To My Senses The Nicci Beauvoir Series Book 1 (33 page)

“
Nicci, of course you
belong. What a silly thing to say. You belong here with these
people more than I do. Come on, loosen up and enjoy the
party.”

My grip on my champagne
glass tightened. “Michael, why do you think I belong with these
people?”

“
Because you’re one of
them,” he quickly replied. “Your family is one of the
well-established wealthy and these are your peers. What are you
getting at? I wish I had grown up around people like this. I could
have been somebody really important.”

I set my glass on the
table, a little put off by his words. “You don’t think you’re
important?”

He chuckled, shaking his
head. “Now who sounds like the psychiatrist? I just meant I could
have had it a lot easier than I did. Instead of trying to climb the
mountain, I could have started out on the peak.”

That made me want to say
something sarcastic, but I suddenly lost interest.

Michael nodded to my plate,
as he reached for his fork. “Finish your food and then we’ll go
dance.”

I picked at my meal, but
the food had no appeal for me. I was just eating to fill a hole.
Michael watched over me, nodding approvingly when I had finished my
plate.

He stood up from the table
and took my hand. “Now let’s show the rest of the crowd here how to
have a good time.”

As soon as his feet hit the
dance floor, Michael was bumping and grinding like a baboon on
crack. He grabbed my hand and attempted a few twirls. I almost
landed on my face once or twice. Luckily, he caught me before I
crashed to the ground. He was trying to appear suave and
sophisticated on the dance floor, when he really looked clumsy and
inept.

Thankfully, a break came in
the music and I squeezed his hand. “I have to sit down. You’re too
much for me.”

That made him smile. He
escorted me back to our table. I plopped down in my chair and
waited for the room to stop spinning.

“
I love to dance. Most
people say I’m pretty good at it,” he declared, taking his seat.
His eyes immediately became distracted by something behind me.
“Well, Mrs. Fallon.” Michael immediately stood up.

I closed my eyes and took a
breath, trying to allay my spinning head. I decided it was safer if
I didn’t stand up, in case I fell over, so I simply swiveled around
in my chair.

Sammy saw my face and, for
a split second, I could have sworn she was pissed. If so, she hid
it well.

“
Nicci, I didn’t know you
knew our esteemed doctor here. How sweet.” She smiled, baring her
fangs.

“
Why yes, Mrs. Fallon.
Michael and I met at Colleen and Eddie’s wedding.” I knew the
mention of the wedding would jar a few unhappy memories loose for
her.

She just kept smiling. “How
is your father, dear? Everyone well, I hope.”

“
Couldn’t be better. He has
been very busy at the office. Business is just booming.”

“
I’m glad. He loves his
little business so.” She looked away for a moment to the dance
floor.

“
How is Colleen?” I posed,
knowing the superficial woman would probably embellish the
truth.

“
Oh, the poor dear. She is
doing better than expected. Falling down the stairs the way she
did, I’m surprised she didn’t do more injury to herself. I hired a
nurse for a while to care for her. She’ll be back in the swing of
things in no time.”

“
And Eddie?” I pursued. “Is
he going to be back swinging away soon, as well?”

That took Sammy off guard.
Her smile dropped.

Michael was taking in the
entire confrontation while anxiously fidgeting with his bow
tie.

“
Eddie is enjoying school
in Italy.” Sammy’s smile was back. “Their architecture program is
world renowned and he felt he could get a well-rounded education
there.”

“
Really? He had to go all
the way to Italy for that?”

Sammy opened her mouth about to say
something, but Michael jumped in between us.

“
Nicci and I have been
dating since Christmas. Did you know her aunt introduced
us?”

Sammy gave Michael one of
her fake smiles. The kind I had seen her flaunt at numerous parties
throughout the years. “Well, I’ll have to let Hattie do some
matchmaking for me,” she conceded. “You two make such a nice
couple. I hope ya’ll have fun tonight. Oh, and Happy New Year.”
Sammy quickly sauntered away from our table.

Letting out a loud breath,
Michael undid the top button on his shirt and plopped down in his
chair. He was wiping his hand over his brow, when out of the corner
of my eye, a flurry of bright blue suddenly descended on our
table.

“
I saw the whole thing,”
Val announced. Dressed to the hilt in a lovely light blue gown that
shone against her gray hair, she frantically waved her hand at me.
“I don’t know what you said to the mighty silicone one, but you
certainly got her feathers ruffled.”

I stood and kissed Val on
the cheek. “I didn’t say anything she didn’t deserve to hear.” I
motioned to Michael. “Val Easterling, this is Michael
Fagles.”

“
Actually, it’s Doctor
Michael Fagles,” Michael corrected.

Val dubiously inspected the
man from head to toe. She then turned to me and raised her
eyebrows, disapprovingly.

“
Nicci,” Michael chastised
in a curt tone. “I can’t believe you insulted Sammy like that. She
was just being polite by not coming down to your level. Really, I
don’t know where you got off attacking her the way you did.” He put
his hands on his hips. “Not to mention that she is my patient and
one of the reasons I’m doing so well—”

“
Do you have an off
switch?” Val cut in. “Nicci and Sammy have a long and very strained
history. Don’t stick your nose in affairs that don’t concern you.
If Nicci wanted to insult Sammy, then she had a damned good reason
for it.”

Michael’s nostrils flared.
“I’ll just go and get some more champagne.” He bolted from the
table.

I sighed, knowing I would
be grilled about my behavior later. “Val, that was my date. Play
nice.”

“
He’s a little twit. Why
are you wasting your time with him?”

I shrugged and stretched
for my champagne. “He has his moments.”

“
Dear, most men have their
moments; birth and death. Everything in between revolves around
sports and sex. That man will not make you happy.”

