Love At Last (Lily's Story, Book 3) (4 page)

“Let me put her down,” I whispered as I walked past him and toward the stairs. After I put her in her crib, I came back downstairs to talk to Marcus. Greta rushed over to me and I gave her some attention, then looked at Marcus.

His face clouded with worry. “You’re back a little earlier than I expected. How did it go?”

I grimaced. “Not so great.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

I looked at the earnest expression on his face, then remembered the way I’d felt when Chris—who looked so much like Trevor—had announced that they’d all talked about me before, and had decided they really didn’t want me there. I shook my head. “Not really.”

He smiled in understanding. “Okay.” Then he paused. “Since you’re back there’s no reason for me to stay. Let me just get my things.”

As much as I enjoyed his company, I was exhausted, so I didn’t try to convince him to stay. “Thank you for taking care of Greta for me.”

He smiled. “Anytime.” He went upstairs, and I went out to the car to get my suitcase and the diaper bag. I carried my things up to my room and set them on the floor, then watched Marcus as he finished packing his toiletries.
 

“Were you able to go see any fireworks tonight?” I asked.

He shook his head. “It’s not as much fun unless you go with someone you care about.”

I wasn’t sure if he was implying that he would have liked to go with me, or if he was just speaking generally. Most of the time it was hard to know how he was feeling, which I found frustrating, so I just nodded.

He zipped his duffel bag closed and tossed it onto his shoulder. “I’d better get going.”

I followed him downstairs, then to the front door. “Thanks again, Marcus.”

He smiled at me as he reached for the doorknob. “Anytime.”

I watched him walk to his car, then locked the door behind him and turned on the alarm. After getting ready for bed, I slipped between the covers and immediately noticed the familiar scent of Marcus. He’d slept in my bed the night before and the unmistakable aroma of his cologne lingered on the pillow. Feeling suddenly lonely, I snuggled into the pillow and breathed his scent.

Tears filled my eyes as I allowed self-pity to wash over me. My relationship with Marcus didn’t seem to be going anywhere, yet he was my only friend.

“Wait a minute,” I whispered. “What about Alyssa?”

I hadn’t talked to my friend from Reno in ages. What was wrong with me? How could I have forgotten about her? I’d been so wrapped up in being a new mom, and then after Trevor died I’d kind of cocooned myself from the world. It was time to break out of that cocoon.

My tears stopped as a smile spread onto my face. The last time I’d heard from her, she’d been planning her wedding. She’d never emailed me about the date and I hoped I hadn’t missed it. I picked my phone up from my bedside and pulled up my email account, then composed an email.

Alyssa,

I’m sorry I haven’t talked to you in forever. So much has happened since I last emailed you! We need to get together and catch up. When is your wedding? Are you at home for the summer?

Take care!

Lily

Feeling better, I set the phone on the nightstand and closed my eyes. Marcus’s scent filled my nostrils, and as I drifted to sleep, his face filled my dreams.

Chapter Four

After I fed Natalie a breakfast of baby rice cereal, then nursed her, I put her on a large blanket on the floor for tummy time. I’d folded the blanket several times to make it thick and soft since I was placing it on the hardwood floor, and she cooed and giggled as she watched Greta walk around the blanket. Greta knew to stay off the blanket and I smiled as I watched my little family.

But when I remembered Marcy’s comment on the day I’d arrived in Vegas, about the family’s concern with Greta being around Natalie, I frowned. Greta would never hurt my baby—if anything she was very protective of Natalie and who was around her. And I resented the implication that I was a bad mother for letting my sweet German-Shepard be around my baby girl.

I pushed the thoughts away. They could think whatever they wanted—when it came to my family, I would do whatever I thought best.
 

My phone chimed, indicating an email had arrived. I didn’t get many emails and hoped it was from Alyssa. I tapped the email app on the phone and saw a new email from my friend.

