.”

  “Not funny.”

  “It is a huge compliment, baby. She was very beautiful and most desired.”

  “I guess.” I began to adjust my dress in the mirror in the hallway. I was not used to being all dressed up anymore.

  “It’s about time you met someone who respects you.”

  Just then the doorbell rang and it was Pierre. He shook my dad’s hand and they made small talk for a while. Then he put his arm out for me to take it and said, “Shall we go?” I took his arm and we walked out the door. I thought my dad was going to explode with joy.

  “Wow! You look incredible,” he said. “Johnny’s a lucky man.”

  “Thanks,” I answered. “But no more use of the J word. I’m all yours tonight.” He smiled at that last comment and opened the door to his Jaguar for me to get inside the passenger’s seat. I realized at this point that Johnny doesn’t even own a car. I drive him everywhere. What is my attraction to that man?

  “Marilyn,” he started. “You are worth more than I could ever give you.” He shut the car door and got into the driver’s side. I was puzzled. What was he up to?

  We pulled into the parking lot and it was packed. There were tons of very expensive cars parked in the parking lot and I suddenly felt very privileged to be invited. He valet parked the car and we walked in arm in arm. I carefully scanned the faces looking for anyone familiar. Okay, so maybe I was looking for one face in particular. I noticed a man with brown hair, wearing a ponytail. He had a suit jacket on and was wearing a black, old-fashioned hat. When he turned and looked at me, my heart sank into my stomach. It was Johnny. He was with a tall, thin brunette in a tight, short black dress. I could almost see her bare chest coming out of that dress. She looked cheap and bought. She was all over him like a wet T-shirt. He nodded to me. He was the king of unspoken acknowledgement. I nodded back, as though I thought this would go unnoticed by Pierre. “Is this going to be a problem?” he asked, obviously disappointed in me.

  “N-no,” I answered. “I’m sorry. You have my full attention.” I was still watching Johnny from the corner of my eye.

  Although he did not appear to believe me, we walked around a bit and socialized. We intentionally stayed away from Johnny and his date. We were finally seated at a table for two. He ordered us a bottle of Chardonnay and took my hands. “Lilly,” he paused for a minute. “Tell me something about yourself that I don’t know.”

  “I don’t know,” I answered. “Like what?” I was unsuccessfully searching the room to see where Johnny had settled.

  “Like maybe how Johnny meets you outside the restaurant every day after work and Jim has a restraining order against him.”

  My mouth hung open. I suppose now was the time he was going to use this against me. I knew it was coming. I just didn’t know when.

  I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I answered. I pulled my hands out of his.

  “You do know that Jim would probably have John arrested and you fired, if he knew about your little secret.”

  “What do you want, Pierre?” I asked. This dinner had suddenly taken a turn for the worst. I noticed Johnny and his date were seated in a convenient location. They were sitting fairly close to us and Johnny’s eyes were on me.

  “You should be a little more discrete,” he answered. “He’s been watching us since we got here.” He looked at Johnny and shot him a nasty glare. “It appears that you are having a hard time detaching from him as well.”

  “We’re not dating,” I answered. “We’re just friends.”

  “Why didn’t he invite you here?” he asked.

  I must admit that I thought that was a pretty good question. Somehow he seemed to always know where I was. “I’m guessing he wasn’t originally planning on attending.”

  “Somehow?” he asked. “Do you know who he is?”

  “Can we talk about something else please?” I asked.

  He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. It looked like a ring box. My heart began to palpitate. He opened the box and there sat the largest diamond I had ever seen. I looked over at Johnny and his face had turned a deep shade of red. I thought Johnny was going to have a stroke or pull out a gun or something. Pierre got down on one knee and held the ring up for me to view. “Lilly, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

  I quickly reached over and closed the ring box. “What’s wrong with you?” I asked. “Put that away before anyone else sees you.”

  “I think it’s a little too late for that.” He looked over at Johnny. He was blatantly staring at us.

  “Well, at least you got my name right,” I answered. “Why would I marry you Pierre? This is our first date.” I was hoping this was some kind of ridiculous joke. But he seemed pretty serious and he never smiled.

  “Is that a yes?” he asked.

  “No,” I answered sarcastically. “That is a NO.”

  “I suggest you reconsider,” he responded. “My work visa expired and if you don’t marry me, I may have to go public with your little affair.”

  “Fraud is against the law,” I replied. “And besides…” I paused and looked over at Johnny who was still glaring at us. Then I whispered, “There is no affair.”

  “Take some time to think about it.” It became obvious that he wasn’t kidding. He was going to blackmail me into marrying him. “I have a lot of information on your friend, as you like to call him.”

  The meals arrived and I picked at my steak for a few minutes. “I’ll think about it,” I answered. I needed to figure this out.

  Dinner was great but Pierre was sure he could have done better. We both ordered coffee at the end of our meal. “So, I understand that you sing,” he said unexpectedly.

  “Yes, I do,” I answered, making every attempt to be cordial.

  How about I take you to Redneck’s after dinner? It’s a little country bar down the road and the band always invites people on stage.”

  “Rednecks?” I asked. “I don’t know if I like the name.”

  “It’s a very close knit group of people. You’ll like it,” he continued.

  He paid the bill and we headed out. I half expected Johnny to follow us, but he didn’t. I watched him watch us leave.

  CHAPTER 4

  Cheating Heart