Page 31 of Indiscretion

Chapter 9

NAOMI

“This place is amazing.” I looked around Ben and Lily’s living room. “I can’t believe you’ve only been here a few weeks.”

“Ben’s sister is an interior designer, and she picked out all the accessories, like the throw pillows and window treatments,” Lily explained. “I love the way it came out, but don’t go upstairs to the bedrooms because those look worse than a guy’s freshman dorm. Even with Daria’s discount, it’s a fortune, so we’ve only done the downstairs so far.”

Two days after Ben and Lily returned from their honeymoon, they’d moved from a tiny apartment on the Upper East Side to a brownstone they bought in Brooklyn Heights. A few weeks later, they were already throwing a housewarming party.

“Grab the cutting board out of that cabinet for me, please.” Lily pointed. “I still have to cut up the cheeses, make the salad, and—shoot, I didn’t preheat the oven for the appetizers. People are going to start showing up any minute. Oh, and I can’t forget to chop up the stupid coconut for Dawson.”

“Dawson’s coming?”

Lily frowned. “Yeah. I’m sorry if that bothers you. He’s Ben’s best friend, so I really didn’t have a choice.”

“Yeah, of course.” I’d assumed Dawson would be invited, but hearing confirmation that I was going to see him made me a little nervous. Though I had no real reason to be. “It’s fine.”

“I still think he’s a jerk for not hiring you.”

I sighed. “I really can’t blame him.”

Lily grabbed a coconut from the counter behind her and took out a big knife.

“What’s with that guy and coconuts?” I asked. “He brought a big bag of shredded coconut with him to Michigan for your wedding.”

“He’s oddly obsessed with it. He chops up a fresh one every day and makes his own coconut water. If you want his attention, just rub one on your hands. I swear, he’ll salivate like Pavlov.”

I chuckled. “I’m pretty sure Pavlov was the scientist, not the dog. And I think I’ll pass on rubbing anything on myself for that man. Though I will take care of cutting up that coconut and everything else you need chopped. You do whatever else you need to do.”

“You sure you don’t mind?”

“Not at all.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

Lily ran around the house straightening things. When she was done, we worked side by side, prepping the serving trays with everything I’d cut up.

“Any luck on your interviews?” she asked.

I shook my head. “Maybe I should change careers and get out of law completely, become a nurse or something.”

“You passed out when I sliced my finger open that time we volunteered for a beach cleanup.”

“True. Maybe a teacher? Summers off sounds good.”

Lily sighed. “Yes, but you love working in law.”

“You know what I love more?”

“What?”

“Being able to eat. The legal fees after everything happened really depleted what I’d put away. Even staying on my sister’s couch, my savings isn’t going to last much longer. And I’ll need to find my own place to live at some point—maybe sooner than later because on the way here I found myself humming Barry Manilow, and the other day I realized I know all the words to a Neil Diamond song.”

Lily laughed. “Your sister has the worst taste in music. How is she feeling?”

“Tired. Treatments really take a lot out of her. But she’s holding her own and still going to work and stuff.”

Ben came down from upstairs looking freshly showered. He kissed Lily’s forehead and walked over to rub my shoulders while I chopped.

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