Page 65 of For My Finale
Lilah snatched back, her face white as snow. Blossom turned to see Daisy rolling her eyes.
“For heaven’s sake, half the village already knows,” Daisy said, putting her hands on her hips. “It’s not as though you can keep a secret for long around here.”
“But…” Lilah began.
“But nothing, you’ve nothing to worry about,” Daisy said. “It’s not as though we’re going to be calling People magazine, whatever you might think. We all know your business, but it’ll stay in the village. Now where’s that tonic? Gloria’s about to garrote someone for a G and T.”
Lilah groaned. “Oh, God.”
Blossom laughed and wrapped an arm around Lilah’s waist. “Hey, at least we don’t have to be so careful anymore.”
“You should remember that the cafe has big windows,” Daisy said, hefting the crate into her arms. “You nearly gave poor George a heart attack the other day. He doesn’t watch anything spicier than Songs of Praise.” And she shuffled out carrying the tonic water.
THE PARTY WAS winding down, laughter and music fading into the warm evening air. Daisy slung an arm around Arty’s shoulder and grinned at Blossom. “You two lovebirds get out of here, we’ve got the clean up covered.”
Blossom didn’t argue. She felt light, exhilarated, happy that things were finally going her way. She spotted Lilah standing by the counter, looking oddly preoccupied, and moved toward her instinctively. She slipped her arm through Lilah’s, pressing her close.
“Come on, you mysterious woman,” Blossom whispered. “Take me home, I’ve got some thanking to do.”
Lilah’s lips curved into a smile. “I’d almost forgotten about that,” she said.
Blossom led her toward the big cafe door, opening it and letting Lilah go out first.
The moment they stepped outside, a blinding light exploded in front of them.
For a stunned second, Blossom thought it was lightning. But then came the voices, loud and urgent, cutting through the stillness of the night.
“Lilah! Lilah Paxton! Over here!”
“Lilah, why did you run?”
“What brought you to Bankton, Lilah?”
Blossom flinched as another round of flashes burst in front of them. Cameras. Dozens of them. The shouting grew louder, overlapping, relentless.
Lilah moved fast. Her arm tightened around Blossom, pulling her closer, her other hand instinctively reaching up to shield Blossom’s face from the cameras. “Keep your head down,” Lilah murmured, voice tight. “Just walk.”
Blossom obeyed, her heart hammering, letting Lilah guide her as they pushed forward. The journalists swarmed closer, shoving a microphone toward them, blocking their path until Lilah shoved them aside.
“Lilah, are you coming back?”
“Who’s your friend?”
“Is this the new girlfriend, Lilah?”
Lilah kept her head low, jaw clenched, her grip firm as she navigated them both through the chaos. Blossom’s breath was coming in quick, shallow bursts, and she didn’t know if it was panic or fury tightening her chest.
They moved fast, breaking through the crowd and turning the corner onto the village path. They didn’t stop moving until they were well away, until the night was quiet again. Lilah finally slowed. Her face was taut.
“They found you,” Blossom said, voice barely above a whisper.
“Yeah,” was all Lilah said.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Lilah sat at her kitchen table, staring into the depths of her mug as steam curled into the cool morning air. She couldn’t bring herself to check the gossip pages, couldn’t bring herself to see what the press had made of last night. So here she sat, lost in her own thoughts, knowing what she had to do but still seeking a way out of it all, a happy ending for everyone.
She’d promised Blossom no publicity, no chaos. She’d promised herself that she could make this work, that she could be someone else, someone simpler, someone settled. And look what had happened. The press had been waiting outside the cafe like wolves scenting blood.
