‘He’s staying here?’
Megan grinned. ‘What have you got to lose?’
‘I would say my dignity, but that boat’s already sailed.’
‘Good choice.’ Megan kissed her cheek. ‘See you later. Have fun!’
Fun…?
How was she expected to have fun?
She was about to meet up with the man who’d humiliated her, made her fall for him, not once, but twice, and then had unceremoniously dumped her. That was not her definition of fun.
But curiosity won through, and three-quarters of an hour later, she was wearing her second dress of the evening – this one a lot less provocative – and experiencing a sense of déjà vu as she left her chalet and headed for the beach… giving the pool a wide berth this time.
She was greeted by a waiter. ‘Miss Monroe? This way, please.’
He led her away from the bar and down a bamboo-matted walkway onto the beach. The pathway took them to where the open-sided wicker pods floated above the sea. She had a flashback to her holiday from last year when Will and her had dined at a similar venue and had ended up getting a little frisky after drinking too much.
She would not be making that mistake tonight. Sobriety was called for.
Will was waiting for her inside the pod. He stood up as she neared, his hair still damp from his unscheduled shower. He brushed it away from his annoyingly handsome face.
‘Champagne?’ he said, offering her a flute.
The waiter lifted the bottle from the ice bucket. ‘Would you like me to serve?’
‘That’s okay, we can do it ourselves.’ Will tipped the waiter, who discreetly disappeared into the night.
Lily remained standing, still unsure whether she should stay or run back to her room. This man had the ability to bring out the best and worst in her. ‘No Megan and Zac?’
‘They’re up at the bar.’ Will poured two glasses of champagne and handed her one. ‘We can meet them later, if you’d like.’
So much for not drinking.
He lifted his glass. ‘Shall we raise a toast?’
She viewed him suspiciously. ‘What are we toasting?’
‘I hear congratulations are in order. You’ve landed your first big film. I think that deserves celebrating, don’t you?’
‘Fair enough.’ She clinked glasses with him. ‘Thanks for the reference. I’m guessing Megan had to twist your arm.’
‘Not in the slightest. I offered. I figured it was the least I could do.’ He rubbed the back of his neck. ‘It was only fair. The costumes you made for the festival were amazing. You worked incredibly hard. Providing a reference was no less than you deserved.’
Okay, who was this man, and what had he done with Will Taylor?
He gestured to the wicker seating. ‘Shall we?’
She joined him, leaving a safe gap. She wasn’t ready to risk touching him.
‘Megan tells me you’ve started your own business.’
She sipped her champagne. ‘That’s right, designing bespoke dresses. Unusual designs with a theatrical twist.’
‘Sounds right up your street.’
She fiddled with her glass, unsettled by the way Will was watching her. ‘I’m hoping to combine film and stage projects with running the shop. I figure it should keep me busy and provide a regular income. The business is a joint venture with my friend Taye.’
‘Ah, yes… Taye, the creator of the fake reference.’
She felt her cheeks colour. ‘So, about that…’
‘I was teasing.’ He closed the gap between them. ‘You don’t have to explain.’
‘Actually, I do.’ She took a large gulp of champagne and edged further away. She couldn’t form proper sentences when he was gazing at her mouth like that. ‘When we met on holiday last year, I was still grieving and trying to make sense of my life. Being a carer meant I’d never been able to fulfil my own dreams to become a proper designer. When you told me you ran an events company, I was a little intimidated by your success. That’s why I fibbed. I didn’t want to admit to working in a factory…’
‘It wouldn’t have made a difference,’ he said, looking at her so tenderly she felt a shiver run up her spine. ‘I would’ve understood. And besides, you’d been caring for your granddad. It’s understandable that your career took a back seat.’
‘Maybe, but I was feeling bruised at the time. Inventing a more successful persona seemed easier and more… I don’t know… appealing. It made me feel more confident. Like I could do anything and be anyone. It gave me a glimpse of what my future might look like.’ She gave a small shrug. ‘I never imagined my lie would come back to bite me on the bum.’
