CHAPTER NINETEEN
By Thursday, Lily felt confident enough to take her car into town to run some errands.
First up was an appointment with the doctor.
After her latest flare-up, she just wanted to touch base with him to make sure he didn't feel she should have any testing done.
As she pulled into the parking lot of the office, Lily said a prayer of thanks that her doctor was so in tune with MS and its many facets.
He understood that peace of mind was important, particularly after flare-ups or attacks.
He'd willingly made time for Lily when she'd called, and she knew he wouldn't rush her through their appointment by brushing off any concerns she had.
"Hi, Lily," Dr. Bennett said as he walked into the small room. He hitched his pants before sitting down at the desk. Without even looking at the file he said, "So I hear you had a flare-up."
She gave him the run down and then together they discussed what had caused it and the steps she'd taken afterward. He didn't think there was a need for another scan since she'd had one not too long ago, but was willing to set one up if she pressed.
"I think I'll pass this time, but if I have another flare-up within the next month, maybe we should consider it."
The doctor nodded his agreement then sat back in his chair. "So...I enjoyed meeting your young man. He had plenty of questions."
Lily stared at him, a pit growing in her stomach. Nate had talked to him? Why hadn't he said something? "He didn't mention that to me."
One of the doctor's eyebrows arched. "Really? He was at our house for almost two hours. Talked to both me and Beth."
And got enough information to scare him off for good, apparently. "Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with him. I wasn't sure he was going to take advantage of your offer."
"Yeah, I felt for him. I remember being in his shoes—facing that unknown—and I was even a doctor. It's completely different when the diagnosis hits someone you love."
Lily nodded. But apparently in the end, Nate had taken the information he'd been given and breathed a big ol’ sigh of relief.
Pain lanced through her heart. She still wasn't worthy of his time.
He'd heard how much time would have to be devoted to her because of the MS and had been grateful that he'd dodged that bullet.
As she left the doctor's office and headed to her next errand, Lily gave herself a lecture. She had no right to be upset by all of this. After all, she had been the one to end things with Nate. She had kept her secret and run for Europe. That alone gave her no right to be upset that Nate had decided to accept what she’d done three years ago and move on after making peace with his past.
It was a thought she needed to keep front and center as she pushed open the door of the bridal salon.
~*~*~
Nate stepped out of the small hardware store, coming to a stop when he recognized Lily's vehicle pulling into the strip mall parking lot.
He waited to see if she spotted him, but she kept her head bent as she climbed out and, surprisingly, headed for the bridal salon.
He stood there for a moment trying to figure out what she was doing there.
Maybe it had to do with Amy and Will's upcoming nuptials since they were engaged now.
Before he could stop himself, Nate headed toward where her car was parked. His steps faltered when she came out of the store more quickly than he had anticipated. She held a long white dress bag and walked to her car without looking around.
"Hey, Lily," Nate said as he came up behind her.
She spun around, folding the dress bag over her arm and pulling it close. "Nate? I didn't see you."
"I was just in at Joe's." He nodded his head toward the hardware store. With a glance at the dress bag, he asked, "Getting ready for Amy and Will's wedding already?"
She stared at him for a moment before shaking her head. "No. This is my wedding dress."
It couldn't have taken him more off-guard or hurt more if a horse had kicked him in the gut. Her wedding dress? They hadn't even settled on a date, but she had a dress?
Nate shoved his hands into his pockets. "I didn't know you had bought one."
Lily shrugged. "I found it one day when I came into the shop to try on dresses."
"You didn't mention going dress shopping with anyone."
"I didn't. I went by myself. I hadn't planned to buy anything, but as soon as I put it on, I knew."
Though her words were steady, the soft tone pulled at his heart. She'd gone dress shopping by herself. Found her dream dress by herself and hadn't even told him. No doubt because he hadn’t been willing to set a date.
"I don't understand. Why are you picking it up now?"
