“Lilly!” I called, trying not to yell as I rushed down the sidewalk. “Hey, Lilly!”
How the heck did she get that far and so quick?
“Your wallet.” She stopped and turned around. “You forgot this.” I came to a stop and held the wallet out to her but didn’t let go. “Have a drink with me.”
Her eyes searched mine for a second, and she sighed. “Easton, I shouldn’t.”
“Why not? Do you have a boyfriend, a husband, someone that would be upset if you and I had a drink together and shared in conversation?” I didn’t see a ring on her finger and both times I saw her in the cemetery, she had been alone.
“Don’t you have a trip to the hardware store to make?”
“I do. What about after?” She glanced over her shoulder, and when she turned back, she made me one happy man.
“Maybe one drink?”
“One drink,” I played back. My grin spread, and I finally released her wallet. “Did you want to have that drink tonight or—”
“Is tomorrow night okay?”
“You aren’t going to try to find a way to cancel on me, are you?”
She took a second before she shook her head.
“Perfect. Did you want to meet here?” I threw my thumb over my shoulder. “Well, not right here, but at the shop?” By the way her eyes narrowed and her lips parted but no words came out, I could tell the wheels were turning in her pretty head. “I live in the apartment above the shop.”
“Oh, of course.” She shook it off. “What time should I meet you?”
“Does six work for you?”
“Six is good. Tomorrow. I’ll meet you at the flower shop,” she confirmed, pointing to the front door.
“Good. Buzz me, and I’ll come down and let you in.”
“Okay, then. I’ll see you.”
“See ya, Lilly.” I took a few backward steps, grinning like a fool.
“See ya.”
I spent the remainder of yesterday and today searching for that part and by the time I was done running around town and made it back to the shop, still with no part in hand. After a quick shower, I barely had enough time to pull on jeans before the buzzer rang. Not wanting to make her wait, I grabbed the first clean shirt I could find and rushed down the stairs. Weaving through the buckets of flowers, I threw my shirt over my head and turned the lock.
“Hey, glad you could make it.” I stepped to the side, welcoming Lilly in. “I need to grab my phone and wallet. Did you want to come up for a second?”
“I’ll wait here,” she rushed out and looked away.
“Okay. I’ll be right back.” I raced up the stairs and made quick work of grabbing my wallet and phone before locking up and taking the stairs two at a time. As I neared the bottom two steps, I brought myself back to earth and behaved. Lilly stood waiting next to the door, lost in thought as she gazed out the window.
“What do you think about the sports bar two blocks over?”
“That works.”
“Perfect.” I held the door open. “After you.”
“Thank you.”
We walked the first block in an awkward silence, which was understandable. Looking both ways, we entered the crosswalk and my hand went to the small of her back. It felt natural to be touching her, and if it made her uncomfortable, she didn’t show it.
“So, Lilly, are you from around here?”
“I am. Born and raised. What about you?” She smiled.
I didn’t get a chance to answer. I held the door to the sports bar open, and she walked in ahead of me. I couldn’t stop my eyes as they traveled the length of her back, over her hips, and down to her ass. I turned my head to the side, hoping she couldn’t hear my groan.
“Thank you.” She looked back with a smile on her lips and held her eyes on mine. There it was again. The unexplainable way she looked at me that pulled me in. That didn’t allow for me to take my eyes off her. I sucked in a deep breath and let her lead me into the bar.
“Is this good?” I said loud enough for her to hear me over the other patrons and the din of the twenty-something televisions. “Or would you rather a booth?”
Lilly shook her head and sat on a worn stool. I took the one next to her. “Your hair. It’s pretty.” I stopped myself from tucking a strand behind her ear. I didn’t need her thinking I was some kind of freak. Or worse, ruin any chance of getting to know her better.
“Thank you.” A light blush spread across her cheeks and she pulled at the ends. “My sister does amazing work.”
“I definitely agree.”
“What’ll it be?” the bartender asked, wiping the counter in front of us.
“Miller Lite,” Lilly answered.
“I’ll have the same. Could we get an order of nachos, too, please?”
“Good choice, coming right up.”
Resting my elbow on the bar, I swiveled my stool and set one foot on the brass foot rail. I set the other on the base of her stool. “So, tell me about you.” She flicked her eyes to my thighs and how they enclosed her. “Is this okay?”
“You’re fine, but I would rather hear more about you.”
“It’s like that, huh?” A deep chuckle filled the space between us.
