Always You: A Lilac Bay Novel (Friends with Benefits) (20 page)

“You know, it was a little weird when they first got together. Neither of us had ever had a really serious relationship before, so it felt strange to not have him around as much.”

“But it doesn’t feel that way now?”

He shrugged. “I guess I got used to it.” He cast me a sidelong glance. “Probably helps that you came home from college.”

“What do you mean?”

He shrugged again, and when he spoke he sounded a lot less sure of himself. Maybe even embarrassed.

“I just mean, you know, you and I were always close, and when you came home we started working together and—I don’t know. I guess I never really felt like I didn’t have someone to rely on. Even when Eddie started hanging out with Zane so much.”

“Oh.” His words sent a blush of color to my cheeks and I hoped he didn’t notice. “That’s, you know, nice of you. To say.”

“Yeah, well.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Meant it.”

I cleared my throat. Andrew and I could tease each other for days. We could also count on each other—for the big stuff as well as the every day stuff. The events of the weekend were more than enough to prove that. But we never really
talked
about it. It was just something that we knew.

“Back at ya,” I finally said, and Andrew burst into laughter.

“We’re pretty bad at sharing our feelings, aren’t we?”

“It’s not our strong suit.” I grinned over at him. “Baseball, though. We kick ass at baseball.”

He held out his fist for me to bump with my own. “Damn straight.”

We walked in silence for a few more minutes but it didn’t feel awkward. It felt normal. It felt like Andrew.

“Hey, Riley?” he asked, his voice anything but normal. He sounded nervous, which was beyond strange for him.

“Yeah?”

“Are you really going out with that Chase guy?”

My heart started to flutter in my chest. “Yeah, I guess. I mean, we only had one date so I don’t know if I’d really say we were going out.”

“You danced together on Saturday.”

My eyes snapped over to his face but he seemed to be concentrating awfully hard on the ground.

“I thought you were off with that fitness instructor from the Big Hotel when I was dancing with Chase.”

He made a face. “I wasn’t off anywhere with anyone.”

I didn’t really know how to respond to that. “I don’t know, Andrew,” I finally said. “We talked about seeing each other this week but I haven’t heard from him yet.”

He exhaled loudly, his breath sounding a little ragged.
What a weird conversation
, I thought. He wasn’t being snide or smug or teasing or any of the other things I had come to expect when Andrew talked to me about my love life—or lack of it.

We were nearly to my house when he spoke again.

“Look, I never really ask you for anything, right?”

I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk to gape at him. “Are you kidding me? You steal my lunch everyday!”

He stopped too, scowling at me. “I mean anything big, Riley.”

“Well, there was that time when we twelve and you asked to borrow my kayak and then got it jammed up against those rocks and cracked the hull.”

He blew out an angry breath, looking away. “You know, what, just forget it.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, but he was already walking again, his pace quicker than before.

“Andrew, wait.” I tugged on his shirtsleeve and he finally stopped, spinning in place to face me. His cheeks were red and he looked upset.

“Look, would you do something for me if I asked you to?”

“Of course,” I said automatically. I really couldn’t imagine him asking me to do something that I would want to refuse. Then he opened his mouth.

“Don’t go out with that guy.”

“
What?
”

“Don’t go out with Chase.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I think he’s a jerk, Riley. I think he’s using you. I think he wants to get himself on TV or get himself in good with his bosses or—”

“Andrew, you’re being ridiculous!”

“Look what happened with the flash mob. Like it was a coincidence that he just happened to suggest holding it at the hotel.”

“Okay, Jenny is the one who suggested we have it there. Chase just helped out. And that idea saved our ass, I might add. It was the perfect solution for the challenge.”

“I just don’t trust him!” Andrew looked really agitated now. “He’s going to hurt you.”

“Well, that will be my problem then, won’t it?”

He scowled. “No, it won’t. I’ll be the one to pick up the pieces when he breaks your heart.”

It was funny. Just a few minutes ago I had been thinking about how much I relied on him. Now all I could think about was how much I wanted to punch him in the face.

“If I’m that much of an inconvenience to you, I’ll be sure to call my sister the next time I need the help.”

I moved to pass him to go inside, but he planted himself in the middle of the sidewalk and wouldn’t let me pass.

“You said you would do it if I asked you.”

“I didn’t think you were going to try to control my dating life, Andrew! That’s—it’s just weird!”

