Page 26 of I Love a Good Challenge

“Did . . . she love you back?” Rafe continues, his voice incredulous.

If I thought I was right in trying to avoid this conversation before, my instinct proves correct when I realize it’s hitting rock bottom for him to question it. “I thought she did.”

Rafe’s hand brushes through his hair. I hear him speak in French under his breath. He stares across the street. My friend seems beside himself. I think of suggesting we drop the conversation and just continue to the tailor’s shop. Discreetly, I check my watch. In four minutes, we’ll be late, and even more alarms will go off between the four of us.

Before I can speak, Rafe turns to me. “Dit moi. Tell me.”

Scratching the back of my neck, I release a sigh. “There’s nothing to tell. I had a ring in my jacket pocket; she saw it and went home. Back here. She said what I thought were mutual feelings were one-sided. I never heard from her again.”

“A ring? C’est impossible! You wanted to marry her?” Rafe hops up like he just can’t help himself. His fingers move as if simultaneously playing an invisible piano near his legs while also strumming an air guitar.

I count nearly to twenty by the time he settles beside me again, his face lined with distress. Because of course he is—just as I was for him when he wasn’t sure how things would turn out with Sparrow. Except, now Rafe is about to get married, while I’ve felt the sting of what happens when things don’t work out. When no one fights for you. When there’s no forgiveness to be found.

My eyes burn, and I want so badly to clear my throat. I wanted to marry Lily so much that it made me sick when I realized it couldn’t happen. I feel his hand rest on my shoulder. I look around the little streets of Birch Borough, a far cry from the city, but they are still places in which I have found refuge.

“Graham, I’m sorry. I really am.”

And I know he means it. Giving a slight nod, I make eye contact and try my best to grin. I know it looks forced, but I try.

“So . . . you . . . moved here despite everything? I mean, I can’t say I’m unhappy you did because, wow, it’s changed my life. But this just feels like torture for you.” Rafe’s eyes widen, and I see the reality of my situation sinking into his brain.

I know how to put it into perspective for him. “Wouldn’t you have done the same if Sparrow was torn from your life, and this was all you had left of her?”

He doesn’t have to answer me.

“I know it seems ridiculous, but I didn’t think she’d be here. I had reasons to think she wouldn’t be here.” I sigh. “Still, I should’ve told you sooner. I’m sorry I didn’t. But when I realized she was still here, and you had already met Sparrow . . . I just couldn’t . . . I . . .” There’s no need to finish my train of thought. Rafe gets it.

“What are you going to do?” His words echo throughout the approaching evening. The weather is causing me to shiver a bit as it wrestles with the lingering chill of winter to allow it to turn fully into spring.

“I’m going to get fitted for a new suit—even though I already have a closetful. I’m going to stand beside you and be happy for you. Then I’m going to leave town if Lily wins the bet she dared me to. Considering my counter challenge is for her to keep herself from falling in love with me again, there’s no hope for winning. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you’re married and safely tucked away in your new home first. Not ever kicking you to the curb, man.”

I stand and am a bit relieved when Rafe steps in line beside me. A warm glow from the shop’s interior is within reach when Rafe tugs on my arm. “Graham, I’m not one to give you false hope. I hope you know that.”

My jaw clenches, and I nod, expecting the worst.

“But I’ve seen the way Lily looks at you. And I think what may feel like scorn is, instead, proof of how much she cares.”

Before I can respond or process the monumental words Rafe just dropped into the air between us, his focus shifts to the smiling woman waving through the shop window.

“Go on,” I tell him.

He bounds up the steps and into the shop like a man in love. Through the glass, I watch his reaction. His expression is in awe of Sparrow. He grabs her hand and twirls her around in a dress (not a wedding gown), laughing as he pulls her close. He whispers something in her ear just as Lily emerges from behind a curtain in the back that must serve as a dressing room. Rafe and Sparrow react to her arrival with obvious enthusiasm. Instead of turning to them, she looks around the shop. Her hesitant expression seems almost as if she’s looking for someone. A level of vulnerability flashes across her face. I see a flash of the woman I once knew so well, and my heart immediately clenches.

Could she be looking for me?

Cracking my neck, I walk up the steps and open the door. Immediately, I am hit with the force of Lily’s stare.

Knowing I am about to be near her again has me so on edge that I just now catch sight of what she’s wearing. She is so beautiful that I can’t even speak. On Lily’s slender form is draped a black satin gown, halter-style, with a sort of collar around the top that resembles a large choker. Even though the fabric circles her neck, the deep V mesmerizes me. Before I can think better of it, my greedy mind takes in the rest of the gown. It molds perfectly to her waist, showing off the curve of her hips before it flares out and down. The hem hovers just off the floor. Her toes peek out with a light blue nail color that I know I’ll try to find in the sky tomorrow.

Must get a grip.

Heat creeps through my hand with an intense flash. I want to reach out and touch the curve of her waist to see if the feeling is different from when she’s worn clothes in another material.

“George.” She states the word as a fact more than a greeting. Her tone shakes the rogue thought from my mind.

“Lily.” My voice doesn’t crack, and I take that for the win that it is.

“I thought you’d have enough suits by now that you wouldn’t need this appointment.” She lifts her brow.

---