“And that is supposed to mean, what exactly?” She eyed me for a quick beat, and when her tongue peeked out wetting her bottom lip, I had to catch my breath.
“I just get the feeling you’re not one to share so easily.”
“Here you go.” The bartender slid two pint glasses our way. “Did you want to start a tab?” she asked as she tapped away on her computer screen.
“Please,” I answered. Sure, Lilly agreed to one drink, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to try for two.
“Holler if you need anything else.” The bartender tapped the counter and moved on to the two guys in the corner.
“So sure of yourself, aren’t you?”
“Prepared would be a better term.”
I was merely thinking ahead. We could hit it off and be there for a while, which was what I was hoping for. Or we could have one drink and part ways. Either way, I would leave it up to her.
I held my glass up. “Is it safe to cheers to a new friendship?”
“To a new friendship.” Lilly smiled cautiously, tapped her glass against mine, and then took a long sip. When she set her glass down, she licked her lips and asked, “Why haven’t I seen you around before?”
“Maybe you weren’t looking hard enough.”
“You are too much, you know that?” She shook her head and huffed out a laugh.
“I’m just messing with you.” I patted her thigh, and I didn’t miss the way her eyes traveled the length of my arm and then back up. “I’m originally from upstate New York, moved here a little over a year and a half ago.”
“I’m surprised you don’t have an accent.”
I smiled, knowing exactly the accent she was referring to. “The Noo Yawk accent . . . that one?” I laid it on thick. The smirk on her face and her eye roll told me all I needed to know. I sounded exactly as ridiculous as I meant to.
“Yes, that one.”
“That’s not real, unless you’re Fran Drescher from The Nanny.” I goaded her. The accent was very real if you were from the greater New York Metro area.
“And what do you know about The Nanny?”
“That my sixteen-year-old self thought Miss. Fine was fiiine as hell and Mr. Sheffield was either blind or dumb.” I winked.
Not expecting my answer, Lilly almost spit her beer across the bar, which had me rolling with laughter. Still, I managed to pat her back. I couldn’t have her choking to death.
“Oh my goodness, you definitely are ridiculous.” She held her stomach as she leaned toward the bar, laughing.
She was absolutely stunning when she smiled. There was something beautiful and raw about the sound of her laugh, and somehow I knew. If things continued the way I hoped they would, I might have to rethink a lot of things about my life.
“So what brought you south?”
“My grandmother wanted to move here and since my Aunt Millie was already here, I figured, why not?”
“Is your grandmother originally from New York?” I couldn’t resist watching her thumb as it moved up and down, stroking the side of the glass, absentmindedly smearing the condensation.
“She was born in Virginia but moved to New York after getting a job as a nanny. About a year later, she met my grandfather. Shortly after that, they were married, and she never left.” I drank my beer. “She never indented to make New York her permanent home, but I guess that was a sacrifice she made for love.”
The noise grew louder, and I had a half mind to ask the bartender if she would mind turning down the volume on the televisions. I didn’t want to miss a single word this woman had to say.
“So how are you related to Mrs. Wilkes? Is she your mom’s side or your dad’s side?”
“She’s my great aunt, actually. On my dad’s side. Aunt Millie and my grandmother were sisters.”
“I never knew Mrs. Wilkes even had any family. It’s kind of strange. Do you have any family in the area?”
“I do—a blended one of sorts. But they don’t live around here.”
“What about you? Do you have family in the area?”
The bartender came back with our nachos and two appetizer plates and disappeared just as quickly.
“I do. I’m the youngest of five. I have three brothers and one sister. What about you, any siblings?”
“That’s a complicated answer. You got time for another beer? You’re going to need it.”
“I have time. Your story sounds interesting.”
“You’re just saying that to keep me talking so you won’t have to.”
She shook her head. “I like hearing your voice.” I caught that faraway look in her eyes seconds before she realized what she was doing. “Sorry. I meant to say—” She turned to the side. “Shit,” she mumbled, and I bit back my laugh. So, she liked my voice. That was definitely a mark in my favor. She looked so uncomfortable that I took pity on her and answered.
“I have four siblings as well, all half, though, three sisters and one brother. I’m the oldest.”
“Lilly!” a deep voice called from across the room.
We both turned at the same time, and Lilly’s face lit up and she stood from the barstool. A guy about half a head taller than I was picked her up, hugged her tight, and twirled her around.
“Shit, Lils. I wasn’t sure if that was you or not. When did you get back? You never called,” the guy asked, and I waited patiently, drinking my beer.
