Christine Kersey [Lily's Stor Love at Last (epub)

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.”I felt any possibility of a future with him slipping away, but felt helpless to stop it, as helpless as I felt when it came to making Marcus fall in love with me.“Well, thanks for driving down.”He nodded and walked into the house.I followed him to the front door, but stopped on the threshold.He turned to me, a sad smile on his face.He paused, like he was going to say something, then shook his head and walked to his car.I watched him drive off, then stood on the porch, stunned by how the evening had ended so abruptly.A breeze brushed across my face, and carried with it was the sound of people singing happy birthday at the house next door.I turned my face in that direction, but couldn’t see anything, although once the song ended, I heard applause echoing in the night.I turned and went into my house and closed and locked the door behind me as tears filled my eyes and trickled down my face.Feeling very alone, I carried Natalie into the kitchen where I fed her dinner, then I carried her upstairs and put her to bed.I went into the living room and sat on the couch, turning on my eReader so I could lose myself in a world of someone else’s creation.After a while I found myself drifting off, and when I heard a knock at my door, I startled awake.I looked through the peephole and saw Marcus standing on my porch.Puzzled about why he was there after what had happened earlier, I opened the door.“Hey, Lily.”I thought he looked tired, although it was only about ten o’clock.“Hi.”“Is it okay if I come in?”“Sure.” I opened the door wider and he walked in.We stood in the entry and I gazed at him expectantly.“I just wanted to apologize for barging in on you like that,” he said.I smiled tentatively.“It’s okay.”He shook his head.“I saw a strange car out front, and I have to admit, I was worried about you.”I nodded, acknowledging to myself that I had very few visitors.In fact, Marcus was pretty much the only person who ever came by.“Why did you stop by in the first place?”“Remember how I told you that my parents had invited me for dinner?”“Yeah.”“Well, they had a little surprise party for me.”“Your birthday’s Monday, right?”He nodded.“Well, that was nice of them to throw you a party.”He had a half-smile on his face.“I guess so.But I just wanted to get away for a few minutes, so I came over here.” His brow creased.“I wonder why they didn’t invite you to the party.My mom knows we’re friends.”“Oh, well, uh, she did, but.I already had plans.” That was a total and complete lie, but since he’d seen Cameron at my house, he had no reason to doubt me.He nodded and laughed.“Yeah, and again, sorry about interrupting.”“It’s okay, really.”He looked at the wall behind me, as if thinking, then his gaze came back to my face.“So you met this guy on that cruise?”“Cameron, yes.”“He must be the one who sent you those flowers.”I nodded, uncertain where he was going with his questions.He was quiet for a minute.“Okay.Well, I guess I’ll see you later.” He smiled, but it had a tinge of sadness in it.“That is, unless Cameron’s going to help you with your house?”I shook my head.“No.”His eyebrows went up.“He’s not very good at that kind of thing.”Marcus clenched his jaw as he looked at me.“Good thing you have me then.”“That’s what friends are for, right?”He gazed at me a moment, then nodded.“Right.” Then he turned and left, leaving me more confused than ever.Why had he seemed upset with me?Chapter Twenty-SixOn the day I closed on my house, my joy was edged with sadness.I hadn’t heard from Cameron since the night he’d come for dinner—the night Marcus had stopped by unexpectedly.I also hadn’t spoken to Marcus since then.I’d wanted to wish him a happy birthday, but every time I’d picked up my phone to call him, the thought of our awkward conversation had stopped me.But now that I’d closed on my house, I would need to call him so we could move forward on our projects.With the key in my pocket, I drove to my new house, and as I pulled into my driveway, a feeling of euphoria swept over me.This would be my home and I could live there as long as I wanted.I’d used enough of the money from the sale of my childhood home and Dad’s life insurance policy to make my mortgage payments manageable, without completing depleting my funds, and felt confident I would be able to make my payments.I carried Natalie to the porch, then slid my key into the lock.I swung the door open and entered the house, my house.I grimaced as I looked at the stains on the carpet, but when I visualized the new paint on the walls and the new carpet on the floor, my grimace turned to a wide grin.It would be gorgeous.I walked through all the rooms, letting my imagination take over, picturing freshly painted walls, with my furniture arranged just so.Stopping in the room that would be Natalie’s, I swung her around, making her giggle.“What do you think, sweet girl? Do you like your new room?”I imagined watching her grow up there—her first day of Kindergarten, having other little girls over to play, getting ready for her first date—and knew I had made the right choice in buying this place.Carrying Natalie, I walked into the kitchen and let my gaze wander the room.I pictured the tile I’d picked out with Marcus and visualized it laid out on the floor and knew it would improve the look of the room.“Guess I’ll call Marcus,” I said out loud.I looked at the stained carpet, but not wanting to place Natalie on it, I held her on my hip while I dug my phone out of my purse.The call went to voice mail and I left a message.“Hey, Marcus.It’s Lily.The house is mine now, so give me a call when you have time.” I paused, wondering what else to say, and wondering if he was still even willing to help me.Finally I said, “‘K.Talk to you later.”I put the phone back in my purse and stared at the wall as I spoke.“If he doesn’t want to help now, I don’t know what I’ll do.” Sighing, I carried Natalie out to the car and drove home.Alyssa called late that afternoon.“What’s up with you and Cameron?” she asked, after some chit chat.“What do you mean?”“Ty was talking to him last night and when Ty asked how things were with you two, Cameron brushed him off, like he didn’t want to talk about it.So what’s going on?”I told her how we’d been having dinner when Marcus showed up, and then Cameron abruptly left.“Who does this Marcus guy think he is, Lily?” She paused.“Maybe I shouldn’t say this, but his behavior reminds me of Trevor.”“No,” I immediately said.“He’s nothing like Trevor.Nothing.”“But you said he just walked in to your house.That kind of scares me.You know, after all that happened with Trevor.”I opened my mouth to speak, but hesitated, considering her point of view.How would Trevor have reacted if he’d walked in on me having a date? He would have made a scene, I thought.And he would have made me pay somehow.No, Marcus isn’t like that at all.In fact, his reaction was the exact opposite.When he saw Cameron, he just left, and besides stopping by to apologize—something Trevor never would have done—he hadn’t contacted me at all.“No,” I finally said.“Believe me, I would recognize Trevor-like behavior, and Marcus is nothing like him.”“Okay.If you say so.But if Marcus is just a friend, why do you think Cameron reacted like he did?”I shrugged and shook my head.“I was wondering the same thing.”“You must have some idea, Lily.”I bit my lip, wondering if I should confess my true feelings for Marcus.“I have no idea,” I finally said, not wanting her to feel sorry for me.“Hmm [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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