Lily -
 

What a wonderful surprise to hear from you! I’ve been thinking about you these last few days. My wedding is August 14th and we’ve decided to do something kind of wild. A shipboard wedding! I’ve always wanted to visit Alaska, so we decided to take a cruise there and have whatever family and friends come that can, and then get married on the ship! I don’t know if you’d be able to come, especially with such late notice, but I would love, love, love it if you could!

Let me know as soon as you can as we have to let the cruise people know who’s coming.

Take care!

Alyssa

She’d put the cruise ship information in the email, as well as the specific dates she was going.

“Wow,” I said to Natalie and Greta. “Wouldn’t that be fun?” I considered the idea of going on a cruise as I absently watched Natalie and Greta. I’d never done anything like a cruise before—the idea had never even crossed my mind—but it sounded like a lot of fun.
 

The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to go. I hadn’t seen Alyssa in a long time and it would be a wonderful opportunity for us to catch up. Not only that, but it would be good for me to get away for a while. I’d been so busy learning how to be a mother, as well as focusing on myself after the trauma I’d been through, I felt like going on a trip like this would be a great way to step outside of my normal life—see new places, meet new people.

I grabbed my laptop and pulled up the website for the cruise company. After a little research I found it was kind of pricey, even if I got an interior room, but oh, how I wanted to go. With the money from the sale of Dad’s house, plus the large amount remaining from his life insurance policy, not to mention the little bit of money I was making by designing and maintaining the website for
Billi’s,
as well as some other small businesses in town, I could afford this splurge.

“I’m going to do it,” I said out loud, a wide grin on my face.

I pulled up the email program on my laptop and replied to Alyssa’s email. As I started writing, it occurred to me that she didn’t know I had a baby. The last time I’d seen her was before Trevor had locked me up, and when I’d seen her last I hadn’t known yet that I was pregnant. And once I’d gone into hiding, I hadn’t told her because I hadn’t wanted to worry her.

My smile grew as I wrote the email.

Alyssa,

I’m so excited for you! That sounds like a blast! And guess what??? I’m going to come!! I’m going to book the cruise right now. I’m super excited to go on this cruise, especially since I’ll be able to see you and meet your fiancé.
 

I’ll be bringing a guest with me—but don’t worry, she won’t require anything from you—because she’s only six months old! Yes, I have a baby! Her name is Natalie and she is gorgeous. I have so much to tell you and I can hardly wait until I see you.

Can’t wait!

Lily and Natalie

I pressed Send, and a few minutes later I received a reply from Alyssa.

Lily,

I can’t believe you’re a mother! Wow—you do have a lot to tell me and I’m super stoked that you’re coming on this cruise. The wedding is on the third day after we leave Seattle, so that should give us plenty of time to catch up before the wedding and honeymoon. Make sure to bring a pair of binoculars because I understand there’s a good chance you’ll be able to see whales from the ship.

Anyway, I’ll see you in just a few weeks. Having you there will make my day that much more special!

Alyssa

We emailed back a forth a few more times, which just emphasized my desire to go on this trip. I was eager to catch up with her, but we decided we’d wait until we saw each other in person. Next, I went to the cruise website and booked the room that Natalie and I would stay in. As I selected my room and my other choices, I felt my excitement growing. The last year had been so difficult, I really needed this break.
 

As I considered the distance to Seattle, I decided I would rather fly than drive, so I booked a flight that would arrive the morning of the departure date. I could hardly believe how quickly I’d made the decision to go and then made the arrangements, but I was thrilled to have something so fun to look forward to.

I looked at Natalie and Greta and realized I would have to ask Marcus if he’d be willing to take care of Greta for me again. He’d said he’d be willing to do it anytime and I hoped he’d meant it. I decided to invite him over for dinner and ask him then. Even though I was sure he’d be willing to do it without me giving him dinner, it made me feel better to do something for him in return.

I called his cell phone and he answered on the second ring.

“Hello?”

I smiled when I heard his voice. “Hi, Marcus. This is Lily.”

“Hey, how are you?”

“Great. I was wondering if you’d like to come over for dinner tonight.”

“I have another commitment tonight. Is there another night that would work?”

