Nikki’s face broke out in a wide smile and Sam hit her with a throw pillow. “That’s not funny, Nikki! You know how much I hate dressing up.”
Karina looked at Lily and said matter-of-factly, “Sam’s 'the violent one' in case you haven’t picked up on that.”
Sam’s mouth fell open. “I am not.”
The girls laughed and Lily took a moment to just be. Be here with these funny, smart, creative, talented, and nice women. She hadn’t come across many of those in her life and never in a group this big. She was glad she had the chance to be a part of it. Even if it was only temporarily.
“Are you coming to my parents’ dinner?” Amy asked as she pushed her glasses up on her nose.
“Oh…um…” Lily didn’t know how to tactfully say that she hadn’t been invited. “Well…”
“The whole town is invited,” Nikki said, saving her from embarrassment.
“Oh,” Lily smiled in relief. “I’m not sure. What day is it?”
Lily didn’t know why she’d asked that. She knew she would be free since her only concrete time commitment was in the form of an international pop star who was currently sitting beside her, and she was sure would also be attending the party.
“It’s Saturday night. It’s starts at six and it’s being held in the gym. The same place Amanda and Justin’s reception was. And it’s just casual wear,” Amy graciously explained. “I’m sure there will be people there in a range of jeans to suits and dresses. Whatever you are comfortable in is fine.”
“Sounds good,” Lily said, already mentally planning her outfit for the evening. Not only was she planning ahead because she knew that Eric would definitely be at his parents’ party but also just because she wanted to look nice.
Lily, unlike Sam, didn’t have any problem at all dressing up in nice clothes. In fact, it was honestly one of her favorite things to do. She loved putting on a nice dress and heels. Doing her makeup and hair. It felt special.
As a kid, she’d always wished that she had been able to go to church on Sundays. Not really for any religious reason, although she’d always believed in God. It was actually because one of the first foster homes she had been at was right across the street from a church.
Every Sunday morning, Lily would sit beneath the porch of the old rundown home where she’d been placed and watch as people went through the huge wooden front doors of the beautiful church building. All the women had on these gorgeous dresses, some of them even with matching hats. The men sported suits, all pressed and clean. And the thing that really impressed Lily was that all the kids were dressed up too.
The girls wore beautiful dresses with either tights or ankle socks and fancy shoes. The boys were dressed in slacks and button-up shirts with their hair slicked back and styled. And when church would end and people would begin pouring out of the double doors, heading to their cars, she would hear them all talking about big Sunday family dinners they were cooking or going out to eat at a restaurant.
She always wanted to be a part of that. That community. That experience. Instead, she’d sat across the street in dirty clothes, usually hungry. Hoping no one would find her secret hiding place that was dark, smelled bad, and had myriad hairy long-legged spiders and noisy, scurrying roaches crawling around but was still all hers.
“My parents will be so happy you’re coming. They were really taken with you at the dance class today,” Amy said, smiling. “That’s all they talked about at dinner.”
“Mom and Dad won’t be the only ones happy that Lily is going to be making an appearance,” Nikki said with a mischievous smile on her face. “I think that a certain brother of ours is going to be extremely excited about Lily being there.”
All eyes turned to Lily for a response.
Lily didn’t really know what to say. She actually had wanted to talk to someone about what was going on between her and Eric. But these women weren’t technically her friends, and two of them were Eric’s sisters. Nope. These were not the people to use as sounding board.
“Really?” Lily acted surprised. “You think Jake will be happy I’m there?”
The girls laughed and Karina lifted her glass. “Well played, Lily. Spoken—”
“—like a true smart ass,” both Sam and Lauren said with Karina in unison.
Lily must have had a strange look on her face so Amy explained. “They all love Steel Magnolias.”
Then immediately Lily knew what they were quoting. Olympia Dukakis’s character had said that line to Daryl Hannah’s character at the end of the movie. Lily knew it had sounded familiar.
“Okay, but seriously, what is going on between you and Eric? Inquiring minds want to know.” Karina leaned forward expectantly. Then, waving at Nikki and Amy, she added, “And just pretend that his sisters aren’t in the room. Because what happens at book club—”
“—stays in book club,” all the girls except Lily finished simultaneously.
Karina looked around proudly. “I’m on a roll. Maybe next week I’ll try and have everybody finish three sayings.”
“So what is going on between you and my brother?” Nikki’s blond bangs moved up and down as she waggled her eyebrows.
Lily was at a loss for words. She didn’t have a clue what to say.
Lauren shook her head at Nikki, saying dryly, “Adding the ‘my brother’ part wasn’t the best move.”
“It’s not that... Well, it’s partly that,” Lily admitted, grinning. “But really, I’m not sure. I just don’t know. We haven’t talked about it.”
All of the things Lily had said were the truth. She hadn’t lied. At least not about Eric.
“Really? Because Sue Ann said you were talking up a storm at lunch,” Karina said casually, not even making eye contact with Lily, just staring into the fireplace.
“Yes, and Jake said there was some serious heat being generated in your kitchen when he stopped by Eric’s the other day. And you weren’t even cooking,” Nikki alleged as if she were presenting facts in a courtroom and her statement was exhibit A.
