“Are you alright?”

  “We just got a bit into the brandy while waiting. Nothing I can’t handle, love. How did your chat go with the ladies?”

  “Iva set me up. It became a complete cross-examination about us and when we are getting married.”

  “At least it wasn’t me bringing it up.” He leaned into Lily’s cheek. “Your hair smells so sweet. It reminds me of…”

  Lily batted him away. “Nothing. It should remind you of nothing right now. You need to be the pillar of decorum tonight, Nicholai.”

  Nicholai looked annoyed. It was the first time she had seen him with anything less than a smile on his face.

  They entered the dining room and were led to their seats. Nicholai tried to pull Lily’s seat out, but it was getting caught on the carpet. After a few failed attempts, the man next to her offered to help and succeed in releasing her chair.

  The sound of a serving bell was heard, and Martin clinked his knife gently against the glass in front of him. “Honored guests, I am pleased to introduce you to the Philadelphia County Committee Party Boss. Mr. Augustus Montgomery.”

  Lily looked as the couple entered the room. Mr. Montgomery was a tall man, his head towered over most of the guest as he made his way down to the end of the table. He looked fierce, Lilian thought. Similar to the criminals that Lily had seen when she had to file papers at the courthouse for Colin. She could only catch glimpses of his companion between the guests opposite her.

  The couple took their seats, then Martin and Iva sat down, followed by everyone else at the table. Lily was putting her napkin in her lap when she heard Nicholai ask the lady next to him, “I wonder why he brought his sister tonight?”

  “Mr. Gagarin, I don’t know what you are thinking. That isn’t his sister. That is his wife.”

  Lily looked up, the color draining from Nicholai’s face. Turning, she looked at Mrs. Montgomery and let out a gasp.

  There, sitting next to the most powerful man in the state was the woman from the park.

  Chapter 7

  Early Spring, 1888

  It had been a lousy few months for Colin. If he was going to be honest, it had actually been more than a few lousy months, seven of them to be exact. It started a year ago when Lily announced her engagement and then again when he saw her through the window at the most expensive restaurant in town. He was losing his mind. He was comfortable to be sure, but he knew he could never afford to take Lily, or anyone, someplace like that.

  He was irritable and now was starting to dread going to the office. It meant being next to her and he couldn’t bring himself to be near her when all he could think about was kissing her. But he couldn’t; she was engaged, and it wasn’t to him.

  The town was still reeling from the untimely death of James O’Donnell just days prior. He was just coming from the police station. They had no leads on who did it, but he had a suspicious feeling he knew who it might be. His also knew that his best friend, Pat, also knew more than he was letting on; he had been in the hospital since the incident for health reasons. When he discussed the case with Pat, he could see it in his eyes that this dear friend had some answers, but when he asked questions, Pat changed the subject or mentioned the need to move Samantha out of the city.

  Prior to his visit with the Police Chief, he visited with Samantha to discuss matters about the O’Donnell estate. He remembered the day she was born and had always regarded her as his daughter, even though they weren’t related by blood. She had seemed so calm, even though she had just lost her husband. She almost seemed relieved that he was gone, but he would never question her. Samantha was probably still in shock and hadn’t processed that her husband was really gone. He was glad Lily stayed with her the previous night.

  Pat had been adamant that they needed a way to get Samantha away from the city. He wouldn’t admit it, but it must have to do with why James was murdered in the first place. But again, he didn’t want to press his friend; all he wanted to do was help him.

  He entered his office, the bell ringing to announce his arrival, he took off his coat and hat, put them on the coat rack next to the door. He turned to see Lily was asleep at her desk. Her arms were on the folder under her head, which was to the side.

  She looked so peaceful, he didn’t want to disturb her. He walked over to the desk, looking down at her. She was beautiful; he never thought she could get any prettier, but with each passing day, her beauty appeared to radiate from every pore.

