7. Lilian
CHAPTER 7
Lilian
I stared at my nearly full basket of plump red berries as they glistened in the afternoon sun and chuckled under my breath at the way my fingers were stained crimson, matching the subtle blush I couldn’t seem to shake whenever Reid glanced my way. The raspberry picking challenge was supposed to be fun and lighthearted, but the moment we stepped into the lush fields, something shifted between us.
“You’re falling behind, Lil,” Reid called from two rows over, holding up his basket with a triumphant smile. “Better pick up the pace unless you want to treat me to that Big Bob’s Barbecue next week.”
I scoffed, but couldn’t help the smile tugging at my lips. “In your dreams, Belgrave. I’m just being selective with my berries.” I plucked another plump raspberry and popped it into my mouth instead of my basket, the sweet-tart flavor bursting across my tongue. “Got to go quality over quantity any day.”
“Keep telling yourself that,” he laughed, disappearing behind a particularly dense raspberry bush.
I drifted off into a mindless daydream. I’d spent half the night drenched in thoughts of Reid—filthy, relentless thoughts that wouldn’t let up no matter how many times I shifted under the covers, desperate for relief. That kiss… it wasn’t just something I could replay in my head. It was seared into me, a living thing crawling under my skin. I could still taste him; still feel the press of his body and the way he growled against my lips like he was seconds from snapping and fucking me right there. I wanted him to snap but he remained ever the gentleman even though I was desperate to see what he’d do if he let himself go—if he stopped being careful, stopped holding back. My mind spiraled into every possible version of him. The Reid who would shove me up against a wall and tear my panties off. The Reid who’d drop to his knees in the hallway and eat me out until I was shaking. The Reid who’d fuck me so hard I’d forget my own name. The guy who’d let down all those barriers finally to give me the pleasure I deserved. I kept thinking about his hands—big and rough, the kind that would leave bruises, marks I’d wear like a secret only we knew about. I wanted them gripping my thighs, pinning me down, spreading me open while he slid his cock deep inside me. I wanted him to ruin me—slow and filthy, or fast and brutal—I didn’t care. I just wanted it to be him.
It didn’t matter that I was exhausted, all I cared about was how quickly I could get my fingers between my legs. I was already soaked, so turned on by the vivid images that it hurt. I imagined him standing at the edge of the bed, watching me touch myself, his jaw tight, fists clenched, trying not to lose control. I imagined him telling me to keep going; to show him how badly I needed him, and fuck—I did. I needed him like air. I needed to come and I fucking did hard. He had caused that all from one kiss. What the fuck was it going to be like when we actually were naked together? I could see fireworks flying…
“Well, well, look who it is!” I whirled around to find Paisley standing at the end of my row, her knowing smile wider than I’d ever seen it. My best friend had a talent for showing up at the most inconvenient moments.
“Pais! What are you doing here?” I asked, trying to sound casual despite the heat rising to my cheeks.
“Same as everyone else on this beautiful day—picking berries.” She announced lifting her own half-filled basket. “Though I see you’re combining berry-picking with... other activities.” She uttered wiggling her eyebrows suggestively as I rolled my eyes knowing that this girl was definitely up to no good. I’d only just finally got my part-time apprentice, Cal, in the chocolate shop up to a level I was comfortable to leave him to venture out this far for the day but that had been with the idea of Paisley being close by in an emergency. A shiver shot straight down my spine as fear coiled tight in my chest. Panic rose fast, suffocating me as the image of Cal standing there alone—unprepared and overwhelmed—flashed through my mind. Would he think I had abandoned him as I spent my time here enjoying myself? The guilt instantly slammed into me like a wave. What if he couldn’t handle it.
“Sorry,” my mind instantly tried to focus on my surroundings and hoped she didn’t pick up on my fears or Reid for that matter. “It’s not what you think,” I said automatically, then wondered why I was even denying it. Everyone in town thought we were dating anyway. “We’re just having a little competition.”
“Is that what they’re calling it these days?” Paisley’s eyes sparkled with mischief.
Before I could respond, Reid emerged from behind the bushes, his face lighting up when he spotted my friend. “Paisley! Good to see you. We need to catch up at some point. I’ve a few things I’d like to discuss.” He glanced between the two of us as I furrowed my brow wondering what I’d missed. “Lilian’s not trying to recruit help, is she? Because that would definitely be cheating.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” I protested.
“I was just passing through,” Paisley said, “but since we’re on the subject of competitions, I did run into Evander and Miri by the entrance. They seemed rather... interested in your little contest. They mentioned they hadn’t seen you in the shop for a while and?—”
“Oh?” Reid raised an eyebrow as I shuddered and instantly felt the tears gathering behind my eyes.
