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CHAPTER TWO
First class was wayfancier than Lily had expected. But shehadexpected Emma and Logan to book her the pricey seat after refusing the offer of being flown to Hawaii from Chicago on a private yet.
It was very tempting, but didn’t sit right with her.
She was just a girl from the south side, after all, who just happened to be best friends with a bestselling author.
Who just happened to be marrying a Dufort.
So here she was in first class, and it was incredible. Not that she’d been on many flights before, but she was pretty sure being served champagne and lobster wasn’t normal.
Also, her pod was enormous and reclined into a bed where she’d actually slept. There was even a shower where she got to try out the little bag of goodies, which turned out better than the “Gift With Purchase”at her local department store.
It was so much fun Lily was already looking forward to flying home. She was pretty sure no one said that when they were going to Hawaii.
Of course, given it was January, she was very much looking forward to the sunshine and palm trees.
And most of all, being Emma’s bridesmaid.
They had been friends since they were little girls and remained friends. Even when Emma had moved from Englewood, on the South Side of Chicago, into a fancy apartment in the city. Even when she’d become a successful author and Lily was still working at Martha’s Fashions.
Her role had been called fashion assistant, but Lily knew she’d been nothing more than a glorified cashier. It was her first job out of high school, and she’d stayed for way too long.
In fact, she’d only left a year ago and was now working as a PA in a legal office. It wasn’t her destination—Lily had aspirations—as life had delivered a few bumps in the road for her.
Her parents hadn’t had enough money for her to go to college and she had only just missed out on a scholarship.
She’d taken the job at Martha’s as a temporary gig to save money for college.
Lily wanted to be a teacher.
Correction: she was going to become a teacher.
Eventually.
But those bumps were not things she could look away from. Her parents were only just making ends meet and Lily had helped out.
The first year the fridge had needed replacing. Then their stove. Then a year and a half later, a storm hit the area and tiles on the roof had come loose. When water began leaking inside the house, she had no choice but to call the company to come and repair it.
That had taken a huge chunk from her savings.
After that, and watching her teaching dreams drift further away, Lily decided to move out of her parent’s home to be more independent. She knew it would slow down her savings, but by this time, she was in her mid-twenties and needed space.
Things had become easier last year when she started working for Harris & White and Associates. The new job came with a very nice increase in pay and her boss, Matt Harris, seemed to really appreciate her.
She was only a few streets away from her parents, so saw them regularly. Lily would be forever grateful for staying close to home and spending more time with them than other people her age.
Because her dad was diagnosed with cancer a year ago. Colon cancer.
As a family, they’d been devastated.
His medical costs had been a lot, but Lily had the rest of her life to become a teacher and only limited time left with her dad.
Flying across the country to Hawaii felt like a big deal, even though his condition was stable. It wasn’t just her dad. Lily had never left the continental US.
Unlike Emma, who had traveled as an author to different parts of the country and overseas. And dined in fancy restaurants and met celebrities with her billionaire husband. Lily lived a mundane life in little old Englewood on the South Side of Chicago.
