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Part Three
The Calm before the Storm...
Lucy took in a breath as she stood outside the door to Chris Ramsey’s apartment. What was she doing there, she asked herself as she checked the time. Seven on the nose there just like Chris had requested. She frowned at the thought. Never in her life did she imagine she’d do anything that Chris Ramsey requested. Why that dirty little rat was enough to infuriate her beyond belief most of the time and now, was she actually going to work with him? She balled her fist to tap on the door, but before she could do so, the door swung open and Chris was standing there in one of his usual crisp suits ready to greet her.
“On time,” Chris smiled giving her a brief once over, “I like that in a woman.”
“I’ll remember to take note of that in the future,” Lucy replied neutrally as she stepped into his apartment and slipped out of her wrap.
“Let me take that for you,” Chris offered slipping it past her shoulders as he noticed the slinky red dress underneath. With a slight smile, he let out a whistle of approval, “all for me Lucy? You shouldn’t have.”
“I didn’t,” Lucy replied turning out to face him as she noticed the table set up across the room. She frowned slightly, “How did you know I’d be here tonight?”
“I knew,” Chris shrugged hanging her wrap up as he crossed the room towards his bar, “can I get you a drink? A martini perhaps?”
“I’m fine,” she replied her eyes drifting to the crackling fire within the fireplace.
“You don’t know what you’re missing,” Chris assured her pouring himself a glass, “are you sure I can’t tempt you into trying one? I’m fairly certain you won’t be disappointed.”
“Really I’d rather not,” she replied spinning around to face him as he held a drink out to her while cradling his own close to him.
“I insist,” Chris offered again as she reluctantly accepted it.
“Tell me again, why you thought I’d be here tonight,” She replied watching him curious as ever as she thought about their unlikely alliance.
“Because Lucy,” he said in between sips of his martini, “you want to make sure that this plan for getting Kevin back works without any problems.”
“Perhaps,” Lucy replied with a nod, “but that was no guarantee that I’d be here.”
“Of course you would,” Chris fought to suppress his chuckle as he winked at her, “besides, you can’t resist me.”
“Who’s dreaming now?” she replied tightly taking a sip of the martini and finding herself pleasantly surprised.
“You like it, don’t you?” Chris noted watching her raise it to her lips again, “On second thought, don’t answer that. I already know.”
“Confident, aren’t you?” Lucy questioned finishing her sip as she watched him make his way back towards his kitchen where the aroma of a gourmet meal had been coming from.
“Determined is more like it,” Chris replied checking on his sautéing chicken. He turned the heat down a bit before looking back to her, “I trust Mac Scorpio had a few words to say to you there.”
“About?” Lucy feigned innocence.
“About that kiss,” Chris replied watching her scan around his apartment, “what else?”
“He had plenty to say to me on a variety of subjects,” Lucy shrugged moving her eyes over the book shelves as she thumbed through the titles.
“And the kiss came up?”
“Briefly,” she nodded.
“Was he surprised?” Chris questioned returning into the living room as he noticed her browsing one of his books.
“Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams,” she replied flipping through the pages as she thought back in time to a moment between her and Kevin, “I bought this for Doc one year as a gift.”
“Really?” Chris raised a brow as Lucy flipped to the front page reading the inscription on it.
“To show you just how truly demented you and your X-rated dreams are,” she read aloud, “your dream lover......Eve.”
Chris walked over and took the book from her hands, “It was a gift.”
“Obviously,” Lucy replied watching the tension form within him as he tucked the book away onto the shelf again, “Oh,” she said pulling out a picture from behind her back, “you might want this as well.”
Chris let his gaze drift to the picture of him and Eve together at the nurse’s ball that he’d tucked inside the binding of the book previously. He accepted it before returning it into the book swiftly.
“Somehow you don’t strike me as the Sigmund Freud kind of guy,” Lucy noted watching Chris step across the room, “It doesn’t seem your style.”
“Well, then I suppose there are a lot of things you’re yet to find out about me Lucy,” Chris replied casting a glance in her direction, “After all just because I’m not Kevin, doesn’t mean I’m a complete idiot. Then again if I was Kevin...”
“Watch it,” she warned simply, “you’re coming dangerously close to crossing a line there.”
“Haven’t you heard by now?” Chris replied taking a step towards her as their eyes met, “I make the rules up as I go around here.”
“Is that how it works for you?” she asked watching the mischief burning behind his eyes as she realized that there was more to Chris than he’d liked to let on. Somehow she had a feeling that Kevin and Eve weren’t his only targets. He had some kind of motive, as did she and she was fairly certain she’d get to the heart of it sooner or later.
