She fingered the pearls at her throat. She remembered the night David had given them to her. He’d stood behind her as she sat at her dressing table and draped them around her neck. In that moment it was all she could do not to rip them off. Although David could well afford the pearls, their price had been too high.
She and Hector Silva were little more than acquaintances, but Lillie instinctively recognized that this man would never cheat on his wife. Unlike David, Hector was a man who took his emotional commitments seriously. Anyone might ask how she could possibly know this about a man she’d only met a few times. But Lillie knew. Call it intuition or whatever you wanted. She just knew.
Feeling melancholy, she sighed, removing the car keys from her purse. She wouldn’t hear from him again.
Lillie left the house to meet Jacqueline Donovan at the exclusive Seattle Country Club. The two of them had been members for years. They’d worked on any number of charitable projects together and been co-chairs of the Christmas Ball more times than she could recall.
When the news came that David and Gary had been killed in the plane crash, the one person Lillie had turned to for solace and advice had been Jacqueline. Barbie had her own intense grief to cope with and her sons to comfort; those three had formed a closed circle in the weeks after the accident. Jacqueline had stayed by Lillie’s side for days, helping her deal with the multitude of immediate decisions. Her love and concern didn’t end there, either. Jacqueline remained her friend while others had drifted away. She was also the only person Lillie had confided in about David’s affairs.
Lillie pulled up in front of the club building and was instantly greeted by a valet. He didn’t give her a voucher. None was necessary. Every employee of the club recognized her and her new vehicle.
“Ms. Donovan arrived two minutes ago,” the valet told her.
“Thank you, Jason,” she murmured and headed inside.
Sure enough, Jacqueline sat at their usual table, glancing over the menu. She wore her hair in her customary French roll and had chosen a Venetian glass necklace in teal and gold that stood out against her black pants and jacket. She put down the menu and smiled.
“It’s not like you to be late,” she said when Lillie joined her. She’d already ordered a bottle of their favorite wine, a New Zealand sauvignon blanc that the club kept in stock primarily for them.
“I answered the phone on my way out the door,” she said, reaching for the menu, although she practically had it memorized. Naturally, it didn’t include prices. A bill would be mailed at the end of the month with the accumulated charges.
“Nothing important, I hope.”
“Not really.” Lillie considered mentioning Hector but quickly dismissed the thought. Of all her friends, she trusted Jacqueline most, and yet…
A waiter came to their table, and Lillie decided on the Oriental salad; Jacqueline ordered blackened scallops.
“So,” Jacqueline said, swirling the wine in her glass. “What’s new with your Twenty Wishes?”
The last time they’d met for lunch, Lillie had been full of enthusiasm about her list. She’d talked nonstop, extolling the idea and describing her wishes—starting with the red BMW.
“The widows are meeting next week. We’re going to talk about our wishes and the progress we’ve made.”
Jacqueline sipped her wine. “This is such a good idea. Ever since you told me about it, I’ve been planning to make my own list.”
“You should,” Lillie said, nodding vigorously.
“It’s certainly given you a new lease on life.”
“You think so?”
“I haven’t seen you look this happy in years.”
She wanted to say something, to explain that the Twenty Wishes weren’t entirely responsible for this “new lease on life.” But she couldn’t; she had to accept that she wouldn’t be hearing from Hector again. Ironically, he was the embodiment of her most longed-for wish—a decent, honorable man. A man she couldn’t have. A wish she might never fulfill. The whole thing was just so hopeless.
“Actually, I’ve met someone.” Lillie couldn’t imagine what had made her say that. She wanted to snatch the words back the instant they left her mouth.
Jacqueline nearly tipped over her wineglass. “When? How? Who? You haven’t said anything about this!”
“It’s just that, well…”
“Yes?”
Lillie drew in a deep breath. “Before you get all excited, let me say this isn’t anyone you know.”
“He’s not a member of the club?” Much of their social life revolved around the country club, although both had plenty of friends outside it.
“No.”
“Why the big secret?”
“It isn’t a big secret. I should never have mentioned it.” Lillie could feel her face heating up. “Forget I said a word.”
“No way! You’re dying to tell me, I know you are. Spill it.”
“I’ve never been on a date with him, so there’s nothing to tell you.”
Jacqueline frowned. “Why not?”
“For one thing, he hasn’t asked and…and, well, I doubt he ever will, so there’s no point in discussing this any further.”
“He’s younger, isn’t he?”
“No! Wipe that silly grin off your face, Jacqueline Donovan. It’s not like that at all. He’s shy and I think he’d like to ask me out but he hasn’t.” She was saying more than she’d ever intended and desperately wished she’d never introduced the subject.
