As You Wish Read online

  “Do you think he knew Kent had put the pills in your drink?” Olivia asked.

  “No. I think my father thought I’d found out about Carmen and had tried to kill myself. He wanted me put under constant care so I couldn’t try to do it again. He and Kent signed papers and I...” Elise shrugged.

  “You were put in a psychiatric ward,” Olivia said.

  “And no one there believed me when I said I hadn’t tried to kill myself. One of the doctors said I was so angry that he was afraid that if I were released I might harm Carmen and her child.”

  “That’s horrible!” Kathy said. “You were made into the villain. And meanwhile, Kent was at home like nothing had happened.”

  “Then you met Jeanne,” Olivia said.

  “She wasn’t my doctor so she couldn’t release me without the permission of my father and my husband. The, you know, sane people.”

  “So you escaped in the trunk of her car.”

  “I did. She let me out after we crossed the state line, and I sat in the front seat. We took turns driving.”

  “What did you talk about?” Olivia asked.

  Elise smiled. “Jeanne said, ‘Just so you know, I think your whole family is a bunch of douche wads and I’d like to see them locked up. But let’s talk about happy things.’ So we did. Food, gardens, and places we’d been. The next day she dropped me off at the diner in Summer Hill. She said, ‘I’m going to see that you will be given a chance to fix all of this.’”

  “With lawyers,” Kathy said. “I know some.”

  “I guess so, but I got the idea that she meant something else.”

  Olivia smiled. “I’m on Jeanne’s side. I want to hear about happy things. I want to know about your shirtless hero.”

  “Who may or may not have been spending time with me to cover for Carmen and—”

  Olivia put up her hand. “Tell us the story, then let Kathy and me be the judge. How did you meet Alejandro?”

  “Through Tara,” Elise said. “At least she’s the one who made me actually see him.” She shook her head. “It’s hard to imagine now but I was so involved with my husband that I paid no attention to the gorgeous, half-naked man sauntering through the garden two days a week. But then, Tara showed up and—”

  “Wait!” Kathy said. “When and where was this?”

  “Long Island, the summer before I found out about Carmen and their child. Back in the days when I still believed that Kent and I could possibly be a happy couple.”

  “I want to know how you and Kent acted when you were together,” Olivia said. “And especially what you were like.”

  Elise grimaced. “I was perfect because that’s what I thought it took to make a man love me.”

  “Been there, done that,” Kathy said. “With every diet I hoped that—No. This is your story. Tell us about you and Kent, then we want details about you and the beautiful Alejandro.”

  “We were and are nothing but friends. That’s all.” Elise’s voice softened. “It never went past that. On that last night, I tried, but he said no.” Her eyes seemed to fade as though in a dream.

  “Does Alejandro have dark eyes?” Kathy asked.

  Elise came back to the present. “Like a stallion at midnight.”

  “And you never went to bed with him?” Kathy asked.

  “I was never unfaithful to Kent. Not so much as a kiss. But there was one night with Alejandro when I was tempted to the point where I nearly broke. Moonlight and margaritas. We’d had an argument and he was leaving the country. I had some decisions to make and...” She looked at the women. “I guess I better start at the beginning.”

  “Yes, you should,” Olivia said and the women settled back to listen.

  Chapter Seven

  Elise had on what looked like a 1950s nightie. Something out of a Sandra Dee movie. Physically, she didn’t have a lot on top but she knew her long, slim legs often sent men’s eyes into spirals. As usual, this morning, she was trying to entice her husband to actually look at her.

  “The Becketts are a very important couple so cook something special, will you?” Kent said.

  Elise leaned against the kitchen counter, her legs extended so they looked even longer. “Like what?”

  “I don’t know. I’m not a cook. Have you seen my keys?”

  “Behind you.”

  He turned. “Where?”

  “There. In that red lacquer box.”

  He picked them up. “No wonder I couldn’t find them. Why did you put them inside that thing?”

  “It’s a Japanese tebako box and I would never think of putting car keys in it. It might damage the finish.”

  “If you didn’t put them there, who did?” When she started to speak, he put up his hand. “It doesn’t matter. I have to go.”

  “Wait! I was wondering if you like what I have on.” She twirled around. It was a very short garment, covering the upper half of her with yards of semitransparent pale pink silk, and leaving the bottom half of her bare.

  “It’s cute. How much did it cost?”

  Elise tried to not let her fallen spirit show. “Nothing. I’ve had it since before we were married. Part of my trousseau.”

  “That’s good.” He stood there, staring at her, waiting for her to release him. “Out with it. I can tell that something’s on your mind.”

  “I want to get a job.”

  Instantly, there was laughter in his eyes. “Doing what? I understand that you’re bored, but really, what kind of job could you get?”

  “I was thinking about an art gallery.”

  “There aren’t any galleries near here—unless you count the local craft fair.”

  “Maybe Dad could lend me the money to open one.”

  Kent gave a snort of laughter. He was a handsome man, tall, with dark blond hair and blue eyes. He looked best in tennis whites, with a sweater tied around his shoulders. He was the epitome of good health and ancestors who went back to English aristocracy. Whereas Elise’s family had had money for generations, it was Kent’s that brought in the illustrious lineage.

  “Sorry, babe, but you know your dad. He’s not going to do anything that won’t make a ten-times profit. Why don’t you take some classes?”

  “More cooking?”

  “That’s a brilliant idea! You could make something fantastic when we have Mr. and Mrs. Beckett over. Duck a l’orange. How about that? Doesn’t that sound good?”

  “Such fun!”

  Kent gave a sigh. “Okay, so you don’t want to take any more cooking classes.” He looked at his watch—a gold Piaget that her parents had given him as a wedding gift. “I have to go. We’re working on a big merger today and I have to be there. Tonight we’ll sit down and talk about everything and I’ll try to find something for you to do.”

  “Then you’ll be home tonight before dark?”

  “Of course. No. Wait. Today’s the eighteenth, right? I have to attend a...well, something tonight. Take a bubble bath and curl up with a book. Use my absence to enjoy yourself.” He gave her cheek a quick kiss, then hurried out the door.

  Elise stood by the window and watched him drive away in his 700 series BMW, a car owned by her father’s company. Across the lawn, through the trees, she could see the side of her parents’ house and wondered if her mother was watching as Kent left.

  Where they lived had once been a guesthouse, used for overnight clients of her father’s management company. But when Kent and Elise got married, everyone—except Elise, that is—thought it would be great for “the children” to live there.

  Turning, she looked to the right and could see the corner of Kent’s parents’ house.

  They were kinder, less financially ambitious than Elise’s parents.

  The two mothers had met in college and they were so opposite that they were a perfect match. Elegance and ambition wer