"They have been storing it for me for the past three years." Her chin lifted slightly. "I picked it up today because I'm probably going to be selling it."
Selling it? The one-two punch pushed the air from his lungs.
Words failed him at that point. He wanted to tell her not to do that, but if she wasn't interested in a relationship with him, then it made sense that she would want to sell it.
Given who she was, she didn't have to do it for the money, so it must mean that it was one more lose end she wanted to tie up.
He took a deep breath as she turned from him and opened the back door of her car. She leaned in and laid the bag across the back seat. When she shut the door, she gave him a small smile. "Gotta keep going. Have a few errands I need to finish up today."
Nate nodded and stepped up onto the sidewalk in front of the strip mall. "See you around."
As her car backed out of the spot, he turned and walked to where his truck was parked.
Well, now what did he do? He had hoped he'd have some time to get a handle on exactly where she was emotionally.
If she might be willing to reconsider a relationship with him.
Some of the vibes she was sending out could easily be taken either way, but her dismissal of him the other night at the manor was a hard one to take.
And now she was going to sell her wedding dress? The one she'd bought to marry him in?
Nate knew he had to step things up and give it one final push. If she said no, he would accept that and move on as best he could. But maybe...just maybe...she could see that he'd changed and would give him a second chance.
~*~*~
Lily laid the bag out on the bed. It had been three years since she'd last seen it.
Would she still love it as much now as she had that day she'd tried it on?
With slow movements she unzipped the bag and pushed the sides to open it.
She ran her fingers over the tulle that made up the skirt of the soft blush-colored gown.
No one had ever seen the dress except her and the women in the bridal shop.
Her family had already been asking about the wedding date once they were engaged.
Lily had been afraid that they'd think her foolish for buying a dress without a firm date.
She really hadn't planned to buy one when she'd gone in that day to try on dresses.
But it had been just perfect. All the women in the shop had agreed.
And it wasn't like she hadn't had the money.
So she'd ended up with a wedding dress and no wedding.
She'd told Nate she was going to sell it, but as she looked at it there on her bed, she just couldn't imagine letting it go to another bride.
Reaching in, she pulled the hanger out and carefully freed the dress from the bag.
Her breath caught as she once again saw it in all its beauty.
It was all she'd remembered and more. Part of her wanted to try it on, but she knew that there was no way she could do it on her own.
Instead she hung it up on a hook on the door leading to the bathroom then sat back down on the bed and stared at it.
She couldn't believe she'd run into Nate right at that moment. He'd looked shocked when she'd told him what it was and what she intended to do with it. Did he still have the ring he'd given her? Or had that been burned in the fire along with the rest of his things?
A knock on her door sent her scrambling off the bed. She was relieved to see Julia standing in the doorway. "Mom said to tell you supper's ready."
"Thanks, sweetie. I'll be right down."
With one last glance at the dress, Lily headed down to join her family. Decisions about the dress could be made later. There was no rush.
"Nate's here."
Lily looked up from her laptop at Amy's words.
She'd been working to get caught up on the blog she wrote as well as the emails she received as a result of it.
After she'd come to accept what was happening to her, she had found writing blog posts had helped to channel her fears, frustrations and other emotions.
As people discovered it, the blog had grown in popularity.
Unfortunately, she'd neglected it since her move from London.
"Is he here to see me?" Lily asked as she set her laptop on the bed beside her and unfolded her legs.
"Yep. Asked if you were around."
"Okay. Just give me a second. I'll be right down."
Once Amy had left her, Lily stood and went to the bathroom to make sure she looked presentable.
Curiosity had her moving a little more quickly than usual.
It had been a couple of days since they'd met up on the sidewalk in front of the bridal shop.
Could their encounter there have brought about this visit?
"He's in the library," Amy told her when she walked into the kitchen.
Spinning on her heel, Lily made her way to the library and found Nate standing at the bay window looking out across the driveway.
"Hi, Nate. Amy said you wanted to see me."