15. Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Fifteen
S he’d walked out on him.
People didn’t walk out on him.
Tony frowned as he watched Lily pass by the dunes. If she were anyone else, he would have already turned on his heel and left. After all, she wasn’t willing to listen to reason.
Aster was going to be no help. The laptop was MIA. And neither of them had personally organized an event of this size. If they failed, the whole island would be upset with them and rightly so.
And then there was the part about the judges coming from New York City and expecting a professional event as well as an art competition where the winner was invited to New York City to take part in an art show.
The pressure to get this right weighed heavily on him.
He had no idea how Aster had drawn in such impressive judges.
If they attempted to finish organizing this event, and it was a disaster, it would reflect poorly on him as mayor. And he had plans to run for re-election. He found that he liked working with the public—even if the position included dealing with complaints. He did whatever he could to help them.
But Lily wanted him to put all of that at risk. He knew how things could follow someone in his position. They’d say if he couldn’t organize a festival, how were they supposed to trust him with their island?
Still, he couldn’t leave things like this with Lily.
He didn’t like that she was upset with him.
When he’d planned this dinner, he thought for sure they’d have Aster’s laptop and all of her detailed plans.
It would be a roadmap they could follow.
Now they were left with some barely legible notes and contracts. It wasn’t much to go on.
But he’d figure out all of that later. Right now, he needed to patch things up with Lily.
He headed out the back and took long quick strides. For someone with shorter legs than his, she moved swiftly. And he hadn’t exactly worn the right shoes for walking on the beach. His brown suede oxfords were never going to be the same after this. And yet, he kept going.
“Lily!” He knew she heard him, but she kept going. “Lily, wait up!”
There had only been one other time she’d been this upset with him, and it was back in high school.
He remembered clearly the day she’d asked him out.
He’d turned her down because Neil made it perfectly clear that if he so much as sniffed around any of his sisters that they would no longer be friends.
Neil took his position of big brother very seriously.
Neil was the brother that Tony never had. He couldn’t imagine his life without Neil in it. So, when Lily asked him out, he’d been caught off-guard. He’d tried to let her down gently, but apparently it hadn’t been gently enough.
Neil had come after him. Tony recalled how furious his best friend had been.
For a moment, he thought they were going to come to blows.
But then Tony had explained what had happened.
It had taken a little time, but things had gone back to normal between him and Neil.
However, Lily had given him the cold shoulder until.
..well, until he’d returned to the island and run for mayor.
He didn’t want to wait that long this time for her to speak to him again.
He walked as fast as he could on the packed sand. At last, he caught up to her. “Lily, can we talk?”
“Don’t you think we’ve done enough of that?”
“No.”
He wondered if this argument was purely about the festival or something more. She was so beautiful and so fearless—unafraid to break the rules if she thought it was for the greater good.
When he wasn’t with her, he found himself thinking about her—wondering what she was doing—wondering if she was thinking about him too. And this evening, he’d been fighting the urge to pull her into his arms and kiss her. Maybe his frustration came out the wrong way.
She suddenly stopped and faced him. “I think you owe me an apology.”
At first, he wasn’t sure what she was referring to. Then he realized that he’d spoken in the heat of the moment and said some stuff that he now regretted.
He swallowed hard. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what?” She wasn’t going to let him just brush this off.
“I’m sorry I said you were being unreasonable. I shouldn’t have said that. I was just frustrated. Nothing about this festival has gone according to plan.”
Her gaze searched his, as though she were trying to decide whether to believe him or not. “Don’t do it again. I’m allowed to have my opinion, even if it doesn’t align with yours.”
He nodded. “Agreed.”
She turned and continued walking at a slower pace.
He fell in step with her. He was confused. “Aren’t we going back to the house to finish talking about the festival?”
“Not yet. When something is bothering me, I like to come out here and walk.” She pointed toward a large pile of boulders in the distance. “I like to go there when I have things on my mind. It’s my thinking rock.”
“Is that where we’re headed now?”
She gave a shake of her head but kept walking.
He’d been so worried about her being upset with him that he didn’t take the time to listen to the roar of the ocean or appreciate the warm sea breeze as it rushed over his skin.
In the lingering light of the day, he was able to see out to the distant horizon. It was strange that he lived on this picturesque island, and yet he could count on one hand how many times he’d been to the beach outside of his mayoral duties.
Again, he thought of Nora’s advice about him getting a private life. Maybe he really needed to take her words to heart.
Even though he knew from his time as an assistant district attorney the inherent risks that came with coloring outside the lines, Lily made him want to take chances. But the price of taking a chance with Lily was so high.
Everyone on the island loved her. And if he started a relationship with her, and it didn’t work out, he’d be the least popular person on the island. The chances of him winning re-election would be slim to none.
But when Lily stopped to pick up a seashell, she turned to him with a smile on her face that lit up his world and, in that moment, his reservations melted away. There was no one else like her. And if he didn’t take a chance, he was certain he would regret it for the rest of his life.
A gentle sea breeze...
Warm sand between her toes...
And Tony by her side.
Lily continued to walk. With every step, the tension in her neck and shoulders eased away. Was she really that worked up about the possible cancellation of the festival? Or was it something more?
