Page 6 of Lily, Unwritten

“I love you. Thank you.” I smiled as my fingers ran through that luscious hair. They seemed to travel there of their own accord.

“Anytime, but we’d better go in because your dad’s watching us through the window, and he always get twitchy when I kiss you.” Zack’s eyes flashed dark with mischief. “And I really, really want to kiss you.”

“Ha! You’ll be the same with your baby girls if boys try to kiss them.” I teased as we headed to the front door, hand in hand.

Mum had cooked beautiful roast beef for us but in an absolute disaster, with the potential to destroy a perfectly happy Sunday, the wonderful, homemade gravy had been spilled all over the floor. Zack and my dad were busy on mop-up duty, so I offered to nip out and solve the great gravy crisis. I knew what I was going to do as soon as I offered. I knew it was stupid, but I was doing it anyway. Since when had stupidity stopped me?

After I bought a tub of instant gravy, and a bunch of flowers to say thank you for the meal, I drove a different route back. I parked the car on the opposite side of the road, further back from Luke’s house and turned the engine off. I felt like an absolute stalker. I just wanted to see it, his home. Luke’s car wasn’t even there; he wasn’t in, not that I would have gone near him if he had been, for his sake as much as mine. I knew that house as if it were my own, and now, I’d never go back inside. This is ridiculous, Lily. I rubbed my hands over my face, closed my eyes for a second, then started the engine and headed back to Zack and my parents, a dull ache in the pit of my stomach.

When Zack and I finally got home later that evening it felt as if we’d been gone for weeks, rather than since Friday.

“I can’t believe it’s work tomorrow; I’m worn out.” I flopped my head down onto Zack’s chest.

“I think next weekend we should just hibernate in here together. We need a bit of quiet time.” He kissed the top of my head.

“That’s the best plan I’ve heard in ages. Do you mind if I go straight up to bed now, though?”

“Do you mind if I come with you?” he asked, his voice low with enquiry.

“I was counting on it…”

Three

I wouldn’t say I came to terms with how things had ended with Luke, but I did begin to work out how to live my normal life around it.

Zack and I settled back into our day-to-day routine, and I remembered how much I loved it. Every morning, we’d awake snarled up in each other’s bodies from the night before. We ate breakfast together; we stood side by side at the large bathroom mirror as we did our hair and grinned at each other like love struck teenagers. At work it was rare to have anything to do with each other, but there would be heart-warming smiles and glances if we passed each other in the city center office. Then it was back home to cook tea, curl up on the couch and then, invariably, one of us would make a move to lure the other into bed. Thankfully, things felt a lot more natural there also.

On Thursday afternoon, I was tucked away in an upstairs meeting room as I planned the office rota for the next month.

The heatwave rolled on, relentless and wicked. Nobody seemed able to work to their full capability as we all felt the toll of restless nights. Warmth like this was glorious if you were in a beer garden or relaxing at the beach, but it was smothering when you were in a busy office full of worried clients and overworked solicitors. My phone pinged and I was glad of the distraction as I pulled it from my bag, smiling at the gorgeous photo on the lock screen, which showed Zack and I beaming into a selfie outside of the elephant enclosure at the zoo.

How many brownie points do I have at the moment for being an amazing boyfriend? x

Erm, about four million! Why? What are you after? If it’s that thing you brought up last night in bed, I said I’d think about it! x

Where are you? Keep talking like that and I’ll have to come find you x

Save that thought for later x

I know we said we’d hibernate together this weekend. But is it OK if I go out Friday night and then I promise I’m all yours the rest of the weekend?

You don’t have to ask permission, of course it’s fine. Just don’t throw up when you get home. x

Definitely won’t. Will have plans for you x

What has got into you? x

Mostly the idea of getting into you to be honest. Are you complaining? x

Never. Meeting Room D x

Be there in two minutes! X

Knowing that Zack would be out on Friday night, it seemed a good opportunity to catch up with Hannah. She’d confessed that it was actually Zack’s thirtieth birthday she wanted to discuss, hence trying to get me alone.

Hannah arrived just as Zack was preparing to leave. “You look nice,” she said as she ruffled his hair, interrupting his rummage through the sideboard for his house keys. “Where are you off to?”

“You know that new bar, where they make the cocktails in potion bottles?” He frowned and fixed his hair back into place as he spoke.

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