Page 94 of Lily In The Valley
“She ain’t wrong,” Nyah added, sipping something dark and dangerous.
Wesley narrowed his eyes. “So, you’re team Kendrick?”
“I’m team talent,” Lynn replied. “And taste. Which you have neither.”
The tension between them crackled. Not mean. Not warm either. Something in between — like they hadn’t decided yet if they liked or loathed each other. It was going to be fun to watch. Meanwhile, Maverick could barely keep his eyes off Nyah.
She caught him staring once and quirked a brow. “You got something to say or are you just collecting images for later?”
He choked again on his drink. “I mean—damn. Okay.”
She laughed, genuinely this time, and he looked like he’d just found religion.
“You always that forward?” he asked.
“Only when I’m bored,” she said, walking away toward the bar.
He watched her go, eyes wide, mouth slightly open.
“Mav,” Wesley muttered. “You alright?”
“She’s–”
“Better hydrate,” I added. “She’s married.”
I stepped out for some air. The patio was quiet. String lights hung above the fence, glowing soft like candlelight. I leaned against the railing, drink in hand, breathing deep. Then I heard her behind me.
“Figured I’d find you out here,” she said. “Got tired of losing to me?”
“I let you win.”
She shrugged. “I still won.”
I nodded. “What’s on your mind, Lily-girl?”
“You ever think about how we always find each other in between things?” she asked.
I turned to her. “What do you mean?”
“In between life chapters. In between other people. In between the versions of ourselves we’re still figuring out.”
I had. Often.
“You make it sound like an accident,” I said.
“Isn’t it?”
“No,” I said. “It’s a pattern.”
She looked up at me then, face lit by soft yellow light. “Patterns don’t lie,” she said quietly.
“No,” I agreed. “But they do ask questions.”
She sipped her drink. “You ever get tired of wondering?”
“Every day.”
We didn’t kiss. We didn’t touch. Just lingered round each other. Something passed between us. The kind of tension that wasn’t about sex. Or nostalgia. It was about recognition. Of what we could be if we ever caught each other at the right time.
