Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
So, tell me how things are going with him,” Daisy demanded.
“Yeah, I’d like to know too,” Hailey chimed in.
“You’re supposed to be helping me assemble the sales counter,” Lilly reminded her, lining up the screws on the floor. “Don’t poke around in my personal life.”
“Well, I’m here for both,” her best friend said with a shrug. “You’ve been dodging my questions for weeks.”
“There’s nothing to tell,” she lied, studying the assembly instructions for the counter, which had been delivered that morning along with dozens of shelves.
The thought that she was opening the shop in a week and a half and hadn’t even put the shelves up made her sweat.
But she’d been focusing on her glass art for the past few weeks.
What good were shelves if she had nothing to display?
Naturally, everything was taking longer than expected. The shelves looked complicated, even more difficult than the counter. Why had she wanted asymmetrical shelves that required not only screws but also glue and hooks for assembly?
“She avoids eye contact when she’s lying,” Hailey muttered.
“I’ve even noticed that myself. I actually googled Austin Fox when you told me about him.
He’s rather hot — and coming from me, that’s saying something, because I know a surprising number of hockey players.
I think I even saw him in person once at Maddie’s wedding. He’s very big.”
Yep. Big everywhere.
Man, it was hot in here. She’d have to deal with the air-conditioning next.
“Can we focus on something more important?” Lilly insisted, pointing to the instructions.
“Straight away,” Daisy promised, putting an arm around her shoulders. “As soon as you look me in the eye and tell me in two whole sentences how things are going with Austin, we’ll get this thing up...”
With a sigh, Lilly looked up and met her best friend’s eyes.
“Things are going well between us.” So well, in fact, that she hated his away games now.
It meant he couldn’t sneak into her bed at night, after Delfina had gone to bed, and disappear again before breakfast. She nervously tucked her hair behind her ears.
“We’ve negotiated a kind of truce that’s working well for both of us. ”
Daisy’s jaw dropped. “Oh my God, you’re sleeping with him.”
Panicking, Lilly’s heart skipped a beat. “How did you…how could you possibly know from what I said that…”
“Your blissful expression, Lilly!” Daisy exclaimed in disbelief. “It says more than a thousand words.”
“Seriously, you’re sleeping with him?” Hailey chimed in, bewildered. “I thought you two hated each other!”
Groaning, Lilly buried her face in her hands. “We don’t hate each other and…well, we get along a lot better since we started sleeping together.”
Daisy laughed loudly. “Yeah, orgasms are good for any relationship.”
Hailey sighed. “Ugh. I want someone to give me an orgasm again!”
Yep. Lilly could only recommend it. “It’s no big deal, okay?” She was lying. At least for her, it was a big deal. But she was afraid the same wouldn’t be true for Austin, so she would keep telling herself that they were only having sex, nothing more and nothing less.
“It’s no big deal that you’re sleeping with Delfina’s dad?” Daisy exclaimed, perplexed. “Lilly! That complicates everything.”
“It does not!”
Hailey scratched her head. “Are you certain about that? I mean, if you break up…”
“We’re not together!” she said loudly. “Del doesn’t know anything about it, and she never will. We’re sleeping together until we’ve had enough, then we’re just co-parents.”
Hailey and Daisy both raised their eyebrows and exchanged a glance.
“What?” Lilly asked, annoyed.
“Well,” Daisy began, “how long have you two been sleeping together?”
“I don’t know. A few weeks.”
“And…have you had enough?”
She swallowed. No. And she was afraid she’d never have enough.
She was afraid she was already addicted to Austin.
To his laughter, his stories, his pancakes, and his kisses.
She waited for his calls and listened in on Delfina’s conversations with him just to hear more of his voice.
And she knew exactly where it would lead if she kept sleeping with him.
She knew she was already half in love with the guy and merely needed a tiny push before there would be no turning back.
But what was she supposed to do? How could she say no? She was happy. She felt Austin was too. So maybe it would all work out.
You’re an unwavering optimist, Lilly. That means you have to take even better care of yourself than the rest of us, a voice in her head whispered that sounded like Daisy’s.
“We’re just enjoying some time together, okay?” she murmured. “Can we talk about something else, please?”
