“Tell me about this young man of yours,” her mother said without preamble.
“He’s my saving grace, I guess you could say. I would never had learned to control my phobia without him.”
“How did he do it?” her mother asked curiously. “What did he do that we didn’t?”
“It’s not that, Mama. You did everything you could. It was more me. I wanted to change, to be able to let someone touch me. It wouldn’t have worked if I hadn’t needed to change so badly. Nikoli just…he never let me give up. He pushed and pushed and pushed. Sometimes I wanted to strangle him, but he never pushed too far. He knew when to stop. But mostly, he was just there when I needed him.”
“He pushed you?”
Lily snorted. That was putting it mildly. “He pushed my limits, never let me give in to my fear, never let me give up, Mama, even when I wanted to. I never thought I’d be able to let anyone touch me ever again, but I can now, and it’s all due to him. I’m mostly healed because of that man.”
“Oh, baby, I’m so happy for you. I only wish I could have helped you more, gotten you better sooner. I’m so sorry.”
Lily put down the plate she was scraping and took her mother’s hands into hers. “Don’t be sorry, Mama. This phobia of mine wasn’t your fault, and you did do everything you could to make me better. You’re a good mother, and I love you so much. No more tears, okay? Only smiles from now on.”
“It’s good advice, Mrs. Stanton.”
They both turned to see Nikoli lounging in the doorway. Lily felt her heart skip gleefully at the sight of him and cringed a little inside. Not out of fear, but the beginning of pain. This was their last weekend together. She knew it deep down. She couldn’t shake the thought. Intuition. She wanted to curl up and cry.
Lily’s mother went over to Nikoli and wrapped him in a bear hug. He laughed and hugged her back. “What’s that for?”
“For giving me my baby back,” she said, a tremor in her voice. She was fighting not to break down. Nikoli smiled down at her.
Nikoli now understood where Lily got her kindness from. Her mother was one of the sweetest women he’d ever met, coming in a close second to his own mother. He saw the gratitude in her eyes and felt himself blush a little. She had no idea why he’d wanted Lily cured, and looking into her eyes now, he almost felt like a heel. Almost.
“Don’t thank me,” he told her. “Lily is a beautiful woman who deserves to be happy. I only helped a little.”
“You are welcome in this house, young man,” her mother said, wiping her eyes. “Always.”
“Thank you,” Nikoli said and then turned regretful eyes to Lily. “We need to get going, Lily Bells.”
“So soon?” Joanna asked. “It’s barely seven.”
“I have to be up early tomorrow,” Nikoli explained. “I have a race.”
“Race?” Joanna asked sharply.
“Yes, ma’am.” Nikoli nodded. “I came down to Florida to enter a race.”
“You race cars?” Nikoli watched Joanna’s eyes fill up with some emotion he couldn’t explain. She had to be thinking of Lily’s father.
“I do,” he said, keeping his voice calm. “Lily has been helping me get the car ready for the race.”
“Those damn cars.” Joanna shook her head. “Lily was forever under the hood of a car, even after her father died.”
“It kept me sane.” Lily smiled.
“Yes, yes, it did. Have you seen my daughter drive, Nikoli?”
“Yes, ma’am. I let her drive the car I’m entering back to campus when I bought it. She smoked me.”
“That’s my girl.” There was an edge to Joanna’s laughter. Nikoli knew she wasn’t at all happy about Lily in a race car.
“We really do have to go,” Nikoli said gently. “We still have to feed Luther, my partner in crime.”
“Oh my, let me fix him a plate.” Joanna went about doing just that on a paper plate they could take.
He went over and slipped an arm around Lily, loving how she snuggled into his side. He leaned down and whispered, “Happy?”
“More than I could ever tell you,” she whispered back. “Thank you, Nikoli Kincaid.”
He brushed his lips over her hair and caught her mother staring at them. She looked so full of hope he couldn’t meet her eyes. He was, for the first time in a while, starting to feel guilty about his own motives. Lily truly was a beautiful person inside and out. She deserved better than to be used the way he wanted to use her.
“Here you go.” Joanna handed the plate to Lily. It was overflowing under the plastic wrap. She was a good cook, and Luther would be groaning with food orgasms before he’d finished the plate.
“Thank you, ma’am,” he said. “It’s been a pleasure to meet you.”
Lily handed Nikoli the plate and hugged her mother. “Love you, Mama.”
“I love you too, baby,” Joanna murmured, and Nikoli smiled, knowing how much this meant to Lily.
“Can you start the car while I tell the twins goodbye?” Lily asked him, and he nodded, telling her mother goodbye once more before walking out into the humid Florida night. He started the car and rolled the windows down before turning on the air conditioning. He blew the heat out and then rolled the windows back up to cool the car off. Carefully putting the plate of food in the back seat, Nikoli leaned back and let the cool air hit him in the face.
She’d been on his mind all week. Ever since she told him about Adam, he knew it was the beginning of the end of their arrangement. He’d gotten a little attached to her, but that wasn’t a bad thing. It just showed him he could eventually care for someone.
The little voice in the back of his mind snorted at his own idiocy, but he ignored it. Lily was an arrangement. That was all. He’d done his part, he’d helped her get past her fear of anyone touching her. She’d gotten Boy Wonder. Now it was time for him to get his half of the deal.
He winced just thinking about it like a deal, something dirty and sordid.
The passenger door opened, and Lily slid in and buckled her seatbelt. “Thank you for bringing me.”
“Of course,” he murmured and pulled out of the driveway.
Lily turned on the radio and surfed a few radio channels before settling on one. She didn’t say anything else the entire ride back to the hotel. Not that she needed to. He could see the thoughtful expression on her face. She had to be thinking of the afternoon. He’d seen the wonder on her face when she first realized she could give her mother a hug, and it had nearly undone him, truth be told.
When they parked the car and went upstairs, just as Nikoli had predicted, Luther drooled at the sight of the food presented to him. He grabbed it and shut the door, as if afraid they’d ask him to share.
Shaking his head, Nikoli steered Lily to their room. She said she wanted a shower, and he nodded. He opened his laptop and started going through some emails that needed attention while he waited for her to come out. Shoes and socks off, he settled himself in the chair and started scanning his emails.
He found one from Lily listing all her thoughts about his new zombie game. He just stared in amazement after he’d read through the very detailed report. She listed the good things, the things she hated, what needed to be improved, and finally her thoughts on fixing everything she took issue with. He’d never gotten such detailed feedback from any of his beta testers. The woman was amazing in so many ways.
Twenty minutes later, he heard the shower cut off, and he closed his laptop. He turned and faced the bathroom door, waiting for her to come out. Another fifteen minutes went by, and still no Lily. Maybe shaving her legs? After another ten minutes he got concerned and went over to the door. Even before he raised his hand he heard her. She was crying.
“Lily?”
No answer.
“Lily, what’s wrong?”