  He relaxed as he looked at her. He realized that was because her hands were covered, and he didn’t see the ring on her finger; the constant reminder that she wasn’t his anymore. Was there a time when she was his? He honestly wished he wasn’t such a coward. It was his fault she was marrying Nicholai in the first place. If he hadn’t pushed her so hard, maybe things could have carried on as they were. There wouldn’t be this uncomfortable silence between then.

  Ultimately, he just wanted things to return to the way that they were. But he knew deep down they could never be that way again. He reached over to cup her cheek. He moved his fingertips to her soft lips. Mesmerized by them, he leaned forward to get a closer look. He never noticed before, but her nose was full of freckles. Before he realized it, he leaned down to press his lips to hers. It was only an instance; a chaste kiss for him to hold on to. A memory no one would be able to take from him. Lily gave a little sob and Colin backed away with a longing in his eyes. He stared at her a minute more before picking up the stack of mail on her desk and retreating back to his office.

  Lily had a busy morning; between researching information for an upcoming case and completing the necessary papers to file for the O’Donnell estate the time just flew. She was with Samantha the night before, offering her sincerest condolences for the death of her husband and running interference with Misty to the many visitors that came to call, that she hadn’t had much sleep. She was so tired, and her work was complete. Colin wasn’t due back yet, so a quick nap at her desk sounded so inviting. Only for thirty minutes, she thought.

  She set her head on the desk and closed her eyes and drifted into the blissful dream she had every time she closed her eyes. She was committed to Nicholai, but he couldn’t control her dreams. And they were just dreams, so what harm was it? She could be with Nicholai during the day, but in her dreams, she could be whoever she wanted to be and have whatever she wanted. And what she truly desired, no matter how much she tried to deny it, was to be loved by Colin Sullivan.

  It would start as a close-up of Colin laughing. The lines around his eyes pronounced as he closed his eyes and let forth a laugh from deep inside his belly. Lily smiled and was soon laughing with him. It was so rare to hear him laugh, but in her dreams, it happened all the time.

  She reached out and placed her hand on Colin’s bare arm.

  His sleeves were rolled up, so she knew he had been working, but found it important to come take a break outside with her.

  Lily lifted her face to the sky, allowing the sunshine to warm her face and she smiled. Life was perfect.

  Colin lifted Lily by the waist and spun her in a circle before placing her gently on the ground, capturing her lips with his own. He nibbled on her bottom lip, gently demanding entrance. When she complied, Colin slipped his tongue inside and claimed her as his own.

  Lily pulled back after a breathless minute and looked into those crystal blue eyes, which were now like molten pools.

  “I love you, Lily. More than I could ever imagine.”

  Lily went to respond, but a small voice intruded.

  “Poppa! Poppa! Swing me like you did Momma. Swing me!”

  Lily looked down to see a small version of Colin clutching a worn rag blanket and lifting his arms for Colin to swing him in a circle.

  Colin complied and lifted the young lad above his shoulders, gently turning in a circle. Both Colin and the boy were laughing.

  This dream was so real; it was almost like she could taste him. He tasted of mint and coffee. When she had opened her eyes, she was stunned to see Colin’s closed eyes. It wasn’t a dream at all! Colin had kissed her.

  Although, it had been while she was asleep. She quickly closed her eyes, as to not alert him that she was awake.

  He kissed me. He kissed me. I can’t believe he kissed me!

  The thoughts swirled in her head as Lily kept her eyes clamped shut. She continued with the daydream as she felt Colin’s warmth on her lips. The thoughts of her dream rushing before her.

  “I love you, Lily. More than I could ever imagine.”

  “Poppa swing me.”

  The boy raised above Colin’s head.

  Spinning faster and faster.

  Lily started to panic.

  “Stop it!” Lily cried. “You might hurt him.”

  “Stop it!”

  The pair continued to turn, morphing into something new in front of her eyes.

  “Please, stop it!”

  There stood Nicholai with a young boy she didn’t recognize.

