Love At Last (Lily's Story, Book 3) (28 page)

“Does Marcus know?”

I shook my head. “No.”

“Perhaps you should keep it that way.”

What an odd request. “Why?”

She smiled tightly. “I just don’t want to confuse matters.”

I had no idea what matters she was talking about.

“Will you do that for me, Lily?”

“I can’t promise that he won’t find out.”

“Of course not. But if you don’t tell him, I don’t know how he would find out.”

Something about her request felt wrong, but I wasn’t sure what it was. Was it because she was asking me to lie to Marcus by omission? But why would she think he’d even care? We were just friends. Why would my relationship with Cameron—or lack thereof—matter to Marcus? Did she think if Chelsea found out, that she would trust Marcus with me even less? If Chelsea knew, would she forbid Marcus from helping me? What would I do then?

“Lily?” Trish pressed.

Reluctantly, I nodded. “I suppose.”

She smiled. “Thank you.”

As Natalie and I walked home, I wondered how much of Trish I’d see in the future. Once I no longer lived next door, would she invite me over any more? And did I want to go over if she did? It seemed every time I went, she had some sort of bombshell to drop on me.

On Monday morning Natalie and I went to our new place to wait for the carpet installers. Once they’d arrived, I let them in, excited to see how the place would look after they’d finished. While they worked, I left Natalie in her car seat, which I’d set on the kitchen counter, and scrubbed the kitchen floor. Then I let her crawl around while I scoured out the kitchen cabinets and applied shelf paper. The seller had left the refrigerator, and of course the stove, and I cleaned those as well.

After several hours the carpet had been installed, and as I carried Natalie from room to room, looking at each space, I smiled, thrilled with how my new place was shaping up.

“I think we’re ready to move in,” I said as we stopped in her room. I let her crawl on the new carpet as I scrubbed the bathrooms, then I took her home.

On Tuesday I spent the morning taking loads of boxes from the old place to the new one, and putting things away as I went. I’d brought Greta over and she was loving exploring her new backyard. As she whined at the sliding glass door to be let in, I realized I’d need to put in a doggie door soon.

By that night, when Marcus and Jeff came to move the big things, I was getting tired of the whole moving experience. Marcus had borrowed a truck from a friend and it didn’t take long to move everything over to the new place—one advantage of not having much stuff. At the new place, I directed them where to put each piece of furniture, and before long everything had been moved over.

“I think that’s it,” Marcus said.

“Yes. Thank you both so much. I couldn’t have done it alone.”

“I’m happy to help,” Jeff said.

“We both are, Lily,” Marcus said, smiling. “I’ll come over tomorrow after work and we can start planning the rest of our remodel strategy.”

“Sounds great.” I wondered how much I would see him once we’d finished all the work we were going to do, but decided not to think about that just then.

After they left, I put sheets in Natalie’s crib, as well as my bed, and then fed Natalie and put her down. I spent the rest of the evening getting things organized and by the time I fell in to bed, I felt really good about all I had gotten done.
 

The next day I cleaned the old place, then called Mary and let her know I was out.

“Thank you, Lily. You were a great tenant. I’m sorry I had to do this to you.”

“It actually worked out fine. I bought a place of my own and I’m loving it already.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear that.” She paused. “You take care now.”

“Thanks, Mary. I really enjoyed living here.”

That evening Marcus came by and brought some fast food he’d picked up on his way over. “I hope you haven’t eaten yet.” He set the bags on the kitchen table, then picked Natalie up from the floor, where she’d been crawling around.

“I haven’t. Thanks for bringing this.” I smiled as I watched him interact with my daughter, then remembered Trish’s request that I not tell him that I was no longer seeing Cameron, and my smile turned into a frown. When Marcus turned towards me, I put the smile back in place. “I’ll grab some plates.” I took plates out of the cupboard, then set them on the table, and Marcus joined me at the table.

“The new carpet really makes a difference,” he said, balancing Natalie on his lap as he ate.

“I know. And I love the colors on the walls. It’s already starting to feel like home.”

“Good. Now we just need to rip up the vinyl in the kitchen and bathrooms and lay the tile.”

