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“Hi.” He smiles and lights up the world.
38
Lily
It isn’t fair. No one should look this good while being anxious. His blue eyes are usually steely and determined. Not wide and tense like now.
Jaw clenched, lips tight.
He shoved his hands into his jean pockets. I am mostly sure that’s to keep from fidgeting, because his fingers twitch in there. His fitted white tee clings to his muscular body like I used to.
I should not be jealous of a shirt, but alas, here we are.
Before I can say much of anything, though, I realize we are not alone. Both the weight of their presences and Cormac’s darting gaze tell me so. I clear my throat to give them the hint, and they don’t take it. So, I have to be explicit. “Mom, Dad, can you give us some privacy?”
Dad sulks, “Fine.”
Mom leans to my ear, as if she needed to. “Think before you speak, Lily.”
“Gee, thanks.”
Dad takes Mom’s arm. “Come on, Ellen. They have this under control. Let the kids sort it out themselves.”
“I just want what’s best for both of them.”
“They know that.” His voice echoes down the hall. “And it won’t happen with us telling Lily what to say.”
“I could fix this in ten seconds flat.”
He chuckles. “I’m sure you could.” And then, we can’t hear them anymore.
Cormac smirks. “They are a pair of characters. I can see where you get it from.”
“I—
“And I don’t mean that as an insult. In fact…it’s a part of your charm.”
I smile.
But just as I take a breath, he says, “I need to get some things out without any interruptions. Is that okay?”
I nod.
He takes a big breath and lets it out for a minute, almost like Lamaze breathing it’s so deep. “First, thank you for agreeing to talk to me. I know it’s not a good time—I saw how loaded down the car is outside. Which means you’re about to leave for Manhattan, right?”
Again, I nod.
“Don’t.”
I arch an eyebrow at him.
“Lily, I am sorry I have been such a fool when it comes to you. I haven’t stopped thinking about you and us and everything since our breakup. I love you more than I knew was possible, and I want you back more than anything.”
Gulping stops me from responding out loud. These are the words I wanted to hear. Hearing them makes me warm all over, and I want to believe them and say them back to him. But the hurt of him not calling or texting is still there. As much as I’d like to forget about that, I can’t.
Plus, it feels like he has more to say, and if I get ahead of him and tell him I love him too, only to have him tell me something horrible to undercut what he just said, I will actually die. Right in the doorway to my parents’ B&B. I can’t do that to them. So, I remain silent.
He reiterates, “Don’t go to New York.”
