11. Orson
11
Orson
I’ve made a lot of phone calls this week, and not all of them were for my job. This weekend needs to be special. It’s the least I can do after what Lily agreed to do for me. Besides, she deserves it. I’ve seen how hard she works. I was also shocked a few days back when I asked her about her last vacation.
She was sitting across the table from me in Grounded, a coffee shop in Willow Creek. It was one of our outings to show the townsfolk that we’re now an item.
Her brow furrowed as she concentrated because evidently, she really had to think about it. After a minute, fearing my coffee might freeze over while I was waiting, I pressed her.
“Come on, Lily. It can’t be that hard. When did you last go away?”
“I’m thinking,” she said, still sitting with her face screwed up.
“Last year? The year before? Last month? Anytime this century?” I was teasing her, but it wasn’t helping.
“Eleven years ago,” she said eventually.
It was a good thing I wasn’t drinking my coffee, or she would have been wearing it. “What?” I blurted. “That can’t be right.”
She nodded. “It’s true. It was the year before my mom really started to decline.”
I knew about her mom’s dementia, her father’s death, and where her sisters live now. Lily has told me all about her family, but I knew before that. I’d looked into her as soon as I left that first meeting.
“Martha was about to move out, and Dad wanted a last family vacation together,” she continued, “so he took us to San Francisco. It was hard, with Mom needing constant attention, but we still had a blast.”
Her words stumped me. Not because her last vacation was in San Francisco, but the fact that it had been so long since she’d had one.
“Why?” I asked. “Why have you not been away since then?”
She looked at me like I was an idiot. “I have a business to run. Remember?”
“There’s more to life than work, Lily.”
“Oh, talk about the pot calling the kettle black,” she laughed. “You live for your job, and don’t you dare deny it.”
I shrugged and smiled. I couldn’t deny it. She was right.
But now, I was motivated to make this weekend a vacation she would remember. Which is why I made so many calls this week.
When I pull up to the bakery and climb out of the car, Lily meets me at the door. I give Jasmine a wave and say hello.
“Now, you take good care of that girl, Mr. Donovan. Make sure she doesn’t wander off and get lost.”
I laugh while Lily rolls her eyes. “I’m right here, you know.”
“Then get going,” Jasmine says playfully.
Outside, I take her small suitcase from her hands and put it beside mine in the trunk. Lily’s already opened the passenger door, but I’m quick enough to close it for her before I jump in the driver’s seat.
“Are you ready?” I ask.
“As I’ll ever be,” she replies.
“Good.” I start the engine and pull away from the curb feeling an excitement in my stomach.
I’m not particularly excited about the trip. My vacations are regular and frequent. I’m excited for Lily because I know—or, at least, I hope—that she’s going to love it.
After the first hour passes, the questions start.
“So, how far away is it, this place that we’re going?”
“Can’t say for sure,” I lie.
I don’t want to tell her it’s a four-hour drive in case she figures it out. Though I’ve come to realize that Lily Harper is pretty smart, so I don’t imagine we’re going to make it all the way before her suspicions are validated.
I make conversation during the second hour to pass the time. I tell her how much better college was for me, and that I hadn’t realized that was what a learning environment was supposed to be like. I tell her about Jake and his success, which delights her completely.
We stop for a break halfway through the third hour. I need it, and we both need to use the restroom and get something to eat. We take a half hour, and then we’re on the road again.
“Seriously,” she says when I start driving again. “Where on Earth are we going?”
“Somewhere on Earth,” I joke. “Specifically, somewhere in the US.”
“Oh, well, that totally narrows it down. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” I reply, smirking at her.
Not long after that, we begin to see the road signs, and I hear her gasp.
“Are we going to Lake Tahoe?” Lily cries, her eyes as wide as saucers.
“Uh-huh,” I say, feeling pretty pleased with myself. If this is how excited she is now, I can’t wait to see her face when she sees the accommodation.
I tap the address of the resort into my GPS and follow the road. It takes us another half an hour to arrive, and as I pull up in the parking lot, Lily gasps again.
“Oh, my word. Is this where we’re staying?”
I nod and smile at her.
Good choice, Orson. Give yourself a pat on the back.
With a bag in each hand, I lead her to the reception area, where we’re greeted by a pretty receptionist. While Lily’s mouth is bobbing open and closed like a goldfish, and her head is on a swivel at her surroundings, the receptionist gives me a sultry smile.
Sorry, Miss. Not interested.
“Orson Donovan,” I say.
“Welcome to the Edgewood, Mr. Donovan.” She’s all toothy smiles, but I ignore her and turn to watch Lily gawping at the elegant interior of the reception area. It is pretty amazing. I’ve stayed here before, which is the reason I chose it in the first place.
“You have two rooms booked with us, Mr. Donovan?” The receptionist raises an eyebrow.
