Chapter Twelve Lily
CHAPTER TWELVE
Lily
I t took me five minutes to process Lorenzo’s apology and accept that while I’m still angry at him for the choices he made and the heartache he caused me, I need to put our history aside if I want to save Rose & Thorn.
Doing so won’t be easy, but it’ll be way easier than watching the Ludlows destroy me along with my parents’ legacy.
If that requires me to fake that I’m “in love” with Lorenzo, so be it.
Except nothing about our kiss right now feels like pretend .
I have done my best to erase the memory of how Lorenzo’s lips felt—of how they kissed —but all my efforts go to waste because one kiss ruins everything.
The world around us ceases to exist. I’m in no hurry, so I take my time, setting a languid pace he matches, right before he turns the heat up.
I lean against the brick wall behind me because I don’t trust my legs, and Lorenzo follows, his hands finding the curves of my hips. He presses his body into mine, and I gasp at how right it feels to be underneath him.
He grins against my lips, and I kiss it away to spare myself from craving more .
More smiles. More fleeting touches. More of his hard length pressing into my—
Rusty hinges creak, and a burst of cold air hits the side of my face. Lorenzo ignores it, deepening the kiss until I forget about the original plan.
It is hard to multitask with Lorenzo’s teeth tugging on my bottom lip—
Someone gasps, followed by a squeaky, “Lily!”
Lorenzo tenses ever so slightly. I doubt I would’ve noticed his rigid posture if it weren’t for how closely our bodies are pressed together.
More people pour out of the emergency exit, and a tingle spreads from the back of my neck straight toward my face.
I tuck my head against Lorenzo’s chest—a genuine reaction that makes his hold on my hips tighten.
Reluctantly, I lift my head, and Lorenzo’s gaze connects with mine. It’s the heat in his eyes that has me questioning how much of this is real, but then I remind myself how I made that mistake before and where it got me.
Ignoring the crowd forming in the alley, I grab Lorenzo’s hand and tug him toward the lights on Main Street. People’s stares drill into the back of my neck as he slides his fingers through mine.
The main road in town is hectic, with two fire trucks parked in the emergency lane, casting a red-and-white glow on the larger crowd waiting outside Last Call. My sister is standing on the edge of it, looking panicked as she searches the group of people.
Julian’s gaze lands on me first, and he whispers something into Dahlia’s ear. She turns to look over at us with wide eyes. Her mouth falls open, and Julian’s lips press firmly together as he takes us in.
Lorenzo’s grip tightens, and Dahlia’s and Julian’s eyes drop toward our clasped hands.
Talk about a hard launch.
I let out a nervous laugh. “Hey.”
“Hey?” She stares at me like she doesn’t recognize the person standing before her. “I’ve been looking all over for you! Did you not hear the fire alarm?”
“Um…I was a bit busy.” I lean into Lorenzo’s side, and thankfully he doesn’t step away.
Dahlia focuses her attention back on me. “I can see.”
Earth, please swallow me whole.
I can’t take the awkwardness anymore, so I look around, noting the twenty people all huddled by the fire trucks. Some whisper in our direction, while a majority talk among themselves.
“Can we go home and talk? Please? ” I ask while fighting the compulsion to flee in the opposite direction.
Dahlia’s eyes flick over to Lorenzo one last time before she nods. “Yeah. Let’s go.”
“Call me later.” Lorenzo gives my hand a reassuring squeeze. The comforting gesture must be part of his act. It has to be.
“Okay, Romeo.” Julian claps a hand around his shoulder and tugs him back. “I think I’ve seen enough.”
“Then you’re in for a rude awakening because we’re only getting started.” Lorenzo pushes him away.
The sirens pick an impeccable time to stop wailing, so everyone gets to hear Julian speak. “Never thought I’d see the day where you cared about someone other than yourself.”
“The secret’s out now.”
“I’m sure you’ll move on soon enough.”
Julian’s comment hits way too close to home, and my lungs malfunction. I end up choking on dry air, making Lorenzo spin around to face me.
His stormy gaze sweeps over me before he turns to look at Julian. I can’t make out Lorenzo’s expression, but the way Julian pulls back suddenly makes me wonder how unhinged he must look.
“If you have a problem with us, you talk to me . Got it?” Lorenzo asks, too low for anyone but us three to hear.
To prevent them from throwing punches, I step in and place my hand on Lorenzo’s shoulder.
“By the way, this right here”—I motion between Julian and Lorenzo—“is why I kept everything a secret. You can’t have one normal conversation, and it hurts me to see two people I care about dislike each other so strongly. ”
Julian looks like I’ve slapped him. “Lily—”
I hold up my hand. “I think you’ve said enough tonight.”