If they were to eliminate the festival, it would mean there was no reason for her to spend time with Tony. Was that what he wanted? Was that why he was fighting with her so hard to let it go?
Or maybe she was overthinking everything. Maybe she should just let go of their heated words. After all, they were both tired and worried. She knew there was a lot riding on their decision about whether or not to move forward with the festival.
The first step to doing that was for them to get back to friendly terms. And it appeared the ocean was once again working its magic. It was washing away their heated emotions and leaving peace in its wake. At least that was the way it seemed to her.
When she turned her head, she found Tony was already looking in her direction. When their gazes connected, her heart started doing that pitter-patter thing again. And then he smiled at her. The kind of smile that soothed his worry lines and made him look ten years younger.
Almost tripping over her own two feet, she looked down where she was walking.
Nighttime was quickly approaching, but there was still enough daylight for her to search for seashells.
Most of the time, they were just fragments, but every once in a while, she’d spot a whole one sticking up out of the sand. And there was potentially one now…
She moved toward it and crouched down. Gently her fingers worked the sand away from it. If it was whole, she didn’t want to break it. When it was completely uncovered, she was happy to find it was unbroken.
She walked over to the water’s edge and rinsed it off.
When she straightened, she placed it in her palm and held it out for Tony to see.
“I’ve loved to hunt seashells since I was a kid.
We’d take them home and I’d paint them. As I got older, the painting got more detailed.
I think my mother still has some of my better ones.
” She glanced over at him. “Did you ever hunt for shells?”
“Never thought about it.”
“It’s fun, but it’s also relaxing.” She looked down at the perfect shell. She was originally going to take it home to paint it, but now she had a better idea.
She reached for his hand. She placed the shell in his palm before closing his fingers around it. “Here. This can be your first seashell.”
He shook his head. “I can’t take it. After all, you’re the one who found it.”
When her gaze met his, she noticed emotion flicker in his blue depths. Before she could define the emotion, he blinked, and it was gone. But she was certain that the tension from earlier was now gone.
She was still touching his hand when she said, “You aren’t taking it. I’m giving it to you. When you look at it, you can remember this beautiful walk along the beach.”
“I don’t need a seashell to remember this evening.” He was staring directly at her. His words were soft but rumbled with emotion. He slipped the shell into his pocket. “But I’ll keep it safe.”
Just then there was a strong gust of wind. It blew her hair. She pushed it back out of her face, but she’d missed a few strands. Tony reached out to tuck the errant strands behind her ear.
All it took was that innocent motion to send her heart pounding. She should say something—do something—but instead she stood motionless, as though in a trance.
His hand lingered. He continued to look into her eyes, making her feel like she could get lost in the blue of his eyes. The backs of his fingers brushed gently against her cheek, sending shivers of anticipation down her spine.
The breath stilled in her lungs. In that moment, she noticed that his gaze dipped to her lips. Was he thinking about kissing her?
Wait. What? She didn’t think he was interested in her that way. She recalled him saying something like he thought of her more like a sister. Of course, that was back in high school. But this moment was not something she would share with one of her siblings.
Maybe she was reading too much into the moment. Yes, that was probably it. She blamed it on the romantic beach setting in the evening sunlight.
But still, there was something about the way he’d looked at her...
Before she could decipher exactly what was going on, he turned away. He proceeded to walk back toward her house. Being utterly confused between what her mind was telling her and what her heart wanted, she quietly fell in step beside him.
She replayed the intense moment in her mind. She tried to rationalize this thing between them, but she kept coming back to the fact that he’d almost kissed her.
“Lily, where are you going?” Tony’s voice drew her from her thoughts.
She glanced around and realized she’d been so deep into her thoughts that she’d walked past her house. Heat warmed her cheeks as she retraced her steps.
She led the way into the house. “I know it’s not going to be easy to pull the festival together. And I understand that it might require more time than you’re willing to invest. I’m okay with that. I’ll find someone else to help me organize it.”
There, she’d put it all out there as calmly and peacefully as she could muster. But she was more determined than ever to make sure this festival happened. She had a gut feeling this event was the key to her future.
Tony’s gaze searched hers. “You’re that invested in the festival?” When she nodded, he asked, “Why?”
She resisted the urge to shrug. She needed to be serious and direct.
She just wasn’t ready to tell him how much she longed to make her way into the New York art scene—even if the prize was a small gallery showing.
It would still crack the door open to that world and then it’d be up to her to kick the door the rest of the way open.
She drew in a deep breath and blew it out.
“First, I’m an artist. I want to bring more art into people’s lives.
Second, the whole town is buzzing about the festival.
And third, it’s the last big event before things quiet down for winter.
It’ll be the last big push for business owners to make some decent sales before the seasonal slump. ”
Tony was quiet for a moment, as though he were absorbing what she’d told him. If he was still opposed to forging ahead with the festival, she was determined to do it without him.
“We better get to work.” He headed for the door. “I’ll get my files from the cart.”
Wait. Did he just agree to work with me? Her heart leaped with joy.
She rushed after him. “Let me get them.”