Page 46 of For the Love of Lily

Zack opened the door before I could get my key out and wrapped me in his arms. “I missed you so much,” he squeezed me as he spoke.

“Bless you, it was only one night. Ugh, the house stinks.” The stench of testosterone, alcohol and cigars hit me as I stepped inside. “Good time I take it?”

“I’m dying,” he pulled a sad face. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Did you gamble all our prized possessions away?” I teased as we cuddled up on the couch together.

“It’s all a bit blurry to be honest, think we’re safe though,” he smiled. “How about you? Get up to much?”

“Cassie’s struggling with not falling pregnant, she just needed me to listen, I think,” I lied and felt hideous for it.

“She’s the same age as us. Does it make you worry about when we want babies?” he asked.

What was going on? Talk of stag do’s yesterday, babies today. Was he planning to propose? “No, what’s going on with Cassie is pretty rare. We have loads of time,” I smiled.

“I’d like a few, that’s all,” Zack kissed me with a grin. “You know I love my big family.”

“I’m not past my prime yet, calm down,” I joked.

“Maybe we could talk about plans and the future soon?” he asked, with big, beautiful eyes as he reached for me. His kisses became more and more insistent as his hands wandered into my clothes.

“Let’s go upstairs,” I whispered into his ear. “I’ve got something better to do than talk.”

Back at work on Monday, my direct line rang for what felt like the fiftieth time. “Hello, Caddel & Boone. Lily speaking,” I trilled, in my well-rehearsed work voice.

“Hi, I’m ringing from Draper & Hughes, not sure if you’ve heard of us?” spoke a deep voice from down the line. I smiled to myself, recognising it immediately as Luke.

“Yes, we’re aware of the firm. How can I direct your call today?” I responded, trying to channel the sexiest voice I could muster.

“I think you know precisely where I want to be directed to,” Luke teased me.

“That’s not always possible without scheduling a meeting I’m afraid,” I lowered my voice and held the phone close to me.

“And if I scheduled a meeting, the two of us, would you come?”

“I could check the diary. Small meetings like that can be arranged out of hours,” I responded, trying to keep my breathing steady.

“I don’t know if you could handle me out of hours.”

“You’d be surprised at what we can handle here.” I kept my eyes down on the desk, hoping nobody was paying attention.

“I miss you, Lily Forshaw, I hope that soon I’ll find out exactly what you can handle.” Then he ended the call. I felt giddy, hot and silly. I knew it was ridiculous that I was at my desk, downstairs from Zack, having been hugely turned on by a two-minute phone call. I also knew Luke’s words had been right, we were going to reach a point of no return. The two of us felt… inevitable.

Zack drove us home after work, chattering away about plans for the weekend. I realised I had to start to try to explain the situation to him. The world felt peaceful and I was the monster about to tear it all down.

Within minutes of getting home, he began banging around in the kitchen. He was so messy whenever he cooked; I found it endearing in a weird way. He put so much enthusiasm into it, he didn’t see the chaos afterwards.

I walked through to the kitchen, taking a seat at the breakfast bar. I smiled as a large wine was held out in my direction. “I think I’d make a great house husband.” He opened the oven, peering inside as he adjusted the temperature.

“I couldn’t afford you,” I tried to join in, but I didn’t know how to act or broach this conversation. It looked like he was planning to cook something lovely, and I knew I couldn’t eat. I took a massive gulp of the wine, trying to drown my apprehension.

“You OK? You look stressed?”

I nodded my head and looked down at the worktop. “I need to talk to you.”

He immediately put everything down and came and sat on the bar stool next to me. We’d had such fun choosing these together. Tears welled up in my eyes, over a bloody bar stool. “Hey, what’s wrong? What’s happened?” He put his arm around me and hugged me to him. “You can talk to me, you know that.”

“I’ve done something, and I don’t know how to tell you.” I grabbed a tissue and wiped my eyes.

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