“Tell me something Lucy,” Chris replied breaking her thoughts as he moved in closer, “Hungry?”
“Excuse me,” she said noting the way he’d stepped into her personal space.
“Dinner’s almost ready,” Chris explained with a light smile, “why don’t you have a seat?”
“Who said I was staying for dinner?” Lucy countered with an amused smile she’d been fighting to suppress, “this was about business, remember?”
“Who said you can’t mix a little business with pleasure,” Chris replied watching her for a long moment, “so, why don’t you take a seat and I’ll serve you one of the most delectable, savory dishes you’ve ever experienced.”
“I’ve yet to find that out with you,” Lucy remarked dryly watching him seeking some kind of pleasure out of their time here.
“Be ready to eat your words Lucy
Coe,” Chris insisted flashing her a bright grin, “because you can rest
assured that you aren’t leaving this apartment until I know you’re satisfied,
and believe me with the way I do it, I’m certain that you will be.”
“Okay,” Lucy sighed sipping her drink as she reclined back in her seat, “I confess, you aren’t half bad at this cooking thing.”
“Admit it Lucy,” Chris smiled proudly, “that’s the best thing you’ve ever had in your life...” He paused thinking it over for a moment, “to eat anyways.”
“Ha, you think you’re slick, don’t you?” Lucy questioned in amusement watching the way his eyes lit up as they left the table and moved in closer towards the fire place.
“I have a way with words,” Chris explained taking a seat on the floor beside the fire as Lucy opted to sit in the chair nearby.
“You also have a gift for putting your foot in your mouth,” Lucy reminded him watching him sink back against the foot stool behind him as he lazily stirred the olive in his martini, “so tell me Chris, how exactly do you feel this plan of yours is going to work?”
“Well, it’s quite simple really,” Chris explained matter of fact, “we just go through with what I suggested from the start.”
“I hate to break it to you Chris,” Lucy paused for a moment watching him take a sip of his drink, “but no one is going to believe we’re lovers,” she said the pointed expression on his face, “okay, I admit even if for one brief, teeny, tiny second we may have fallen into a situation together, I still wouldn’t believe it and I was there.”
“Yes,” he smiled his eyes scanning her over appreciatively, “you were there as I do recall quite well.”
“Too bad you’re the only one who does,” Lucy offered a little white lie as she still had pieces of her night with Chris in her mind, “but seriously, Doc would never buy into the fact that we’re,” she waved her hand between them, “together.”
“And why is that?” Chris questioned raising a brow curiously.
“Well, for starters,” she paused trying to think of the right words to lay this out for him, “I hate you.”
“That’s a minor oversight,” Chris shrugged turning his eyes to his martini once more before stirring it, “Try again.”
“Irrational hatred like mine towards you after what you and Julie did to destroy my life is something that I’m not likely to get over,” Lucy reminded him thinking back to the horrible year she’d had.
“Now Lucy, didn’t anyone ever tell you that when you have such a strong hatred for someone, that can often at times turn into sinfully pleasurable passion?” Chris raised a brow as he flashed her that trademark Chris Ramsey grin.
“I wouldn’t know,” Lucy offered refusing to think back to their night together yet again.
“Come on Lucy,” Chris winked at her, “admit it. We had a great time together.”
“You’d like to believe that,” Lucy responded watching him.
“I know it to be true,” Chris smiled tilting his head slightly, “but needless to say, that’s not the point here. Your hatred towards me seems to be your first and most pointless hang up here. It‘s not enough to make people disbelieve that you and I are lovers.”
“Chris, I think that hatred in itself speaks volumes about this crazy plan of yours,” Lucy continued sticking to her beliefs on this one, “Doc knows me well enough to know that I would never, ever fall for a man like you.”
“Lucy,” Chris gasped slightly feigning shock, “I can’t believe you’d say that. I mean considering the glimpse I’ve had into your history, I’m exactly the right kind of man you’d fall for, or so Kevin would believe.”
“Why is that?” Lucy questioned watching him as a smile spread over his features.
“Well, for one, I’m charming, attractive, very wealthy,” Chris began to list his virtues to her.
“No ego, huh?” she asked unimpressed.
“Admit it Lucy,” Chris replied looking to her, “in another lifetime I might’ve been your idea of a good time.”