Daisy looked at her thoughtfully, but Hailey obliged.
“Do you happen to have a picture of him and Del?” she asked curiously. “I want to know if they look alike!”
“Yes, I do, I…” She felt through her pockets. “Oh, shoot, I left my phone upstairs. Just a sec.”
Relieved, she fled the room into the hallway and up the stairs to her apartment. Her phone was on the kitchen table…and she had missed several calls.
Puzzled, she listened to her voicemail — and her heart sank.
The first was from Delfina’s principal, asking her to come by because there was a problem.
The second was from Austin. “Hey, I just wanted to let you know Delfina’s with me.
She’s okay, but she’s been suspended from school for the rest of the day.
She…” He cleared his throat. “She got into a fight. Just come over and I’ll tell you the rest. She’s okay! Don’t freak out.”
Lilly gasped. Yeah, being told not to freak out was really helpful! And what did she’d been in a fight mean? What had happened? Del didn’t have a single aggressive bone in her body. She’d never had any problems at school. She always got along well with everyone and…
Shit. She’d probably have to go to Austin’s to get some answers.
Half an hour later, she unlocked the door to his house.
According to Austin, it would be wrong for his teammates to have a key to his house, but not her.
He’d planned to give Delfina one anyway, so it made sense, and Lilly simply didn’t have the patience to ring the doorbell.
She burst into the hallway and heard voices in the living room, so she headed straight there, pushed open the door… and stopped.
Del and Austin were sitting at the coffee table playing Uno. Del was down to four cards, while Austin could barely hold his. When Del put another draw-four card on the pile, she giggled happily as Austin cursed and drew cards.
He didn’t use any truly bad words, but he muttered to himself, “This can’t be happening, you little rascal.”
“I’m not a rascal. I’m just better than you,” Delfina announced with a grin.
“Yeah, right,” he replied sharply, which only made her laugh louder. Comforting warmth spread through Lilly’s chest as she continued watching the two play.
Austin might pretend to be annoyed, but his eyes sparkled with amusement. Del looked so incredibly happy that tears welled up in Lilly’s eyes.
This scene made her happy. And when she closed her eyes and listened to them, she could almost imagine for a moment…
that they were a family. That she would come home from her workshop in the evenings and always find them giggling and cursing in the living room.
That Austin would make pancakes on Sundays while Delfina talked about swimming and she talked about her art.
That they would simply pretend that he hadn’t snuck out of her bed ten years ago.
But the fantasy was too dangerous, so Lilly blinked rapidly and cleared her throat.
Del and Austin lifted their heads. Del immediately looked at her guiltily, while Austin just smiled warmly. A tingling sensation spread through her entire body, but she ignored it.
“So. You’ve been suspended from school for the day, Del?” she asked sternly.
“It wasn’t my fault!” she said immediately.
“Del,” Austin said. “It was a bit your fault.”
She rolled her eyes. “Just a tiny bit, maybe.”
“What exactly did the principal say? What happened?” Lilly asked.
“A lot of nonsense and nothing at all,” Del mumbled.
Austin shook his head and stood. “It wasn’t nothing, Del.”
Del sighed and Lilly noticed that Austin was wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt.
“Um, aren’t you supposed to be at practice?” she asked, puzzled.
“Yeah. I’ll get going now, if that’s okay. We’re having a strategy meeting before playing the Whales tomorrow, but this was more important.”
Delfina grinned broadly. “I’m more important, Mom.”
She gave her daughter a stern look. “You got into a fight, Del! That’s more important right now.”
“I just pushed someone,” she stated, defending herself.
Lilly opened her mouth, but Austin gently grasped her shoulder. “Del, is it okay if I talk to your mom alone for a minute?”
Del sighed. “Yeah, okay. But we have to finish the game before I leave, Dad.”
He nodded. “No problem.”
Dad. She had called him Dad. The word made Lilly strangely emotional, but she swallowed her feelings.
She stepped into the kitchen and Austin carefully closed the door before telling her what had happened. Lilly’s heart ached at the thought that a classmate had called Del a liar about such a sensitive topic as her father. But Del seemed to be okay now, and that was the most important thing.