  A sob tore from Lily’s throat. This was the first time the dream ended in such a way. She felt Colin break the kiss, but not move. It was an eternity until he retreated back to his office, and even after that, she waited a few more moments until she raised her head off the desk.

  She stretched and picked up the papers she had prepared along with the daily newspaper she had went to grab from the local newsie. She walked over into his office to see Colin at his desk writing something down. She walked over to him, setting the papers and newspaper at the side of him.

  “Here are the notes you asked me to prepare for you,” she said, staring at his lips. She couldn’t help it. She had always wondered how soft his lips were and now that she knew, all she wanted to do was touch them again, this time with her fingertips before dragging him to her for another kiss.

  He looked up and smiled. “Thank you, Lily,” he said, before he looked back down at what he was writing. How could he kiss her and be so unaffected by it? He was always so calm and collected; why couldn’t she be the same way? She ran her hands down the front of her skirt and tried to think of something to say.

  Colin must have felt her still standing there, as he raised his head and arched his eyebrow as he did when he was waiting for a response. Lily bit her lip then blurted out the first question that came to her mind.

  “How is Samantha?” she asked, not wanting to go back into the other room so soon.

  “Tired, but better than she was the first night,” he said, putting his hand to his forehead, rubbing to ease some of the stress he must be feeling. “She wanted to thank you again for staying with her last night.”

  “It was no trouble at all,” Lily said. “It’s the least I could do.”

  “And I wanted to say thank you as well. I think she really needed a friend and she doesn’t much have those right now.”

  “I’m glad I was able to be something for her,” she said. She pointed to the newspaper at the top of the pages. “I also picked up the newspaper for you. I figured you could use the distraction.

  “Thank you,” Colin said, as he picked it up and looked at the back of the paper. Suddenly, he stood up, pointing at something on the back. “This is it!” he exclaimed, as grabbed her into a hug before releasing her to rush into the main room.

  “What is?” Lily said, as she followed behind him, trying to see what he was pointing at.

  “This!” he said, shoving the paper in her face. He was so excited, she could tell, as she pushed the paper back, so she could see what it read. It seemed to be an advertisement for a bride. Lily had heard of such things; advertisements for women from men out west looking for companionship. But she never had seen one in the local newspaper.

  “What does this mean?” she asked cautiously, not knowing why Colin was so excited.

  “It’s the answer to our dilemma,” he exclaimed, going to grab his jacket.

  “And what dilemma are you referring to?” she asked again, still not knowing where he was going with it.

  “I can’t really explain, only that this will solve our problems about Samantha.”

  “What do you mean?” she said, as she started to piece it together. “Oh no, you can’t be serious. You are not going to have her marry again. She just lost her husband!”

  “You don’t understand; Samantha might be in danger.”

  Lily walked over to him, taking the paper from him. “What do you mean, she’s in danger?”

  “It might be nothing, but her father and I think that the killer may come back to finish the job.”

  “You mean to Samantha?” she exclaimed, her mind racing to bloody thoughts. “That can’t be right.”

  “We can’t be sure, but while she is here she is in danger.”

  “But no matter, you can’t just force her.”

  “We can force her if it will make her safe.”

  “She’s never going to listen to you if you act that way.” When Colin didn’t listen to her, she reached for his hand before he went to the door. “Colin! Why aren’t you listening to me?”

  “Lily, maybe you should stay out of this,” he said, as he grabbed his coat off the rack and shrugged his arms into it.

  Lily felt hurt by his words. He had never asked her to stay out of anything; it was starting to happen. It was getting to the point when he didn’t need her anymore.

  Before she could speak again, he snatched the paper out of her hands and headed out the door. “I’ll be back this afternoon,” he said before he was gone.

  Lily went back to sit on the desk and wiped away the tears. She was so happy when she knew he was kissing her and now all she wanted to do was curl up into a ball and cry. Would she ever be rid of these feelings?

