Summer of Love (13 page)

No one else spoke until Max said, ‘Okay, then. Shall we vote?’ and Lily held her breath as she waited for the result.

* * * *

Lily paused outside the cottage, reluctant to knock. If Alex had heard the gossip, she’d probably be the last person he wanted to see. Yes, they were friends, and they’d agreed to accompany each other to a couple of weddings. But if everybody in town thought he was responsible for breaking up her engagement, that probably wouldn’t help his quest for a perfect bride to fit his new life.

On the other hand, her loitering outside his house wouldn’t look much better. And she was actually there on legitimate Mill business. Amongst other things.

Raising a hand, she rapped her knuckles against the door. Alex’s parents had owned one of the older cottages, on the outskirts of the village. Hollyhocks and delphiniums peeked above the wooden fence, and a climbing rose had taken over the left side of the building. Nothing like the tidy, low maintenance garden Edward had installed at his cottage. This one looked lived in. Loved.

The door opened, and Alex grinned out at her, allaying some of her fears. ‘Let me guess. Now I’ve destroyed your engagement it’s time for us to elope to Vegas and come back with adopted twins in tow?’

Lily rolled her eyes. ‘That would be nothing more than the Felinfach locals would expect. But no, actually, I’m afraid this isn’t a booty call.’ Lily kept her eyes firmly on his face, rather than taking in the way his jeans stretched across his thighs, or how his unbuttoned shirt collar made her thoughts wander to how it would look completely undone.
Not a booty call
, she reminded herself.

Alex stepped back, letting her into the cool hallway of the cottage. ‘Well, if you’re not after my body, what can I do for you?’

Lily clamped down on the part of her brain that was merrily coming up with a list of things Alex could do for her, preferably in the privacy of his bedroom. Not being engaged any more was not a good enough reason to seduce the first attractive man she saw. Even if she had been harbouring a crush on him for twelve years.

God, single for five minutes and she was already looking. Was it so ingrained in her psyche that she had to be with someone to be happy? Well, tough. She was going to figure out who
Lily
wanted to be now before she even thought about letting anyone else into her life.

‘Business first,’ she said, and smiled at him. ‘The committee voted this morning. You’re officially in.’

The grin that split Alex’s face was infectious, and Lily found herself returning it as he flung his arms around her. ‘That’s just the best news. Thank you so much.’

Lily shrugged as he let her go, trying not to let on how just having him so close made her heart race. ‘You did the work – your portfolio, agreeing to take on the accounts. I just put you in the right place at the right time.’

‘Well, thank you for that, anyway. I couldn’t have done it without you.’ He took a step back, and Lily felt her lungs relaxing again, letting the air in. ‘How about a celebratory drink?’

Lily considered. She’d walked from her mum’s, so technically there was nothing stopping her. And a drink might make the next part of the conversation go more smoothly. ‘Sure.’

‘Bull and Frog?’ Alex asked. ‘Or have you had enough of being talked about today?’

Lily winced. ‘Just a bit. Got anything in here?’

Alex yanked the fridge door open. ‘Beer or wine?’

‘Either’s fine.’

Staring at her over the fridge door, Alex said, ‘I thought leaving Edward would mean you’d actually ask for what
you
want for a change.’

He had a point. ‘Wine, then. White, for preference.’

‘Your wish is my command.’ Alex pulled the bottle out with a flourish and grabbed a glass from the counter, filling it to the brim. ‘So, what else did you want to talk about?’

Lily followed him through to the lounge, dropping onto an oversized sofa and tucking her feet underneath her. ‘How are you settling in here? It’s looking very homey already.’ She glanced around her, taking in the sweater flung over the arm of the sofa, the pile of proofs on the dining table.

‘Getting there,’ Alex said, sitting beside her. ‘Dad had cleared out a lot of old stuff after Mum died, so there wasn’t much left to sort through, really. And I’ve almost unpacked all the boxes from the flat, which is a start.’

‘Did you bring this sofa from London?’ Lily snuggled deeper into the cushions. ‘Or was it your parents’?’

Alex shook his head. ‘Neither. That’s the one thing I bought especially for my new life in Wales.’

‘So it’s a settling-down sofa,’ she said, amused. Alex really did seem to be taking this settling down thing seriously. She wondered how long it would last.

‘That’s exactly what it is.’ Taking a long drink from his bottle of beer, Alex eyed her speculatively. ‘So, did you really come here to talk about home furnishings?’

