Loving Lily Lavender

by Deanna Kinney

  “Um okay, well, I’m an actor. My name is Lucas Lavender.”

  “Wow, an actor. I’ve never met an actor before. Your name sounds familiar. Have you been in anything I would have seen?”

  He seemed hesitant for a moment before answering. “Well, I was in a movie called Forever Love, recently.”

  I brightened. “Hey, I went to see that with my girlfriends. It was a great movie. All my friends had a huge crush on the leading man, Heath Hamilton and—oh—my—God!! You’re Heath Hamilton!” I screeched.

  “Shhh!” he interjected, covering my mouth with his hand.

  “But you don’t look anything like him,” I mumbled through his fingers. I studied his face and, as I noted his sculpted cheekbones and strong jaw line hidden under days of stubble, it clicked.

  As he recognized my reaction he chuckled with amusement. “Remember, you promised,” he reminded me, finally, but cautiously removing his hand from my mouth.

  “Yes, yes,” I replied, trying to catch my breath as I held onto him with a death grip, my legs suddenly feeling wobbly. Hmm, his bicep was so hard.

  He continued to chuckle as he studied my face. “Are you all right?”

  “I feel a little dizzy actually. I think I need to sit down.”

  He led me carefully back to our table, helping me into my chair. I was thunderstruck at the idea that I’d been hanging out with a famous actor and didn’t even know it. It took me a few minutes to regain my composure.

  “I think I’m okay now, but may I ask you something?”

  “Umm, sure.” He was hesitant but still amused.

  “Well, I was just wondering what brought you to a town like Jasper, North Carolina. I mean, shouldn’t you be off filming a movie, or buying a sports car, or something like that?”

  “Actually, I’m not due to start filming my next movie until sometime in August. And I already own a sports car.” He grinned, clearly enjoying himself. “How I ended up here? Well, I met Randall on my last movie. He was a cameraman. We became chaps instantly when we discovered our mutual love for music. He kept talking about how lovely North Carolina was, and how moving to Jasper was the best decision he’d ever made. When things started to get out of hand in L.A., I decided to call him up and see if I could visit for a couple of weeks.”

  “Why were things getting out of hand in L.A., if you don’t mind me asking?”

  “I don’t mind. Well, once the movie came out and people started to recognize me on the street, life changed drastically for me. The paparazzi began following me everywhere, and screaming girls were coming out of the woodwork. It seems like everyone wants a piece of me. It’s like they’re expecting something from me, but I don’t know what to give them. After all, I’m not Heath. I’m just Lucas, nothing special, just plain old Lucas. I can’t be sure of people’s motives and it makes me a little paranoid, I guess. The truth is I wasn’t really ready for it all. I just needed to leave all the craziness behind for a while, you know, to catch my breath. It’s a bit overwhelming.”

  His expression instantly tugged at my heartstrings. I guess it would be hard to trust anyone, not knowing what their intentions were. He seemed so lost, and I felt an overwhelming need to help him. A routine I often found myself falling into when anything, human or not, needed my help.

  “I understand. I can’t imagine what that must be like. I only hope you didn’t expect to escape everything here, because according to how that table of girls is acting over there, I would say you’ve been noticed.”

  “Yeah, I saw that.” He lowered his head as he ran his thumb along the dampness of his glass, catching the few droplets of dew as they tried to escape. “I figured I’d be discovered here, but I was hoping for a much smaller scale.”

  “I hope this doesn’t sound rude, but isn’t this what you wanted? I mean, when you’re famous this is what you get, right?”

  “Yes, but I never really expected to be famous. I never thought I had what it takes and, to be honest, still don’t. Before my role as Heath, I had only small roles in a few films. I was actually considering giving up acting altogether, but when I got the part I couldn’t believe it, so I just went with it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s been a great experience, and I’ve made some lovely friends. It’s just much harder than I was prepared for. Truthfully, I wish I could just focus on my music.”

