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Lily smacked Alex’s knee lightly and rolled her eyes. “Fine. Tell me what you love about the music, then.”
Alex thought for a moment, picked up her water glass, then set it down without drinking. There was something faraway in her eyes, like the memory of a place she’d never see again. “It reminds me of Cuban street music, I think. Although, stylistically, that and Creole Jazz are almost nothing alike. Cuban music is all about voice and the strings and percussion carry it. Creole is primarily brass, that sharp, signature…”
Lily let her search for the word before she gave it to her. “Coronet?”
“Yes! That’s it, although Louis Armstrong was the standout on that. But they both have that low country sway, you know?”
“I know.” Lily nodded, tracing the edge of the board with her finger. “Like evening settling over the streets in Havana. There’s always the sound of falling water like drums in the background, and music spilling out of the cafés on San Rafael Boulevard on the way to go—”
“Dancing barefoot in Neptuno Parque?” Alex leaned back slightly, her eyes intense. “How do you know about that?”
Lily bit her lip and ran a hand through her hair, trying to wrap words around an accidental experience that had shaped the edges of her writing since. “It’s a long story, but I went to Havana for a weekend and ended up staying for a month. I fell in love with…I don’t know, it’s hard to describe. The heartbeat of it, I guess.” She looked up as the warmth of Alex’s hand settled on her thigh. “I still feel like a part of me is there. I was never the same after.”
It was a long moment before Alex spoke. “What did you go there looking for?”
“It was work. I was thinking of setting a b—” Lily stopped, her heart pounding at almost giving away her real life, the one that now suddenly seemed like a memory. “It was just supposed to be a work thing.”
Alex held her eyes as Lily slipped her thigh between Alex’s knees. “That’s a bold move.” Alex’s voice was intimate and teasing at the same time. “Especially since you haven’t told me your name yet.”
Lily smiled, taking a long second to look her up and down. “And what have you done to deserve that?”
“You might have to trust me on this.” Alex smiled, gently biting her bottom lip. “But I’ve got skills worth your name.”
“Fine. You can have my name and the answer to one more question.” Lily’s heart raced as Alex slid a hand up the outside of her thigh. “But this is rare, so choose carefully.”
Alex’s gaze didn’t waver as she spoke. “When was the last time you kissed someone you wanted to melt into?”
“Wow. Well played.” Lily took a deep breath when she realized the answer and instantly regretted her offer. “It’s been…five years. Since I left McCall last time, actually.” She paused, speaking more to herself. “I meet a lot of people with work, too many, and I guess it’s just overwhelming sometimes.”
“Can I wrap this up for you?”
Lily jumped at the sound of the bartender’s voice. She shook the fog from her head as she attempted to pay the bill, but Alex waved it away and gave him her card. After she signed, Alex took her hand and led her through the crowd, and as they walked out into the cool night air, bright stars filtered through the fir trees, the tops brushing slow texture into the lush velvet sky.
Lily pulled her keys out of her pocket and stopped at the Jeep. “This is me.”
“It looks like you.”
“The Jeep is just a rental.” Lily peered over Alex’s shoulder at the car next to hers, a restored antique Ford Thunderbird convertible, painted in the classic slick turquoise color with chrome accents and white leather interior. “What I’d really like is a car like that.”
Alex turned and leaned into the Thunderbird, pulling the keys from the ashtray and starting it with a flick of her wrist. The engine purred to life and settled into a low, contented rumble as she leaned back against the door.
“You’re kidding. This is yours?”
Alex nodded, smoothing her palm lovingly over the shiny chrome strip along the top of the door. “Don’t be too impressed. She was a mess when I found her.”
??“It reminded you of home, didn’t it?”
“Exactly. Cuba banned American imports after the fifties, so if you didn’t learn to fix up the antiques, you didn’t get to drive at all.” She switched the car off, then turned back to Lily, lifting her hand and bringing it to her mouth to kiss. “Miss Lily, it was a pleasure. Maybe we’ll see each other again one day.”
Lily nodded, not trusting herself to speak, then turned toward the Jeep door. She hesitated. She wanted to say something, do anything but leave, but as usual, she had no words. She’d just started to open the door when she felt it shut again. Alex spun her around smoothly and pressed her back against the Jeep, holding her face gently in both hands for just a moment before she brushed Lily’s lips with hers. Lily melted against her, and Alex kissed her like heat, like lust, like hot Cuban nights, pulling every inch of her body against the hard lines of her own, hands moving like slow fire from her waist to her neck.
She slowed, finally, then gently bit Lily’s bottom lip as she pulled away, holding her eyes before she turned and walked back toward the bar. It was a long few seconds before Lily remembered to draw a breath.
Chapter Three
By the time Lily pulled into the Lake Haven retreat, the designated parking area was full, so she drove down to the main lodge and parked next to a massive fir tree that silently filtered the moonlight as she zipped up her vest and locked the Jeep. The lodge was a sprawling, two-story log cabin with a wraparound porch, glossy red Adirondack rockers scattered across the split pine porch, and milky-white jars of yellow roses perched on small tables between them. The grounds glowed with warm lights that illuminated the path to the main buildings, then down the slight slope to the lakeshore. The woods to the right of the lodge held a handful of tiny cabins with screened-in porches, each with a green Coleman lantern on an iron hook next to the door.
Lily wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting. Maybe nothing; she hadn’t even thought about it until she’d boarded the plane out of LA, but this place was unexpectedly gorgeous with its rustic lakefront style. Beyond the lodge, a shimmering path of moonlight sparkled on the water, and Lily fought off an insane urge to run down to the shore, strip off all her clothes, and swim to the barely visible island she knew was on the other side of the water. The air was sharply cold and clean, and she slipped her hands in her pockets as she drew in a breath and held it, unwilling to let it go. She’d been breathing LA smog for the last five years, and she felt the metallic scent of it start to fade as she exhaled.