“Yes,” I said. “And put up the backsplash in the kitchen.” I glanced toward the cupboards. “One day I’ll update the cabinets and counter tops, but that can wait.”

“So, when do you want to start on the floors?”

“I’m ready when you are.”

He grinned. “Let’s start tomorrow night.”

My eyes widened. “Okay.”

He laughed. “Are you having second thoughts?”

“No, but I’m just a little scared about what’s involved. Painting the walls is one thing, but ripping out old floors and putting in new is another. It’s not like carpet. Right?”

“You’re right, but it won’t be hard.”

Greta barked at the back door to be let in. I glanced toward her, then looked at Marcus. “That reminds me, can you help me put in a dog door for Greta?”

“Sure.”

I smiled, then walked to the sliding glass door and let her in. She raced over to the table, eager to be with us. Marcus scratched her head with his free hand, Natalie held securely on his lap with his other.

“Let me take her,” I said, reaching toward Natalie. “I’m done eating.”

He handed her over and finished his food, then helped me clear off the table. “I’ll bring my tools over tomorrow,” he said.
 

“I’ll make us dinner.”

“Sounds like a fair trade.” He smiled. “I like your cooking.”

“It’s the least I can do.”

He stared at me a moment. “Last night you said you couldn’t have done this move alone.” He smiled gently. “As long as I’m around, you should never feel alone, Lily.”

My heart pounded at his words. What was he saying? What would Chelsea think? Should I care about her? Did I have any obligation to make sure their relationship stayed intact? “I appreciate that.”

He nodded. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”

“Okay.” I walked him to the door, and after he left, I pondered what he’d said. Was he just talking to me as a friend, or was he starting to feel more? The latter idea thrilled me, but I didn’t want to fool myself and read more into it than what he’d meant. I put aside my need to try to read between the lines and got Natalie ready for bed.
 

That night I dreamed that Marcus had declared his love for me, and when I woke the next morning the feelings of joy I’d experienced in my dream stayed with me, and I eagerly looked forward to him coming over that night.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

“I’m going to be a little late,” Marcus said, when he called me that afternoon. “I have some work-related obligations I need to take care of first.”

I frowned as I wondered if those obligations involved Chelsea. If they did, why didn’t he just say so? As I thought about it, I realized he’d never even said her name to me. Why? Did he think I was too fragile to know that he was dating another woman? Was my love for him all too apparent and he was completely aware of how I felt, but he didn’t want to hurt me? Or was he just keeping me in the wings, in case things didn’t work out with Chelsea?

My earlier feelings of joy evaporated, and my tone was sharper than I’d intended. “We can do it another time, Marcus. You don’t have to put your life on hold to help me with my project, you know.”

He was silent and I wished I could take my words back.

“If you don’t want me to help you, then I understand.” He paused. “If you have . . . others . . . to help, just tell me.”

Heat flooded my face. He thought Cameron was going to help. What a joke. “I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant. I do need your help. I just . . . well, I guess I just don’t want you to feel obligated.”

“Lily, how many times do I have to go over this with you? I’m happy to help you. Really.”

I sighed. “If you need to postpone, I understand. It’s not a big deal.”

“No. I’ll be there, but I’ll just be a little late.” He seemed to hesitate. “You might want to have dinner without me tonight.”

“Oh. Okay.” So this did involve Chelsea. “I’ll see you when you get here.”

When he finally arrived, tools in hand, his mood seemed subdued and I wondered what had happened.

“Natalie’s already gone to bed,” I said as I followed him into the kitchen.

“We’ll try to keep the noise down then.” He set his tools on the kitchen floor and turned to me. “I’m sorry about our conversation earlier.”

I shook my head. “There’s nothing to be sorry about.”

He clenched his jaw. “It was kind of stressful at work today.”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s already forgotten.”

He smiled, and his mood seemed to improve. “Great. Let’s get started then.”

We spent the rest of the evening ripping up the vinyl in the kitchen.

“I think that’s enough work for one day,” he said as he swept up the last of the debris. “Tomorrow we can start on the cement board.”

I stared at the wood subfloor and frowned. “Now that we’ve started, I hope we can get it done soon. I hate to think of Natalie crawling on this.”