I lifted my flute to my
lips. “My father said the same thing.”

“
We both know what we are
talking about. Let me go before your date gets back. I would
probably just insult him some more, if I hung around. Call me soon,
pet.” She kissed my cheek and waddled off into the
crowd.

I sat down at the table,
feeling the weight of the evening settling on my shoulders. I
quickly drained the champagne from my glass, hoping the effects of
the alcohol could relieve my floundering mood.

When Michael returned, he
was tenuously balancing two glasses of champagne in his
hands.

“
Is she gone?”

Nodding, I took one of the
glasses from him and drank down half the contents in one
swallow.

He took the chair beside me
and pretended not to notice. “I don’t know if I should be telling
you this, but I have always had a problem with my female clients
getting too emotionally attached. I knew Sammy had been interested
in me for some time, and I was concerned with how to let her down
gently. You seem to have taken care of that problem for
me.”

I slapped my flute on the
table. “I’m sorry about what happened. I guess I’m still upset with
her about the whole Eddie situation. Anyway, Sammy has always had a
reputation for being interested in young, handsome men. She is said
to have quite a stable.”

Michael chuckled. “I’m
flattered by her interest of course, but I don’t think she’s my
type. If I weren’t seeing her professionally, that is.”

“
You don’t find Sammy
attractive?” I asked, amused.

“
No, she is too blatant
with her sexuality. Women like that always make me
uncomfortable.”

“
Why?” I had to ask. I had
always been under the impression that women like Sammy appealed to
most men.

“
They’re always the type of
women who are never happy with one man,” Michael explained. “They
like to roam when they get bored. I want a woman who will be
steadfast and loyal. I can’t risk having a wife like Sammy tarnish
my good reputation.”

I drank from my champagne
and turned my attention to the crowd. I did not want to hear about
Michael’s requirements for a suitable wife. It wasn’t like I was
interested in marrying the man.

The rest of the evening, we
socialized with some other couples we knew at the party. I should
say Michael socialized, introducing himself to anyone who would
listen, and passing out his business cards whenever and wherever he
could. I just stood by him, never once commenting on his crass
behavior. I spoke only when spoken to, and made no attempt to
engage anyone in conversation. Michael never noticed or commented
on my reticence. I had to wonder if he didn’t find it perfectly
normal.

At midnight, he yelled and
blew his idiotic paper horn and kissed me half a dozen times. I
didn’t protest, nor did I scream or join in the jubilation. When
the revelers started singing the song so traditional at New Year’s,
I tried frantically to hold back the tears. There was an old
acquaintance that I could never forget. Amid a room full of
friendly strangers, his was the only face I longed to
see.

***

We left the party shortly
before one. Michael told me he had tolerated enough drunken people
for one night, but I think he had just run out of business cards.
He skillfully maneuvered me through the crowds, out of the
ballroom, and into his Porsche. We hummed along the wet city
streets and headed toward the Garden District.

A short time later, we
pulled in front of a small cottage. It looked as if it had been
newly renovated, with a freshly landscaped garden in front. All the
old exterior light fixtures had been replaced with shiny new brass
ones. Even the brass knocker and door handle looked
refurbished.

I climbed from his Porsche,
casually taking in the cottage. “Your place?”

“
Yeah, I bought it about a
year ago. Put a ton of money into it. It was a real labor of love,
so to speak. What do you think?” He bounded up the wooden steps,
which creaked under his weight.

I beheld the man and his
cottage. “It’s very…you.”

It did remind me of
Michael. Something spruced up, to be fancier than it was. A plain,
unassuming cottage decorated to look like one of the larger, more
impressive residences in the Garden District.

“
You can’t tell right now,
but I had it painted in my favorite Mardi Gras colors,” he said.
“Dark green and purple.”

I followed tentatively up
the steps, mumbling to myself, “If this is the
outside….”

After he opened the door
and waved me inside, a blaze of lights illuminated the entrance
hall. There were shiny, pine hardwood floors and new, ornate
crystal light fixtures on the walls. The living room to the right
of the entrance was small, but had a large marble fireplace in the
far right corner. There was a light blue sofa with matching chairs
and curtains. The walls had been painted in alternating panels of
light blue and beige. The original fixtures and floors had been
replaced, making the room look new and sterile.

“
It’s nice, huh?” he
eagerly asked, coming up to me.

I cringed, surveying the
room. “Charming.”

He took me by the hand and
led me past the double doors connecting the living room to the
dining room. An oak dining room table and chairs sat in the middle
of the room. The corner fireplace had been plugged, and Michael had
put green plastic plants in the hearth. The fireplace mantle had
been painted, to make it look like marble. All of the decorative
plaster inlay—prized in many old mantles—had been hidden by several
coats of paint and drizzle.

When we walked into the
kitchen, I tried not to laugh when I saw pink cherubs painted above
a shiny stainless sink. The countertops had been updated to black
granite, and all the appliances were shiny and
stainless.

“
Sammy helped me a little.
She made suggestions about how to redo this place.”

“
I should have known.” I
pointed above the sink. “Pink cherubs. Classic Sammy
Fallon.”

Once back in the living
room, I sat on the sofa and I kicked off my heels, while Michael
started a fire by turning a knob on the right side of the mantle. I
shuddered. A gas fireplace—the ultimate insult to an antique
hearth.

“
Sammy insisted on most of
this. My mother helped out, too. I don’t like the fireplace,
however. I plan on changing it back to the original when I can.” He
cuddled next to me on the sofa. “There are some other things I want
to do around here, but I just don’t have the time right now.”
Michael nuzzled my cheek. “I think what this place needs is a
woman’s touch and someone who knows old houses. Maybe you could
come by and help when you have the time. I’d love to have your
advice on some things.”