13. Chapter Thirteen #2
He shrugged. “Why would I want to move?”
She placed the vase in the middle of a round table with four chairs around it. “The better question is why wouldn’t you want to move?”
He was beginning to see that not only were they opposites when it came to decorating but they also looked at life quite differently. He liked stability, and she liked inconsistency.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
“Oops. I have to get that.” Lily moved to the kitchen and pressed the button on the microwave to stop the timer. “I hope you like shrimp.”
“Not really,” he said in the most sincere voice that he could muster.
She stopped dead in her tracks. When she turned to him, her eyes were open wide and shone with worry. “I...uh, I’m sorry. I...uh, might have some chicken in the freezer.”
When she went to go to the freezer, he said, “No, stop. I was just giving you a hard time.” He smiled. “I love shrimp.”
She blew out a relieved breath as she pressed a hand to her chest. “That was not funny.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I guess I’m a little nervous about this—you know, working together. I was just trying to loosen things up, but I failed.” He walked up next to her. “What can I do to help?”
She shook her head. “I invited you over for dinner. I’ve got it.”
He moved to the sink and carefully washed his good hand and the fingertips of the hand with the cast. “My mother taught me to pitch in. So, what do you need?” When she eyed up his cast, he said, “I can still do things.”
“Fine. You could get out the glasses. If you can manage, there’s some iced tea in the fridge.” She pointed to the correct cabinet. “And grab some utensils.” She pointed to the drawer. “And set the table.”
“Sounds like a plan.” He moved to the cabinet but got distracted. “These cookies look really good. Did you bake them?”
She nodded. “I baked them this morning.” As she said the words, he snagged one. “Hey, those aren’t for you.”
He’d already taken a bite by the time he turned to her. “Are you sure they aren’t for dessert?”
“I’m positive.” She crossed her arms as she looked at him. “They are for the Bells. I’ve also got a macaroni and cheese casserole in the fridge. Birdie is going to pick them up tomorrow morning and take them out to the farm.”
He smiled. “Well, the cookies are delicious. Maybe you’ll make me some one of these days.”
Heat rushed to her cheeks at the compliment. “Maybe. If you’re lucky.”
Together, they worked in the kitchen in companionable silence. He had to admit that dinner smelled amazing, especially the garlic in the alfredo sauce.
Aside from his mother, he couldn’t remember the last time someone had taken the time to cook for him. By the same token, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d cooked for anyone. The thought struck him. He thought of Nora’s words of advice. Maybe he needed to get more of a life.
“What has you so quiet?” She grabbed a plate from the cabinet and filled it with pasta.
There was no way he was telling her that he was now taking his life advice from the cleaning lady at his office. He wasn’t willing to admit that his life wasn’t the way he wanted it to be.
“I guess I’m just a little tired. It was a busy day.” All of that was the truth. It just wasn’t the whole truth.
“Then go over to the table and have a seat. After all, you did have quite a traumatic week.”
“So did you,” he countered.
“Yes, but I didn’t break my arm or crack my head open. Now go sit.” She sent him a look that said he better not mess with her, because she meant business. He could definitely envision her as a mother. As quick as the thought came to him, he banished it.
Still, a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he went and had a seat at the table. A couple of minutes later, she placed a plate of shrimp alfredo in front of him, and then she sat across from him.
“I hope you like it.” Her forehead crinkled with worry lines.
“I’m sure it’s even better than it smells, which is saying a lot.
” When that didn’t ease her worry, he picked up his fork.
He wound it with the fettuccine that was coated with the alfredo sauce.
His stomach rumbled in anticipation. And then he took a bite.
It was creamy, buttery, and had the perfect hint of garlic.
“Mm... That is the best alfredo I’ve ever had.” He meant every word.
A rosy hue crept up her neck and settled in her cheeks. “You don’t have to say that. I must admit that I cheated. I picked up the sauce and shrimp at the market. It’s actually my sister’s sauce.”
“Still, you did an extremely good job of warming it up.”
She rolled her eyes and then smiled at him. “Anyone could have done that.”
“Then I guess we’ll have to have dinner again. That way you can show me how well you do cook.” Wait. Had he just invited her to have dinner with him again?
His gaze met hers to see if she realized what he’d just said.
But she was busy staring down at her plate, as though it took all of her concentration in order to get a forkful of food.
It would appear that she’d caught exactly what he’d said, but he noticed she didn’t say anything. Perhaps it was a good sign.
As they enjoyed the pasta, they talked about the old days. She brought up the time he and Neil decided to fix up an old row boat and take it out on the ocean. Within minutes the boat was taking on water. The harbor police had to rescue them.
He mentioned the time she was twelve and had to have a picture from the highest rock on the beach.
It was during her picture-taking phase. She’d climbed to the highest point on the rocks to get the “perfect” shot of the sunset.
But then she was too afraid to climb back down.
So he and Neil climbed up to rescue her.
There were lots of laughs and enjoyable memories to accompany the fine food. He found himself relaxing and truly enjoying the meal. Although, it was the company that he enjoyed the most.
After they ate, he insisted on helping her clean up, although with only one good arm, he was left with slowly clearing the dishes from the table.
With the table cleared, they sat down next to each other. It was time to get to work.
“I checked around city hall, and no one has seen the missing laptop,” he said.
“I was actually thinking of stopping by the hospital to check on Aster and then pleading a lapse in memory and ask her again where the laptop might be.”
He paused to look at her. “That’s not a bad idea. It shouldn’t alarm her. Just don’t mention that it’s missing.”
“I would never do that. I’ll try to stop by the hospital tomorrow.”
He nodded. “Sounds like a plan. If you want me to go just let me know.”
She shook her head. “I need this to look like a casual visit, and then I’ll slip in the part about the laptop as I’m leaving.”
He nodded. “I like it. We really need the laptop.” And that was when he remembered his notes. “I’ll be right back.”
Before she could question him, he darted outside to retrieve his notes from his cart. He sat back down and opened the portfolio. “This afternoon I remembered that I’d taken notes during my last meeting with Aster. The only problem is that my notes are not detailed.”
Lily reached for the portfolio and slid it in front of her. She was quiet as she read page after page. He leaned back in his chair and waited.
She turned back to the first page. “This is a good starting point. It tells us what is done and what needs to be done.”
“But it was made about a week before Aster collapsed, so it’s not exactly up to date.”
“It’s so much more than we had before, which was nothing.”
The next thing he knew, they were each making lists of what they needed to do and the information they needed to track down. Luckily, Bluestar still believed in paper files, so he would be able to track down the paperwork for the vendors as well as the artists.
Lily was going to work on the layout of the townwide event. There were a lot of moving parts to a festival of this size. In fact, he was starting to regret approving the festival to stretch beyond the boundaries of Beachcomber Park.
They agreed to get together the following evening to compare notes. And hopefully, by then they’d have the laptop to fill in all of the gaps.
“I’ll bring the food,” he said.
Her brows rose. “You’re going to cook with a broken wrist?”
He shook his head. “I didn’t say anything about cooking. I just said I’d bring the food.”
Lily shrugged. “I won’t argue.”
And then sooner than he wanted, he was leaving. Lily followed him out onto the porch. He wanted to linger, but he couldn’t think up an excuse.
At the doorway, he said, “Thank you for dinner. It was really good.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it. I’ll see you tomorrow. Same time?”
He nodded. “Same time.”
And then he reluctantly walked away. She waved as he drove away. All the while he couldn’t help but wonder if life was giving them another chance to end up together.
Could it really be that simple?