AllFreeNovel
Share Us
In the pile of silver on the desk, Lily could see the progression of her abilities, could see them getting better. Not many of those were of saleable quality – they were more for practice than anything else – but that’s why they were piled up inside a champagne flute for display purposes. No one looked closely, and collectively they had quite an effect.
‘Sterling, most of them. One or two brass and copper, as you can see.’ Lily started packing them back inside their glass, and the sound of them clinking against the glass filled the studio. ‘The white gold and platinum ones are over there.’ She motioned towards the locked display cabinet on the other side of the studio. She’d made sure she was really good before she’d started in on the more precious metals.
Alex wandered across to look, leaving her to pack up the display rings again. ‘These are really beautiful,’ he said, his fingers reaching up to touch the glass. ‘You made Cora’s ring, right?’
‘Of course. She’s my best friend. Like I’d let anyone else do it.’
‘You let someone else make yours,’ he pointed out, turning back to face her. The quirk of a smile told her he was joking, but the words still barbed her heart.
‘Yeah, well. That’s different.’ Tipping the last ring into the glass, she placed it back into the window display. ‘What are you doing here, anyway? Ring shopping for the fiancée you haven’t found yet?’
‘Actually,’ Alex said, sounding hesitant for the first time Lily could remember. ‘I had something I wanted to talk to you about. Fancy a spot of lunch while we talk?’
A lunch date with Alex Harper. How her teenage heart would have pitter-pattered. Lily looked around the empty shop; she’d had a decent number of customers that morning, but Monday wasn’t exactly her busiest day. ‘As long as we eat at the Mill, so I can keep an eye on anyone wanting to look in the shop.’
‘Whatever you want,’ Alex agreed, holding the door open for her. The warmth in his voice promised considerably more than lunch, but she suspected that would be the same whoever he was talking to. The man was walking charm and sex, after all.
Lily grabbed her bag and her keys, reminding herself that she was a grown up, engaged woman, and she didn’t want that sort of thing from Alex any more.
Probably.
Chapter Three
It was ridiculous that he should feel nervous about this. But knowing that didn’t make it any easier to find the right words, or the way to start the conversation. Not that Lily seemed to notice his discomfort; she was too busy glancing back at her shop every few moments from their table outside the main Mill building, in case anyone wanted to buy anything. Alex gazed at the menu, not taking in any of the words. He needed her full attention, and the only way he knew to get it was to talk about her stupid fiancé.
‘Does Edward like you working here?’ he asked, and Lily spun back round to face him, as predicted.
‘Is that what you brought me here to ask?’ The sharpness in her tone felt familiar, somehow.
‘No.’ But suddenly he wanted to know the answer. What was her life like with this man? Alex might not have met him, but he knew already he was wrong for Lily. She needed someone like her, someone sharp and bright and honest. Someone who would let her be herself.
Lily’s gaze dropped down to the menu, held tightly in white-knuckled hands. ‘He’s been very supportive,’ she said, but the words were dull, empty.
‘Supportive how?’
‘He says…’ She sucked in a breath, as if steeling herself for something unpleasant. ‘He likes that I’ve found a way to make my hobby pay for itself.’
‘He… Hang on. What? This is your career, right?’
She gave a sad little laugh and lowered her head so her hair fell into her eyes. ‘He’s right. I mean, I don’t earn anywhere near as much as him, but then, I’m only just getting started…’
A hot rage started in Alex’s belly, rising up through his chest. Who the hell was this man to try to keep Lily Thomas from being every golden thing she’d always been meant to be? To patronize her and make her feel less, when Alex knew straight off she was worth a dozen Edwards?
‘And you call that being supportive?’ Alex asked, trying to keep his voice even.
‘I know, I know,’ Lily said, looking up with a quick smile. ‘But he doesn’t mean it that way.’
‘I don’t really see what other way there is to mean it,’ Alex said, the words coming out clipped.
‘He just… It’s more art than work to him.’ She shrugged. ‘He understands the business side of it, and he helps with the books and that sort of thing. But he doesn’t really understand that fiddling with bits of metal and stone can be a real job.’
‘Of course it is,’ Alex said immediately. It was as real as photography, anyway. He hid a wince. Wasn’t he the same? Not telling anyone about his dream in case they thought it was stupid? In case they thought a numbers man couldn’t have a creative side? In case they all told him he was an idiot for wanting to try?
Well, at least he had one person, right here, he could trust to be on his side. So now he just had to tell her. It had to be better than talking about her idiot fiancé, anyway.
‘In fact, that’s part of what I wanted to talk to you about.’
Lily’s brow crinkled up. ‘My shop?’
‘To start with, yeah. How did you get set up here?’
Leaning back in his chair, Alex listened as Lily embarked on a lengthy story, with several subplots, about how she came to be ensconced at the Mill. She paused only briefly to order the Welsh rarebit when a waitress interrupted them. Alex followed suit, more interested in Lily than the menu.
He’d been wondering since yesterday where the Lily he remembered had gone, but listening to her talk about the renovations the Mill had undergone, the committee structure, how they decided who to let in to the collective… He saw her again. Her cheeks flushed, her hands constantly moving… He could see the passion in her face, the brightness of her eyes, even with every flash of that incongruous ring as she illustrated a point with a gesture. She looked alive, for the first time since they’d met again.
‘So you were part of this from the start?’ he asked as the waitress brought their drinks. ‘This is, well, all your doing?’
Lily shook her head, looking down at the glass in her hands. ‘A very small part of it. But the whole idea of the collective was that we all got to have some input into how it was set up. We pay rent, like we would anywhere, but we also help to run the place.’
‘It’s a great set-up.’ Alex sipped his drink while he found the courage for what he wanted to say next. Hearing Lily talk so enthusiastically about the Mill had made up his mind. What was the point in waiting when such a great opportunity had opened up before him? ‘Which is why I was hoping you could tell me a bit more about the studio space that’s opened up for rent.’
A frown creased across Lily’s forehead. ‘The studio? Why? I mean, if you’re looking for office space, this really isn’t the right place.’
‘I’m not,’ Alex said, but Lily kept talking over him.
‘Although a few of the guys here would probably be interested in speaking to you – a lot of them used Mr Phillips as their accountant and he’s been trying to help us out since he retired, but he really does need to slow down now. The doctor says –’
‘Lily.’ Reaching across the table, Alex rested his hand on hers, his thumb brushing across the smooth skin of her palm before he even realized he was doing it. ‘I’m looking for a studio. Not an office.’
‘A studio?’ she echoed, bafflement shining across her face. ‘But why?’
If she laughed, Alex would give up the whole idea, right now. But he had to tell somebody, sometime. So… ‘I’m setting up as a photographer. Not an accountant.’
‘Oh.’ Her eyes widened, but she didn’t laugh. ‘That’s… that’s wonderful, Alex.’
The tightness in Alex’s lungs began to loosen, and he could breathe again. ‘It’s kind of a secret project for
now, if you don’t mind. I mean, I talked it through with my dad, before he died. We planned it all out together, But… I want to get properly set up before I start telling people.’
‘And you need a studio. Of course.’ Glancing behind her, Lily caught the attention of their waitress and asked, with a smile, ‘Jess, is Max in today?’
The girl nodded. ‘He’s in his office. Want me to call him down?’
‘Don’t worry. We’ll go up and see him when we’re finished.’
‘Max?’ Alex asked when the waitress walked away.
‘Mr Hughes,’ Lily clarified, and Alex nodded, recognizing the name from her story.
‘He owns the place, right? He’ll want to check me out, I suppose.’