“I’m not trying to control your—” He ran his hands over his face, clearly frustrated. “I just don’t like this guy. I have a bad feeling.”

“And if I told you that I didn’t like one of the girls that you were hooking up with, you’d be cool with that?” I asked, thinking, for some reason, about Jill. “Yeah, right.”

“Of course I would!” he practically shouted. “Because I trust your judgment. If you told me you thought a girl was bad news, I would absolutely listen.”

I crossed my arms, not believing a word of it. “Really?”

“Really.”

I sighed. “Andrew, I don’t know about this. I kind of like him. He’s nice to me—”

“Because he wants something!”

“Okay, you’re acting nuts and I’m going inside.”

“Riley—”

“We can talk about this later, Andrew.” I pushed past him, relieved when he let me. “When you’re not acting like such a nut job. Thanks for a nice dinner.”

I didn’t look back until I was in the foyer. He was still standing there, exactly where I had left him, his hands thrust in his pockets.

What in the hell is his deal?
I wondered as I made my way up the stairs. I knew that he didn’t like the guys that worked at the hotel—I usually didn’t either—but a temper tantrum about it was excessive, even for Andrew. Hell, his brother had just gotten engaged to a man who had first come to the island to work at that hotel.

When I got up to my apartment, I peeked out the front curtains, not really sure what to expect. But Andrew was gone, the sidewalk below empty in the darkness.

“
Y
ou have got
to me kidding me.”

I looked up at David Jenkins and tried my hardest not to laugh. From the murderous flash in his eyes, I don’t think I was very successful.

“I think you look nice,” I squeaked out, avoiding his eyes.

“Absolutely not,” he said. “I’m taking this off.”

“You can’t!” Posey shouted. “You look perfect in that costume!”

“Posey, I look like an idiot.”

He kind of had a point. The tunic and tights combo that Posey had designed fit the theme of our show perfectly. But that didn’t mean it was something that a guy wanted to walk the street in.

“Just wait until Iris comes out,” Posey said, tugging on the tunic a little so that it showed off more of David’s…assets. “You’ll look perfect together.”

“I don’t understand how in the hell I got talked into this,” he muttered, pulling the tunic back down.

“Because we’re telling the story of the legend of our island,” I explained patiently. “Which—as I’m sure you remember since you’ve seen this damn thing every year since you were born—is about a couple madly in love. And the entire island voted, and that couple is you and Iris. So maybe stop bitching, okay?”

He glared at me. “I’m in
tights
, Riley.”

“This looks pretty silly,” Iris said as she pushed aside the curtains in the changing area to join us. “I mean, what era is this even supposed to—”

She looked up from her own gauzy skirt, caught sight of her boyfriend, and burst into laughter. “Oh my God,” she gasped. “The tights!”

“See?” he cried, turning to Posey. “Even Iris can’t keep a straight face!”

“Is that a hat?” Iris howled, pointing at the fabric in his hand. “Put it on, you have to put it on!”

I plucked it from his hand and pushed it down over his blond hair, and Iris actually doubled over in hysteria.

“That’s about enough of—” David began, but before we could find out specifically what he’d had enough of, Andrew came in, a stack of boxes in his hand.

“Riley, where do these go? The tag just says woodland creatures.” He looked up over the boxes and saw David, an evil grin spreading over his face. “Not bad, my man.”

“Shut up.”

“No, really.” Andrew set the boxes down and came over, still grinning. “It takes a real man to be secure enough in his masculinity to wear something like that.”

“David is playing an important role,” Posey snapped, clearly annoyed that none of us were appreciating the brilliance of her costume design. “What kind of Legend of the Lilacs skit is it going to be without the princess’s true love?”

In all honesty, the Legend of the Lilacs skit was pretty ridiculous. As was the legend itself. Though it was supposed to take place in Michigan, there was a princess and a king and a bunch of fairies, and none of it really made sense. The entire thing had probably been made up to charm tourists and sell souvenirs. But it was still tradition. So I bit my tongue and tried to sound convincing. “Posey is right. The skit is a very important part of the closing festivities tonight. David and Iris, you both look great. So let’s get those costumes off so they don’t get dirty.”

“Hang on,” Posey said, approaching David with a pincushion in her hand. “I just need to adjust the hem of that tunic a little, I think. It’s a bit too long—”

“Don’t you dare,” David growled, setting Iris off all over again. He glared at her in her gauzy, fuchsia, bedazzled dress. “You really have room to laugh,” he muttered. “You look like a stripper wood nymph.”