“And I heard from Henry that you two looked very cozy in front of the Community Center earlier today,” Lauren said with a small smirk forming on her lips.
Lily could not believe that all these people had been talking about her. And knew so much about her business. She had to try and suppress the overwhelming feeling that she needed to leave. Run. Get out of town.
“Don’t worry,” Amy comforted Lily by patting her hand. “It’s just because Hope Falls is such a small town. Everybody knows everybody’s business.” If Lily wasn’t mistaken, she sensed a sadness in Amy’s voice as she explained. It snapped Lily out of her panic, but before she could ask Amy, the conversation continued.
“At least tell us why you left him hanging on the dance floor,” Karina said as if she were offering Lily an olive branch.
“He told you I left him hanging?” Lily asked, surprised that he would say that.
“He didn’t have to. We were watching the whole thing on the sidelines.” Lauren raised her glass as if to cheer her.
Oh. My. God.
“We see everything,” Nikki said in a cryptic spooky tone.
Amy scrunched her face at her sister’s remark. Then she turned to Lily again, her face displaying an earnest expression. “If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to. But we’re here to listen if you do. I think that we’re only so curious because, well, it’s just that he’s never really acted this way about a girl before.”
Lily wasn’t sure how much she felt like sharing about herself, but she could definitely use this opportunity to get some info on her sexy police chief neighbor. So she asked, “How does he normally act?”
All eyes in the room flew to Lauren.
Oh great!
Lauren must be Eric’s ex. Luckily Lily was flexible because she now needed to remove the foot she’d just put in her mouth.
Lauren seemed completely unaffected by the intent eyes staring her down and calmly as could be said, �
�I only slept with him once. I don’t think that makes me the expert on how he ‘normally’ acts.”
“It might have only been one time but it was your first time,” Sam pointed out with a kind of romantic tone to her voice.
“Eric was your first?” The question was out of Lily’s mouth before she had a chance to reel it back in.
“He was,” Lauren confirmed. “He didn’t know it at the time. In fact, no one knew until last year. And I don’t think his sisters knew it before today. Thanks, Sam.”
“How did he not know he was your first?” Lily could not believe how easily these personal questions were flying out of her mouth. She had made it a habit to try and avoid all inquiries even remotely related to “personal” in the hopes that the tables wouldn’t be turned on her.
“He was just another thing on her to-do list,” Sam said loudly with a very satisfied look on her face, apparently very proud of herself for the double entendre.
“Seriously?!” Lily didn’t know if Sam was joking or not. She would lean towards joking but Lily herself had seen Lauren’s office and that lady had definite organizational skills. If anyone was going to put ‘have sex for the first time’ on a list, it would have to be Lauren.
Lauren sighed but then launched into the story. “I was about to go away for college and hadn’t done it yet. I didn’t want to start college as a virgin so, yes, I did put it down on my summer to-do list. I only had two more days in town and I ran into Eric. I’d always thought he was really attractive so I decided he was the one. We went up to a lookout point and the rest, as they say, is history.”
Lily could not quite wrap her mind around the thought of scheduling the loss of her virginity. It seemed like a completely foreign concept to her.
Nikki smiled as she shook her head. “Look at my brother, poppin’ cherries and not even knowing about it. E-love in full affect.”
“E-love?” Lily repeated. She’d heard that waitress at Sue Ann’s Café call him the same thing and had been curious about it.
“In high school, a lot of Eric’s friends called him E-love because he was popular.” Amy said, basically calling her brother a player in the most diplomatic way imaginable.
“So he had a lot of girlfriends?” Lily figured while she was already asking personal questions she might as well go for the big guns. This was officially her first gossip fest and she had to admit that it was kind of fun.
“I think nowadays I hear the kids in my classes call it ‘friends with benefits.’ He definitely had a lot of girls that were friends. He’s never had what you would call a serious girlfriend. I just don’t think he’d met the right one,” Amy explained.
Lily felt like Amy was still trying to paint her big brother in the best possible light she could. Lily didn’t blame her. In fact, it just made Lily like Amy more. But still, what Amy was describing screamed player to Lily.
Also, she still didn’t understand why these girls thought she was special to Eric. I mean, they hadn’t had sex yet, but they would definitely fall under the category of ‘friends with kissing benefits.’ Well, she wouldn’t know the answer unless she asked. “So what makes you think that I’m any different?”
“The way he looks at you,” they all answered in unison.
“Did you guys rehearse that?” Lily asked to the room in general.
“No,” they all said at the same time.
“Okay, this is getting weird,” Lily laughed, and the girls joined her.
The conversation moved on, which made Lily feel both relief and at the same time disappointment that she hadn’t found out more info on Eric. Lily still wasn’t sure what to do about Eric or where she stood with him. But focusing on the positive, she did feel like she was making some really good friends.
Chapter Fourteen
Eric looked down at his watch as he tapped his foot on the hardwood floor. It read ten thirty p.m. He had now been seated in his living room, watching out the window for Lily to return for over an hour. As the minutes ticked by, he’d tried to use his time productively and process what he was feeling for his new sexy neighbor.
