25. Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Five
“T hat I forgive you.”
Lily meant it. This was a fresh start for them, and she was letting go of the past. She wanted to make this work, and she was willing to meet him in the middle.
Tony rubbed the back of his neck. “I know I’m going to regret asking this, but what did I do now?”
“You know, for removing my painting from the competition.”
His brows scrunched together as confusion shone in his eyes. “But I didn’t remove it.”
“What?” She was confused. “Of course you did.” When he shook his head, she said, “You had to because when I stopped by the community hall earlier, there was nothing but an empty spot where my painting was supposed to be.”
“I swear to you that I didn’t remove it.
” He sighed. “I have to admit that when I first saw it, I had every intention of pulling it from the competition. But then I got to thinking of what you said about how the entry fell into a gray area. I realized that you had nothing to do with the judges or anything that would sway the judging. And I knew how much this competition meant to you. So, I had them hang it. When I left the community hall, I swear to you that it was on display.”
His words meant a lot to her. “But if it wasn’t you, then who moved it?”
“I don’t know, but I intend to find out. Let’s go.” He let go of her hand as he lowered himself off her thinking rock. Once he had solid footing, he turned back to her and held his hand out to her.
She grabbed her socks and shoes before she let him help her back to the sand. As they walked to town, they might have stopped a couple times to reaffirm their feelings for each other with a kiss. She wasn’t even sure her feet ever touched the ground.
By the time they arrived at the community hall, it was dinner time. The line of spectators had dissipated. They entered the building and made their way to the spot where her painting was supposed to hang. The spot was still empty.
He looked at her. “I promise it was there when I left last night.” He gave her hand a gentle tug. “Let’s see if someone moved it to another spot.”
As they walked through the exhibit, she tried to take it all in. The entries were amazing. She couldn’t wait to return and take her time walking through the building. They glanced at one beautiful work of art after the other, and yet none of them were hers.
Who would steal her painting? And why? It wasn’t worth anything. She was an unknown artist.
By the time the exit came into sight, they still hadn’t spotted it. She started to wonder if she would ever find out what had happened to the painting. It made no sense.
“There it is.” Tony pointed to a spot near the exit.
“What?” It took her a moment to figure out where he was pointing. The winner’s exhibit? What would her painting be doing there? Her mind stuttered as she put it all together.
Tony led her over to the display. Her painting was there in the center. There was a large purple ribbon attached to it. Best of Show. They’d missed the awards ceremony.
Her mouth gaped. Tears rushed to her eyes. She’d won. They liked her work. Wow! Oh, wow!
“You did it.” Tony wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close for a hug. “I knew you could do it. I’m so proud of you.”
When she pulled back to look into his eyes, he leaned over and placed a quick kiss on her lips.
“You shouldn’t do that,” she said. “Someone will see you.”
Tony continued to smile. “And I don’t care. I want the whole world to know how I feel about you.”
“You do?” When he nodded, she asked, “Even my brother?”
“He already knows. I told him.”
“Really?” She was a little bit shocked and a whole lot impressed. “And what did he say?”
“Something about it being time. He just wanted me to be certain this is what I wanted so I didn’t hurt you.”
“And you are? Certain, that is?”
“I’m absolutely positive.” He leaned over and kissed her again.
“Then how would you feel about escorting me to the hospital to check in on Aster?”
He presented his arm to her. “Let’s go.”
As she slipped her hand in the crook of his arm, she said, “There’s one other thing that we have to discuss.”
As they exited the building, he asked, “What’s that?”
“The bowties. They have to go.”
“Aw... You really don’t like them?”
“Obviously you do. Why do you wear them?”
He shrugged. “They were my grandpa’s. When he passed, they were left to me. I thought they might get people on the island to take me seriously.”
“You don’t think people take you seriously?”
He shrugged. “I’m the youngest mayor. It was pointed out to me numerous times.”
“Well, you have proved that you are an excellent mayor. Everyone knows it.”
“I don’t know about that.” There was a little bit of color in his cheeks. “Anyway, I’ve come to like the bowties. Do you think we can make a compromise?”
Now that she knew where the ties had come from, she liked them a little more. “Perhaps we can discuss it further over dinner but after we visit the hospital?”