“At least you can’t see my junk,” she replied.

“Go get changed,” I told them, struggling not to laugh.

Once they were gone Andrew slung an arm over Posey’s shoulder. “It’s okay, cuz. They just don’t understand good fashion design.”

“Thanks, Andrew,” she sniffed. “I thought they looked nice.” She sighed. “I better go check on the little ones. Twenty fairy costumes I had to make for those kids! Twenty!”

“No one appreciates you more than I do, Pose,” I told her. She gave me a weak smile and then set off with her scissors.

As soon as she was gone, Andrew turned to me, that evil smile back on his face. “What?” I asked.

“Can you imagine the Libbies when they see him in those tights?”

I snorted and slapped a hand over my mouth. “They’re going to rush the stage.”

He pointed towards his boxes. “Okay, really, though. Where do you want to woodland creatures?”

“Stage left,” I told him. “Actually, I’ll come with you. May as well get them set up now.”

I followed him out from Libby’s store, which we were using as kind of a staging area for the festival, into the bright sunlight of the square. A group of girls ran past, laughing, one of them lugging a box that appeared to be full of menus from Cora’s.

“You were only supposed to take one!” I called after them.

“This way no one else can get one!” the girl with the box shouted back, and the rest of them burst into giggles.

“Well, that will be nice for Cora,” Andrew muttered.

“Where’s your spirit?” I asked him. “You should be out there leading a team!”

The television producers had arranged a road rally for the town to participate in today. Which meant that half of my neighbors were currently running around in teams trying to find items on their lists while the camera crew followed.

“What about you?” Andrew asked. “I’m shocked you’re not playing. It’s a game for which there will be a winner, Riley. That’s like crack for you.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a little busy here,” I told him, gesturing at the square. In addition to the rally, today was the last day of the Lilac Festival. Which meant that I had about a million things to do. Not least of which was make sure the stage was all set up for the skit later.

“And in case you haven’t noticed, I’m a little busy helping you. For which you haven’t been at all thankful.”

I made a scathing noise in the back of my throat. “I’ve only said thank you a dozen times today, Andrew. I also bought you lunch. And saved you some cookies from Iris’s booth.”

He sighed. “Yeah, but you haven’t said thank you for bringing these boxes over.”

“You’re a ridiculous human, you know that?”

Secretly, I was relieved that Andrew was teasing me. It meant that he was acting normally. After our weird fight over Chase, I was afraid he would be grouchy. But he showed up to work the next day talking about the latest Tigers game and at lunch that day had bugged me to share my leftovers from Rose’s. Same old Andrew.

We reached the stage and Andrew set down the boxes. “So what kind of woodland creatures are we talking here?” he asked, opening one of the flaps. He let out a little shout and pushed the box closed. “Holy hell,” he said, shaking his hand as if whatever in the box had burned him.

“What?” I asked, pulling the box opened. I pulled out the offending object—a furry little stuffed chipmunk. Okay, so it had seen better days. Most of the fur had been rubbed off and the head appeared to have been left in the sun for too long. It looked a little—melted.

“This is Curtis,” I told him. “Curtis the Chipmunk. He’s been with us for twenty years.”

“Remind me on Monday to add a new line in the budget to replace all this shit,” he muttered, pulling out an equally ragged-looking raccoon.

“Andrew Powell, what kind of language is that to use in front of a lady?” Rose’s voice boomed behind us.

“She’s not a lady, Mimi,” he said. “She’s Riley.”

“Very funny.” I turned to Rose. “How’s it going?”

Instead of answering, she gathered me up in a close hug, and I breathed in her familiar scent of coffee and cinnamon. Though she had ceded most of the day-to-day operations of her cafe to Iris, she would always smell like that to me.

“Thank you, dear,” she murmured. “How thoughtful of you.”

“It was my pleasure, Rose,” I said, hugging her back. When she released me, Andrew was watching us with raised eyebrows.

“She gets a hug and I don’t even get a hello?”

“Riley sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers this morning,” Rose said. “And a lovely card about my Frank.”

I’d always thought it was cruel that Frank Powell, Andrew's grandfather, had died just when the lilacs were starting to bloom. It was Rose’s favorite time of the year, and now it would always be connected to the day she lost her husband.

