Page 90 of Winter Nights at the Bay Bookshop
‘I’m so sorry for interrupting but can I say something first? You don’t owe me an apology. I owe you one. I’ve treated you so badly and you did nothing to deserve it. Yes, I overheard what you said and I had a meltdown…’
What she shared with me was a combination of what I’d worked out with some blanks filled in by Cassie, but neither of us had thought about Justin disappearing on his travels and staying away when Shelby was pregnant. With all of that circling around Lily’s head, no wonder she’d needed some space.
‘I did think it would have to be the end for us,’ she said and my heart sank. ‘I couldn’t bear the thought of yet another man leaving me and never returning but then I thought about who that man was and I know it would be different this time. This is you. Us. We’re meant to be together and I want to support you with your dreams as I know you want to support me with mine, so if you want to spend time in Iceland with your family and if you want to travel round the Nordic region, you absolutely should do that. Iwantyou to do that and I’ll be right here waiting. If I haven’t already screwed things up so badly that you don’t want me to be here waiting.’
Sharing all that with me had clearly taken it out of Lily. Tears had pooled in her eyes and she looked in desperate need of a hug. I could help with that as I needed one myself. Taking her hands in mine, I eased her to her feet and into my arms.
‘You haven’t screwed anything up,’ I reassured her.
We stood in silence for a while, just holding each other, but there was more to say and I reluctantly released her to sit down. I pulled my chair closer to hers and took hold of her hands again.
‘I never met Ewan and Wes but it’s obvious to me they were idiots because they walked away from you. Thing is, they’re also my heroes as their loss was my gain and I’ve no intention of ever letting you go. I’dneverchoose being somewhere else over you. Why would I want the world when you’re already my world? Yes, I want to spend some time in Iceland and I do have big plans to explore the Nordic countries but I don’t want to do those things on my own. I want to do them with you.’
‘You do?’
‘Of course! I know you’ve got the shop and I completely understand how important that is to you because I love it too, so I’m thinking we do our exploring during our holidays – a week here, a week there. It’s not all about what I want either. We haven’t talked about the places you dream of seeing so we need to include those too. My heritage is part-Icelandic and, yes, I do want to explore that but my roots are firmly in Whitsborough Bay. Why else would I have bought this house?’
‘It’s a beautiful house. Could do with some indoor furniture and a spot of colour but the tree’s a great start.’
‘I got it for you.’
‘The tree or the house?’ She winked at me, indicating that she was joking, but I took my chance.
‘Both, although I didn’t know that about the house at the time. I nearly didn’t buy it because it was a family home and I didn’t have a partner or a family, but now I do. I told myself I was dragging my heels on the design because I have zero creativity but I realised this week that it’s because I didn’t want this to be all about me. I wanted it to be about the person I was always meant to share it with. I’m hoping that person is you.’
Her eyes widened and she tightened her hold on my hands but she didn’t speak, so I continued.
‘You know I said I’d only put lights on the tree? That was a white lie. There’s one decoration on there and it’s especially for you.’
I followed her over to the tree where, between the branches, a shiny silver key dangled from a red ribbon.
‘Lily Appleton, I’d love you to move in with me. I want this to be our home, but only if and when you feel ready. There’s no rush to give me an answer now either but, if you think it’s something you’d like to do at some point, I’m willing to buy you as many canvases and paint samples as you want to create those mood boards for our very ownHouseof Dreams.’
I wasn’t sure whether she’d heard my reference to the fourth book in L. M. Montgomery’sseries –Anne’s House of Dreams– as she reached for the key and rested it in her palm, staring at it. My heart pounded. Had it been too much too soon?
49
LILY
I stared at the key in my hand – the key to Lars’s house, the house Mrs Mayflower had owned, the house I’d told her I wanted to live in when I grew up. Was this really happening? And had Lars just referencedAnne’s House of Dreams?
‘I dream of a home with a hearth-fire in it,’ Lars said, his voice soft, ‘a cat and dog, the footsteps of friends – andYOU!’
Another L. M. Montgomery reference!My heart melted. It was something Gilbert Blythe said inAnne of the Island, which meant Lars had read it. For me! I raised my eyes to Lars’s and that vulnerability was there. Did he think there was a chance I was going to say no? I was about to give my answer but he spoke first.
‘But if you don’t like the house, I can sell it and we can choose one together.’
‘You can’t sell this house, Lars. You wouldn’t have bought it if you didn’t love it so I’d never ask you to give up something you love. And you don’t need to anyway because it’s already the house of my dreams. I used to have piano lessons here…’
‘The Mayflowers were the people I bought the house from,’ Lars said when I’d finished telling him about my lessons, the ducks and the conversations with Mrs Mayflower about buying the house from her.
‘I’m so glad Mr Mayflower is still around, I wasn’t sure whether he’d ever recovered from his accident.’
‘He was paralysed from the waist down so he used a wheelchair but, as far as I know, he’s in good health. Their children were grown up and had moved out and the house was too big for just the two of them so they were downsizing.’ He ran his fingers through his hair. ‘I can’t believe you knew the ducks. That’s why I fell in love with this place…’
We returned to the table and he told me about his walks with his nanna and how they’d called the house Duckling Lodge.
‘The universe clearly wanted to match us from the very start,’ I said, stunned at his story. ‘What are the odds on both of us picking out the same house when we were kids?’ I closed my hand around the key and smiled at him tenderly as I added, ‘And ending up here together?’