Since returning to work after his lunch date with Lily, so many things had been spinning around in his mind like a tornado. He’d received the e-mail from Judge Pattinson, turned over Lily’s information, and ordered the background check. He hadn’t felt good about it, but he’d done it.
Eric knew that she was hiding something or at the very least not wanting to face something in her past. But he just couldn’t bring himself to believe that it was anything nefarious or “seedy” as the Judge had put it. Of course, Eric had considered the possibility that because of his personal feelings for Lily he was seeing things through rose-colored glasses.
But if that was the case then it wasn’t just him she had fooled. Not only did his friends and sisters like her, but his parents loved her. They had called him three times this afternoon to try and grill him about his and Lily’s relationship status. Hell, on the last call, his mom had asked if he wanted her to look into renting the church this summer because “it gets booked up.”
His mother was already planning his wedding to a girl Eric really didn’t know the first thing about, and the craziest part of that entire scenario was that it didn’t even bother him. In fact, when she’d explained her reasoning to him, it had sounded like solid logic. It wasn’t until after he’d hung up the phone that he’d realized just how insane what his mom had suggested was.
He needed to break this thing down to facts. He didn’t really know anything about Liliana Sotelo. He didn’t know where she was born. He didn’t know what her family life was like. He didn’t know if she had a good relationship with her mom and dad, now or when she was growing up. He didn't even know what her favorite color was.
And he didn’t think finding that information out would be as easy as a conversation since she wasn’t open to talking about those things. Sure, it could be because she was shy or private. But Eric knew better. There were things in her past that she didn’t want anyone to know. Things that, after seeing her last night huddled in the corner of her couch, he believed still haunted her today.
His instinct was try to get her to talk to him and then figure out how to fix whatever it was that had caused her so much pain that she was unwilling to let people in. Because as strong and independent as Lily was, she was also lonely and scared. He’d seen it deep in her eyes.
As many question marks as he had regarding Lily and her past, the truth was that the facts he did know about her far outweighed the unanswered questions. He knew that Lily was sweet and kind to everyone he’d seen her interact with. She was also extremely disciplined. He’d seen her out in her studio—the one he’d built—until two or three in the morning some nights, and then the next morning she’d be up at the crack of dawn, headed back to the studio.
He knew she was a hard worker who would step in to teach a seniors dance class in the blink of an eye because the mayor of the town she’d just moved to roped her into doing it. He knew when she laughed that it felt like the heavens opened and shined down directly on him. Okay, that was a personal fact but a fact nonetheless. And most importantly, he knew that Shadow loved her.
Eric had always had the belief that dogs could sense good and bad in people. They had an intangible gift of breaking through any bullshit people were trying to dish out and getting right to the heart of the person. And Shadow adored Lily.
Well, Eric had said he didn’t want “simple,” and as Henry would say, he “dang sure got his wish.” He knew for a fact he wanted to be with Lily. But that didn’t erase all of the questions, which meant one thing. They needed to talk.
Shadow began barking seconds before headlights appeared on his street.
She’s home.
He’d seen her less than twelve hours before, but in that time, he’d missed her. Badly. Shadow ran to the front door and jumped up on it. “All right boy, I know. You want to go see Lily.”
Shadow barked just once as if he were
answering him. Now Eric really did feel like he was in an episode of Lassie. He opened the door and it sounded like wild horses were galloping as Shadow raced across the yard to meet Lily when she pulled into her driveway.
She was grinning from ear to ear as she turned off her engine and stepped out of her Jeep. Before she even had a chance to shut the door behind her, Shadow was pressed against her, his tail wagging like crazy.
“Hello, my handsome boy.” Lily leaned down to pet the happy dog. “Are you happy to see me? Did you miss me?”
“Yes,” Eric answered. For the both the dog and himself.
Lily looked up and smiled a knowing smile before returning her attentions to Shadow. “Well, I missed you too.”
She stood and they all three walked up to her front door.
“Have you guys been waiting for me?” she asked as she pushed her key in the deadbolt and turned it.
“Maybe,” Eric rasped. He heard the need in his voice that was spiraling through his body.
From the first time he’d laid eyes on Lily until now, every time he saw her, his body instantly responded as if she’d broken down the floodgates of every ounce of passion and desire he had, causing the waters of lust and need to rush through him. It was hard to think straight when that happened.
Talk. They needed to talk, he reminded himself.
As they stepped inside, she set her purse down on the small entryway table and turned as he shut the door.
“We need to talk,” Eric blurted out.
She took off her black gloves and white down coat, turning to him as a small smile appeared on her face. She simply said, “Okay.”
Her eyes. Her lips. The way she looked at him. Her smile. The sound of her voice. The fresh flowery scent wafting through the air that was uniquely hers.
That was it. His senses were on overload, and he just couldn’t stand there one more second without kissing her. He stepped forward and she backed up a step so that she was flat against the wall.
He stood only inches in front of her. Her chest rose and fell at a rapid pace as she tilted her head up to see him. Her large, smoky brown eyes were shining up at him. She seemed so open. So vulnerable as she stared up into his eyes that it caused an ache inside of his chest.
Snow Angel (The Hope Falls Chronicles) Page 12
