Page 76 of Everything After
“No, only three,” I agreed.
“Okay, will you take care of their invitation or should I. Who are they?”
“Sienna, Kara and Poppy,” I said with a sheepish grin.
“Any particular reason?” Lily asked, her tone stilted like she was swallowing an argument for Sienna not to come.
“Yeah, I want to catch up with Kara and Poppy. I really want to get them settled. Ever since I made my money, I’ve wanted to find them and help her.”
“And Sienna?” she probed.
“I could have said more about Cody, but I’d tried to be the bigger man. Besides, Gary was Sienna’s brother, and I kind of feel some responsibility for her. I mean, she’s single, her parents passed, and she doesn’t have anyone else… apart from Kara and Poppy. I can hardly invite them without inviting Sienna. After all, they’re living in her house.”
“Right,” Lily muttered, nodding as she considered my reasoning. When she began to slightly rock back and forth, I realized how uncomfortable my invitation was for her.
“If we’re talking about trust, and I’m willing to tolerate Cody, I figured you might meet me halfway and do the same courtesy for me with Sienna.”
“But I’ve never slept with Cody,” Lily insisted.
Changing position, I looked into Lily’s suspicious eyes and tried to swallow back my frustration. “Jesus, I was a boy then, and it wasn’t at all memorable,” I argued. “But if it’s going to upset you that much, scratch the three of them off your list,” I conceded without a hint of malice.
Lily’s worried eyes searched my face, and I saw the moment they softened. “No, you’re right. This is my hangup. Since the day we married, you’ve never given me cause to worry about being unfaithful.”
I smiled, cupped her face in my hands and slowly pressed a kiss to her lips. “Baby, I’d have to be stupid to swap out what we have for anything else. As Sinéad O’Conner once sang, “Nothing Compares 2 U.”
Lily dropped her forehead to mine and swallowed audibly. “I’m so thankful we worked things out, Alfie Black, because you’re my everything.”
Standing, I pulled my wife to her feet. “Dance with me,” I said. “It feels like forever since I had you in my arms on a dance floor.”
“Well, you’d better get in quick if you want it to be a slow close-up one. You won’t be able to get near me in another few months.”
Bending, I swiped the music system’s remote control from the coffee table, switched it on and instantly “Baby Don’t Hurt Me” by David Guetta filled the room. It was the song that had been playing when I’d last turned it off.
Lily leaned back, glanced up at me and the instant connection we shared was immediately there between us. “Fuck that,” I muttered and pressed shuffle.
A wide grin spread on our lips simultaneously when “Come a Little Closer” by Dierks Bentley began to play. “Now you’re talking,” I said, sliding one arm around Lily’s waist while the other cradled her head. Pulling her closer, I held her flush with my body, dipped my knees, and whispered close in her ear, “You are my life, Lily Black.”
When she lifted her head to look at me, tears shone in her eyes. Stopping, she reached up and pulled my head down. “Ditto, Mr. Black.”
CHAPTER 44
LILY
PARTY DAY
“What time is it?” I asked, waking with a start. I stretched out on our bed.
Alfie cracked one eye open and tried to focus on me. “Huh?”
“It’s noisy downstairs. Someone’s here. What time is it?” I repeated as I lifted onto my elbows to see the clock on his nightstand.
“Jeez, it’s almost 11:00 a.m.” I moved to roll out of the bed, but Alfie’s arms wrapped around me, and he dragged me back.
“No,” he insisted, cupping my head under his chin and wrapping himself around me like a koala bear.
“Yes, we must get up and shower. I told everyone any time after 1:00 p.m.”
“Rick won’t be here until at least 3:30, he never sees midday.”
