AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Twenty-Two
JAKE
“I’m sorry. We stayed longer than I thought,” Lily said as we waited for the valet.
My mind was fixated on that conversation with Lily’s mother. She’d been waiting for me when I left the bathroom. I knew as soon as I saw her there it wouldn’t be a pleasant conversation. I’d steeled myself for the worst.
“Don’t worry about it,” I finally said to Lily, hoping she wouldn’t notice something was bothering me.
Lily opened her mouth, her expression full of concern. But before she could say anything, the valet drove my truck to the curb.
I breathed a sigh of relief. I needed to get out of that stuffy ballroom and this suit. Lily didn’t need me on her side. According to her mother, I was a detriment to her.
I opened the passenger side door, waiting while she gathered her skirt and climbed inside. I tried not to notice how her leg was exposed when the slit in the skirt fell open.
I hardened my jaw, determined not to forget what her mother said. I wasn’t helping Lily. I was bringing her down.
A part of me wanted to focus on what Ryan said and what I knew to be true. I’d come a long way and was a respected businessman. But at the end of the day, I was just a greasy mechanic. I’d never get the stains off my hands or my past.
Even if I thought better of myself, others would judge Lily and her business if she was associated with me. I could repair her cars, but that was it. I needed to distance myself from her.
“You seem different,” Lily said.
“I’m just tired. All those people. It was a lot.” I felt like I was putting on a show for them. Like I was a circus clown stuffing himself into an unforgiving suit for the night. You could change the clothes, but it didn’t alter the reality of who I was.
I hadn’t felt that way until her mother had talked to me. After that, I realized how much I didn’t fit in there. How ludicrous it was for me to think I could be Lily’s knight in shining armor. First of all, she didn’t need one. She handled herself just fine.
Second, I was the wrong guy for the job. Nothing had changed from the day we’d first met. She was sunshine and light, and I was trouble. My past would darken the light she was creating in her business.
I rolled my neck, trying to ease the tension in my shoulders. This thing with Lily had been amazing, but it couldn’t continue.
I had plans to stay the night at her farm, but I wasn’t sure I was in the right state of mind to do that. As much as I wanted to grab on to what we’d had the last few weeks, I couldn’t get her mother’s words out of my head.
My phone buzzed, and I glanced at the screen as it lit up the wordMom. Fuck. She was the last thing I needed right now. I couldn’t talk to her, not with Lily sitting next to me. But what if she was planning on showing up at Hailey’s house? I couldn’t have that.
The need to protect Hailey from her was stronger than ever. I didn’t want my mother to know Hailey was pregnant. I wouldn’t allow her to sully one more generation of this family. She needed to leave us alone.
“Is everything okay?” Lily asked.
I held up my phone. “I need to take care of something.”
“Okay,” Lily said.
I was grateful she didn’t ask for details. I wasn’t prepared to tell her. Dealing with my mother was the priority. When she was gone, I could think about whether there was a future with Lily. I wouldn’t break things off tonight, not until I had a chance to think through everything her mother had said.
Pulling up to Lily’s house, I let the engine run while I got out to walk her to the door. Lily looked confused, and I didn’t blame her. This was not what I’d planned for the night. If I hadn’t spoken to Lily’s mother, or heard from mine, I’d have pressed Lily against a wall somewhere inside this house. I’d already be lost to her.
“I’m sorry. I need to deal with something. It’s a family matter.”
Her forehead wrinkled. “Are you going to tell me what it’s about?”
“It’s probably best I don’t.” I didn’t want to dirty her with my family’s past. I needed to protect everyone in my life from it.
“I’m sorry you feel like I can’t handle it.”
I shook my head, my stomach dipping. “It’s not like that.”
All I could think about was whether Mom was standing on Hailey’s porch, waiting for them to answer the door. I needed to get to her, to steer her away from them and their happy news. She had a way of ruining everything.