“Miri said, and I quote, ‘Tell Reid and Lilian they’re so competitive that they’d probably not even notice that they’re picking blackberries instead of raspberries.’” Paisley delivered this with a perfect Miri-like sass. ‘Anything to escape our eager eyes.’ Paisley continued before placing her hands on her hips. I quickly examined my basket, then shot Paisley an unimpressed look when I confirmed they were indeed all raspberries and shook my head.
“And Evander?” Reid asked, leaning his foot against a wooden post.
“He just gave me this enormous smile and said something about how berry picking is the perfect cover for a romantic date and you deserve happiness and not to be constantly watched.” Paisley uttered with a huge grin upon her face.
I groaned internally.
“Well, they’re not wrong about the competition part,” Reid said, holding up his nearly full basket with a smug smile that made my heart do an unwelcome flip.
“I should leave you two lovebirds to it,” Paisley said with a wink. As she turned to go, she leaned close to my ear and whispered. “Call me later. I want all the details.”
I rolled my eyes instinctively but couldn’t suppress my smile. “Bye, Pais.”
As she walked away, I caught her giving me a thumbs-up behind Reid’s back. I shook my head, turning my attention back to the raspberry bushes before Reid could see my reddening cheeks.
“Now Lil, you know Cal has your number and would call if he was struggling, don’t you?” Reid uttered as I turned on my heel and tilted my head to the side wondering how he had known. “He’s intuitive and bright. A quick learner.”
“And you can read me so well…”
We drifted through the rows of berries like it was the most natural thing in the world, the late afternoon sun wrapping everything in a soft golden haze. Every time our fingers brushed against each other while reaching with the same ripe raspberry a quiet tremor ran through me— gentle but impossible to ignore. I know we said this day was over but it seemed we hadn’t defined the lines of relationship yet or how this was going to go down in the town. I wish we had never even started this and acted on instinct but then we may never have reached this place? It all seemed like a lot of unanswerable questions, ones that I wish were simple enough to answer.
“You’re distracted,” Reid uttered observantly as he came to stand beside me. My breath as his shoulder brushed against mine and I fought the urge to lean into him. “Penny for your thoughts?”
I couldn’t glance up at him, scared at what I might see if I did so I kept my eyes directly on the berries that I had picked. “Just thinking about Paisley. She has this sixth sense for showing up whenever something’s going on.”
“And is something going on?” His voice dropped lower, sending a shiver down my spine despite the warm day. I ignored the question, plucking another raspberry instead.
“Last time I went through a breakup, she showed up at my door with ice cream and wine before I’d even told her about it. Sometimes I think she’s psychic like she knows what’s going on in my mind. It’s sometimes the small things, like she knows that I will be panicking over what’s happening with my little shop and the fact I’m giving myself more free time now.” I blurted out knowing that of all the people I could have told Reid would be the one who’d probably be the most likely to understand.
“Good friends are like that. Grant’s the same way. He always seems to know when I need a distraction or someone to talk to. Worse is the guy can read every single thing about me—some would say it’s a perk—I’d say a curse at times. Problem with our careers, hey!” Reid admitted before he swallowed harshly.
It seemed ironic how two opposites got on so well. We joked and laughed as we worked and somewhere along the way, I found myself opening up, sharing pieces of my life I hadn’t planned on. I told him about how I signed up to my first food show only eighteen months after finding my grandmother’s cooking book and how I had been terrified to display my pieces of work for strangers to judge. About the summer I spent backpacking through Europe only six months later and how I honed my skills in a patisserie as I explored the local cafés.
Reid nodded, his expression thoughtful. “It’s like you just knew you’d had your calling. I had the same feeling I had the first time I helped on my first case. There’s something about the way everyone’s emotions settle when a case finalizes and each party receives the exact settlement requested. It gave them the sense of a new sense of life and the start of a future they’d been searching for.”
“Is that why you came back to Starlight Bay?” I asked, genuinely curious watching Reid as he hesitated for a moment before shrugging his shoulders.
“Partly. After my dad got sick it just seemed like the natural choice. But also... I missed this place. The big city has its charms but there’s something special about the small-town roots and supporting every couple and surrounding family rather than just the big ones.” He uttered.
“Even the gossips who can’t mind their own business?” I teased before gulping knowing that I may have taken that a step too far. “Sorry, I just. I know—divorce isn’t a laughing matter but it can happen for a good reason sometimes as well as the bad ones.” I shrugged nonchalantly.