  “Well then, why don’t you?” As soon as the words were out of my mouth I straightened. “Um, like it or not, here come your table of fans,” I remarked, almost amused and I have to admit, my curiosity was totally peeked.

  “Excuse me,” one woman said, sounding as giddy as a schoolgirl, yet she must’ve been thirty. “Can my friends and I have your autograph and take a few pictures?”

  “Yes of course.”

  Most of them were respectful and took pictures knelt down beside him, but one woman plopped herself down on his lap and put her hand in his unruly hair while her friend took the picture.

  “Thank you,” they giggled as they went back to their table but continued to stare.

  “Are you okay?” I asked, feeling slightly agitated, though I wasn’t sure why.

  “Yes. Most of the time they’re pleasant, but every once in a while they’ll get bold or want to show off in front of their friends. And for some crazy reason my hair seems to be a draw.”

  It made perfect since to me. “Well, you were very gracious.”

  “Thank you, but they only like me because they think I’m someone else. If they knew the real me it would be different."

  “Why do you do that?”

  He stared at me in confusion. “Do what?”

  “Undermine yourself like that. You need to have more faith in yourself. Someone as handsome as you should never be insecure.”

  “Oh, I don’t consider myself as insecure. I’m just a little critical of myself and my work. I don’t even watch my own movies. And sometimes reading the tabloids can eat at my self esteem.” Again he nervously ran his hand through his hair.

  “Okay, well I can tell you you are insecure. Besides what you’ve said, I can tell by your body language.” I hope that didn’t sound offensive.

  “Oh really, like what?” His expression didn’t show anger, only genuine curiosity.

  “Well, you look down a lot, you drop eye contact quickly, you hunch your shoulders forward slightly, and you have a nervous habit of running your hand through your hair.”

  He started to touch his hair but caught himself, chuckling. “It seems you’re right. Funny, but I never realized I did that before. So how do you know so much about this sort of thing? You sure don’t seem to be insecure yourself.”

  “Me? Oh no, I’m not. I studied psychology in high school and some in college. I was going to be a psychologist.”

  “You were going to be? What do you do now?”

  “I’m a wedding planner, and I love it. After all, it’s the most important day in a girl’s life, and I get to make it perfect.” I’m sure my face was beaming.

  “That sounds very interesting.”

  “You have no idea.”

  “And if I were to be insecure—what kind of advice would you give to me to help me out?” For a moment his eyes held mine and I was mesmerized by the beautiful bluish-green color, maybe hazel even.

  Just as I was about to speak, two young women our age approached our table.

  “Are you Lucas Lavender?” they asked shyly.

  “Yes I am.”

  “Can we have your autograph please?” You could tell they were nervous; they were both fidgeting.

  “Sure,” he agreed, taking their pen and paper, signing it, and handing it back.

  “Thank you,” they said in unison, giggling as they made their way quickly around the corner.

  “I’m sorry, Lily. What were you about to say? You know, about advice for me.”

  “Oh yes, well the first thing I would suggest is for you to give up smoking.” We both eyed the pack of cigarettes on the table beside his drink. “Next, I
would advise you to get all areas of your life organized, starting with your personal space. It really helps. Third, re-evaluate your goals and decide what you really want to do, and then pursue it with all your heart. A few obvious things would be to hold your head high and your shoulders back all the while keeping eye contact. And last, but with the most immediate results, stop reading those stinking tabloids.” I finished, smiling a pleasing smile.

  He straightened his shoulders, studying me with an odd expression. It was a look of awe, and it made me feel a little strange.

  “And you did these things to help you?”

  “Well, I’ve never smoked, and I never read the tabloids, but yes, I did the other things years ago. Before I started my business, I made a detailed list of the things I wanted to accomplish and how to go about achieving them, and I’ve followed that list closely ever since.”

  “Hmm,” was all he said. I wasn’t sure what that meant.

  We continue to talk for what seemed like hours. To be quite honest, it was extremely nice. The conversation between us seemed to flow smoothly, effortlessly. He quizzed me about some of the weddings I’ve done, and we laughed as I shared with him some of my crazier experiences. I was surprised at how pleasing it felt to have him interested in what I do.

