Page 36 of For My Finale
Blossom let out a breath, shaking her head slightly. “Alright, fine. What do I do then?”
Now they were getting somewhere. Lilah sat back again, pleased with herself. Look at her helping. “First thing’s first, you probably need a business plan. Then, you should talk to the bank about securing some funds to keep you afloat while you make a strategy.”
Blossom’s lips twitched in amusement. “And you know that how?”
“Played an accountant in a movie once,” Lilah said airily.
“Of course you did,” Blossom laughed.
Lilah crossed her arms, satisfied. “The point is, you need to stop burying your head in the sand. I know that you’re Little Miss Sunshine and you don’t want to let the negative vibes destroy your energy or whatever, but this is serious. You’ve got options, you just have to take them.”
“Right, yes,” Blossom said, looking faintly ashamed. “You’re right. I’ll work on it.”
For a long moment, Lilah watched her. Then, much against her better judgment, she reached out and put a hand on Blossom’s shoulder. She could feel Blossom stiffen slightly, but she didn’t pull away. The little voice deep in her stomach told her that Blossom was probably interested in her. Lilah told the voice to shut the hell up.
“You’re a good person, Blossom. A… a special person. You have amazing qualities. You’re kind and generous, even to someone like me who can run over you in her self-involvement and not even notice. But I have noticed. You shouldn’t be so doubtful of yourself.”
“Easy for the great Lilah Paxton to say,” Blossom said.
Lilah squeezed her shoulder lightly. “I wasn’t always the great Lilah Paxton, you know?”
Blossom finally met her gaze, eyes searching Lilah’s as if looking for the truth in her words. Lilah gave her a smile that she hoped was reassuring, then reluctantly let go of her shoulder and stood up.
“I’ve not finished washing those trousers from the farm,” she said. “And there’s a Flim-Flam rehearsal tonight.”
“Am-Dram,” Blossom said. “And I know, I’ll be there. I deal with the snacks and act as prompt. Sometimes I help with the costumes. As for the trousers, I think you should ditch them.”
“Um, you might be right,” Lilah said. She let herself study Blossom’s face for a moment, the gold-flecked eyes, the strong chin. “Right, I’ll be seeing you later, I suppose.”
And she left.
Chapter Fifteen
Lilah walked briskly down the winding village path, clutching her phone tightly to her ear while keeping a wary eye on her surroundings. It was dusk, which seemed like a dangerous time. The sun was bleeding out in soft pinks and purples over the horizon, and everything was quiet. Too quiet. Suspiciously quiet.
Every rustle in the hedgerow made her shoulders tighten, every distant moo sent a shiver of paranoia down her spine. Billy the bull had traumatized her. She probably had some kind of Bull PTSD. She wasn’t about to let another farm animal sneak up on her.
“I’m begging you, darling, come back,” Margot’s voice purred in her ear, exasperation wrapped in silky persuasion. “This is getting ridiculous.”
“No,” said Lilah firmly, stepping around what she was ninety percent sure was just a large rock and not, say, a rogue badger waiting to pounce. “I’ve told you a thousand times, Margot. I’m not coming back.”
“You don’t have to commit, just test the waters. A couple of meetings, a couple of red carpets, maybe a tasteful staged paparazzi photo or two, a late night interview.”
“No.”
Margot sighed theatrically. “Is it money? Do you need more? A bigger house? A retreat? I don’t know, some sort of spiritualrehabilitation?”
Lilah snorted. “I’ve got more money than I know what to do with, and I don’t need rehab.” She thought about this for a second. “Yet.” She was developing a taste for the English beer in the pub. Arty pulled a good pint.
“Fine, right, well, is this some sort of Madonna-Guy Ritchie thing, then?” Margot asked.
“What?”
“You know, the whole ‘Hollywood star flees to the countryside to reinvent themselves and get a fake English accent and it all ends in a messy divorce’,” Margot said. “Because if that’s what this is, I can certainly work with it.”
Lilah rolled her eyes and picked up her pace, wondering how fast Billy could run. “It’s not that.”
“So you’re not in a relationship? Not keeping one hidden or anything?”