“Especially them,” he laughed. “You never have to wonder where you stand in a small town. For better or worse, everyone lets you know. I guess that’s another positive point of everyone knowing who you are. I mean what was I now—the grumpy asshole of a lawyer.”
My face reddened at that remark as I dropped my head lower hoping the ground would swallow me up. Reid would never let me forget that I referred to him as that as I considered his words wondering if this was our way of communication or just me pushing for him to bite back and push me away. Was I actually thinking he would stick around or run away? He’d never been someone known before to want a woman before after all. Why would I be someone of any interest? I added another handful of berries to my basket keeping my gaze fixed away from him. “I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with that aspect of Starlight Bay. Sometimes I just want to be anonymous, you know? But then there are days when Paisley hears on the grapevine that I sneezed at the Post Office and comes bearing a care package a few hours later from the local shops, and I remember why I stay here.”
“That’s exactly it. The good outweighs the bad.” Reid replied back with a warm smile. “You can’t help being drawn here.”
We fell into another comfortable silence moving through the rows with practiced ease until we neared the end of the field and I realized my basket was almost full, as was Reid’s.
“Looks like we might tie,” I observed, feeling a strange mix of disappointment and relief.
“We can’t have that,” Reid said with mock seriousness. “Where’s the fun without a clear winner?” I laughed.
“So, what do you propose? A raspberry-eating contest to break the tie?” I asked curiously.
“Tempting, but I have a better idea.” He nodded toward a bench at the edge of the field. “Let’s take a break. The competition can wait.”
We made our way to the wooden bench nestled beneath an old oak tree. The afternoon sun filtered through the leaves casting dappled shadows across our skin as we set our baskets down and stretched our muscles watching other couples and families move through the berry fields. I found myself studying a young couple a few rows away, their heads bent close together as they shared a raspberry, laughing when the juice stained their lips red. It was playful, sweet and completely unguarded. I instantly wanted that. God, I wanted that with Reid. We may have still been finding out, tiptoeing what was becoming of this thing between us but the passions and desire was already there. Hot and insistent.
“Can I ask you something?” Reid’s voice pulled me from my thoughts, making me suddenly turn my body toward him, suddenly feeling nervous.
“Always. What’s on your mind?” I asked.
“What happened with your ex? The one before all this started.” Reid’s expression was gentle, maybe even a bit curious at my train of thought as I looked down at my stained fingers, picking at a hangnail as I considered how to answer.
“Jason,” I said finally. “We were together for almost three years. He was... safe. Predictable. Until he wasn’t.” I admitted.
“What happened?” Reid asked, tipping his head to the side, his jaw clenched slightly as he uttered the words.
I sighed loudly as the familiar ache in my chest echoed. “He got a job offer in LA telling me that he wanted to go alone and that we’d unfortunately just grown apart.” I whispered. “Three days later I had turned up at his office about to tell him I’d give up the dream for him only to find him fucking his new business partner against the floor to ceiling windows in his office. He didn’t even stop just waved at me.” I let out a sob as a tear rolled down my cheek. “He was more bothered in ensuring his dick got some action.”
“I’ve no words. I’m sorry. That’s…” He shook his head as his eyes darkened and he scooted toward me wrapping his arm around me. “He’s an idiot. A complete fool to treat you like that.”
“Thanks. I mean, it worked out for the best. We were comfortable, but not... not passionate, I guess.” I exclaimed as Reid leaned forward and swiped away the tear with his thumb and sucked it into his mouth. “Still hurt, though.” I uttered the words on a breathless whisper.
“Of course it did,” Reid said softly. “Betrayal always does.”
“You sound like you speak from experience.” I uttered back, lifting my head to glance into his swirling gray captivating pools.
It was his turn to look away. “I used to have a fiancée, Alexandra.” He huffed out in pain. “I found out she was cheating with my opposition three weeks before the wedding.”
“Reid,” I breathed out instinctively, reaching for his hand. “That’s awful.” He shrugged his shoulders but I could see the hurt still lingered in his eyes.
“In retrospect, there were signs. I was just too busy with work to notice. Classic story, right?” He snapped out in pain.
“I don't want to get hurt again,” I admitted quietly, not looking him in the eye. The confession felt raw, vulnerable in a way I hadn’t planned on being around him.
“I get that. I don’t want to be either. But sometimes, the risk is worth it.” Reid stated laying his heart on the line. “Maybe for once fate had a helping hand and found two people who genuinely deserved some happiness and love. Aren’t we both worth experiencing true love?”