Jacqueline leaned back in her chair and a smile quivered at the edges of her mouth. “You should ask him out,” she insisted.
“What?”
“I mean it. In our generation, the men always did the asking, but times have changed. If you’re interested in this man—this stranger you refuse to tell your very best friend about—then all I can say is that you need to take the initiative.”
Lillie stared across the table at her, and Jacqueline stared right back. “I can’t!”
That went against every dictate of her upbringing. Ask Hector out on a date? It was a preposterous suggestion. An outrageous idea.
Jacqueline simply shook her head. “You can ask him, and you will. Or…or I’ll do it for you.”
At that Lillie giggled. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Why is that ridiculous? You’re a lovely woman, Lillie, and a beautiful person besides. You deserve happiness. Isn’t that what the Twenty Wishes are all about? Going after the things you want in life. Places to see, people to meet, experiences to live. Don’t hold back now. Go for it!”
Could Jacqueline be right?
Without some kind of pledge from her, Jacqueline was never going to shut up about this. “I’ll consider it.” That was the best she could do for now.
“Good.” Jacqueline nodded, obviously pleased.
Lillie relaxed, wondering how she could possibly approach Hector. Oh, for heaven’s sake, what did she know about such things? If David was alive, she could’ve asked him. He was the one with all the dating experience. That thought produced a hysterical giggle that she tried, unsuccessfully, to swallow.
Jacqueline regarded her closely. “What’s so funny?”
Embarrassed, Lillie shook her head. “You—saying I should contact my friend and ask him out.” She waved her hand. “I was just thinking—Never mind.”
“No, tell me,” Jacqueline insisted.
So she did, and soon they were both laughing.
The waiter brought their lunch and automatically refilled their glasses.
“You’re going to do it,” Jacqueline said firmly, leaving no room for argument. She reached for her fork.
“I—”
“Yes, you are,” Jacqueline returned. “You want to see this man, don’t you?”
Lillie gave a barely perceptible nod.
“If you need me standing by to encourage you, then that’s what I’ll do.”
Lillie felt a moment’s hope. No, it was impossible. Even if she did find the courage, she didn’t know what kind of outing to suggest. Perhaps a movie? Barbie seemed to be going to the movies a lot these days.
“You’re looking serious now,” Jacqueline said.
“He might refuse,” she blurted out. “I might’ve completely misread him.”
“So what?” Her friend shrugged as if this was an insignificant concern. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
“But…”
“Would you stop,” Jacqueline said.
Lillie had yet to try a single bite of her salad. “You’re right, you’re right.” She picked up her fork, then laid it down again. “The problem is, we don’t have a single thing in common.”
“Except for the fact that you’re attracted to him and I assume he is to you.”
“Jacqueline, I am attracted to him. I really am. I go to sleep thinking about him. I yearn for him…” Her face flushed with embarrassment.
“Have you analyzed what’s so attractive about him?”
She knew the answer immediately. “Oh, yes—he’s kind and gentle and honorable. He loves his children and I’m positive he was a faithful husband.” Just talking about Hector was enough to bring tears of longing to her eyes.
“You want him?” Jacqueline whispered the question.
“Not the way you’re thinking.” This wasn’t merely physical desire, although he was a good-looking man and late at night she’d fantasized about his mouth, his hands…. What she felt was, above all, emotional—that need for true kinship, that recognition of another’s soul. She tried to explain her feelings to her friend.
“This must be one helluva man,” Jacqueline commented.
“He is.”
“Then don’t wait, Lillie,” Jacqueline said earnestly. “I wasted too many years of my life before Reese and I…”
She let the rest fade, but Lillie knew what she meant. Jacqueline’s marriage had been like her own. She and Reese had lived as strangers for years. Jacqueline had reason to believe her husband had a mistress, and as a result she’d moved into a spare bedroom. They’d remained stiffly polite, ignoring each other as much as possible in the privacy of their home, acting like a loving couple outside it. No one had suspected. No one knew the truth about them.
Except Lillie.
She’d been able to identify the signs because she’d lived the same scenario.
Then, shortly before David’s accident, something changed between Jacqueline and Reese. Almost overnight they set aside their differences and became lovers again. They’d even traveled to Greece on a second honeymoon. The love was back in their marriage and in their lives.
Lillie never learned exactly what had brought about the change, although she suspected that Tammie Lee, the Donovans’ daughter-in-law, had something to do with it. When Paul had first brought home his young bride from Louisiana, Jacqueline had been horrified. Tammie Lee, with her southern drawl, wasn’t the daughter-in-law she’d wanted.
