Chapter Twenty Lorenzo
CHAPTER TWENTY
Lorenzo
F or the last couple of weeks, Lily and I have found a comfortable rhythm with our fake relationship. When I’m not meeting with constituents or preparing for the mayoral debate with Willow, Lily and I go on a few dates each week.
We have a picnic in the park and rent a rowboat so she can take photos of bouquets for her shop’s social media page, and we also attend the Strawberry Festival together.
I also make it a point to stop by Rose & Thorn multiple times throughout the week, and the four employees Lily hired have started to take a liking to me, especially when I arrive with coffee from the Angry Rooster Café or baked goods from Sweets and Treats.
Despite our strong public presence, I still haven’t been invited over for Sunday lunch, and I haven’t asked any more questions about it after Lily got visibly upset when I checked in to see if everything was okay with her sister, who has been out of town working on a project and skipped the Strawberry Festival.
Despite telling myself Lily was the one who got herself into this mess, I still feel bad about causing any kind of division between Dahlia and her. Or more so, I’m unhappy that Lily is upset, which is a cause for concern.
Like usual, I stop by Lily’s shop in the afternoon with her go-to coffee order. She is busy on the phone, so I take a lap around the shop while pretending not to eavesdrop.
“How much longer does she have to stay there?” Lily asks.
I don’t hear the other person’s reply, but Lily seems happy with it. “When do you think she will be transferred?”
Lily listens to the answer before letting out a huff. “Oh. That soon?” Another pause. “No, no! I’m happy she’s recovering well. I just need a little more time to sort out a few things.”
I’m itching to know more about this conversation, but Lily choosing not to use her speakerphone isn’t helping matters.
“Do you think you can give me another week please?” Her reply is followed by tense silence before she says, “Thank you! I hope I can figure out a plan by then.”
I stop in front of the counter, and she holds up her finger before spinning on her heels and giving me her back.
“Yes, I know.” Her shoulders slump. “Thanks again.” She hangs up. Instead of turning to greet me right away, she takes a deep breath first.
“Who was that?”
Tension ripples down her back as she finally faces me. “The vet’s office.”
My head tilts. “I thought you didn’t have a pet.”
“I don’t, but I went to help Rafa with his kittens the other week.”
“Are they okay?”
Her brows scrunch together. “The cats are good. All healthy and back at his barn.”
“So who’s recovering well, then?” I pass her the to-go cup.
She takes a sip while glaring at me. “Eavesdropping is rude.”
“So is talking on the phone when you have a customer waiting around, but you don’t hear me complaining.”
She puts her cup down. “Do you mind watching the store while I go grab your bouquets in the back?”
I don’t call her out on wanting to escape the conversation. “Go ahead.”
She disappears through the swinging door, leaving me alone with the sketch she must have been working on before her call. With modern technology, I’m surprised Lily still uses pencil and paper to design her bouquets, but given her talent, I understand why.
I start flipping the pages, only to stop at one sketch of the garden she talked about a few times.
It looks different from the one I saw recently when I hid her keys.
The fountain, which was deteriorating when I saw it, looks to be functioning in the drawing, with water cascading down the sides.
The luscious landscaping is completely different in the drawing too, no longer appearing abandoned but with flowers blossoming and hedges neatly trimmed.
This drawing is what I imagined her special place to look like, but for some reason the garden currently lacks that charm.
Lily rips the sketchbook out from underneath my hand and slams it shut.
“Here you go.” She all but tosses the flowers at me. If I didn’t have quick reflexes, they would’ve fallen to the floor and been crushed.
“Pretty drawing you have there.”
Her jaw works itself. “Goodbye, Lorenzo.”
I’m surprised by her snippiness, so I poke around for answers because I can’t help myself. “Did that phone call put you in a mood?”
“You snooping around did.”
She fans the flames of curiosity burning inside me, but with the way her mouth pulls tight with barely restrained irritation, I’ll seek answers elsewhere.
I should leave, but I loiter instead by the counter like my feet are glued to the floor.
Lily ignores me. She doesn’t return to drawing, instead choosing a task she thinks I’d find boring.
Truth is I could watch her complete the most menial tasks, like trimming flowers or reviewing invoices, and never get bored.
There’s too much about her that interests me, from the delicate way she curls ribbons or organizes wrapping paper to the amusing furrow she gets between her brows whenever she has to do inventory counts.
That’s the only plausible explanation for why I’m lingering, wanting to ask Lily more questions. That and my curiosity about why she was talking to the vet’s office when Rafa’s kittens are all accounted for.
A curiosity that I shouldn’t feel, but one I plan on satisfying regardless.
With or without her help.
An overwhelming sense of sadness hits me when I stop in front of the vet’s office.
I’m assaulted by the memory of my parents and me visiting this same clinic with our family dog, and the stabbing sensation in my chest worsens when I think about how they never made it here on the night of their accident.
With a few steady breaths and a reminder of why I’m here, I walk inside, looking like I don’t have a single care in the world outside of finding out what Lily is hiding.
Turns out the woman working the front desk was more than happy to give me all the answers I needed.