  Chapter 8

  Her time with Nicholai had become strained in the past few weeks. He was now involved in the political side of Philadelphia and spent his evenings working with the committee or in the factory pushing his employees to produce faster. Lily could tell the stress was taking its toll. He had never snapped at her, but he looked tired and when they did spend time together he seemed distracted. When she stopped by the factory unannounced he would shuffle papers as if he was hiding something. “Committee business,” he would say and shuffle her out the door. She stopped coming by unannounced after that.

  She would be glad when the elections were over in the Fall and things could go back to normal.

  They had been engaged for just over a year and she was no closer to settling on a date than they were at that night in the restaurant so many months ago. She could still recall the look on Colin’s face as she caught his stare through the restaurant glass. His expression was hard as stone and his jaw, firmly clamped. She knew he was furious, but he never brought it up when she saw him in the office the next day. Her heart twinged every time she would think about it.

  The tension was so thick, Lily was waiting for something to cause it to combust. To make matters worse, her sister and Mrs. Montgomery appeared to be the best of friends and Lily went out of her way to avoid them. When she did meet with them they pressed her for wedding details, even going as far as to suggest that Mr. Montgomery would pay for a portion of the wedding. Lily was flabbergasted.

  Dismissing the thought, she crossed the street, walking past the alley between the two shops on the far side of the park. She still couldn’t walk by there without shivering. Several times at lunch she thought she saw Mrs. Montgomery and the same man meeting again. This time she didn’t follow. Colin’s words about everything else echoed in her head. “It doesn’t concern you, Lily.”

  So many things had happened in so few months. Her heart ached when she thought about it; it hurt her even more when she thought about Colin. He had been quiet and distant. His requests were more demanding, and he had given her clipped responses to any questions she asked him. His tone of voice hurt so much that she started to limit her interactions with him. And Nicholai? She didn’t even want to go there.

  She arrived at the office and paused before turning the knob. You can do this, she whispered to herself. Holding it together was something she could do, at least for Colin. She just needed to not take his reactions so personally, as he had been dealing with so much loss.

  Samantha moved almost immediately after Lily gave Colin the paper. She stopped by to say goodbye and she was gone. Lily heard from her in a letter telling her of her handsome new husband and her cooking lessons at the local hotel in town.

  Shortly thereafter, Samantha’s father and Colin’s best friend had been murdered. It was a lot for Colin to deal with at the time, especially with the circumstances of his death. He was killed by Samantha’s dead husband’s brother, in a plot that seemed to be about money and control of the company. At least, this is what she had gleaned from the notes about Samantha’s estate claim.

  She had tried to ask Colin about it, but he very much brushed her off, and once again told her, “This doesn’t concern you, Lily.”

  She opened the door, that familiar ring echoing in the cold and empty first room. It seemed a lifetime ago that they had shared that kiss in this very office. She had thought that maybe it meant something more; but of course, she was never able to broach that subject. She was sure it had to do with Samantha’s departure and Pat’s death. Nothing more.

  Colin seemed too consumed with other matters and the kiss just didn’t seem like a subject that she should bring up. It didn’t help that she had been consumed with guilt every time she looked at Nicholai. She felt she had betrayed him. She had never asked for the kiss, and yet it was everything she would have wanted a kiss to be.

  And Nicholai was so understanding. After Nicholai’s embarrassing display at Iva’s dinner party he hadn’t pressed her for a date or even brought it up at all. It was almost as if he had forgotten they were engaged. He spent more evenings with the committee and working late on the weekends. Honestly, Lily was grateful for the reprieve.

  She shrugged off her coat and placed it next to Colin’s black wool coat. It looked as if it hadn’t been touched since she had watched him pull it off and place it there yesterday morning. He must have not left the office at all. She took off her hat and placed it on another hook, pulling her long blonde hair through her fingers, she massaged her scalp for a moment. Her hair was much longer now, nearly down to her waist. She normally kept it up in a bun at the office but today even doing that was too much of an effort.