“In another lifetime,” she shrugged thinking back to the men in her life previously. They’d all been dark and dangerous to some degree before Doc walked into her world and shifted it all around, so maybe, just maybe Chris might’ve fit in. She shook the thought, no there was no way she’d have fallen for a greedy, little weasel like Chris Ramsey....although, in some ways he’d reminded her of Scott at times....no, forget that. He was most definitely not like any man she’d go for, “I doubt it.”
“You’re in denial,” Chris chuckled in amusement, “but that’s alright. Most women are where I’m concerned.”
“Like Eve?” Lucy raised a brow.
“Eve had no idea just how good she had it with me,” Chris answered simply.
“But you’re going to find a way to make her see that, huh?” Lucy asked watching him turn his eyes towards the fire, “tell me something Chris. If you’re always so accustomed to getting what you want in life, why didn’t you find a way to keep Eve?”
“I wanted her to be happy,” Chris shrugged finding his mind wander to the fireplace as he thought back to a time he’d shared with Eve in this very apartment.
“So tell me something Chris,” Lucy replied leaning back in the chair a bit as she dangled her feet over the side of the chair finding herself oddly at ease at his place the longer she was there.
“What’s that Lucy?” he asked turning to face her.
“How long were you and Eve lovers before she walked out on you?” Lucy questioned watching the tightness cross his features at her remark. He said nothing and Lucy probed further, “I mean it’s not like we all didn’t see what you and that hussy were about when she was with Scott. So really, what was it that made her decide to give that up?”
“Lucy, I’d rather not get into Eve tonight,” Chris replied sternly, “I’d much rather stay focused on the plan we have here.”
“Now wait a second,” Lucy protested sitting up straighter in her chair, “I’ve told you pretty much everything there is to know about Doc and I,” she objected thinking it over for a moment, “Granted I wasn’t sober at the time, but the least you can do is return the favor here. I think it’s only fair.”
“Dinner and this partnership doesn’t entitle you to full disclosure on my life,” Chris reminded her simply.
“Maybe not,” Lucy sipped her martini, “but I think it’s only fair. I mean, obviously you know enough about me, so why not open up a little?”
“Don’t you know? Someone told me it wasn’t wise to mix business with pleasure?” Chris shot back at her.
“Oh I find that hard to believe you‘d listen to me,” Lucy shook her head, “I don’t buy it at all considering the fact that was exactly what you were trying to do here...to butter me up to open up to you,” Lucy paused for a moment, “in fact, if you want me to continue to open up with you here and agree to work with you on this, then you’d better start giving me some answers here bub. Otherwise, this partnership is going to fall flat and bust.”
“My time in the past with Eve is irrelevant here,” Chris sighed thinking it over for a moment as he turned his head back towards the flame.
“On the contrary,” Lucy replied sensing the pain in his posture as he kept his eyes from hers, “I think it’s imperative if we’re going to make any ground with one another here. If we have any chance of making progress, we need to know the little details that can help us get them back.”
“My sex life with Eve isn’t what’s important,” Chris answered softening his tone a bit, “just working on getting us both back to where we belong.”
“No, I think that’s not how it is,” she said shifting a bit in the chair as she watched him, “I think she really did a number on you, didn’t she Chris? I mean the other night you were so obvious in your displays of love for her and yet, somehow you’re reluctant to open up about it, which to mean rings of a deep wound there. What did she do? Leave your bed to jump into Doc’s to spite me?” Lucy asked with a frown.
“She didn’t jump out of mine to jump into Kevin’s. She‘d had to have gotten in it to begin with for that to be true,” Chris finally admitted turning to face her, “in fact if you want to be literal about it, she was never really mine to begin with.”
“But I thought....” Lucy started a bit surprised as she saw the truth behind his eyes.
“That what?” Chris raised a brow, “that in order to have loved Eve, I’d have had to taken her to my bed? That I had to have made love to her time and time again to earn that right to feel for her?”
“Chris, I never said that,” Lucy replied sensing the hurt in his voice as he turned his eyes away.
“If you count the times I’ve loved her in my mind, then I’d be worthy of that kind of love, but in reality, I never once crossed that line with Eve,” Chris replied bringing his glass up to his lips again, “I loved her far too much to lose what we had together.”
“I don’t understand,” Lucy stated watching him as he faced her once again.
“It’s not like she and I didn’t have opportunity, you know because we’d had plenty of it,” Chris informed her lightly as she saw the distance behind his eyes, “but it’s just that I cared about her so much that I’d keep her the best way that I knew how and at the time I thought it would be in having her as my friend.”
“So you never told her how you felt?” Lucy questioned lightly.
