Page 69 of The Summer Swap

“I know that wasn’t what you meant. Now you’re here, I don’t want you to disappear again back to Boston. I want to spend time with you.”

She gently removed her hand from his. She hadn’t given much thought to how long she’d be staying. She was taking it day by day.

“I’m not disappearing yet, but if you’re saying what I think you’re saying, then it’s—too soon, Seth.”

He smiled. “I’m seventy-six, Ceci. There is no such thing as too soon, only too late. And I don’t want to leave it too late. Neither do you. And it’s not as if this is a new relationship. Two dates in one day are perfectly acceptable when two people have known each other for as long as we have.” As always, he made her laugh.

“You always were impossible to argue with. And sure of yourself.”

“About some things. Not about others. Dinner. Your place. I’ll bring the wine. I’ll bring the food, too, if that helps sway the odds in my favor.”

She thought about Lily. Todd. The explanations. “You’re forgetting I have houseguests.” And she was still adjusting to that. She’d come to the cottage expecting to be alone and suddenly she was sharing the space with two people. But it was hard to feel sorry about that when they were both such delightful people.

He nodded. “In that case I’ll cook. Come and see my apartment.”

It was tempting. “Not tonight.”

“Tomorrow, then.”

She laughed. “Do you ever give up, Seth?”

“I did that once, and I’ve always regretted it. It’s not going to happen again.”

She felt something stir inside her and she wasn’t sure if it was fear or excitement. Maybe a mixture of both. What did this mean? Where would it lead? He’d broken her heart once before.

She almost laughed at herself. She should be long past the stage of guarding her heart, surely?

“Not tomorrow, but soon.” She immediately felt nervous. “What am I going to say to Lily and Todd?”

He laughed. “I think you’re past the age of making excuses for being out late at night.”

“Maybe.”

But an explanation would be expected, she knew that.

And that could be awkward. Even more awkward would be explaining to Lily what she’d done with her paintings.

14

Lily

“You showed him my paintings? Without telling me?” Lily put her coffee mug down and stared at Cecilia. It was horrifying to think of her work being assessed by a stranger. Like stripping naked and walking into a crowded shopping mall. She wished now she hadn’t shown them to Cecilia. It was so personal. Painting was her joy and her escape. She didn’t want that ruined by someone trampling all over it and telling her she had no talent.

“I thought if I told you, you’d be anxious. Also, you would have tried to talk me out of it and then I would have found myself being in the difficult position of going against your wishes. Easier to beg for forgiveness. He wants to meet you.” Cecilia took a jug from the cabinet and filled it with water. “He wants to see more. This is good, Lily. An opportunity. Try not to look as if you’re being tortured.”

“It’s terrifying.”

“It shouldn’t be. He’s very excited about your work.”

A stranger was excited about her work. A stranger who owned a gallery.

Lily felt something inside her lift, but she was afraid to hope.

“But you know this guy. He’s a friend, so he would say that. He’s doing you a favor.” She eyed the bunch of cheerful sunflowers that had arrived an hour before. They’d been accompanied by a note, which Cecilia had read with a quiet smile and then promptly slipped into the pocket of her linen dress.

Lily’s brain was buzzing with questions but felt it would be intrusive to ask them.

Cecilia arranged the flowers in the jug, snipping stems and moving them around until she was satisfied. “I’ve known him for a long time, although we haven’t seen each other for many years.”

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