“It was nothing, Rose.”

“It was lovely,” she said firmly. “And very much appreciated.” Her eyes got a little misty. “I just can’t believe it’s been a year without him.”

“I know exactly what you mean,” I said, over the sudden lump in my throat. “The time seems to fly, but when you look back, you still can’t believe they’re gone.”

She drew herself up a little bit, her features hardening, and I knew exactly what she was doing. Pushing away her grief for her husband to be strong for me because I’d alluded to my dad. It was what Rose Powell did.

“Come and have dinner with me this week, Riley,” she said, squeezing my hand. “It’s been too long since we had a chat, just the two of us.”

I nodded, the lump in my throat growing. “I would like that.”

“Can I come?” Andrew asked.

“Absolutely not,” Rose told him, tapping the side of his nose. “Girls only.”

“No fair,” he said, but he slipped an arm around her shoulder, kissing the side of her face.

“Fine,” she sighed. “You come tomorrow and I’ll make you breakfast.”

“Score!”

“Now excuse me, you two.” She pulled a piece of paper from her pocket. “I’m determined to kick ass on this little scavenger hunt they’re running.”

I grinned at her while Andrew shook his head. “Language, grandma.”

“Do either of you know where I can find an immersion blender?”

“Try David’s kitchen,” I told her, and she scurried off.

“That was nice of you. Sending her flowers.”

I shrugged, finding it hard to meet his eyes for some reason. I directed my attention to the boxes on the edge of the stage instead. “No one loves flowers more than your grandmother. I thought it would cheer her up.”

He was quiet for several minutes but I could feel his gaze on my face.

“Riley,” he finally said, his voice low and filled with some kind of emotion that I didn’t really want to think about right now.

“Were there more boxes?” I asked brightly. “We should probably get a move on.” I turned to face him, careful to keep my expression bright and open.

He studied my face for a moment before nodding. “Yeah, I’ll go get them.”

* * *

F
our hours later
, the road rally had ended—Jerry Brooks had shocked the town by coming from behind to win the whole thing—and everyone was beginning to gather in the square for the last night of the Lilac Festival. In just a few moments we would open with the Legend of the Lilacs skit, then the mayor would give some remarks, the band would play, and everyone would eat and drink. I was feeling the way I used to feel at the beginning of finals week in college. Most of the hard work was over, and I just had to get through this last tough part.

The Lilac Festival was always a lot of work for the mayor’s office. Unlike the Fish Fry, the festival fell right in the middle of the tourism season, which meant there were thousands more people and a million more details to get coordinated. Add to that the presence of the camera crews tonight, and I was just about ready to be done.

“Few more hours,” Libby told me, passing with a crate of wine for her booth. “You got this, Riley.”

“Thanks, Libs,” I called after her. “Sell lots of stuff.”

“How are you feeling?” Andrew asked, appearing at my side with two bottles of beer. He handed one to me. “Figured we’re close enough to the end to relax a little.”

Of course he would have to jinx it like that. Because though we were close to the end, we weren’t in any way out of danger. A fact that I realized the second I saw Posey’s panic stricken face a moment later.

“We have a problem,” she said, jabbing her thumb over her shoulder in the direction of the changing area.

Andrew and I followed her through the curtains to find David in his costume, bent over at the waist, his face gray and sweaty.

“What’s wrong?” I cried.

“I’m going to be sick,” he gasped.

“David, man up, dude!” Andrew said, clasping his shoulder. “The tights aren’t that bad.”

“Not the tights, idiot.” David squeezed his eyes shut. “My stomach.”

“I think he ate something off,” Iris said, running a wet paper towel over his forehead. “He just puked, but he doesn’t have a fever or anything.”

“David, what did you eat today?”

“Jerry,” he muttered. “Jerry made me try his damn fish tacos.”

“That’s right!” Iris said. “He wanted David’s expert opinion. And I didn’t touch them because they didn’t look so good.”

“You sure that’s all he ate?”

“Since breakfast, yeah, but that was just cereal at home.”

He doubled over again, clutching his stomach. “I think it’s food poisoning,” he moaned.

“Okay, I don’t want to hear anyone else say those words as long as the cameras are here,” I growled. “Posey, please go to Jerry’s booth and tell him to get rid of everything. Under no circumstance is he allowed to serve food tonight, okay?”