“It shouldn’t take too long.”

Friday evening Marcus came over and I wondered how Chelsea felt about him spending a Friday evening with me, but shrugged it off—I had enough problems of my own without worrying about hers.

“I made us dinner,” I said, setting out the casserole I’d baked.

“Smells great,” he said.

Natalie sat in her high chair and worked on a baby cracker while we ate.

“How many teeth does she have now?” Marcus asked, watching her.

“Just two.”

He smiled at her and she smiled back. “It sure is fun seeing her personality develop.”

“I know. It’s hard to remember what life was like before she was here.” My brow creased. “Or to imagine what life would be like without her.”

Marcus turned to me. “That won’t happen again. He’s gone now and no one can take her from you.”

I smiled. “I know. But I can’t help thinking about what happened. It was so terrifying.”

He nodded. “I can’t even imagine what you must have felt.”

I was quiet for a minute, then I shook my head. “Enough of that. I’d rather think about the present. When Mary called me to say I had to move, I felt panic, but look where I ended up.” I gestured to the space we sat in. “It all turned out great in the end.” I smiled at Marcus. “And thanks to you, it will be even better soon.”

“Are you ready to get started?”

“Yes.”

After cleaning up, Marcus began laying the cement board. I watched as he spread thin set on the sub floor.

“Do you want me to do that? I mean, it is my house.”

On his hands and knees, he looked up at me. “If you want to do it, then you can. But I’m fine with doing it.”

I held Natalie on my hip and smiled down at him. “Well, if you’re okay doing it, then I’m good with giving you moral support.”

He laughed and turned back to the task.

I continued to watch. “You make it look easy,” I finally said as he scooped out some thin set and dropped it on the floor, then began spreading it with the notched trowel.

“Thanks. It’s really not that hard.”

After I put Natalie to bed, I watched as he screwed the cement board to the subfloor, and I was glad he was fine with doing the hard labor.

When he finished, he turned to me with a smile. “Since tomorrow’s Saturday, we’ll have lots of time to put in all the tile. I’m borrowing a tile saw from a buddy, so we should be able to get the whole thing done.”

I laughed. “I like how you say ‘we’, but really, it’s ‘you’.”

He grinned. “It makes me happy to do this for you.”

Love towards him rushed through me, and I smiled, but deep inside I felt an ache in my heart that he would never be more than a friend.

“I’ll come over first thing and we’ll get started on the tile,” he said.

Pushing aside my melancholy, I nodded. “I’m excited to see what it looks like with the tile in.”

“Once it’s in, we’ll let it set for a day, and then on Monday night we can grout it.”

“Okay.”

By the time he arrived the next morning, I’d already fed Natalie and we were ready to get started.

“I’ll set the tile saw up on the back patio,” he said.

Before long we were laying tile on the kitchen floor, and I was able to see it taking shape. “I really like this,” I said as I handed a tile to Marcus.

“Yeah, I think you made a good choice.”

We worked for several hours, then when it was time to mix up a new batch of thin set, we stopped to take a break. I’d put Natalie down for a nap, and Greta was locked outside, so it was just the two of us. I spread a blanket out on the carpet in the family room, then set out the sandwiches I’d made.

I’d been thinking about what Marcus had said about how helping me made him feel happy. It was one thing to help me out a little, but he was going above and beyond. Why? Was it possible his feelings ran deeper than friendship? The mere possibility filled me with hope and I considered asking him, but fear that he’d shoot me down again made me hesitate.

He must have sensed that I had something on my mind, because as we sat quietly together eating, he said, “What are you thinking about, Lily?”

My eyes met his, and I paused, then decided I’d had enough of guessing. “I was just thinking about what you said last night. About how helping me made you happy.”

He smiled and his green eyes sparkled. “Yeah?”

Now what? I thought. “What else makes you happy?” I finally said.

He was quiet for a minute. “Really, it’s spending time with those I care about.”

Chelsea’s face flashed into my mind, and I stared at the floor before meeting Marcus’s gaze. My heart pounded as I opened my mouth, and after a moment I gathered the courage to speak. “Like Chelsea?” I watched his face, waiting for confirmation that we had no future together.