17
Lily spent the entire next day with Ethan until the evening rolled around. Most of their day was spent in bed until they went to pick up the gear from the campground. Once they were done, Ethan brought her back to the resort. She wanted to stay with him again, but also didn’t want to become dependent on him if she didn’t plan to stay.
She had a lot to think about.
When Thursday morning rolled around, she opened her door after a knock to find another coffee waiting for her. This time with the man holding it. He smiled brightly and handed her the cappuccino after leaning in to kiss her.
The kiss was short and sweet, and she almost pulled him inside for the sex her body craved.
But she refrained.
“Hello, beautiful. What’s your plan today?” he asked.
She leaned into her room and grabbed her purse off the dresser before stepping into the hallway beside him. “I’m actually heading to the library to chat with Mia. I thought I would give her a chance to ask me all the questions she’s suppressing.”
Ethan chuckled. “Did you give her a warning?”
“No. I thought I’d surprise her. I hope she’s working.”
“I’m sure she is, and if not, I can arrange a meetup. Every time I see her, she nonstop asks me when she can talk to you.”
Lily smiled up at him, and the two took the stairs down to the lobby. “Aw. I’m sorry.”
He chuckled. “It’s all right. Maybe this weekend I can bring you to the family dinner.”
She furrowed her brows. Would she still be around this weekend? She didn’t know.
Jackson was leaning against the front desk chatting with the staff when he spotted them, which took her out of her thoughts. He stood straight and smiled before his eyes widened. “Dude, your face looks worse than everyone has said.”
Guilt spiked through Lily, but Ethan settled a hand around her waist and gave her a comforting squeeze.
Ethan rolled his eyes and playfully said, “Already the talk of the town, huh?”
“Of course. This is Wintervale, after all.” Then Jackson’s eyes moved to Lily. “Hey, Lily. Nice seeing you again. Going on an outing with this guy?” He tipped his head toward Ethan.
Lily smiled. “Not today. I was actually wondering if Mia was working. I thought I’d go pay her a visit.”
Jackson’s eyes widened. “She will love that. Yes, she’s working, but she’ll be so upset if she can’t get her books signed. I’ll run home and bring them to the library for her.”
He took off without another word, and Lily watched him nearly trample a family in his rush.
“Um… bye?” Lily said.
Ethan laughed. “That’s Jackson for you.”
Lily stepped out of Ethan’s touch, despite wanting to stay with him forever. She second-guessed heading to the library and hanging with Ethan all day instead, but knew the repercussionsof that would be astronomical as soon as Mia found out. She feared Mia would never let Ethan live it down.
Lily waved at Ethan before stepping out of the resort and walking down the street toward the library. It would only be a five-minute walk, but she enjoyed the fresh air and the people watching.
When the library came into sight, Lily could already see someone standing at the door. She frowned and looked down at her watch. According to the website, it was open, so there wasn’t a reason for there to be people waiting to get in. But the closer she got, she realized it was Mia. She was bouncing up and down with a huge smile spread across her face.
“Lillian Taylor is here! I can finally say it!” Mia shouted.
Lily looked around, but the sidewalk near the library was empty aside from her.
Mia ran toward her, and Lily braced for the impact. Mia wrapped her arms around Lily and squealed while jumping up and down. Lily’s coffee sloshed in the cup, which the lid had been doing a decent job containing, but she could feel it running down her hand.
“Mia, my coffee.”