He shook his head, “I’d dropped hints here and there, but she always thought I was just joking with her, which was just as well as she left,” he sighed leaning back a bit, “I just wanted her to be happy and I’d thought if it meant letting her go, then so be it.”
“And now?” Lucy asked sensing something she’d never seen behind his eyes before as she watched him.
“Now I realize that a life without her is a misery that I can’t quite bear anymore,” Chris confessed truthfully turning his eyes away back towards the fire, “I’d thought that in having her friendship it would be enough, but then when I’d lost that as well, when I’d lost my only friend.....”
“Oh Chris....” Lucy gasped finding herself feeling sorry for him, something she was fairly certain she’d never feel towards someone like him ever in her life.
“At first, I tried to pretend it didn’t matter, that I could just move on and for a while I’d fooled myself into believing that I’d found that perfect love with Julie,” Chris continued more so to himself as his need to get it out flooded through him, “I tried time and time again to prove to myself that if I could just love Julie with all of my heart, that this ache for Eve would just disappear, that somehow it would just evaporate and I’d find my own means of happiness. I thought that in moving on it would be easier somehow.”
“But it never really is,” Lucy sighed thinking back to her own marriage to Scott when she’d tried to get over the loss of Kevin, “you fight so hard to find it in you to make your dreams come true, but then after a while you realize that you’re only hurting yourself...that somewhere in this fairy tale you’ve laid out for yourself, you’re missing the one thing that truly makes life magical...”
“....and knowing it’s gone only makes it all the more miserable,” Chris continued with a nod, “when Julie left me, I’d thought that this ache inside of me would just go away, that maybe she and I never were really meant to be together, and obviously that was the case, but more than anything it reminded me of what I lost before, of what I’d had with Eve and how I’d never get it back again. I wanted to reach out to her,” he paused, “but then the more I looked at her, the more I realized that her life had gone on and I was no longer a part of it. She’d forgotten me and it was as if I’d had my heart ripped out all over again.”
“And to see her with Kevin was only salt on the wounds after Julie left,” Lucy noted easing herself onto the floor as she took a seat beside Chris, “you saw that as a time when you’d needed her more than ever, but instead what you got was more of a reminder of what was left behind for you.”
“Crazy isn’t it?” Chris questioned looking over to her briefly as he tried to collect himself a bit, “I’ll bet you never expected that out of me, did you?”
“In all honesty,” she shook her head as she settled in on the floor beside him, “no, no I didn’t, but I’m glad that you felt comfortable enough to share it.”
“Well, contrary to your beliefs about me,” Chris replied with a half grin, “I don’t bed every woman the first chance I get there,” he noted her pointed stare, “well at least most of the time.”
“There are always a few exceptions,” Lucy offered lightheartedly as she watched him for a moment. She saw the sadness behind his brown eyes and felt a sense of humanity behind him, which was something she’d never, ever anticipated from him. She smiled again lightly as she reached out to squeeze his hand without a second thought, “Eve, really had no idea how truly lucky she was to have you in her life.”
“I’d like to think that, but I wonder,” Chris shrugged his eyes moving to her hand laying atop of his.
“No, I mean that Chris,” Lucy continued, “you’re the kind of man that every woman is hoping to find. You found a way to love her past all her faults, and believe me there are quite a few and you somehow never judged her.”
“It came so easy as she never judged me,” Chris shrugged, “at least at first.”
“I know what that’s like to have that unconditional trust and love,” Lucy smiled for a moment, “that’s how it was when Doc and I first found one another. He never judged me. Always told me that I was misguided, but never judged.”
“I often wondered how the hell you two ended up together,” Chris confessed looking to her with a slight smile, “Somehow he never seemed like he was up to your speed.”
“Well, I think we were on entirely different levels all together,” Lucy explained thinking back to the first time she’d met Kevin, “Granted, there was instant attraction between us, but then, well then there was something else, something so much more. I mean, at that point in my life, I’d been hurting, really seriously hurting about so many things in my life and I was about to go down this road to self destruction, but then Doc,” Lucy half smiled at the memory, “he found a way to save me from myself and he made me see that I was better than I gave myself credit for. He showed me that I didn’t have to feed on my pain and anger, that I didn’t have to see my mistakes as weaknesses, but instead he taught me to rise above it and become a better person. He turned my life around.”
“More than you expected huh?” Chris questioned thinking about the blow out at the hospital.