‘Tell me about it.’
‘Anyway, then there was the mix-up with the recruitment agency – I honestly thought I was being hired as an apprentice for your project. Not that I knew it was your company in the first instance. But instead of coming clean, I stupidly thought I could blag my way through the event and get away with it… Dumb, huh?’
‘A bit.’ He smiled. ‘But I admire your tenacity.’
Lily raised an eyebrow. ‘You didn’t feel that way at the time.’
‘Hindsight is a wonderful thing.’
‘Anyway, the rest sort of snowballed from there, and… Well, sorry for lying. And sorry for putting the festival in jeopardy. That was very unprofessional of me.’ She took another mouthful of fizz, needing something to dampen the overexuberant butterflies in her stomach.
‘Don’t apologise.’ Will shifted closer. ‘I didn’t behave very professionally myself. I only offered you the job so I could increase the odds of getting you into bed again.’
Lily spurted champagne everywhere.
He reached for a napkin. ‘Too honest?’
‘A bit.’ She dabbed her mouth, aware of him watching her. Perhaps they needed to switch to a safer topic. ‘How’s Poppy?’
His expression softened, his eyes turning misty. ‘Good, thanks. New neighbours moved in next door in August and Poppy has made friends with the daughter. The girls spent the rest of the summer cutting up clothes and making new outfits for their collective pets. They’re both in the same school year, so it’s been a godsend in terms of childcare. Poppy’s over there now most days after school.’
Lily smiled. She liked the idea of Poppy continuing to sew.
‘The pair of them started secondary school last September,’ he continued, looking proud as he spoke about his daughter.
Who could blame him? She was an adorable kid.
‘Textiles is their favourite subject. They both asked for sewing machines for Christmas. Since then I’ve been dressed up in all manner of odd costumes, including several dresses.’ He pulled a face. ‘You’ve created a monster. She’ll be after a job with you soon.’
Lily giggled. ‘There’s one there waiting for her whenever she wants it.’
‘If I tell her that she’ll be on the phone to you next week.’ He downed his drink. ‘She still talks about you, you know.’ Will reached for her hand. ‘You made quite an impression on her.’
‘Likewise.’ When his fingers entwined with hers Lily felt a little jolt of electricity.
‘On me, too.’
The heat radiating off him mixed with his woody aftershave was a heady combination. It made it hard for her to breathe, let alone think straight. She needed to retain some control before she did something really stupid… like kiss him. ‘Will, I—’
‘You were right,’ he said on a rush.
She paused. ‘I was? What about?’
‘When you said I presented an edited version of myself on holiday last year. That’s exactly what I did.’ His intense gaze was unwavering. His blue-grey eyes locked on hers. ‘So here goes with the unedited version.’ He cleared his throat. ‘Hello… My name’s Will Taylor. I’m a widowed father of an eleven-year-old daughter.’
‘You don’t have to—’
‘I was married at twenty-three. To a woman called Sara. We met at university. Poppy was bor
n a year later. We had three blissful years together before Sara died in a freak skiing accident.’
Lily flinched.
His gaze didn’t let up. ‘She… she hit her head.’
Poor man.
Poor woman.
And then it dawned on her. ‘Oh, goodness. Is that why you…?’
‘Freaked out when you hit your head when you fell out of the boat?’ He nodded. ‘It brought it all back.’
‘I’m so sorry.’
‘Wasn’t your fault. You weren’t to know. How could you? I never told you.’ He stood up and moved to the other side of the pod. ‘And that was the problem. I never told you anything, and yet I got frustrated when you didn’t understand. But, again, how could you?’
Behind him the waves lapped the sand, offering a soothing backdrop to the sadness in his voice.
He leant against the pod. ‘After Sara’s death, I focused my energies on my company and raising Poppy. I didn’t want any help. I didn’t think I needed it. I stubbornly thought I could do it all myself. Be everything my daughter needed. Be a successful businessman and the perfect parent.’ He sighed. ‘A normal reaction to death, according to the grief counsellor. But naive, nonetheless. I ended up trying too hard and overcompensating for Poppy’s loss.’ He glanced over. ‘Mine, too.’