Lily sighed. ‘No. Mostly I came to tell you about the Mill. But now that I’m here…’

‘Let me guess. The gossip.’

‘I suppose it was too much to hope you wouldn’t have heard it.’ She shook her head. ‘I really am sorry.’

‘Not your fault.’ Tilting his head to look her in the eye, he asked, ‘It’s bothering you?’

‘Isn’t it you?’ It had to be, surely? No one could ignore an entire village talking about them.

But Alex just shrugged. ‘Not really. I mean, it’s not what I’d choose, but they’ll forget about it soon enough.’

‘You mean, if we just show them we’re only friends?’

‘Sure. But, to be honest, they’ll get bored of us either way.’

Now, that didn’t sound very likely. ‘I think you might be underestimating how much this town loves to talk about me screwing up.’ She’d heard at least two people that day muttering about how “it was only a matter of time” when they thought she couldn’t hear them.

Alex laughed. ‘And a fling with me would be screwing up?’

‘You know what I mean.’ Lily gave him an apologetic smile. ‘If they think I left Edward for you, then you actually do up and marry your perfect bride to match your perfect new life… Yeah, they’ll think that’s me screwing up.’ It was always possible that Alex would stick to his plan, after all.

‘Okay, if that’s how you feel. We’ll just make sure everybody knows we’re friends, and nothing more.’ He said it so casually, as if it were easy to convince this town of anything. Lily tried not to be stung that the idea of just being friends was so easy for him. Of course, he wasn’t the one who had been nurturing a decade long crush.

But that was all in the past. She was free and single at last – why on earth would she want to sacrifice that anyway? Friends was best by far, especially since they’d be working at the Mill together.

‘That’s what I was thinking,’ she said. ‘Which is why I think maybe we should scrap the wedding plans.’

Alex raised an eyebrow. ‘The elopement to Vegas, or…’

‘The going together plan,’ Lily clarified. ‘Obviously.’

‘So you’d rather go to your cousin’s wedding alone? Because I’d sure as hell still like some company at Carrie and Nate’s shindig.’ Was he annoyed? He sounded annoyed. It was kind of refreshing, after years of passive-aggressive responses from Edward.

‘Look, it’s like you said. We need to make sure that everyone knows we’re just friends. Going to a wedding together isn’t exactly the way to do that.’

‘Why not?’ Leaning forward, Alex took her glass from her hand and placed it on the coffee table. He wrapped his fingers around hers, and a warmth worked its way up her arm. ‘Look, I’m all for letting people know that you left Edward of your own free will and for your own reasons. But I absolutely will not sacrifice our lives to what other people think. You can’t control that, Lily, however much you want to. All you can do is live your own life, your own way, and with a clear conscience.’

He was right. She knew he was right. But… ‘My mother –’

‘Is a grown woman. You wouldn’t expect her to live her life to make you happy, would you?’ Lily shook her head. ‘Then why on earth should you do the same?’

‘I know. I know you’re right. It’s just… my whole life, this place has been talking about me. When I was with Edward, they stopped, finally. Or even started saying good things.’

‘Like?’

‘Like… I’d settled down at last. Given up my wild ways.’

‘Your wild ways were fun,’ Alex pointed out.

‘They were.’ Lily sighed. ‘I know it shouldn’t matter what people say about me.’

‘But it does?’

‘Yeah.’

Alex sat back. ‘Okay. Look. What do you want? That’s all that really matters here. Do you want to go to the wedding alone on Saturday, or with me?’ Impatience shone through in his voice. At least she always knew where she stood with Alex, and it was only fair to give him the same candour back.

‘Honestly? I want to go with you. I think we’d have fun.’

‘So do I.’ He shifted closer again, nudging her with his shoulder. ‘So here’s what we’ll do. We’ll go to the wedding. We’ll relax, have fun, maybe even dance. I’ll tell every single person there that we’re just friends. Then I’ll take you home, not kiss you goodnight, and see you at work on Monday.’

Lily gave up and smiled. ‘That does sound good.’

‘Then that’s what we’ll do.’

Looking up, Lily caught Alex’s bright blue eyes and knew she was lost. ‘Okay.’