  We were interrupted several more times from autograph seeking women, and I sensed he was starting to get a little annoyed at the interruptions.

  “Lily, please don’t take this the wrong way, but would you consider accompanying me to my place? I mean, I’ve enjoyed talking to you and would like to have more conversation without all these interruptions.”

  “Well, I would like that too, but I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.”

  “I promise to be on my best behavior. You have my word.”

  “I don’t know.” I shrugged, feeling slightly unsure.

  “Well, how about this, you can have Meagan call you at a certain time to check on you. That way, if you were to be in trouble she would know where you are and who you’re with. But I promise you’re safe with me.” He smiled a dazzling smile that instantly made my heart skip a beat or two or three.

  “Umm, well okay that sounds reasonable.” My mind was racing, hoping I wasn’t making a mistake, but not quite ready for our time together to be over. “Are you staying with Randall at his place?”

  “No. I’ve got my own place nearby. I didn’t want to get on his nerves. Plus, his sofa would probably be uncomfortable after two weeks.”

  “Good point. I just need to let Meagan know I won’t be riding back with her—that is if you don’t mind taking me home later.”

  “Of course, I don’t mind.”

  As we were getting up, Meagan and Randall returned from the dance floor, sweaty and out of breath.

  “So, where are you guys off to?” Randall asked in a sly tone. I noticed Lucas left the pack of cigarettes on the table. He was taking my advice already—sweet.

  “Well, Lily has agreed to accompany me to my place since our conversations keep getting interrupted.”

  “Well, that’s the breaks when you’re famous,” Randall teased, patting him on the back.

  I glanced over to Meagan, who was giving me an incredulous look. I just shrugged innocently.

  As we were leaving, I leaned over and whispered in her ear, “Call me in one hour.” She nodded, smiling widely.

  Lucas took my hand and led me through the crowd toward the door.

  It was then that someone slammed into me with enough force that I had to release Lucas’s hand. He turned quickly to find me. The young man who bumped me, immediately began to cuss at me, words of which I won’t repeat.

  “Hey!” Lucas said sternly. “Watch your mouth around the lady, and you ran into her, you wanker!”

  The man then stopped and looked me up and down. “Hey baby. Why don’t you ditch this foreign loser and come home with me? I’m American, and I’ll show you a real good time.” As he spoke, I could feel his breath on my face, and I cringed away from the smell of alcohol and garlic.

  Without warning, Lucas reached over and grabbed the guy by the collar, lifting him onto his toes, meeting him eye to eye. “The lady has no intentions of accompanying you anywhere, American or not, so I strongly suggest you leave peacefully right now!”

  “Relax man. My mistake,” the man said with both hands raised in surrender. Lucas released him, and he quickly turned and went in the other direction.

  I realized I was holding my breath and let out a deep sigh.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, facing me.

  “Yes, I’m fine. Thank you, Lucas. That was sweet of you to defend me like that.” Oh, and by the way, I am now extremely infatuated with you.

  “You’re welcome. I’m just glad it didn’t turn into a fight. I’ve never been in a fight in my life. Although, considering the fact that the bugger was drunk I probably would have had the upper hand.” He smiled down at me, his light eyes shining, and I knew I was in trouble.

  Chapter Two

  Fifteen minutes later, we were walking through the front door of his apartment. He was staying in a nice building, much nicer than anything I could afford.

  Once inside, I took stock of my surroundings and noticed a beautiful black and gold guitar leaning against a chair by the sofa. I don’t know much about guitars I confess, but it looked very expensive.

  I didn’t notice any more personal belongings in the room. Maybe everything was in his bedroom, though that was a room I was planning to avoid altogether. I imagined he had a different idea, and I began to question my decision to come.

  “This is a very nice apartment.”

  “Thanks. It’s going to be my home for the next two weeks so I wanted it to be comfortable. Can I get you something to drink?”