All I had to do was flash a smile and share how much Lily raves about the clinic, and ecco qua , everyone was ready to talk all about Daisy, the dog Lily loves to visit every day, and how Rafa is paying all the pricey medical bills.
Him covering the bills annoys me, but not nearly as much as Lily keeping secrets from me.
But why does that matter to you?
It shouldn’t, but I’m a bit peeved at how she never even talked to me about Daisy, who clearly is important since she is so invested in her rehabilitation. It’s not like she hasn’t had plenty of opportunities to bring it up.
Yet she didn’t want to.
I’m not a fan of the little pinch in my chest when I think of her keeping secrets. Not a fan at all.
I’m still thinking about Daisy when I pick up Lily from her house that evening in a vintage 1956 Cadillac Eldorado. The convertible felt like a fitting pick for tonight’s drive-in movie date, but she doesn’t comment on it like I expected.
Lily is rather quiet during the drive to the lot near the edge of town, and I find her checking her phone more than once for new messages.
“You good?” I ask once we arrive at the drive-in theater, where rows of cars are lined up for tonight’s film. We are directed toward an empty area, but with how popular the spot is for couples and families, it’s only a matter of time before we are surrounded on all sides.
“I’m fine,” she replies without an ounce of emotion.
“You sure?” I ask, knowing an answer like that deserves a follow-up.
“Yes.” She glances over at me. “Why are you asking?”
“Because you’re unusually quiet tonight.”
Talk to me about Daisy, I say in my head.
Tell me why she matters to you so much , I add.
Any iteration of the question makes me sound like I care too much. Like I’m snubbed because she chose to lean on Rafa for help instead of me.
Nothing about our agreement requires us to share everything about ourselves, so I have no right to private information.
Yet I want to know anyway, and I hate myself for it.
Her lips go from pursing to flattening into a thin line. “You know, I am capable of being silent sometimes.”
“Doesn’t mean I want you to be.” My comment is followed by a pause full of crackling tension.
Lily’s gaze is hot on my face. “Why not?”
“I’ve come to enjoy your rambling.”
“Is this your discreet way of telling me you like the sound of my voice?”
“Depends. Is this your discreet way of asking if I do?”
She cracks a smile. It’s the first one I’ve seen all day from her, and it fills me with a relief I have no business feeling in the first place. “Maybe.”
I tip her head back so I can get a clear look at her eyes. “If you want an answer, then ask the question.” An interesting piece of advice coming from the man who won’t bring up Daisy, but I’m nothing if not consistent when it comes to not revealing my cards.
It takes Lily a moment to reply, and I should’ve known it was because I wouldn’t appreciate her next line of questioning.
“Why do you care if I’m quiet?” she asks.
I walked myself into this trap, so I need to deal with the consequences of my honesty. “Because that means you’re upset, and I’ve come to realize I don’t like that.”
She smiles to herself, like she is in on a joke I’m not privy to.
“What?” I ask, somewhat affronted by her amusement.
“Nothing.” Her eyes fall to her lap again and that damn phone.
I tangle my fingers in her hair and force her to look at me. “Tell me.”
“So you can run away when shit gets too real? I think not.”
“I don’t run away. I…”
“Flee?” she teases, and I’m motivated to do something about that smirk on her face.
I turn her ponytail into a rope, winding it around my hand until her head tilts in my direction. She tries to pull away, but she can’t go anywhere.
“Look who’s fleeing now.” I smile.
Her eyes darken, and I want to drown in their inky depths, only to have that thought interrupted by a car pulling up next to us.
Lily slides a dazzling smile onto her face like our conversation never happened, and I have no choice but to let our conversation—and her hair—go.
Regardless of my personal desires, we have a show to put on, and I excel at my role as I offer to grab us milkshakes and popcorn from the concession stand.
“You’re the best, baby.” Lily waves me off, and the young couple parked beside us snickers.
“Will you grab me some popcorn too, baby ?” A man I’ve seen working at Manny’s shop taunts with a kissy face.
I roll my eyes at him before heading to the concession stand. The line of twenty people wraps around the booth, but it seems to be quickly moving thanks to the four employees working behind the counter.
I’m about to get in line when I find my living nightmare standing near the end, looking casual with his hands tucked into his pockets.
I stumble back a step and bump into someone in the process, gaining the attention of a few people around me.
The person I ran into claps me on the shoulder. “You okay, Lorenzo?”
“I forgot my wallet.”
Trevor Ludlow turns at the sound of my voice, but I bolt before he can get a look at me. I’ve done my best to avoid him, and for the most part I’ve been successful, but tonight was a close call.
Too close.
My heart is racing by the time I make it back to the car.
“What happened to the snacks?” Lily asks when she sees me return empty-handed.
“Line was too long, and I didn’t want to miss the beginning of the movie.”
If Lily senses a lie, she doesn’t call me out on it, and I’m grateful. I can only handle so much tonight, and seeing Trevor pushed me to my absolute limit.
I can’t avoid him forever. Sooner or later, my past and future are going to collide.
And I have a feeling that when that time comes, it’s going to eat me alive.