Chapter 19
Lily
“Here’s your breakfast.”
Chris hands me a plate where I’m curled up on his couch, Hank lunging behind me along the back.
It’s Sunday morning, and I think I’m still dazed from the game last night.
Everything about it felt like a date. A shared moment where Chris revealed to me a piece of his life. It all felt very special and sacred.
And now, here I am, in his condo, with a breakfast of eggs, bacon, potatoes, fruit, and toast that Chris made himself after waking up who knows how much earlier than me.
“Thank you. This looks amazing.” I smile at him, his face serious and unreadable as he gazes down at me.
He picks up my coffee cup. “I’ll get you some more coffee. Be right back.”
I admire the view of him in dark sweats and a tight T-shirt as he crosses the short distance to the kitchen. Before he turns around and catches me, I let my eyes fall to the plate in my lap and spear a piece of melon with my fork.
A few minutes later, Chris returns with my coffee cup and a plate of food for himself. He sets it on the coffee table and sits at the far side of the couch. I wish he was closer.
Last night made me even more curious about Chris, so taking a breath in between bites, I ask, “Do your parents live close by?”
He looks back at me as he finishes chewing the bite of food he just took. “They both passed away many years ago.”
Sadness tightens my chest. “I’m sorry to hear that. My mom passed away when I was twenty. I never knew my dad.”
His eyes leave mine and return to his plate.
Now that the door has been opened, I’m running through until he shuts me down. “Did they know you became a lawyer?”
From his profile, I see his lips twitch before he says, “Yeah, my dad was alive when I started getting a lot of attention around town from some high-profile cases.” Chris takes a sip of coffee, then sits back, his face marred in thoughtful mournfulness.
“He used to cut out newspaper articles about me and had them on the fridge, like it was my elementary school artwork.”
I can’t stop the smile that lifts my lips. I love that someone loved him so much.
Chris looks over me. “It wasn’t even at the peak of my career, but he was so proud of me. Used to tell me all the time how proud my mom would have been if she were still alive, even though she hated attorneys.” He finishes his story with a chuckle.
“They sound like wonderful parents.”
He stares out the windows for a minute before asking, “Were you and your mom close before she passed away?”
Taking a few moments to think back on our relationship, I tell him, “We tried. My mom worked a lot to support us, so I was on my own. We didn’t really have any of her family around, so we did the best we could. I know she loved me, in her own way.”
The only sounds for a few moments are the whirling of the overhead fan and Hank’s soft purring.
“It’s hard being without them,” he muses, almost to himself. “My parents and I were so close that sometimes I’d wish for some solitude. But the last few years, especially, have changed the way I look at loneliness.”
There’s a depth of pain behind his words that tightens my chest as my cheeks tingle with emotions I can’t keep at bay.
I want to ask him about Seth and about the friend he considered family that isn’t around, but something stops me.
Something in his tone and eyes tells me he isn’t ready to talk about it.
Chris clears his throat and sits up with a frown. His voice is a little gruffer when he says, “I have some work I need to do. Do you want to turn on a movie while I do it?”
Pushing the emotions down, I force a smile. “Absolutely. That sounds great.”
For the rest of the day, we stay in his condo. Sometimes talking, sometimes not. Sharing a laugh a few times, which is a welcome relief from the heaviness of the conversation over breakfast.
I’ve never had a more perfect day with anyone, ever.
I pinch the bridge of my nose and squeeze my eyes shut. The morning has been packed. We had two new client project kick-offs and a brainstorming meeting for a new campaign for an existing client.
At least the day is going by quickly.
So I can get home to Chris.
My eyes pop open.
“Lily, don’t be stupid,” I chastise myself under my breath.
“You talking to yourself, boss?” Anna chirps as she strolls into my office.
I force a smile. “Sorry, yeah, I was.”
She plops down in the chair. “These new clients we have coming on board are exciting. Thank you for letting me sit in on those meetings.” She rings her hands. “So I was thinking, I have a few ideas I’d like to pitch to you if that’s okay with you?”
A genuine smile replaces the forced one. Anna reminds me of myself when I first started. “Absolutely. I’d love to hear whatever ideas you have.”
She beams at my response, and my heart warms. Before we can continue our conversation, the front desk receptionist pops her head in my office door.
