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“Well, I’m about to rant against fate or coincidence or plain bad luck if this keeps up.” Settling at her desk, she flipped the calendar and saw the busy schedule. “Wow, this will take my mind off everything else. How about you take the clients, and I’ll start on the venue calls?”
“Between graduations and weddings, we’re swamped, just how I like it. Yes, let’s do that, otherwise, we’ll overlap. We did just get one cancellation from Pam Davidson, her parents’ fiftieth anniversary dinner dance, which makes next weekend our last weekend free of a booking until late July. Half of August is already penciled in, also, so we’ll start closing on Monday instead of Saturday next week. Sound good?”
Lily nodded, remembering that schedule last year before she’d left for Florida. “Sure. It’s those events that pay the bills. I’m sorry about the Davidson cancellation. That’s my fault.” She went on to explain the rift in her and Pam’s relationship before adding, “See, I’m not such a nice person. I can’t seem to forget her betrayal despite having set aside my animosity. Whenever I hear her voice or see her, it all comes rushing back.”
“Now that you’re in a new and much better relationship, you’ll find a way to get back on speaking terms with her. Don’t worry about the cancellation, we have more than enough business to tide us over during the slower winter months that get boring when I’m here alone.” Trina sent her a pointed look. “No taking off again if it doesn’t work out between you and Reed. Not that I think that will happen. You two have been well-acquainted for years.”
“That’s not the same as involved, which hasn’t been for long.” A pang gripped her abdomen at that suggestion. How had he become so important to her in such a short time?
Their first appointment arrived, relieving Lily. She didn’t want to discuss or think about plaguing mishaps or how her relationship with Reed might or might not pan out, not right after seeing Pam again. It wasn’t until midafternoon, when things slowed down and Trina left early to attend the girls’ soccer game that she returned to questioning her escalating relationship with Reed. She tried not to, tried to let it go and enjoy the ride, for however long it lasted, but couldn’t. Driving home, she went over the pros and cons of dating a wealthy, sought-after man like Reed, wondering what he saw in her.
Lily preferred staying home instead of going out, spent her free time volunteering at the homeless shelter, and her only experience with kinky sex was what Reed taught her. How did he not find her boring? When she reached the turnoff for Eagle’s Nest, she slowed down, in no hurry to get home and see her ruined garden, wishing she could keep driving to Reed’s ranch despite the return of her misgivings. With only two appointments on the schedule for Friday, she would get off early enough to buy some more flowers and plant them in the afternoon.
Turning onto her street, her pulse flipped at seeing Reed’s truck parked at the curb, tears blurring her vision when she noticed the newly planted flowers replacing the smashed ones.This is why he so easily slipped past my insecurities.She blinked away her emotional response to his surprise, pulled into the driveway, and didn’t let his sweaty, dirt-streaked arms deter her from throwing hers around him when he opened the door.
“Thank you! It looks beautiful.” His tight embrace felt as nice as coming home to his surprise. Lily leaned back and gazed at his sun-kissed face, his eyes appearing greener without his hat shielding the sunlight. “This is a great surprise. If you can stay for dinner, I have the fixings for chicken Parmesan.”
“Sounds better than taking you out like I planned, and you’re welcome. I picked up a white border fence you can string small lights on to prevent another accident. It won’t take me long to put it in then I’ll wash up and change shirts.”
“No hurry. It’ll take about an hour,” she replied, looking forward to the evening until she saw Delia approaching. “Excuse me. That’s a friend of mine.” Delia appeared to be frowning when Lily walked to the curb and waved then figured she was mistaken when she pulled over, grinning.
Leaning her head out the window, Delia hurried to say, “I finished shopping at the mercantile earlier than I expected and decided at the last minute to run by and ask if you want to grab a burger, but never mind.” She nodded toward Reed. “You have plans.”
“Sorry about that,” Lily said, not regretting Reed’s visit in the least. “I can meet you somewhere for lunch this week.” She shouldn’t suffer a twinge of guilt at letting Delia down, nevertheless, a pang gripped her abdomen.
“We have two people gone on vacation and are short-staffed. Maybe next week. Give me a call.”
Delia drove away without another word, one glance at Reed making it easy for Lily to forget about her.
Reed watched the short exchange between Lily and her friend, pondering whether there was another reason for the way Lily had seemed unhappy about her arrival other than the interruption. He couldn’t shake the suspicion something was bothering her, dissatisfied with how she withheld her complete trust. Maybe his own insecurities were causing him to imagine evasive answers and eye shifts, notably when she mentioned a piece of recent bad luck. The constant urge to push for the commitment he was ready for kept him on edge, making it harder to keep himself in check. One of these days, if he failed to get more of a response from her other than a polite brush-off about these personal issues, he would explode.
Shifting his thoughts, he eyed her slender legs showcased in heels and a knee-length dress, wishing he had time to stay after dinner. Slade already wasn’t happy with the way he’d taken off earlier to pick up the flowers and replace her ruined garden. Once Reed told him what happened and what he planned, Slade’s attitude changed. All the same, his obligations at home were as important as his desire to ease Lily’s unhappiness, and he wouldn’t shirk them.
“I’ll get started on dinner,” Lily stated, her face reflecting nothing but pleasure. “Do you like green beans? I picked up a fresh batch at the farmer’s market.”
“My mother raised me to try everything on my plate. I didn’t like that rule then. Now I eat and enjoy everything, including green beans.”
“Levi was a stickler when it came to my diet also. However, I still won’t touch a mushroom. Come in when you’re done.”
Reed often forgot her brother had taken over raising her when their parents died. He met Levi at John and Lily’s wedding, portraying an overprotectiveness that pleased him. He made a mental note to thank him sometime if her only sibling didn’t punch him for sleeping with his sister. Despite the trauma of losing her mom and dad at such a tender age, she’d grown up a sweet and compassionate woman, in part, thanks to Levi’s sacrifices.
He retrieved the fencing from his truck, his stomach’s rumbling prodding him to move faster. Twenty minutes later, he grabbed a clean shirt from the truck cab and caught a whiff of Lily’s cooking the moment he opened the front door. He also noticed the flimsy door handle, pausing to check the lock. Shaking his head at the worthless push-button lock on the knob, he shut the door and called out, “You need a dead bolt on this door, Lily. I can pick one up for you.”
“Don’t you dare, Reed,” she returned. “I can get one this week. You’ve done enough. Go wash.”
He swiveled, finding her standing with hands on her hips, her face set in stone. She didn’t exert her independent streak often but, when she dug her toes in, they were buried to stay rooted.
“Okay, but soon. Your safety isn’t up for discussion.”
There it was, that telltale wince only he would possibly notice. From this distance, he could be wrong, so he let it slide once more. He hastened into the bathroom, her muttering following him down the hall.
“There’s a good chance your chicken Parmesan will piss off Slade. Just warning you.” Reed leaned back in the chair with a sigh, setting his fork down on the now empty plate.
She sipped her tea, frowning before lowering the cup, cocking her head. “Why would my cooking matter to your brother?”
“Because I have chores waiting on me and might not get to them now. Damn, that was good, Lily.”
Her eyes shone liquid gold from the simple praise. “Thank you. I don’t get to cook for anyone except Levi and Vickie when they visit, which isn’t often enough.”