When he finally let her go, he eyed me, and I had to remind myself to play it cool. I just met this woman. I didn’t need to scare her off getting territorial. I swiveled my stool, crossed my arms on the bar, and tried to watch a fight on one of the screens that I had no interest in.
“Who are you here with?” she asked him.
“AJ and a couple of guys from work,” he replied.
“Sounds like fun. How are Addie and the twins? I haven’t seen or talked to her in a while.”
I didn’t know who Addie was, but since Lilly was asking the guy about her, I decided to assume . . . hope that she was the guy’s wife.
“She’s good, they’re doing good. You should come by and hang out.”
“I’d like that.”
I looked back in time to see the most genuine smile I’d ever seen on her lips, and it felt like I was punched in the gut. But I shoved the damn emotion away and plastered a calm expression on my face. Lilly set her hand on my arm, pulling me out of my head, bringing me into their conversation.
“Easton, I’d like for you to meet one of my best friends, RJ Watson.”
He offered his hand.
“Easton Tyler, nice to meet you, man.” Lilly’s sharp intake of breath had my eyes darting to her. Something I had just said had made her go ghostly pale, and I could have sworn her eyes looked a bit glassy. “Is something wrong?” I asked, and RJ squeezed my hand uncomfortably hard.
What the fuck? Is this some kind of pissing match?
Lilly took a step back, and he let go of my hand so he could grab her by her shoulders. I watched, confused as hell as he bent so he could look her right in the eyes, saying, “Lils, hey, it’s okay. It’ll be okay.” Her gaze clouded over, and I was starting to freak the fuck out.
“Is something wrong? Did I say something wrong?”
“Nah, man, you’re cool, don’t worry about it.” He brushed me off, but that answer was garbage. I may not know her at all, but that didn’t mean I didn’t give a shit if something I said bothered her. She looked like she was about to cry.
On a normal day, I was a pretty easygoing, patient kind of guy. Not much rattled me, but I didn’t feel like that tonight, not with Lilly. This was totally different.
“Lilly, I’m sorry if I said something . . .” I apologized, carefully reaching for her hand.
“It’s nothing,” she whispered and then cleared her throat. “Really. You didn’t do or say anything wrong.” She turned to RJ, inhaling a deep breath. “I’m fine, RJ. How about you tell Addie to give me a call, and we’ll get together sometime. We really need to catch up.”
“We’d like that.” He pulled her in for another hug and made sure I wasn’t privy to the words he whispered in her ear. They parted, and before he was out of earshot, he tossed out, “Nice meeting you.”
I nodded, and he shoved both his hands into his pockets and was gone.
I almost expected her to leave. I really did. So, when she slid back onto the stool, I was both shocked and pleased. Slowly, I took my own seat again, watching as she drank half her beer in a few deep swallows. In a matter of minutes, something had changed.
“So, did you have a good vacation?”
“Excuse me?” Her eyes narrowed, which confused me. Is she irritated with me?
“Your friend said you just got back . . . I just assumed you were on vacation.” I shrugged, brushing off the uneasiness the turn our conversation caused. Our night had gone from fun and flirty to awkward in a matter of minutes. I pushed out a silent breath and offered, “Did you want to head out?” I didn’t want to continue on with this night if she didn’t want to be there.
“Sure.” She stood and grabbed her purse. I threw a bunch of twenties onto the bar and followed her out.
Our steps fell into sync as we walked in awkward silence for the second time tonight. The entire time, I debated if I should invite her up to my place for another drink so we could continue with our conversation without any interruptions. But by the time we made it back to the shop, Lilly had already made up her mind and was heading straight for her car.
“Lilly?”
Her steps slowed and then stopped before she turned. “Yeah?”
I spoke low as I closed the distance between us. “What did that guy in there mean to you?” I couldn’t repeat his name, but what I hated more was the fact that I was fucking jealous, which was a first.
“Easton.” She sighed. “Not that I feel the need to explain, but RJ and I are really good friends. He’s married to my best friend, and they’re the parents to the cutest set of twin boys.”
That was a relief. I ran my hand over my mouth before apologizing, “I’m sorry. I’m not sure what came over me. Are you sure you don’t want to come up?”
“I’m sure, but thank you, and thank you for the beer. I really should get going.”
I nodded and took a step back. The last thing I needed was to come off as a creep and for her to feel trapped.
“Do you think we could hang out again sometime?”
“Let me think about it.” She smiled softly. “I know where to find you.” She pulled her car door open and slid into the driver’s seat.
Without a second glance, she was out of sight.