He smiled, making her heart flutter. “I think you have yourself a date.”
He couldn’t remember being this happy.
Tony knew Lily was the right person for him—for now and forever. He also knew he couldn’t rush things. He didn’t want to scare her off. They’d worked too hard to reach this point.
He stood off to the side of Aster’s hospital room. Sam stood next to him, looking absolutely worn out. Still, the proud poppa was wearing a smile as he stared at his wife and new baby.
“So, you and Lily are together now, huh?” Sam said.
Tony smiled and nodded. “We finally came to our senses.”
“You know what this means?” Sam didn’t wait for Tony to respond. “One of these days that could be Lily with your baby in her arms. Preferably without all of the drama.”
“Definitely no drama. I think we’ve already had our share.” His thoughts briefly touched upon the memory of being trapped in the elevator with her. That was enough drama for anyone.
He watched as Lily sat next to the hospital bed and fussed over baby Lucas. The baby seemed enthralled with her. She was a natural with little ones.
He could imagine her with their child. But that was a ways into the future. They still had to go on their first official date.
Lily returned the sleeping baby to his mother. Aster was looking much better and had color in her cheeks. After a C-section, she was going to be off work for a while. Tony told her not to think about coming back before the New Year. For once, she hadn’t put up an argument.
“By the way, if you guys are done with my laptop, could I get it back?” Aster’s gaze moved between Lily and himself.
Tony looked at Lily, who stared back at him with a deer-in-headlights look. He couldn’t help but wonder if it was okay to tell Aster the truth now that she’d had the baby.
“Guys, what’s going on?” Aster’s gaze moved between him and Lily.
Sam stepped forward. “They don’t want to upset you, but your laptop is lost.”
“Lost?” Aster looked floored. “What happened to it?”
Lily spoke. “That’s the thing. We never found it. We checked your office at city hall and the one at the farm. There was no sign of it.”
Aster pursed her lips as her forehead crinkled.
“That’s strange. It should have been there.
” A silent moment passed, and then her eyes widened.
Her lips formed an O. “I think I know where it is. I was working on it in bed late the night before everything happened at the carnival. It must still be in my nightstand.”
Lily sighed. “That’s a relief.”
Aster’s brows scrunched together. “If you didn’t have the laptop, how did you organize the festival?”
Both he and Lily burst out laughing. Aster sent them confused looks.
“It’s a long story,” Tony said. “We’ll save it for another day.”
Aster arched a brow. “You know that I’m not letting this go. Right? I want to know what you guys aren’t telling me. Wait. Was there actually an arts festival?”
“Yes,” Sam spoke up. “The town is congested with tourists. You would be proud of them.”
Aster smiled and leaned back against the pillows. “I don’t know how you two pulled it off, but thank you very much. I owe you both.”
“Just get better.” Then Lily stepped up to him. “As for you, Mr. Mayor, I believe you said something about dinner. I’m starving.”
They said their goodbyes and made their way out of the hospital.
“Where would you like to eat?” he asked.
“Would you be disappointed if I said the Lighthouse Cafe?”
“No. Not at all. I like that our first official date will be at the Lighthouse Cafe.”
“First official?” She pursed her lips, as though she considered it. “Really?”
He nodded. “We’ve eaten together, but it was never a date.”
“I guess you’re right.” She smiled at him. “Then it seems right for it to be at the Lighthouse. It’ll be a story we can tell our kids.”
“Our kids?” He arched a brow at her, and she blushed. “Shouldn’t we have our first date before you start talking about a family?”
She laughed. “You do know that after knowing you all of my life nothing about this relationship is going to be traditional, right?”
“I don’t know about that. I can think of some things that should be traditional.”
“Such as...”
“When I ask you to marry me.” He was already imagining something romantic and yet something that was totally them.
“Okay. That can be traditional.” She stopped on the sidewalk and turned to him. She reached out to him. Her hands sliding up over his shoulders until her arms wrapped around the back of his neck. “Just don’t wait too long.”
He liked the way she thought. “I won’t. I promise.”
He dipped his head and caught her lips with his own, sealing the promise with a kiss.