Gilded Lily(82)

He kissed the tip of her thumb. “Always.”





Chapter Fifteen

The telephone’s buzzing was relentless. Lily hurried out of the bathroom, crossing the bedroom in quick strides with the still-bubbly toothbrush hanging from her mouth. “Hello,” she mumbled, hoping that it would finally be Adam’s voice on the other end of the line. For the past three weeks, every time the phone rang, her stomach sank. Adam had been away for nine weeks. Over the last few days, with no update on his status, she’d been having daily headaches that kept her resting on the couch with the drapes closed.

“Ms. Desclose?” A very cultured, masculine voice came through the phone.

She knew from the way her stomach dropped that another headache wasn’t far behind. “Yes?”

“I’m sorry to bother you so early in the morning, but I was told to call you.” The gentleman paused. “I’m Tom Stark, Adam’s father.” Lily’s heart sank as she dropped the toothbrush from her mouth. “It’s about Adam.” The tears were already falling down her cheeks. The man must have heard her weeping, because he quickly cleared his throat and continued to speak. “He’s been admitted to Mount Sinai here in New York.”

“Wh-what?” She tried to gather her thoughts. “He’s home? When?”

“About five days ago. The surgery went well. He’s awake and asking for you.”

“Is he okay? Is he?” The realization he was home and injured sank in. “How badly is he hurt?” She wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I mean, I’m on my way. I’m catching the first flight out.”

“Ms. Desclose, take your time. He’s comfortable and resting. The surgeon said he has a compound fracture to his leg. The doctors seem confident he’s going to be all right. Oh, I almost forgot—he said to have you bring his belt?”

A sweet and grateful laugh escaped her lungs. She knew her Adam was going to be okay. “You tell him I have one ready to go.” Lily sat on the window seat and smiled. “Tell him I’ll be on the first flight I can get.”

“He’ll be happy to hear that. He must be quite smitten with you from the way he was carrying on about you while he was under the pain medication. Apparently, you make a wonderful sangria.” His gentle laugh made her heart warm.

“If I may ask, what happened to him?” She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know the answer.

“All we know is he was involved in some kind of gunfire. They patched him up over there to get him home, and he made it through surgery yesterday afternoon.” Lily could hear the tears welling in the back of Mr. Stark’s throat. “We’re very lucky.”

Lily shared his sentiment. “Yes, we are. Tell him I’ll see him soon.”

“Very well.” He paused. “Ms. Desclose?”

“Please call me Lily,” she said.

“Are you the Lily Nicholas spoke of so often?”

“I am.”

“You must be pretty special to have captured the hearts of both my boys.”

“I’m not the special one, Mr. Stark. Your sons are.”

Lily hung up the phone and hurried to finish getting dressed. She called Tony to explain what had happened and she’d be going out of town. The man she loved above all others was lying in a hospital bed waiting for her. She was thankful he was alive and home. Excitement filled her belly as she sat in front of the computer and booked the noon flight to New York. By the evening she’d get to see his face and hold him in her arms again. She could hardly wait.

* * * *

“Room 2335. Take the elevator to the second floor, and it’s the wing to the right,” the woman at the reception desk said as she watched the flickering computer screen.

“Thank you.” Lily could hear the tremble as she spoke. She stopped at the restroom outside the elevators. After she took a quick look in the mirror, she reapplied her rosy shimmer lip gloss and made her way into a waiting elevator.

Stepping off the elevator, she noticed a nurses’ station with room numbers listed on the sign hanging above. She started down the right hallway labeled Surgical Unit. As she approached room 2335, she spotted a tall, handsome gentleman in his early sixties standing outside the open door. He was talking with an attractive, slender woman who looked to be somewhat younger. It was Adam’s father; she recognized him from Nicholas’s funeral. She cautiously walked up to the couple.

“Um, hello.” Lily held out her hand. In her quiet voice she introduced herself.

“Of course.” Mr. Stark’s voice carried down the hall. “My sons have good taste.”