The Difference

Chapter 9

It appeared he was about to pull a disappearing act.  No, this was not about to happen.  He was not about to escape, not if she had anything to do with it.  She had to stop him. And she had to do it fast.  Given a choice, he would evade her.  Well, she just had to make sure she only left him with one option.  Which significantly limited her own possibilities.  The saying about desperate times and desperate measures had never been more appropriate.  Going totally against her own grain, she had to employ a tactic she hated: she had to focus attention on herself.  She barely recalled having taken the deep breath required for sending her loud, clear words out over the crowd like arrows.  She hoped they were received as missiles of Cupid, not poisonous darts.

All night long, she had been on pins and needles.  How typical of Michael to be hours late for his own party! When she had spied him finally arriving earlier, she had been shocked to discover he was not alone.  Was that why he was late?  Was he busy picking up his little date?  How wonderful to see Julia hanging on his arm.  No, not on his arm: he was holding her hand.  Lisa felt like throwing up.  This was not going well.  Handholding had a special meaning to Michael as she well knew.  During the first 15 months of their marriage, they had constantly held on to each other in public and in private.  He always had told her, not matter how crazy things got, holding her hand reminded him that she was his direct line to sanity.  As long as she could hold his hand, or even a finger, as long as his hands were on her, she knew they would be ok.  And he had been right: when the handholding had stopped, chaos had taken over.

Later on, when they finally had reconciled and she went on her mad-dash around the world just to be with him, they resumed that part of their relationship.  Not caring how anyone would interpret their relationship, he always reached for her hand whenever they were out.  At home, during their more private times, he also often just randomly grasped for her:  Watching movies, going on walks, watching the kids play.  Out horseback riding, he often stopped and moved his horse close to hers, reaching over, holding her hand, smiling at her sweetly.  When they made love, they also habitually interlaced their fingers, either in intense passion right before climaxing, or as he pinned her arms above or behind her body, raising her arousal hundredfold.  There was something special about having her hands in his.  She had felt protected, sheltered, loved, and adored. 

So, to see him share this symbol of their intimacy with this woman outraged her.  Who was this chick to him?  Sure, she was tall and gorgeous, but so what?  Where did she come from all of a sudden?  Lisa wished with all her heart fair Juliette would climb back into the fucking catalogue she had stepped out of.  Maybe she would turn back into one of those front window mannequins after midnight.  One could hope…  Well, it might be a moot point anyway.  Lisa was pretty sure, she would be able to distract Michael with her little red-hot number.  Julia might as well give up now, Lisa was decked out with special weapons custom made to get under the King’s armor. She could not hold back a smile, imagining his face when he’d detect her jewelry.  Yeah, Mike, let’s see who those passionate dark eyes will devour.

“Oh, look who’s here.  Come on, Lockwood, you said you wanted to meet him. Let’s go.”

Grabbing his hand, she maneuvered Brett and Lockwood to the door, following them inside. 

God, Michael looked stunning.  Good thing her mouth went dry or she would have drooled. He wore a dark outfit with black pants and a tightfitting jacket he wore open, revealing a dark blue shirt.  Static electricity grabbed her and made her tremble as her nervous system and its unique sensory receptors that only seemed to work when Michael was in her vicinity went into overdrive.  She hoped her outward cockiness would carry her through and keep a protective mantel around her.  No need to reveal her vulnerability to him yet.