  “Umm, no thank you. I’m fine.” Suddenly nervous, I could feel small beads of sweat gathering on my upper lip and reached up, wiping it off with the back of my hand.

  “Actually, I’m glad you said that because I don’t have anything,” he said, laughing apologetically.

  I glanced at him with eyebrows raised.

  “What?” He shrugged. “I just got here yesterday.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh at him. He looked so cute and innocent at that very moment, but I had a feeling that was about to change and my laughing stopped short as he slowly scaled the distance between us. He stopped right in front of me, his face just inches from mine, his expression all of a sudden serious.

  “I have something I’ve wanted to tell you all night, but I’m afraid you’ll think it’s just a come on.” His gaze was so intense I felt I should look away but was unable to escape his penetrating eyes.

  “You’ve given me no reason not to believe anything you tell me.”

  He glanced down for a moment, as if collecting his thoughts, then met my gaze again. “Your green eyes are mesmerizing, and well—you are the most beautiful woman I have ever met.” His expression was genuinely sincere.

  My mouth fell open. “Lucas, I don’t know what to say. Umm, thank you. That’s quite a compliment coming from someone who I’m sure has seen hundreds of beautiful women.”

  “Yes, I’ve seen many beautiful women, but the sad thing is, with many of them, once they open their mouths to speak their beauty slips away. It’s rare for me to meet a beautiful woman who’s just as lovely on the inside, and I feel that way about you. I know that sounds silly since we hardly know each other, huh?”

  “No, it doesn’t sound silly at all. As a matter a fact, I feel that way about you too, though I wouldn’t use the word beautiful—breathtakingly handsome perhaps.” I laughed and he joined me.

  Suddenly he became serious, reaching up and cupping my face with his right hand. He slowly lowered his face to mine, inching his lips closer. Uh oh, here it comes, I thought instantly. The moment I’ve been dreading and longing for at the same time.

  When his soft lips finally found mine, I almost swooned as my legs turned to jelly beneath me. He pressed first one�
��then two small kisses. Our breathing slowly picked up as we lingered on the third kiss, his lips gently parting mine. Deeper and deeper the kiss grew. Placing his left hand on my back, he drew me closer until I was pressed firmly against him. The word ‘ecstasy’ came to mind as the kiss turned hotter still and soon my resolve to say no would be overtaken by passion and fire. And yet the kiss continued, our lips moving together in perfect rhythm. We stumbled over and landed on the sofa. I pulled my lips from his. “Lucas,” I breathed.

  His hand pulled my hair aside and his lips found my neck. “Hmm?” he moaned, his lips capturing mine once again. The kiss intensified almost to the point of no return when I suddenly and abruptly pulled away.

  “I’m sorry, Lucas. I can’t do this. I-I don’t think I should’ve come here,” I said breathlessly.

  “What—what do you mean?”

  I stood and turned to look at him. My breath caught as I took in his disheveled look, his twisted shirt and messy hair, and yet still unbelievably gorgeous. “I’m so sorry, but I have a rule I’ve sworn to live by, and I can’t break it now no matter how tempted I am.”

  “What rule is that?” He was curious. Well, at least he wasn’t mad, not yet anyway.

  “I’m—I’m a virgin, and I plan on keeping it that way.”

  “Forever?” He smiled and it seemed that he was teasing me.

  I sighed. “No—not forever, silly, just until I’m married. I know that must sound strange to you, but it’s very important to me. I’m sorry if I’ve misled you, coming here like this. I hope you’ll forgive me.”

  A big smile stretched across his face. “Lily, don’t be ridiculous. That’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard. How can I be mad at you for your convictions—that would make me a monster?”

  I breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you. You’re very gracious.”

  “Gracious I’m not, but honest I am.”

  “Well, it’s just that I owe my husband the best part of me, and I don’t want to corrupt it with memories and experiences from the past. That sounds silly to you, doesn’t it?”

  “No, actually, it sounds really nice. Your husband will be a very lucky man. You’re very confident to say no to me. Most women, these days, wouldn’t. I admire that quite a lot actually.”