‘Understandable.’ Lily was glad he’d had counselling. Someone to help him through the grief. She knew only too well how crippling it could be. ‘It’s an awful thing to happen, whatever the circumstances. No one comes through something like that unscathed. Trust me, I know.’
He gave her a half-smile. ‘Anyway, unsurprisingly I exhausted myself. I reached breaking point and I needed a respite.’ He opened his hands. ‘Hence the Caribbean holiday last year.’
All was becoming clear. ‘No wonder you were reluctant to talk about your life.’
‘I didn’t want to dwell on my problems,’ he said, looking uncharacteristically vulnerable. ‘Or talk about my feelings. I just wanted to have a laugh and forget my troubles.’ His angst softened into a smile. ‘Meeting you was the perfect tonic. We had such a blast – it was great. It was just what I needed.’ His expression turned sad. ‘It’s just… well, I never expected to fall for you. And I certainly never expected to still be pining after you two months later.’
He slumped onto the wicker seating next to her and dropped his head in his hands.
Oh, crikey. What to do now?
Silence filled the air, broken only by the sound of the waves. Lily considered patting his back, but decided to wait it out. She figured he wasn’t done.
She was right.
He sat up. ‘I swear to God I was going to tell you about Poppy when we met up for the festival events. But when you weren’t happy to see me, I didn’t think there was any point.’ He shrugged. ‘And then there never seemed like the right time. I did try, but—’
‘The longer it goes on, the harder it is to confess, right?’ She knew that feeling only too well.
‘Exactly. But then you found out.’ He shook his head. ‘Christ, I felt guilty. But instead of coming clean, I lashed out. I called you all those names.’ He looked tortured, and helpless, and her resistance to him melted another few degrees. ‘I have no defence. It was inexcusable. But I was already so freaked out by you almost drowning that I… I panicked. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing another person I cared about. So, I… you know…’
‘Pushed me away?’
His shoulders slumped. ‘I was such an idiot. Especially having tried so hard to convince you to give us a chance, I bottled it.’
At least she knew why now.
Will leant back against the seating. ‘I was so sure walking away was the right thing to do. I even convinced myself I was the aggrieved party, that you were wholly to blame. But it was bollocks. I was just scared. A coward. Too afraid to admit how I felt. Too afraid of committing to another person in case I lost them.’
‘So what changed?’ Lily placed her empty flute on the table. ‘I mean… I’m assuming something changed, and you didn’t come all this way just to push me in a swimming pool.’
He laughed. ‘Christ, I’ve missed you.’
She’d missed him too, but she wasn’t about to relax her guard just yet. ‘You haven’t answered my question,’ she said, adopting a serious tone. She needed to know where they stood. And how he felt about her. Apologies and hashing over the past were all very well, but it was the here and now that mattered. Were they a lost cause… or was there still some hope lying amongst the ashes of their spectacular burnout?
‘What changed?’ he said, looking up at the stars as if searching for inspiration. ‘Well, nothing dramatic. I reversed my car into a tree.’
Not what she’d expected. ‘Were you hurt?’
‘Just shaken. But as I sat there, covered in a smashed windscreen, I started crying. I mean, like really uncontrollable crying.’ He shook his head. ‘Thank God no one saw me.’ He moved to sit beside her. ‘I realised what an idiot I’d been. I was miserable, I missed you. I couldn’t stop thinking about you and I knew life without you was a hell of a lot more painful than the fear of losing you. I guess I had what you’d call an epiphany.’
The butterflies in her tummy went berserk. ‘Uh huh,’ she managed, and then cringed. Not the most eloquent of responses, but she was a little shell-shocked.
‘I love you,’ he said matter-of-factly, and the air left her lungs with a whoosh.
He loved her?
‘You make me laugh. When I’m with you, I feel… I don’t know… joyful. Like I’m a whole person and don’t have a piece of me missing. You… complete me,’ he said, and then groaned, ‘Shit. That’s a line from a film, isn’t it?’