I take a deep breath and fight through the discomfort, knowing I need to put my morals aside to save my shop, including lying to my loved ones.
“All right. I think it’s time we go home.” Dahlia grabs my hand and starts to pull me away from Julian and Lorenzo, but she only manages a step before Lorenzo speaks.
“Text me when you get there,” he says, loud enough for the crowd of people around us to hear. “I want to know that you got there safely.”
We’re doing this now? All right. “You don’t need to remind me every time, baby.”
Someone giggles, while another shouts, “She calls him baby !”
Baby , he mouths before he subtly shakes his head. No .
I’d laugh if it weren’t for Dahlia dragging me away from the bar, reminding me how much trouble I’m in.
“I’m so upset with you right now,” Dahlia whispers as we walk down Main Street.
The ache in my stomach travels toward my heart and stays there as we head to her car. Dahlia is awfully quiet as we climb inside her fancy sedan, and I’m about to curl into a ball of anxiety when she looks over at me.
“How could you have kept this all a secret from me?” Her voice breaks toward the end.
I’m hit with the full brunt of her hurt, and it makes me feel like shit. Dahlia is my best friend, and here I am, making her upset.
One day I hope we can laugh about this, but tonight I need to focus on the plan. She will forgive me eventually, but I don’t know if I can give myself the same grace if I lose the shop.
She continues when I don’t speak. “I asked you about him the other day, and you lied to me.”
I wince.
“I knew it was weird when he randomly fixed your car, but I took your word for it when you said it wasn’t a big deal.
And then when you told us about him driving you home and taking care of you, I ignored my gut because there’s no way you wouldn’t tell me about a guy you were dating, right? Because we tell each other everything.”
“You didn’t tell me about Julian right away.” In fact, I only found out about them because I caught them kissing.
“At least you didn’t have to wait very long to find out, and even if you hadn’t seen us that day, I would’ve told you once I knew what was happening.” Her words puncture my heart from ten different angles.
“You’re right,” I say earnestly. “I’m sorry.”
She can’t even look at me anymore. “I thought we were close—”
“We are.” My voice shakes.
“Then tell me why you didn’t talk to me about the city council letter.”
I flinch. “Mom told you about it?”
“Yes.”
“She could get in trouble,” I grumble.
“Which is why I plan on keeping it a secret. Something you should be familiar with.”
My stomach sours. “If you knew, then why did you bring up the Pressed Petal tonight?”
“Because it’s happening, whether it be on Lavender Lane or somewhere else in town.”
Emotion clogs my throat.
She continues, “But that’s not important right now. Your relationship with Lorenzo is.”
If only she knew the two issues go hand in hand. I’m tempted to admit the truth, especially now that our mom told her about the letter, but I can’t until I speak to Lorenzo. Our situation requires some level of trust, and this is an opportunity for me not to betray his.
Even though he totally deserves it.
She rubs her temple. “I’m still having a hard time believing it.”
Same. “I wanted to tell you. I really did.” I’d been dying to talk to Dahlia about the Eros app and who I met, but I always found the perfect excuse not to.
First she was dealing with her own breakup, so it felt selfish to talk about a guy I was interested in. Part of me was nervous too, which was clearly justified given how Lorenzo broke things off. And then there was Richard, who made everything ten times worse.
After all that, I was too ashamed to talk about any of it, including how much I disliked myself.
“How long has this been going on?” she asks.
“Almost a year.” I sink deeper into the seat.
“A year?” She groans. “God, Lily.”
“I’m sorry.” For not telling you the truth then and for lying to you now.
“I—” Dahlia shakes her head. She looks like she’s about to say something else, but she remains quiet as she pulls out of the parking spot instead.
Neither of us plays any music, so I’m left to stew in my unpleasant thoughts during the ride home. I knew Dahlia would be upset, because if the roles were reversed, I’d be just as hurt, if not more, but witnessing her pain gives me a whole new type of sister guilt.
Halfway through the quiet drive, I think about coming clean. I don’t want Dahlia to be upset with me, but when I open my mouth, I slam it shut.
Wait until you speak to Lorenzo.
After she pulls into the driveway of our house and parks the car, she turns to face me. “Tomorrow morning you need to tell Mom about Lorenzo. It’s not right to make her find out the news from someone else.”
I clench my hands into fists. “I know.”
All I can hope is that she doesn’t connect the buyout letter to my relationship with Lorenzo. And even if she questions it, she’d write it off as a coincidence, choosing to believe the more plausible story.
Because who in their right mind agrees to a fake relationship?
Oh, right.
Me .