Three Wishes(97)
Author: Kristen Ashley

The following morning at the store, Maxie cornered her.

“What on earth is going on?”

It took effort but Lily lifted her eyes to Maxine’s. “Nothing,” she lied through her teeth. “Why do you ask?”

“Why do I… why…?” Maxie spluttered. “You’re marrying your dream man in two days and you look like hell. I’m sorry to say it but you do. You look pale, your eyes are all puffy. You should know, Fazire called me –”

“Don’t listen to Fazire. He doesn’t know what’s going on,” Lily broke in.

“Do you know what’s going on?” Maxie flashed back.

Lily responded automatically, “Nate’s an important man, a lot of people depend on him. He hasn’t had a holiday…” Lily stopped.

She had no idea when he’d last had a holiday. She had no idea about a lot of things about Nate.

What she did know was that he was guarded. What she did know was that he had secrets. What she did know was that, eight years ago he demanded that she move in and then promised her the world. Two weeks later, when she needed him the most, he broke all his promises and let her go. Now, eight years later, the same thing happened with slight differences. And, two months later…

What?

He’d warned her, she knew. He’d kept himself removed. He’d kept his distance. He’d planned for a time when she wouldn’t be in his life, nearly told her there would be a time but, besotted fool that she was, believing in genies and dreams and wishes, she hadn’t listened.

For the first time in years, she felt her confidence lying about her in tatters. She felt that she hadn’t lived up to whatever promise Nate had seen in her when he got her back. That this brilliant, rich, sophisticated, impossibly handsome man could never find what he needed in her.

Never.

“Just, please, Maxie. Let’s not talk about this. I’m getting a headache,” Lily finished on another lie something she was doing with alarming frequency these days.

Maxine bustled up close and looked Lily in the eyes. “Don’t give me that headache business, I know something’s not right and –”

Before she could finish, Lily’s mobile rang. It was sitting, face-up on the counter and both Maxie and Lily’s eyes swung to it.

The display said, “Nate Calling.”

Both Lily and Maxie reached for it. Luckily Lily got to it first for she knew Maxie, in her current mood, would probably make hideous matters far, far worse.

Lily hopped off her stool and swiftly rounded the counter, flipping open her phone and putting it to her ear.

“Nate?” she answered.

“Don’t you ever f**king hang up on me again and turn off the phones.”

Lily halted dead in her getaway from Maxie as Nate’s furious words hit her ear, his rage vibrating through her body like a lethal current.

He was the one who was out with an ex-girlfriend. He was the one who humiliated her on her own family room couch or, more to the point his, he’d bought it, but still, it was in her house and she hadn’t had the old one carted away. He was the one who was sneaking cigarettes in the garden at midnight. He was the one who wasn’t speaking to her. He was the one who was tearing her heart to shreds.

Lily could take it no more, she snapped.

“How dare you!” she shouted into the phone.

“You have my daughter in that house and if something happened, I couldn’t get through. You kept her from me for seven years, Lily. Don’t you ever play that f**king game again.”

Lily’s body went rock solid and she fired back, “I cannot believe you just said that to me.”

He ignored her. “I’ll be home tonight.”

“Don’t bother,” Lily retorted acidly.

“I’ll be home tonight,” he repeated then he hung up on her.

Lily stood with the phone to her ear, anger, humiliation and pain coursing through her so strongly, it took long moments before she realised Maxine was standing right in front of her.

When Lily’s eyes focussed on her, Maxine looked no longer angry and determined to get to the heart of the matter, Maxine looked scared.

“What just happened, sweetling?” she asked, her voice soft, gentle, coaxing.

At her friend’s tone, the fight slid out of Lily and her vision dissolved as tears flooded her eyes. Maxine’s arms went around her, holding her tight.

“I don’t know,” she whispered. “I don’t know.” Then she repeated it again, then again.

“Hush, sweetling. Hush,” Maxine murmured and stroked her hair.

When Lily pulled herself together, Maxine gave her a lilac, lace-edged handkerchief to dry her eyes and let the matter drop but the frightened look never left her face.

By the time Lily got home, terrified that Nate would already be there, her lie about the headache had come true. It wasn’t a migraine but it was close.

Fazire, she noticed immediately, was blustering and ready to blow but he took one look at her and, as he’d done countless times before, he ushered her to her room. He got her a cool drink, some tablets, ran her bath and then kept Natasha occupied so she wouldn’t miss her mother while Lily battled the pain.

Lily took the pain killers, took her bath, closed the curtains and went to bed with a cool flannel at her brow, fighting against the headache until the medicine worked and she finally found sleep.

“Lily?” It was Nate’s voice, gentle, questioning and she thought for a moment she was dreaming.

Then she opened her eyes and saw his muscular thigh on the bed. Of course Nate noticed immediately she was awake, even though she’d closed her eyes nearly as quickly as she’d opened them.

“Fazire says you have a headache.” Nate’s voice was so soft, he was talking in a way that it seemed he thought his words were alive and could cause her harm.

“I’m fine.” Lily kept her eyes closed and her voice neutral.

“Is it a migraine?” Nate asked and she felt his fingers tucking her hair behind her ear.

Lily squeezed her eyes tight at his soft, sweet, familiar touch and the pain shot back into her temple so she was forced to train her body to relax.

She couldn’t keep up with him and she didn’t have the strength to try. She suspected that even though he’d lost interest in her, he didn’t want the mother of his child’s brain to explode.

“I’m fine, Nate. It’s not a migraine.” She lifted her hand to the flannel, threw it aside and turned so her back was to him, all this she did without looking at him. “Go to Tash. She misses you.”