“You really have no idea what Doc and I went through,” Lucy confessed thinking to her time with Kevin, “he found me when I was at the lowest of lows in my life and he taught me that I could become a woman to be proud of. He showed me that I could find a way to grow up so to speak and I could learn to be the kind of person I always wanted to be as he taught me how to love,” she confessed feeling the tears building behind her eyes, “Kevin opened my eyes to a world I never dreamed possible before him and he showed me that I was a worthwhile person and that I never had to settled for being second best in anyone’s life as I was worthy of being top priority in someone’s life. I learned that I should never have to settle for being anything less than everything to someone,” she continued painfully as a tear slipped past her cheek.
“So what happened to that Lucy?” Chris questioned reaching out to sweep a tear from her face as he watched the pain behind her eyes, “what happened to turn you so far away from that belief that you deserved the best?”
“When I lost Doc, I lost so much of me,” Lucy explained meeting his eyes again as he continued to wipe at her tears, “so much of me was gone when Kevin walked out of my life and even now, I don’t know if she’ll ever be back again.”
“Lucy, I don’t think she’s gone,” Chris replied gently as he brushed his thumb over her tear stained cheek, “I just think she’s been wounded, but she’s waiting to come back and show the world just what she’s made of.”
“I seriously doubt that,” Lucy confessed with a sniffle as he pushed a strand of hair out of her face.
“I don’t,” Chris shook his head, “the way I see it, you’ve just been given a bad run of luck here, but in time, that’s going to change. In fact, the way I see it, you’re going to get your opportunity to be someone’s everything once again,” Chris replied unable to resist the urge to comfort her as he leaned in closer to her brushing his lips gently against hers in a barely there kiss before drawing back slightly though keeping their lips near enough to touch as he cupped her face in his hands, “and the way I see it, this time around you won’t have to settle for being second best. You don‘t deserve anything less,” he whispered pressing a kiss onto her soft lips once again as he held her close to him, “we’re going to find a way to get that back for you Lucy.”
“Why are you doing this Chris?” Lucy asked as they parted and she met his eyes once more, “Granted, I know you’re in this for Eve, but you could’ve done this without me. This plan of yours, I’m sure you could’ve found ways to get to her without involving me.”
“Maybe I didn’t want to go through this alone,” Chris shrugged still keeping her face in his hands as he gazed into her eyes, “maybe I thought the road would be easier if I had someone with me who understood what I was going through.”
“I didn’t think that was really possible,” Lucy confessed instinctively bringing her arms around him to draw him in closer to her as she found herself overwhelmed by the need to be close to him, “until tonight.”
“And now?” Chris questioned as he felt her hands over him and he watched the sadness behind her eyes.
“Now...,” Lucy replied leaning in to kiss him this time finding herself surprised as she’d initiated the kiss. She felt him slip his arms around her waist as their kissing continued, but as she felt him pushing her back a bit as the kiss deepened, she stopped him saying nothing as she saw the look behind his eyes and she found herself understanding it far too well herself as she too couldn’t bear the thought of being alone anymore. Finally she took the initiative and gently eased him back onto the carpet as she reclined with him kissing him all the way down to the floor. As they parted, she touched his cheek tracing it with her index finger as he held her close to him and she finished her statement, “now I’m more certain than ever that we’re going to get them back Chris,” she replied feeling his fingers move into her hair with gentle ease, “We have to.”
“We will Lucy,” Chris replied cradling her to him as he kissed her again finding a sense of security in having her so close to him as he held her and he found himself no longer feeling alone as she was nestled in his arms, “I’m certain of it.”
Lucy kissed him once more finding herself swept up in the moment as she felt needed again. Chris understood what she had felt and in listening to him, she’d found herself caught up in so many feelings she’d tried to deny, but now, now she didn’t feel so alone anymore. Breathlessly she pulled back from their kiss though reluctantly as she repositioned herself a bit laying her head against his chest as she felt the warmth of his arms around her. Without a word he tightened his hold upon her as they lay together and she turned her eyes towards the dying embers of the fire. Closing her eyes for a moment, she found herself lost in the sounds of his heart pounding in his chest, in the feel of their pain as he held her close to him, though making no obvious move to further this more than it had gone already as they just lay together.
“We’re going to get them back again,” Lucy finally broke the silence as she found herself oddly at peace in his arms.
“Of course we will,” Chris sighed
squeezing her to him tighter as he took in the moment rather enjoying this
closeness between them. While he hadn’t expected this with Lucy when he’d
invited her over, he’d realized that somehow he’d found something very
special in her. Granted he still didn’t trust her, but somehow, she’d made
him see things more clearly in this short time they’d spent together and
maybe, just maybe after tonight he might actually have found the one thing
he’d been truly lacking since Eve walked out of his life...a friend.