* * * *

Alex couldn’t help but feel a little guilty as he drove up to Evelyn’s house on Saturday morning. It wasn’t that he wanted to make Lily or her mother uncomfortable, or to garner more gossip about Lily’s broken engagement. But he couldn’t sit by and watch Lily carry on doing what other people wanted, or even what she thought they expected. That was how she’d ended up engaged to Edward in the first place.

Not a situation to be repeated.

Stepping out of the car, he strode up to the door, straightening his tie as he waited for them to answer the bell.

‘Oh. You’re here.’

Evelyn’s sour expression wasn’t going to ruin his day. He gave her his best, charming grin and said, ‘Am I early? I’m sorry. Just couldn’t wait to see what beautiful outfits you girls have chosen for today’s wedding.’

Lily’s mother didn’t look convinced. ‘Well, you’ll have to wait. She’s not ready. And I still don’t understand why she couldn’t just drive us.’

So apparently he was the chauffeur for the day. Well, if that was what it took to satisfy Evelyn, fine.

She didn’t invite him in, Alex noticed, leaving him loitering on the doorstep as she wandered back into the lounge, but it didn’t matter. Moments later Lily appeared at the top of the stairs, dressed in a beige shift dress that faded against her skin, leaving her looking pale and wan, except for the scowl on her face.

‘You’re early,’ she said, tugging on her shoes as she made her way down the stairs.

‘So your mother tells me.’

‘She didn’t let you in?’ Lily grabbed a jacket from the end of the banister, throwing it over her arm. It matched the dress exactly.

‘I sort of got the impression I should stay here.’ Alex watched her put on a final layer of pale, honey coloured lipstick, and pull her hair out from her collar. ‘You look –’

‘Don’t bother,’ she interrupted, giving him a tight smile. ‘Mum chose my outfit. And my makeup, actually. And I barely slept last night. So don’t lie and tell me I look great.’

Alex raised an eyebrow. ‘Okay then. You look like you let your mother decide who she wants you to be today.’ So much for Lily’s new found independence.

‘Pretty much. It’s payment for taking you as my not-a-date.’

‘I suppose you can’t win them all.’ He glanced down, and spotted a sign of Lily-ish rebellion that made him smile. Pale blue suede shoes with incredibly high heels, and tiny ribbons crisscrossing up the back, tying at the ankle.

‘She didn’t choose those shoes, though.’

‘No, she didn’t.’ Tucking her lipstick back into her clutch bag, Lily gave him a quick grin, then turned towards the back of the house. ‘Mum? I’ll just go and find her.’

Watching her bustle off into the lounge, Alex took in the long, straight line of her back, the curve of her hips under the dress, and her long legs stretching into her heels. The colour might not be her best, but she still looked beautiful. He imagined she probably always would.

But they were friends. They were only ever going to be friends.

At least the dreadful dress Evelyn had made her wear might make it easier to remember that.

* * * *

Lily’s cousin, Beatrice, had never been one of her favourite people. Still, with five years and a couple of hours drive between them growing up, they hadn’t had to see a huge amount of each other. Especially since Evelyn had tried to avoid any family gatherings at all after Lily’s dad died. Why was that, Lily wondered? Evelyn had changed, the moment she became a widow. It wasn’t just the darker clothes or the grief. There was a hardness, a stony inner strength that had taken over her. She didn’t laugh or play the way she had before. Lily had waited and waited for Mum to return to herself, but she never had.

Maybe she hadn’t wanted to be reminded of what she’d lost, by seeing too much of her late husband’s family. Lily could sort of understand that.

To be honest, she wasn’t particularly relishing the prospect of Beatrice’s wedding herself.

She’d seen the neighbours watching as Alex had helped Evelyn into the passenger seat that morning. Seen Mrs Jenkins across the way reaching for her phone, even as Lily had slammed the car door behind her. By the time they got back that evening, the whole town would know that she’d taken Alex to a family wedding in Edward’s place.

No wonder Evelyn was in such a bad mood.

But despite the gossip, Lily couldn’t help but be glad she’d decided to let him come. Apart from anything else, it meant he was the one who had to negotiate Manchester traffic to find the venue, a large country hotel on the far side of the city. And he’d even offered to drive back. Well, what he’d actually said was, ‘I’ll drive. I think you’ll need a drink.’

She hadn’t bothered arguing.

They’d made the journey mostly in silence, Alex jabbing buttons on the radio to find something soothing that no one would object to. Lily had settled into her seat and let her mind wander, eventually drifting off to dream about champagne glasses and diamond rings.