“She’s never been in a fight,” Lilly said, shaking her head.
“She must have been really angry.”
“I can believe it. She’s so proud to have you. It doesn’t surprise me that David’s words hurt her.”
Austin nodded. “I…I introduced myself to him.”
Lilly blinked. “To whom? David?”
“Yes. Delfina wanted him to know she hadn’t lied. She wanted to show that I…that I exist. So I introduced myself to some kids in her class.”
She smiled. “That’s good. Was she pleased?”
“Very.”
“For sure. Thank you. For going and sorting it out. I had my phone upstairs and didn’t hear it…”
“You never have to apologize for that,” he said, surprised. “I was glad I could be there for her. We’re a team, aren’t we?”
Her smile widened. “I think we are, yeah.”
“Good.” He stroked her arms and then left his hands on the back of her neck. “And as a member of your team, I am obligated to tell you that David isn’t going to keep this to himself. He’s going to tell his parents, they’ll tell others...and the press is going to get wind of it.”
She nodded with a sigh. “It was bound to happen eventually.”
“I know, but I wanted to warn you anyway. I’m not Taylor Swift, but there’s a good chance some paparazzi will find out where you live and hang around Sunshine Pier to take pictures of you two without you noticing.
They can’t get onto Del’s school grounds, but they can still…
cause trouble. I already called Lucy and told her.
She’ll call a press conference, where I’ll make a statement and do my best to protect you both.
But she’s not omnipotent, no matter what Dax thinks. ”
Lilly smiled shakily. “It’s okay. Thanks for telling me...at least I’ll be mentally prepared.”
“Good. I’d also like to take Del to school tomorrow…and that will only speed things up. It’s going to be exhausting.”
She smiled, turned her head, and kissed his palm. “I know. But I think it will make Del very happy to no longer be a secret.”
He seemed relieved. “I think so too. Speaking of which…Lucy reminded me that there’s a banquet next Saturday afternoon to raise money for college scholarships for kids from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Our owner, Penny, insists everyone go and Lucy pointed out it would be a good opportunity to officially introduce you and Delfina to the public for the first time.
” He hesitated. “I mean, theoretically it’s mainly about Delfina, but I think she’d be happy if you came along and…
” He smiled. “Okay, I’d be happy if you came. That’s the real reason.”
The warmth in Lilly’s chest spread to her fingertips. “The press will be there?”
“Yes, but these events are usually only attended by friendly journalists. So Lucy’s right.
It would be a good opportunity to end the media circus in the most civilized way possible with a joint appearance.
Everyone will speculate about whether we get along and where Delfina really comes from.
But if they see that we obviously get along well, they might be more inclined to believe that…
” He cleared his throat. “…that I just wanted to protect my daughter all these years and that’s why I haven’t mentioned her. ”
Lilly took a deep breath and nodded. “All right. We’ll come. I’m sure it will be…fun?”
Austin chuckled softly. “I’ll try my best to make it fun.”
She smiled back at him. “Okay. Well, that’s settled.” She started to go back into the living room, but Austin held her back, his hands still on the back of her neck.
“What is it?” she asked, surprised.
“You added my name to her school contact list,” he said quietly.
She bit her lip nervously. “Oh, yeah. I thought it would be good if she had someone else and…” She made a face. “Sorry, should I have asked you first? I meant to tell you, but so much has been happening between us, I forgot and…”
He kissed her. He pulled her onto her tiptoes, lowered his mouth to hers, and kissed her in a sweet, tender, passionate way — something he had never done before. At that moment, Lilly didn’t just feel wanted and desired…she felt loved.
“Thank you,” he whispered, stroking her cheeks with his thumbs. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” she breathed, her heart nearly leaping from her chest. She had been lying to herself. She wasn’t half in love with him. She was already completely lost. And the thought was both terrifying and beautiful.
But mostly terrifying.
“Um, you’d better let go of me so Delfina doesn’t…get any wrong ideas,” she said hastily, pulling away from him. She was afraid the words I love you would tumble out of her mouth just from his presence.
Austin looked at her intently, tilted his head, and then asked softly, “Would she?” before disappearing back into the living room.