23. Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Three
H e had to get this right.
Tony knew if he were to regain Lily’s trust that he had to open up to her about his past. It wasn’t something that would be easy for him. He didn’t discuss that period in his life with anyone.
But he knew if he wanted a second chance, he was going to have to put all of his cards on the table. There simply was no other option.
His day was chaotic with the opening of the festival. The power for one of the stages wasn’t working. Two of the vendors were MIA. But now everything appeared to be under control.
He forced his thoughts back to the conversation he was having with Jazzy Lynch, an up and coming pop music singer. “Thank you for agreeing to perform this evening. I know everyone is looking forward to hearing you.”
She smiled and nodded. “Thank you for having me. This is my first visit to Bluestar. It definitely won’t be my last visit.”
Just then Tony noticed Lily exiting the community hall. He wanted to call out to her, but he didn’t want to be rude to Jazzy. Still, he couldn’t take his gaze off Lily.
There was a distinct frown on Lily’s face. What was that all about? Had something happened with Aster? And there was the way she was striding away from the building. It was like she was in a hurry to get somewhere. But where?
It was a little early for them to meet up, but maybe she was anxious to speak to him. Yes, that must be it. Maybe this meant she would hear him out.
“Mayor?” Jazzy’s voice drew his attention.
He turned his head and looked blankly at her. He had no idea what she’d said. “Uh...”
“I should let you go. I know you’re busy with the festival.”
Tony nodded before presenting his hand to Jazzy. As they shook, he said, “Thank you again. I’m looking forward to the show.”
By the time they parted, Lily was out of sight. He headed in the direction of Dips, where they were supposed to meet up in—he consulted his watch—seventeen minutes.
Of course, his walk was slowed with residents stopping him and complimenting the festival. So far, the consensus was that people loved the arts festival and hoped it would become a regular thing. He thanked them for their feedback and kept moving.
When he reached Dips, he was five minutes early. Lily was nowhere in sight. He walked around. He scanned the area. She wasn’t seated on any of the nearby benches. She wasn’t standing in any line. She was nowhere to be found.
He wanted to phone her, but he didn’t want to appear pushy or anything. Maybe she had an errand to run before they met up.
But then the memory of her frowning came back to him. What had caused it? He had no ideas.
He stood around, scanning the crowd for one beautiful face. Where was she?
By the time she was five minutes late, he reached for his phone. He dialed her number. It rang and rang before switching to voicemail. He decided to disconnect the call without leaving a message.
He waited a couple of minutes more before he sent her a text message.
I’m here. Are we still meeting?
He pressed send and waited.
And waited.
And waited.
With no response, he had a gut feeling her frown had something to do with him. The thing was he didn’t know what had happened between their phone conversation and now.
He went to the Lily Pad. Tanya was there, but she hadn’t seen Lily that day.
His next stop was Lily’s house. He knocked on the front door and waited.
“Are you looking for Lily?” The friendly voice came from the house next door.
He turned in that direction. Mildred Jones lowered a book she’d been reading. She gently rocked back and forth—back and forth.
“Have you seen her lately?” he asked.
She nodded as she gazed at him over the top of her reading glasses. “She left here a while ago.” The rocker creaked as she continued to move at a steady pace. “I haven’t seen her since.”
What was a while ago? Was it ten minutes? Or was it a few hours?
“Was she here in the past half hour?”
Mildred shook her head. “No. You want me to give her a message?”
He shook his head. “I’ll catch up with her.”
The more he searched for Lily, the more he got the feeling she was avoiding him. So, where would she go if she was upset about something?
Maybe she went to talk to one of her sisters. So, he headed for the Island Market next. The store was busy and there wasn’t an Adams sibling in the front of the store.
So, he headed toward the back. He’d spent a lot of time at the market when he was a kid hanging out with Neil. He knew the Adams siblings spent a lot of their free time in the break room. That was where he was headed, when Neil stepped in front of him.
Neil arched a brow. “Hey, what are you doing here?”
“I’m looking for Lily.”
“I haven’t seen her today.”
He wasn’t sure he believed Neil, especially knowing that her brother didn’t want them together. “Listen, if you’re covering for her, I just need to have a word with her.”
Neil was quiet for a moment. “Does this have something to do with the festival?”
Tony hadn’t come in here with the thought of coming clean with his best friend, but maybe that was part of the problem. He and Lily had been working so hard at dancing around their feelings, and it was just making everything more complicated.
So, he met his oldest friend’s gaze and held it. “This has nothing to do with the festival. The thing is...I care about your sister.”
Neil once more arched a brow, but he didn’t rush to say anything.
“Listen, don’t start with that overprotectiveness. I got it when we were kids, but we’re adults now. We need to figure this out for ourselves. And I’m not going to let you get between us.”
He braced himself for Neil to jump down his throat. It didn’t matter what he said, Tony wasn’t going to let this opportunity with Lily slip through his fingers. She meant too much to him.
And then the most unexpected thing happened. Neil smiled. A big smile.
Now Tony was confused. What was happening? Hadn’t Neil heard him correctly?
“It’s about time,” Neil said.
It took Tony a moment to process his friend’s words. “Wait. You’re okay with me seeing your sister?” When Neil nodded, Tony said, “Since when?”
“I just had to be certain you were sure about your feelings for her.”
Tony swallowed hard. “I am. But I’m not so sure she feels the same way.”
“And I guess this is the reason you can’t find her.”
This conversation was taking too long. He had to find her. “Do you know where she is?”
“No. I don’t. But if she is avoiding you, it’s because you got to her. My sister can be stubborn.”
“Trust me. I know.”
Neil laughed. “I guess you do. If I know her, she probably went somewhere to be alone.”
Alone. It got him thinking about something Lily had told him.
“You have an idea about where she is, don’t you?” Neil asked.
“Yes.”
“Then what are you doing standing here talking to me? Go fix things. It took you both too long to figure out that you’re good for each other.”
Tony nodded as he turned and headed for the door. He just hoped it wasn’t too late to fix things.