Mia pulled back. “Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry. I’ll get you a new one.”
“It’s okay. It’s not necessary.” She sipped the coffee off the lid and shook her hand out.
Mia led them inside and showed Lily to the bathroom so she could wash her hands. Jackson arrived shortly after and handed Mia the books. Lily signed each one and took several selfies with Mia.
By the time Lily left the library, she felt like she had bonded with Mia. Having a shared love of books gave them endless things to talk about, and before they knew it, several hours hadpassed. She could see herself quickly becoming best friends with Mia.
Mia also loosely mentioned that her house was going to be on the market to be rented soon since she moved in with Jackson. The hint for Lily to rent it if she wanted was obvious, and Mia all but asked Lily if she wanted to. Lily didn’t have an answer, but her hesitation was all Mia needed to say she would hold it for a few more weeks before listing it. The idea was in the back of Lily’s mind as she walked back toward the resort.
Ethan had asked her to move in, which she felt was far too soon. But if she stayed in Wintervale, which was becoming more and more appealing by the minute, then she knew she had a place to stay without complications.
Lily walked through the resort doors, her stomach angrily growling now that lunch had passed. She had one mission: food. As she headed toward the restaurant, a hand wrapped around her arm. She halted and looked up into the familiar eyes of a man she had been with for seven long years.
“Scott?”
“Hey, Lily.” He released her arm and shoved his hands into his pockets.
She looked around incredulously before her eyes fell on Ethan, who leaned against the doorjamb of the office. The look on his face was unlike anything she had ever seen before. He was withdrawn, unreadable, almost… sad?
She looked back at Scott. “What are you doing here?”
“I need to talk to you.”
“In Montana? This couldn’t wait until I got back to Texas?”
“No.”
Lily looked toward the office, but Ethan was no longer standing there. She wanted to go in and talk to him, but she needed to deal with Scott first.
She looked one last time toward the office door before sighing and motioning toward the elevator. “Let’s talk in my room.”
Her stomach grumbled again, but she didn’t want to have this conversation… or whatever it was… in the restaurant. While she doubted there were tabloids in the small town, she didn’t want to take any chances. She tried to avoid the public spotlight, and she didn’t know how many people in the town had figured out who she was yet.
The elevator ride felt slow, and she suddenly wished she had taken the stairs. When they arrived on her floor, she stepped out and led him to her room, where she stepped inside and immediately grabbed a granola bar off the dresser. It was gone in less than a minute, and she washed it down with water.
“You okay?” Scott asked.
She nodded. “Busy morning, and I’m starving. So what’s this about?”
Scott moved over to the small table and sat down, leaning his forearms on it. Lily sat cross-legged on the end of the bed.
He dropped his head into his hands and scrubbed his face before looking up at her again. “I screwed up.”
Her eyebrows shot up. She wasn’t sure what she expected him to say, but she wouldn’t have guessed that in a million years.
“Okay…?”
“The grass isn’t greener on the other side. I realized how much I missed you once you were gone. It’s just not the same without you. I want you to come home. Be with me. Let’s get married and get out of the rut we were in.”
Lily blinked. She glanced around. Was this some sort of elaborate prank? Was someone going to jump out and say “gotcha” before laughing hysterically at her expense?
“I’m confused. You want to get married?”
He stood and stepped over to where she sat. Then he took her hands and pulled her up to her feet. “I do. I want to be with you forever.”
Scott pulled her into his arms, but it was wrong. All wrong. The hug was stiff. It felt like she was hugging a stranger. And perhaps she was. They had grown apart over the years, and she wasn’t sure she really knew him anymore.
Lily moved away from. “Scott, you don’t want me. We were never good together. We acted like roommates.”
