Frances Carson and her longtime friend, Lila Twining, were spending an exciting Friday evening together. Ignoring the boring diets their physicians had recommended, they had ordered a large pizzaâwith everything, of courseâand were eating it from paper plates in Francesâs living room. Theyâd rented a video. It starred Mel Gibson, and for a good portion of the film, he appeared without a shirt. Though they were in their seventies, neither Frances nor Lila had lost appreciation for a fine male chest.
The telephone interrupted their avid viewing. Frances sighed and pushed the pause button on the remote control. âIâll be right back,â she promised her friend.
Lila shrugged and helped herself to another slice of pizza. âTake your time. Iâm in no hurry.â
The voice on the other end of the telephone line was young and slightly husky, instantly recognizable to Frances. The caller identified herself, anyway. âGranny Fran? Itâs Celia.â
Delighted as always to hear from her youngest grandchild, Frances glanced at one of the photographs lining the top of her old upright piano, a picture of a beautiful woman in her early twenties, dark-haired, blue-eyed, dimpled. âHello, sweetheart. How are you?â
âIâm fine. And you?â
âNever better,â Frances answered cheerily. âLila and I were just scarfing pizza and drooling over Mel Gibsonâs bare chest.â
Celia laughed. âGranny Fran, what are we going to do with you?â
âArrange a weekend with Mel?â Frances suggested hopefully.
Celia laughed again. âYouâre incorrigible. And I love you for it.â
âI love you, too, darling. So whatâs wrong?â
âWhat makes you think anything is wrong?â Celia countered, the laughter leaving her voice.
âI know you too well. Would you like to talk about it?â
âI donât want to interrupt your evening with Lila. Iâll call again later.â
âNonsense. Lila doesnât mind if you and I talk for a few minutes. Tell me whatâs bothering you, Celia.â
âI, uh, I guess you could say Iâm having a moral dilemma.â
Frances waited patiently for her granddaughter to elaborate. She could hear Celia draw a deep breath on the other end of the line, as though working up the courage to continue.
âDamien Alexander has asked me to be his guest for a couple of weeks at one of his exclusive resorts,â Celia finally blurted out. âHeâll pay my airfare, provide a suite, all my mealsâanything I want.â
âHow very generous of him,â Frances said noncommittally.
âHe, uh, he promises to be a perfect gentleman if I want him to be, but I can tell heâs hoping I wonât want him to be. Iâm sure he hopes that he and I willâ¦you know.â
âBecome lovers,â Frances supplied.
âYes. Rachel is very much against this, of course. She doesnât want me to go. Sheâs never trusted Damien. She tends to believe everything she reads about him in those sleazy tabloids. Iâve told her sheâs just being an overprotective older sister, but sheâs still opposed to it. Of course, sheâs been busy with her wedding plans and everything, so we havenât had time to really talk about it, but I know she wonât change her mind.â
âYouâre twenty-four years old, Celia. You donât need Rachelâs permission to go on a vacation.â
âI know,â Celia admitted with a faint sigh. âBut I wish she wouldnât be so adamant about her disapproval.â
âHave you spoken to your mother?â
âNo. To be honest, I havenât quite had the nerve the last few times she and I spoke on the phone. I have a feeling that sheâll feel the same way Rachel does about it. Codyâs staying out of it, but I can tell he doesnât like it much more than Rachel does. I thought maybe you could give me a more objective opinion.â
âWhat do you want to do, Celia?â
âIâm not sure I know.â
Celia sounded so confused that Francesâs heart twisted in sympathy with her granddaughter.
âIâve just been soâ¦so bored, lately,â Celia added. âMy life has become so dull, so predictable. The men here in Percy are nice, but so unexciting. Damienâs different. Thereâs nothing dull or predictable about him.â
âAre you in love with him?â
This time Celiaâs hesitation was more pronounced. âI donât know,â she said finally. âI like him a lot. Heâs charming and fun, but I really donât know him all that well. We only go out when heâs in the area, and with his other businesses all over the world, that hasnât been often. He said we could use this time together to get to know each other better.â