“What about tomorrow night?”

He paused, like he was checking his calendar. “Yeah, that would work.”

“Great. I’ll see you then.”

The next night before he arrived, I set the table with the remains of my mother’s china, and created a delicious meal. As I looked over my preparations, I flashed back to the night I had planned to tell Trevor I was pregnant with Natalie. He’d promised to come home by six o’clock for a special dinner, but he hadn’t shown up until nearly one o’clock in the morning, and he’d been drunk. That was the night he pushed me, making me fall over the coffee table and onto the floor. And that was the night I’d first left him.

I shook my head, trying to dislodge the distressing memories, and instead focused on the happy news I was planning on sharing with Marcus. Right on time, he knocked on the door, and with Natalie in my arms and Greta by my side, I opened the door.
 

“Hi, Lily.” His green eyes seemed to sparkle as he smiled.

“Thanks for coming over.”

“As if I’d turn down a free meal. Especially when it’s cooked by such a beautiful woman.”

I blushed at his words, but also felt myself glowing with the compliment. “Come in. Dinner’s just about ready.”

He walked inside and I shut the door behind him. “Do you want me to take Natalie?” he asked.

“That would be great.” I handed her over, smiling as I watched him look at my daughter. He was so good to her, and to us, and I felt my feelings of attraction grow as I looked at him.
Maybe tonight I should tell him how I really feel about him.
Nervousness at the thought made my heart pound. I pushed aside my anxiety and focused on the tasks I needed to complete to get dinner on the table.
 

A short time later I invited Marcus to sit at the table. “You can put Natalie in the swing while we eat.”

He did as I directed, then joined me at the table. He looked over the spread I’d laid out. “This smells great.” He looked at me and smiled. “I barely had time to eat lunch, so I’m really hungry.”

After we served ourselves and started eating, I said, “How are things at your work?”

He swallowed the bite he’d been chewing. “Really good. I like it there and the people I work with are great.” He took a sip of water. “How about you? How’s your website business going?”

“Besides Billi’s boutique, I have four other clients, so it’s enough to keep me busy right now. Natalie takes most of my time, so the amount of work is perfect for me.”

“I think it’s fantastic that you were able to start that business. The timing couldn’t have been any better.”

“I know. I’m thrilled with the way it worked out.”

He took another bite of his casserole. “What else do you have going on?”

A slow smile spread across my face.
 

He obviously sensed my excitement. “What?”

“A friend of mine from Reno is getting married next month and I’m going to go to her wedding.”

“That’s great.” He paused. “Did you need me to take care of Greta while you’re gone?”

“That would be wonderful.” I smiled with a hint of guilt. “That’s kind of why I made dinner for you. I appreciate it so much when you watch her for me.”

“You don’t have to make dinner for me. You know I don’t mind.”

“I know. But it’s the least I can do to say thank you.”

“So when is it?”

I told him the date I would be leaving. “I’ll be gone for just over a week.”

His eyebrows went up. “I thought weddings were usually a weekend kind of thing.”

I couldn’t hold back my grin. “This wedding is going to take place on an Alaskan cruise.”

He returned my smile. “Ah. Now I see why you’re so excited. That sounds really fun.”

“I’ve never been on a cruise, so I’m super excited to go. Have you ever been on a cruise?”

“A few years ago I went with some friends on a cruise to Mexico. It was a blast.”
 

“Do you have any pointers for me on cruising?”

“Well, going to Alaska is probably quite different than going to Mexico. Do you know what the temperature will be at that time of year?”

“It should get in the sixties during the day, so I think it will be nice.”

We talked about cruises in general, which made me even more excited about going. Marcus helped me clean up, then we sat on the couch. I had put Natalie on a blanket on the floor and she was content.

“She has such an easy disposition,” Marcus said.

“I know. I feel really lucky.”

He looked at me. “She takes after her mother.”

I smiled and looked away from him and over to Natalie, and wondered if this was the right moment to tell him how I felt. When I looked back at him, he was watching me. “What?”