Hometown Valentine

“But you did notice him.”

“I’d have to be dead not to notice him.” Lily was nothing if not pragmatic.

“Okay. You’ve really noticed him.” Molly cast Lily a brightly inquisitive look. “So...what did you think?”

Lily sighed. Molly wasn’t going to let up. And truth be told, Lily could use a shoulder. Maybe she should just spill and move on. “Well, I’ve actually been thinking about him a lot since we met.” As in all night long.

Molly moved in closer. “Really?”

“Yeah, and I have to say, it has me worried.” Lily nibbled on her bottom lip.

“You’re not interested in a romance,” Molly said. She and Lily had talked at length about Lily’s goals, and her desire not to be tied down with any kind of commitment so she would be free to go after Project Fashion. “And I get it.” Molly sank down onto the couch. “I didn’t want to fall for Grant, either. But sometimes we don’t have a choice in matters of the heart.”

“I choose and my heart listens,” Lily replied, lifting her chin. Or, that was the goal, at least. Think it, live it. Right.

“So why are you worried?” Trust Molly not to pull any punches. “Just move on with your plans and don’t give Blake a second thought.”

Lily opened her mouth to give Molly a retort, but quickly closed it. Lily stayed silent for a moment, then decided she needed to unload more or she’d go crazy. “Something about him draws me in.”

“Aha. Now we’re getting somewhere.”

Yes, maybe they were getting somewhere. Lily warmed to the subject. Maybe hashing it out would bring some clarity to the situation. And help her grow some semblance of a backbone. “Sure, he’s gorgeous.”

“Very.”

“But there’s also something else about him. A...vulnerability, maybe, that really calls to me.” Whatever it was, she was having a hard time pinning it down. She gnashed her teeth.

“Well, he has been through a lot lately.”

“I know. And he’s got this delightful baby to take care of, and he’s completely clueless about that, and he has this business to run.” Lily shook her head. “I don’t know, I just find myself thinking about him a lot and I don’t want to be distracted by him.”

“You don’t want any roadblocks.”

“Right. I’m on the cusp of moving forward with something I’ve waited a long time for. I can’t just set all that aside, you know.” Lily sat down next to Molly. “I’m too close to get sidetracked now.” A thought occurred to Lily. “But...being attracted to someone isn’t the be-all and end-all.” She warmed to her thoughts. “In fact, people are attracted to other people all the time, and it means nothing, goes nowhere, right?”

Molly looked at Lily sideways. “Um...yes...”

“So rather than deny the truth, I’m just going to accept it, voice it and that will be that.” Lily straightened her shoulders. “I’m attracted to Blake Stonely and I’m not going to let it bother me. I’m just going to get on with my life, business as usual.” She waited, half expecting a lightning bolt to strike her down from above.

But nothing happened. She sighed inwardly as relief spread through her.

“Feel better?” Molly asked.

“Yes, actually, I do. I’ve acknowledged my attraction to Blake out loud.” Lily stood. “Now I can forget about him.”

“You think it will be that easy?” Molly asked, her voice coated in skepticism. “I thought I could just ignore my feelings for Grant, too, and we both know how that turned out.”

With an engagement. And then a wedding. Their very own happy ending.

Lily scrambled for a foothold to support her argument. “It’ll be fine. I don’t have any reason to see Blake again. I’ll just putter along in my lane and soon enough I’ll be on my way to LA to win Project Fashion.” And her heart would stay just how she chose.

“So you think out of sight, out of mind?”

“Exactly.”

Molly gave her a look rife with doubt. “Let me know how that works for you.”

Lily shrugged off Molly’s disbelief. “It’ll be fine. I’m busy, or will be when I get a job, and he’s busy, too. Pretty soon he’ll be nothing but a memory in my rearview mirror.”

She was back on track. Yes. She felt better. Strong. Safe. Resolute. Perfect!

Free from worry about her fascination with Blake, she changed the subject. “Hey, do you still want me to help you plan the Valentine’s Day dance?” The singles’ group held a dance every year in honor of the most romantic day of the year. Lily went for the dancing, her second most favorite thing after designing clothes.

“Yes, definitely,” Molly said. “I was thinking of an ’80s theme this year.”

“Oooh, great idea. Nothing like a good hair-band song to get this girl on the floor.”

Molly grinned. “I thought you’d like that.”

An idea occurred to Lily. “I can go through my dad’s album collection for the music.”

“And I’ll have Grant transfer the tunes into digital format.”

“He won’t mind?”

“He’s a techno geek. He’ll love it.” Grant, a former programmer, owned a computer repair/software development company, which he ran from a Main Street storefront right next door to Molly’s store, Bow Wow Boutique, a designer pet store.

“Good point,” Lily said. “I’ll go through the albums soon, and then get them to him in the next week or so.” Valentine’s Day was still a few weeks away.

“I’ll let him know,” Molly said. “We should also make a trip to Party Depot in Pacific City for supplies.” Moonlight Cove lacked any kind of party supply store.

“Just let me know when you want to go,” Lily said.

“Will do.”

They rejoined the group in the family room and Lily relaxed and enjoyed the activities Grant and Molly had planned, as well as the cookies-and-cream cupcakes Grant’s aunt Rose Kincaid had baked for the event. Lily realized how much she’d needed a bit of socializing after the stress of her fruitless job search, and she was glad she’d decided to attend the event.

An hour after her conversation with Molly, Lily said her goodbyes, left and headed home, brainstorming job possibilities as she navigated the rain-slicked streets to the other side of town. She’d heard that a restaurant in the next town up the coast was hiring, and that perhaps the local dentist needed a receptionist while the regular gal went on maternity leave. Two leads to follow up on in the morning. One way or another, she had to find a job as soon as possible.

Just as she pulled into the driveway, her cell phone trilled. She pulled it from her coat pocket and checked the caller ID.

Blake Stonely. Lily’s heart did a little blip. Why was he calling? Her finger hovered over Answer, but she didn’t press it. She needed to gather herself before she talked to him. She didn’t know why, exactly. She was feeling her way here, and right now, she needed to deal with Blake via voice mail rather than by talking directly to him. Call her weak.

Eventually the ringing stopped. After about thirty seconds, a different sound came from her phone signaling she had a voice mail. With a quivery touch she punched the buttons to listen to the message, then held the phone up to her ear.

“Hey, Lily, it’s Blake Stonely.” A pause. “Listen, I hate to impose, but my sitter called and she has a bad case of pneumonia and she’s going to be out indefinitely.” A sigh came through. “Worse yet, Peyton is still running a fever, so I can’t take her to the store tomorrow. I hate to do this, but I was wondering if I could take you up on your offer to help out for a while, until my sitter is back on her feet. I’d pay you, of course.” He cleared his throat. “So, um, call me as soon as you can. Thanks.”

Lily clicked End Call and stared out the front window, her phone clutched in her hand. What was she going to do? Helping Blake wouldn’t exactly be out of sight, out of mind. In fact, coming to his rescue was the exact opposite of what she’d mapped out.