Lily’s lips twitched. ‘And you were doing so well up until that moment.’
Will gave her a wry smile. ‘This isn’t easy, you know… talking about all this feelings bollocks.’
‘Beautifully put.’
He shifted closer. Close enough that she could see her reflection in his irises. ‘So… what do you say?’
‘What do I say about what?’
‘About being with me. Forgiving me. Putting up with all my insecurities and crap, and letting me… love you.’
Oh, good heavens.
She blinked away her surprise. ‘What do I say? Well, I say… you had me at hello.’
He stilled. ‘That’s another line from a film, right?’
She shrugged. ‘It was all I could think of, sorry.’
He started laughing. ‘Christ, here I am, opening up my heart to you, laying out all my feelings like a right bloody wuss… and you decide to take the piss—’
Lily placed her finger over his mouth. ‘Shut up and listen for a moment.’ She gave him what she hoped was an intimidating stare, trying not to be distracted by the feel of his warm lips against her finger and the dimple in his chin. ‘I’m not the one who secretly colluded with my best friend to book a couples holiday.’
His expression turned sheepish. Too bloody right.
‘Nobody does that for a woman they once called… what was it again? …Oh, that’s right… an incompetent fraud… unless that person is incredibly stupid… or incredibly sure that the woman in question is going to surrender her grievance, forgive the man, forget his damning words and end up rolling around his bed with him, all hot and sweaty.’
His eyes grew wide. ‘Hot and sweaty?’
‘Disgustingly so.’ She removed her finger. ‘But first… I’m owed some payback.’ She leant in… so close her lips almost touched his. Almost.
He let out a soft groan. ‘You’re going to make me suffer, aren’t you?’
Lily pushed him back against the seat and straddled him. ‘Oh, you have no idea.’
He grinned up at her. ‘Do you at least love me?’
‘Love you?’ She tried to sound incredulous, her expression turning thoughtful as she chewed on her lower lip, knowing it would torment him. ‘Do I love you?’ She pretended to mull it over,
feeling him shiver beneath her. ‘That’s a very good question,’ she said, lowering her mouth to his ear. ‘I think that’s for me to know, and for you to find out,’ she whispered.
Who knew she had it in her to be so assertive?
What else was she about to discover about herself, Lily wondered, as she bit softly on his ear, making him groan and pull her close.
Whatever lay ahead, she was finally ready to leave behind her old life and venture into the world as her true self.
Lily Monroe.
Optimistic. Inspired. Hopeful and innately clumsy.
Part gifted, part flawed. But no longer afraid to show it all.
She was a costume designer.
A lover.
A friend.
And with any luck… a soon-to-be step-mummy.
World, look out.
Acknowledgements
Thank you so much for reading Someone Like You! I sincerely hope you enjoyed the story of Lily & Will as much as I enjoyed writing it.
The majority of this story was written pre-pandemic – hence the lack of face masks and social distancing – so although I appreciate the idea of heading off on holiday to an exotic Caribbean island has been out of reach for most of us over this past year, I hope this story provides a little sunshine during these bleak times.
I’d like to thank a few people for their help and support during the writing of this book. Firstly, Julia Knight, a very talented costume designer working in TV and theatre, who kindly shared some of her experiences with me. In particular, the curse of the continuity error! Some of her stories really made me laugh and sparked the idea for the necklace scene in the book. Apparently these things really happen. Not great for the poor TV execs, but wonderful material when writing a book.
The book is dedicated to my grandparents, and the opening Elvis song mix-up scene is a true account of Granny Dorothy’s funeral back in 1996. The vicar really did play ‘Jailhouse Rock’ and ‘Return to Sender’, before finally selecting the correct song – ‘The Wonder of You’. As painful as it was at the time, it was hilarious too, and I’ve always wanted to include it in a book. And now I have. Thanks, Granny!
Someone Like You: Escape with this perfect uplifting romance Page 31