Her eyes cut to Anna, then back at me. “Uh, Mrs. Bennett. Sorry to interrupt, but I have two men out here asking for you. They said they’re detectives. ”
Lightheadedness engulfs me as my heart races. They wouldn’t arrest me here at work, would they?
It takes me a few moments before I’m able to respond. My voice is weak and strained when I say, “Okay, you can show them back.”
She leaves, and Anna rounds the desk, gripping my forearm. “Lily, it’s going to be okay. Do you want me to stay?”
I swallow hard and shake my head. This is mortifying enough that they’d show up at my work; I can’t take her being a witness even more to what’s about to happen. “No, but thank you for the offer. I need to do this myself.”
The grip she has on me tightens. “I’d say text your attorney, but there’s no way he’d get here in time.” Lowering her voice, she adds, “Don’t answer any questions. I’m serious.”
“I won’t,” I reply just as my door swings open farther.
Anna lets go and walks around my desk. She nods at the detectives on her way out and their way in.
I press my palms into the top of my desk to steady myself as I push to stand, waving to the chairs in front of my desk. “Detectives. Would you like to have a seat?”
They share a look between them before the one I remember as Barrington nods. “Sure, thank you.”
We all take our seats, and I clasp my hands together on the desk in front of me to hide the tremors. “What can I do for you?”
Barrington adjusts in his seat. “We got the report of the attempted break-in at your house.”
My body calms a little at that statement. Maybe they aren’t here to arrest me after all. “Yes, that’s right. I provided the video to the officers who showed up the other night.”
The other one, I think Chris called him Wilcox, nods. “Yes, ma’am. We’ve seen it.”
There’s something in his tone that makes me nervous all over again. “Okay, do you have any leads?”
With a shrug and a frown, Barrington says, “Well, not exactly. But we had some…observations.”
I stay silent and raise my eyebrows in question.
“Of course, we can’t say for sure since their face is covered, but some of us felt that it sure did appear to be a similar build and height as you, actually.”
Sweat dots my hairline along the back of my neck as my mind tries to make sense of what they’re implying. “I don’t…”
“Sure you do, Lily,” Barrington patronizes.
Usually, I hate being called Mrs. Bennett because it reminds me of Blake, but Barrington using my first name has my skin crawling.
He continues. “It’s mighty convenient to throw suspicion off you if someone tried to break into your house, don’t you think?”
I press my lips together as I try to slow my breathing. “I didn’t…” I trail off, not wanting to say any more without Chris by my side.
Wilcox slaps his hands on his thighs before standing. “Well, that was about it for us today. Have a good rest of your day.”
I barely register them leaving my office. All I can focus on is the whooshing in my ears. I’m not sure how much time passes before Anna pops her head into my office, eyeing me with apprehension. Probably worried about me losing it.
“Lily, are you okay? Should I move your next meeting? It starts in ten minutes,” Anna calls out softly.
Shaking my head, I finally find my voice. “No. No, I’m okay. I’ll be ready.”
Anna doesn’t look convinced, but she nods and retreats to her desk. I grab my water bottle and take a long sip, letting the cool liquid settle my stomach.
Inhaling a deep breath, I do what I’ve become a master of—putting on a mask and pretending everything is fine.
By the time I get to Chris’s, my emotions are like a live wire—the slightest touch and it’s over.
When I pulled into the garage, his car was already parked in his assigned spot. All through the elevator ride and short walk down the hall, I keep my facade in place.
Opening his door and stepping inside, my heart stutters.
Chris is sitting at the island, his laptop open in front of him, and he has reading glasses propped at the end of his nose.
Hank’s curled up on the barstool next to him.
When the door closes behind me, Hank jumps down with a meow in greeting, and Chris’s head pops up.
He whips the glasses off and tosses them down next to his laptop.
“Lily, what’s wrong?” The stool screeches across the floor as he stands.
Rushing over to me, he grips my shoulders.
I feel everything starting to slip under his intense examination.
His hands run up over my shoulders and cup my cheeks, tilting my face to look into his eyes.
“Lily, I need you to tell me what’s wrong. ”
My bottom lip starts to tremble. Panic that I’m not able to keep it all together makes the emotions flood to the surface even faster. Pressing my fingers to my lips, tears wet my cheeks.
With a grunt, Chris wraps one arm around my shoulders and buries his fingers in my hair. I’m pulled against his chest, and his fingers caress my scalp. I slide the arm not trapped between us around his waist and hold on.