Page 28 of Irresistible

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Monday

Sitting in the French Press restaurant, Lilly realized her sister Lucy’s dream had come true. The place had turned out exactly as Lucy imagined it. Their mother’s singsong voice called out and she walked out of the kitchen. “Hi, Mama.”

“Hello, sweet child. I had to go back and give your sister some love and see what she has going on back there.”

“Is she going to join us today, or is she cooking?”

“She’s gonna try. Depends on how the lunch rush goes.”

“I’m so proud of her.”

“Me too, sugar. Happiness is when your children turn out well. To see you girls exceed your goals is all that I can ask for. And the boys are doing well too. I tell you, it lets me sleep well at night to know that you’re all on your way.” Mama flattened her napkin, then smiled. “Speaking of the boys…”

Watching Mama’s steady gaze told Lilly the cat was already out of the bag. “By the looks of it, I’d guess you already heard how I spent my weekend.” Lafayette wasn’t a small city, and she often wondered what kind of spy network Mama had that allowed her always to be fully informed. “What is it you want to know?”

“I know most of it because Brock’s behind was parked at my kitchen table at seven thirty this morning.”

“Did he run out of coffee?” Just as Mama started laughing, the waiter brought over two glasses filled with a chilled white wine. “Thank you,” Lilly murmured as the man set the glasses down. They never knew what they were going to eat when they came because Lucy decided for them. Apparently, the wine was part of the experience, and she wasn’t one to argue with a little libation in the middle of the day.

“He comes to see Daddy and me after he visits with his father, which seems to be at least once a week. He came by this morning because he wanted us to know what his intentions are.”

Lifting the glass, Lilly took a healthy sip. “This is the not the 1950s, and he does not need to ask my parents’ permission. I’m a full-grown woman and can make my own decisions.”

“Nobody doubts that. I got the impression that he wanted our approval.” Another waiter approached with two spinach salads topped with buffalo oysters. “Lucy is spoiling us today. Doesn’t this look delicious?”

“What else did Brock have to say this morning?”

“He had a lot of questions about the stalker. I had a feeling that he was trying to find out everything he could so that he could make sure it never happened again. We tried to reassure him that the mattered was closed, but I could tell he wasn’t really buying it.”

“The last thing I want is for Brock to go into overprotective mode. He can’t be up in my business every moment of every day.”

Lucy chose that moment to join them. “I heard he was already up in your business. It’s hard to shut the barn door after the cows are out.”

“You hush,” Lilly said as her sister sat down. “Don’t be talking about that in front of Mama.”

Rochelle Bertrand gave her girls a disapproving look. “I don’t know why the three of you pretend that I don’t know what’s going on. It’s insulting and not necessary. How do you think your father and I have managed to stay happy all these years? It’s not because we play cards at night.”

Lilly and Lucy covered their ears and shook their heads. “Stop!” they said simultaneously.

Looking up, Lilly noticed her mama’s happy expression as she dug into Lucy’s delicious food. If they were all lucky, that would be the end of the discussion. “Can we talk about something else?”

“Why?” Lucy asked as she rested her chin in her hands. “I want to hear about you and Brock. I’ve been waiting for this to happen ever since I was a kid. The way you two stared at each other when you thought no one was looking almost lit my hair on fire. I never could figure out why you all just didn’t give in back then.”

“He was eighteen and going off to college, and Lilly was too young,” Mama replied. “They both had to grow into who they were supposed to be before they could come together. Never would’ve worked otherwise.”

Lilly sat back and stared. “How long have you thought this?”

Wiping her mouth gently, Mama then crossed her legs. “I suppose it was the day he left for college. I remember, we were all standing in the driveway as he loaded up his car, and the two of you were miserable. You both would steal glances at one another and then frown. I knew then that the connection you two had wasn’t going to be severed by time and space. Turns out I was right.”

Lilly shrugged and started eating. There wasn’t much she could say because Mama was right, just like she always was. There had always been something between her and Brock, and the last week had shown her what it could possibly become. Lord have mercy.

***

Lilly left her mama and Lucy discussing recipes and headed for her car. As she walked down the sidewalk, she saw Brock coming toward her. A little flutter in her tummy told her she wasn’t any more immune to him than when she was a girl. He sure was handsome in his uniform. All those rippling muscles were shown off beautifully as he took long strides in her direction. “Hey, there,” she called. “You comin’ to eat some of Lucy’s good food?”

“I wish.” Opening his arms, he enveloped her in a tight embrace. “I’m on duty and heading over to the fire station.”

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