Page 83 of Lorenzo & Lily

“Lily?”

Her breath caught.

“Lily, I know you’re awake.” Her back was turned, but she could sense him walking towards her in the dark.

She whispered, though there was no reason to. “Is it Liliana?”

“No, she’s asleep.”

“How many stories did it take?”

There was humour in his voice. “Only two.” He sat down on the bed behind her and placed a hand on her hip; his touch seared through her clothes and sent a spark of heat through her.

“Most of my family seemed to welcome you.”

“Yes, they seemed to.”

A pause. “I’ll speak to my parents. I don’t think they were welcoming enough.”

She tensed. “Don’t. They were fine.”

“They weren’t fine. They were acting.”

She gasped. “What?”

“I don’t think they were serious about accepting you. I’m worried it was all for show, because Liliana was there.”

Her eyes welled up. She thought she’d finally made it, that she could finally bury the secret once and for all. “Maybe they just need more time to accept me.”

“They don’t get time. I accept you. That’s all they need to know.”

She once again thought of Genevieve’s hug and whispered apology. If that had been an act, it had been an amazing one. “No. No, I don’t think you’re right. Maybe they haven’t fully accepted me yet, but I believe they want to.”

“You’re saying you know my family better than me?”

She avoided the disbelief in his tone. “I’m saying I looked into your father and mother’s eyes when they greeted me. Your mother’s hug…I don’t think I’ll ever forget that. It was too sincere to be an act.”

“Perhaps.”

She had to believe they meant it. She had to believe they were finally moving beyond the past. She had to.

Shehadto.

A tear slid down her cheek and she wiped it away.

“You’re crying.”

“No, I’m not. Go away.”

“You’re upset. With me?”

“No!” she said quickly. “I’m not upset with you. You were wonderful tonight. I couldn’t have made it through without you.”

He laid down and spooned her from behind. “Then I’ll stay until the darkness leaves.”

“It’ll never leave,” she whispered.

He just held her tighter. “It will tonight. Eventually, over time, it will fade away until only a shadow remains. Even then, when it haunts you, I’ll be there to chase it away again.”

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