Page 20 of I Love a Good Challenge

“Bunnies!”

A squeal from across the street causes both of us to turn our heads. We catch sight of a little girl with a white dress, face paint of a nose and whiskers swept across her face. She is nothing less than adorable. Her hair is blonde, almost the color of Lily’s, and something in my heart tugs at me.

Lily shakes her head slowly. She softens, bending to eye level with the little girl, who nearly collides with her, a big smile on her face.

“Hey, darlin’!” Lily says. I’m caught off guard by the easy way she seems to soften.

“Bunny!” the child declares again.

Lily laughs and waves at someone who must be the girl’s mother. The woman is slowly walking toward us with one hand on her growing stomach and another little boy holding tightly to her other hand.

“As a vegetarian, chocolate bunnies feel as though they should be against my moral code, but I can’t deny the people what they want. I think we’ve got some bunnies that need a good home, Leisel,” Lily says to her as she closes the distance.

I see that Lily’s eyes are unnaturally bright. And maybe she’s great at faking with everyone else, but I notice the way her expression, while friendly, is tight. It’s as if her own mask of face paint has been applied, pretending her smile is her real one and not her polite one.

Because Lily has at least eight different smiles. One for when she’s embarrassed. One for when she’s amused by something. One for when she’s holding back a laugh. One for when something is actually funny to her. One for her friends. One for when she’s playing. One for when she’s polite. And one for when she used to look at me.

The woman I now know is Leisel raises her free arm and gives a huge sigh. Her eyes widen as she looks between Lily and me, another grin tipping her mouth up.

“Oh, Leisel, this is . . .”

I know it’s killing her to have to say my name. To be honest, I don’t think I could handle hearing it on her tongue, so I rush in, stretching out my hand. “Graham. I’m Graham.”

“Leisel,” she says, a brightness in her tired eyes despite clearly being dragged around town by small, enthusiastic feet for today’s event. “And, yes, as in The Sound of Music.”

“Ah, I always did like that one.” I give her a wink and get some satisfaction as Lily starts chucking bunnies at kids who are starting to gather all around her. I’d help her pass out the candy, but I know she wouldn’t accept my offer if it meant her having to admit she couldn’t keep up on her own.

Leisel and I take a step back. Her children are now tucked behind her like little ducks. We stand and enjoy watching the chocolate bunny massacre of the year. Ears are bitten off, eyes are gone, feet are missing, and melted chocolate covers the mouths of many delighted faces.

Lily hovers in the middle of it all, looking like an angel and not like the woman who just told me she could take me in a boxing match.

“She’s all bark and no bite,” Leisel says with amusement. I let out a scoff. Her eyes widen. “Okay, so a bit of a bite.”

“How long have you known her?” I question without taking my eyes off the woman before us.

“Oh, ages. My husband went to school with the four of them—Sparrow, Lily, Ivy, and Grey.”

It’s not the first time I’ve heard about the four friends of Birch Borough, although it does strike me that I have yet to see many sightings of Ivy and Grey.

Leisel continues, “The four used to be inseparable, and you’ll still see them around each other quite a bit. But circumstances and life kind of paired them off. With Sparrow—or Rory, as Lily calls her—and Lily working together at the bakery so much, their families became more intertwined.”

I nod as if all this information is common to me, mainly to see if she’ll keep giving me the insider scoop.

“It was hard on Lily, you know, when her parents left. They’re such great people, but I think she’s felt the pressure to be perfect or to find her own adventure in life.”

While I know her parents now do humanitarian work overseas, I didn’t know their absence had been tough on Lily. Now, her past comments about needing to make her mark on the world make a bit more sense.

“Do you know anything about Edgar?” I barely manage to get out the words before we’re interrupted by the arrival of more screaming children.

Lily tenses as she registers more children approaching and turns to us. “George! Let’s go!”

With a quick apology as I wish Leisel and her kids a nice day, I jog to keep up with Lily’s retreating form.

“More bunnies,” she gasps into the fresh air.

“I don’t think this is part of my wedding duties,” I rebut.

Lily grunts. “Your wedding duties include easing the burden off Rory and Rafe. Right now, with Rory trying to hold down the café and me redirecting these young little heathens to eat their chocolates outside rather than inside our place, I’m doing us all a favor.”

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