“I do. My fiancée says I snore really loudly.” I nod to Lily, who thankfully isn’t paying me any attention at all.
“Oh.” The receptionist falters a little. “I see.”
After that ordeal is over, I take our room cards and decline the receptionist’s offer to show us to the rooms. “It’s okay. I know where they are.”
“Well, enjoy your stay with us, Mr. Donovan.”
Lily has finally finished her starry-eyed reception gazing, and seeing me jerk my head, she hurries over to my side.
“This place is amazing,” she gasps under her breath.
“Oh, but you haven’t seen the best part yet.”
“Holy cow!” she cries, when I open the door to her room.
I booked the King Rooms. They’re the best, in my opinion. My favorite part is the beautiful fireplace that sits upon a shelf of ready cut logs. That, and the terrace that opens up onto a delightfully serene wooded area.
Currently, though, I’m trying not to laugh at Lily, who’s running around the room like a child.
“Look at this,” she says, running her hands over the elegantly covered lounging chairs. “Oh, and this.” She runs over to look at the fireplace. A second after that, she rushes into the bathroom. “Have you seen the size of this bath?” she shrieks, her voice echoing against the tiles. And then she’s back in the room, and out on the terrace. “Oh, this is just stunning.”
I have yet to move from the place I am standing. I don’t need to see all this stuff. My joy comes from watching her utter amazement and delight. When she returns to the room, now a little breathless, she’s grinning at me.
“This is amazing. Thank you.”
And then she catches sight of the king size bed, and her smile falters.
“I have the room next door,” I say quickly.
Her gaze moves back to me, and her cheeks bloom red. “Oh, yes. Sure. Of course.”
I smile and throw her the key card. “That’s for you.”
She catches it. “Thanks.”
“There’s free Wi-Fi, a pool, a bar, a beach, swimming pools, and Lord knows what else. I don’t know about you, but I need a shower and a nap, not necessarily in that order.”
She laughs.
“How about we meet for dinner in an hour and a half?”
Lily nods. “That sounds great.”
I turn and head to the door, and as I’m about to walk through it, Lily says, “Orson?”
I turn to look at her. “Yes?”
Her face is glowing, and a soft smile dances on her lips. “This is amazing. Thank you so much for this.”
I gaze at her for a second too long, drinking the moment in. “You’ll always be more than welcome, Lily.”
That night, we enjoy a fantastic three-course meal. After such a long time on the road, we are both famished—though, as I guessed, Lily doesn’t manage to finish hers.
The next morning, we meet for breakfast, and while we wait for the food to arrive, I slide an envelope across the table.
“What’s that?” she asks, eyeing the envelope curiously.
“You won’t know if you don’t open it.” I smirk.
Giving me a side-eyed look, she takes it and tears the seal open. She pulls the card from inside and gasps again. While she’s reading about all the spa treatments on the gift voucher, our breakfast arrives.
“You didn’t need to do all this, Orson,” she breathes, staring at me in astonishment.
I shrug. “You looked like you needed sprucing up, and I figured, while we’re here…”
She slaps my hand in a playful reprimand, but she knows I’m joking.
“It’s amazing. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now, eat up. You have all morning to relax. I want you on that beach in a half hour. No work, no burdens, and no worries.”
She gives me a salute. “Yes, sir.”
Half an hour later, I’m lounging in a beach chair, the clear blue water lapping across the sand not twenty feet away, reading a book I bought at a store inside the main building.
While I’m engrossed in my book, a movement to my right catches my eye, and I lift my head to look. At that second, the book drops from my grip as fast as my jaw falls to my chin.
Lily is tiptoeing across the sand in a two-piece, heading towards the water’s edge. The towel she carries is dropped onto the beach as she ventures further before finally dipping her toe in.
Frankly, my eyes are not looking at the water. They’re transfixed, zoned in, engrossed, spellbound, and any other word that means that I can’t move in my stupor. I’m tucked away behind a tree, partly for shade, partly for privacy, and I’m grateful that she can’t see me.
It’s not that I was unaware that she was such a beautiful woman. I just have never seen her with so few clothes on, and I’ll be honest; I’m struggling to control my body’s reactions. It takes all the strength I can muster to pull my eyes to my book, and let’s just say, I read the same paragraph more than a few times.
In the afternoon, I relax while Lily goes for her spa treatments, and then we meet again for dinner. I wait until we have finished eating before I produce two ring boxes from my pocket.
“I figure we’re going to need these,” I say, opening them up to reveal two gold bands.
“Yes. I suppose we do,” Lily says. She sounds a little nervous.
Taking her left hand, I slip her gold band on and then do the same with my own. Lifting the champagne-filled glass from the table, I clink her glass.
“To us, Mrs. Donovan. May we live a long and prosperous life.”
Lily giggles, and with both our glasses in hand, we down our champagne.