date go? Did you win over the girl?
Did I win over the girl?
Lily smiles at me through the window of the hotel lobby as I take a moment to type out another message while I stand on the sidewalk. She waves from her perch on a ladder where she’s playing with the placement of some artistic lighting. The spindly metal wall sconces fill up the entire wall.
Lewis gives her hell from a few feet away where he’s finishing off the cabinetry behind the bar with one of the local contractors. We’re still not friends. He continues to call me the dill pickle behind my back. I don’t pay him any mind. It’s only been a few weeks. Not long enough to prove myself. But I plan to.
Lily tosses a retort over her shoulder, her lips barely containing their mirth. I can just imagine how smart and sarcastic it probably is. My chest can’t contain the way she makes me feel. I hit send on my newest message.
Cap’N Crunch: Time will tell.
Lily descends the ladder as I shove my phone in my pocket. It’s mid-morning, and if I know my girl at all she’s about to realize she’s famished. Which is why I’m here. With a dozen donuts and a bag full of fried sandwiches. Like I have been nearly every day since we started seeing each other. And yes, I sent Hud a message telling him that I’m keeping her fed. Once I worked out that was all it took to keep him off my back for a few days I started sending them twice a week.
“Hey, stranger. What are you doing hanging around out here?” Lily joins me on the pavement. “Are you stalking me?”
“Can’t.” I hand her the bag of sandwiches. “Can’t keep up with you. Need a motorized scooter.”
She opens the paper bag and sniffs. As if on cue, her stomach grumbles loudly. “I love you.”
“I—” She loves me? How can she be so sure? So free with her emotions? Doesn’t she know how easily it can all fall apart? She thinks she knows me. She doesn’t. “You don’t mean that, Lil.”
She presses a finger to her lips before reaching into the bag. “I was talking to this sandwich. This is for me, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” My pulse settles into a normal rhythm.
“Thanks.” She squeezes my shoulder and reaches up on her tiptoes to kiss my cheek. “Are you staying?”
“You have to work.” I clasp her waist. Inhale her sunshine and mango scented warmth. The sooner she’s finished with this hotel refurbishment, the sooner we’ll be back in Chicago. As much as Chicago has her brother and a whole other set of problems, I hate staying in L.A.
Especially with my mom increasing her demands for me to acknowledge my brother’s upcoming nuptials.
“We’re on schedule. Actually ahead. Kiki and Lewis have everything under control right now. I have time.”
“All right.” There’s a recreational area nearby. It’s close to the offices our family business used to own. They moved a few years back, according to Arwen. Dad must have gotten sick of the view. Or had to settle a sexual harassment suit. Christ knows, he couldn’t keep his dick out of other people’s business. I force my jaw to relax. Give it a wiggle. All these years later and I still can’t think about the old bastard without wanting to put my fist through something. “There’s a park close by. How about we take these sandwiches and have a picnic?”
“I didn’t know you were so romantic,” she teases. “Are you going soft on me in your old age?”
“You bring it out in me.” I hold onto her like she’s my lifeline. I think maybe she is. Bringing me hope. Making me want something more than what I’ve settled for all these years.
“Can we get coffee too?”
“Did you really ask that?”
“I don’t know what I was thinking.” She toys with the end of her ponytail as she walks away from me backwards. “Let me grab my bag.”
I wait for her on the pavement. Check my email for new applications and send a quick text in the group chat with Cal and Fleetwood about our progress. As luck would have it, the second in charge is pretty on his game so we’re going to step him up into the managing position, but it’s turned into a whole restructure of the current L.A. team. And we still need to hire a manager for the shifts that have opened up. Plus we need a