Page 4 of What Love Can Do

“It’s frying pan into the fire, dear,” Mrs. Delfino corrected, breaking apart the last piece of lemon-blueberry and giving half to her husband. “Why do you say it, though? Does it drive you insane to be out here in the middle of nowhere? Don’t get me wrong…it is absolutely gorgeous!”

“Gorgeous.”

“Insanely spectacular!”

“Insanely.” Mr. Delfino pressed a cloth napkin to his mouth.

“But if I were you, I would go a little nutso here all the time. The vineyards are really pretty, but Jerry and I need to be close to the city. We need arts and restaurants. We need culture, museums…”

“We need the train. Nearby. All the time. Though this is pretty. Very, very pretty.”

“I get what you mean. Trust me, I do,” Lilly said, fascinated by the timber of their voices and the lovely way they finished each other’s thoughts. She checked to see what her mom was doing and found her in quiet discussion with Mellie in the corner, the surefire sign that something juicy was going on in town. Juicy for Mom anyway. To Lilly, it was all old hat. Someone was getting married, someone got fired, someone new was hired at one of the local wineries, on and on. Honestly, it got ridiculously boring after a while. She leaned into the Delfinos. “Can you keep a secret?”

“Can we keep a secret?” Mrs. Delfino’s shoulders shook. “Honey, do you even know who you’re talking to?”

“Queen of Secrets,” Mr. Delfino said.

“Like a tomb.” Mrs. Delfino zipped her lip and threw away the key.

“Okay…” Lilly rested on her elbows. “Last month, I entered a baking contest sponsored by Food Network.”

“And you got pregnant?”

“What? No.” Lilly recoiled. What the hell?

“Sorry, go on…”

“So, I just got the call this morning…”

“That call?” Mrs. Delfino narrowed her eyes.

“Yes. I won!” Lilly beamed. “Out of five hundred some contestants, they narrowed it down to twenty. I went last month for an interview at my old college, where they did a baking test, and I just got word today that I won an internship with Guy Santoli, the head pastry chef of L’Appetite Boulange! I leave in three weeks!”

“That’s wonderful! Where will you be going?” Mrs. Delfino asked.

“Miami. I’ve never even been outside of California!” Lilly tried to keep her voice hushed.

Mrs. Delfino’s eyeballs ogled her. “What? Such a pretty girl, with that body and that face, and you’ve never been outside of California? Unbelievable. Look at that body! Jerry, would you look at that body.”

“I’m lookin’, I’m lookin’…”

What having a nice body and face had anything to do with leaving your home state was anyone’s guess, but Lilly just shrugged and reveled in having finally just told her first people the great news! Yes, a bit of guilt jabbed at her that she hadn’t told Mom first, but Mom wasn’t exactly the most supportive about her leaving town.

“I think that’s great what you young women are doing, being on your own for some time, advancing your careers. I do, don’t get me wrong, but it’s a lot of stress. What you really need is a man…” Mrs. Delfino sipped from her teacup. “A rich man to support you while you open your own business. You have lots of freedom, you have lots of babies—BINGO!”

“Bingo,” her husband agreed.

“That’s what you do.” Mrs. Delfino reached out and squeezed Lilly’s forearm. As misguided as her advice was, there was a sincere sweetness in her hazel eyes. “I’m not telling you what to do. I’m just saying.”

“I know what you mean,” Lilly said, leaving it at that. What she needed was to get out of Green Valley, see the world…Hell, just seeing her own country would be great, and she could do that with or without a man. “I’m dying to go places.”

“Like where? Tell me.”

Lilly turned her attention out the window. “Rome would be nice.”

“Ooo, my grandparents came from Rome. Beautiful city, but old. Very old. Where else?”

“Australia. London—I’m dying to go to London. And Hawaii. So close, yet so far. We work all the time, so it’s not easy to just up and go. But I will soon. In three weeks!” Lilly said, folding and unfolding a napkin over and over. For the first time in forever, she had something to feel excited about, and Miami was the perfect place to get her fresh start.

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