Tiger Lily (Dark Blossoms Book 1)

by Abigail Drake

  “Hi, Lily.” He had his hands shoved deep in his pockets.

  “Hi, Nick.” Confused, I worried someone may have leaked our plan to him. He seemed kind of upset. “Would you like to come in?”

  He wore a black t-shirt and jeans, much like the outfit I’d seen him in as my Shadow Guy, but he looked so different. An energy and a vibrancy filled him. I hadn’t noticed it before, but now I understood. This was the real Nick. The boy I’d known had been a sort of reflection of the actual person.

  I stepped out onto my porch and shut the door behind me, waiting for Nick to speak. If he wanted to yell at me, I was ready for it. He ran a hand through his hair, muttering something under his breath.

  “Look. I don’t know what to say, but here goes.” He paused, straightening his back and staring right into my eyes. “I think about you all the time, and some things I assumed were dreams….well, I suspect those might actually be memories.”

  I stood very still. “What kind of dreams?”

  He bit his lip and smiled, the same sexy way he had when he’d been my Shadow Guy. “Flashes of things, some involving black leather.”

  “Oh.” My cheeks got instantly hot and Nick laughed.

  “I remember the blushing too.” He shook his head. “But it’s bits and pieces. The rest is…fuzzy.” He glanced at his watch. “Look, I have to go to work tonight, but can we meet tomorrow and talk?”

  I nodded, not sure how to react. He had no idea what we’d planned for this evening. Nick hopped down the steps of my front porch and turned to smile at me in the sunshine.

  “So, it’s a date?” He walked backward a few steps to his car, which was parked in my driveway, his eyes still on me.

  “Yes, Nick. It’s a date.”

  Chapter 19

  Love is of all passions the strongest, for it attacks simultaneously the heart, the head, and the senses. ~ Lao Tzu, 6th Century BC

  The front entrance of The Zone was crowded with teenagers who’d arrived early to get good seats for Under Twenty-One Night. The Fortuna Brothers weren’t playing in the bar this evening, though. A young band from one of the local high schools unloaded their equipment as I walked past. It was nearly seven o’clock, and my heart hammered nervously in my chest.

  I bypassed the front and went to the side entrance of the building. The sign on the door said Closed for a Private Party. That would be me. I was the party. I pushed the door open and went inside.

  As soon as I entered, Uncle Johnny pulled me into a big hug. He nearly squeezed the air right out of me. “Good luck, Lily. Buona fortuna.”

  When he let me go, I stumbled backward and had to steady myself. He was an aggressive hugger.

  “Thanks, Uncle Johnny. I’ll need it.”

  Zoe, Jess, and Maura waited for me a back room. They’d carried all my things over and snuck them in for me. They’d even set up a mirror and lights.

  I looked at them with tears in my eyes. “You guys are great.”

  Zoe put her hand on my shoulder. “Are you okay?”

  I grimaced. “I don’t know. I’m not sure we’re doing the right thing. I feel like we’re putting him on the spot.”

  When Nick had been the Shadow Guy, he’d grown to love me, but it had taken time. He’d disliked me at first. The real Nick didn’t seem to dislike me, but he didn’t love me either. It made me feel so vulnerable. I wanted to bare my heart to him, but he might reject it. There was also a definite possibility he could feel sorry for me. That would be even worse than rejection.

  Zoe plopped me down in front of the mirror and began brushing my hair. “It’s going to work, Lily. I know it.”

  “Does your psychic Spidey sense tell you that?”

  She shook her head, her silver earrings swaying back and forth. “No, but my common sense does.”

  Maura and Jess brought out my clothes. As I dressed, I became less and less certain about what I planned to do. “Maybe I should wait until tomorrow. He stopped by my house and wants to come over to talk.”

  “Or you could face him right now.” Maura wrinkled her nose at me. “Seize the moment.”

  Jess nodded. “Carpe diem.”

  Maura scowled at her. “Which is a fancy Latin way to say, ‘seize the moment,’ right?”

  “Hey, I was agreeing with you. And this is about Lily, by the way.” Jess handed me my robe.

  As I put it on, Zoe pulled me aside. “Karma isn’t about destiny, you know. It’s about taking action. You did something selfless when you sacrificed yourself for Nick. According to the laws of karma, something good will happen to you because of it.”

  “I didn’t do it for a reward.” I wrapped my robe tightly around my body and pulled the belt.

  “Which is my point, Lily. You’re a good person. I knew it the first moment I saw you.”

  “Not true. You didn’t like me, and I annoyed you.”

  Zoe’s lips quirked into a tiny smile, because she couldn’t deny it. “Yes, but I knew you were a good person. You helped the ghosts and you helped Nick, and you’re helping him now. He needs to remember, for his sake as well as your own. If he doesn’t, he’ll spend his life walking around feeling like there’s a hole in his heart. Do you remember how it was when he couldn’t remember his name?” I nodded. “This is just as bad. It’s not only about you, Ginge. Now get out there and fight for him.”

  I squared my shoulders. “Fight.”

  “Wait. Don’t forget your fighting shoes.” Jess scurried over, carrying my white-feathered mules. Zoe made such a face I laughed out loud. I lifted my foot so she could get a better view of my slipper.

  “Those are your fighting shoes?” The noise she made sounded suspiciously like a snort.

  “I don’t need combat boots for this battle.” I gave Zoe a saucy wink, and she grinned at me.

  “Go get ’em, Tiger.”

  My newfound confidence dissolved as soon as I arrived at the door leading to the private party room. Nick was on the other side, which scared me. I had no idea how he might react to all this, but at this point, I had to try. Sink or swim.

  I opened the door and blinked as my eyes adjusted to the darkness. The room, decorated with dark wood and rich colors, had an intimate feel to it, with candles on each table and low lighting. I walked to a table in the center of the room, sat down, and waited.

  A few minutes later, a door opened, and Nick came through. With the door ajar, I could see bright lights and hear noises from the kitchen. As soon as it shut, the room fell silent again. It took a few minutes for Nick to notice me.

  “Lily?” He walked over to my table, looking around. “What are you doing here?”

  He wore the same black T-shirt and jeans from earlier, but now he had a pencil behind his ear and an order pad tucked into his back pocket.

  “Sit down,” I said, “Please.” I indicated the chair across the table from me.

  Nick’s brows pulled together as he frowned. I knew that look well. It was the sign of an oncoming storm. “Is this some kind of a joke? I have to work. I have a party at seven.” He looked at his watch. Seven on the nose.

  “Actually, I’m the party, Nick.”

  He took the pencil out from behind his ear, pulled his order pad out of his back pocket, and tossed both onto the table before sitting in the chair, his arms folded across his chest. “What’s this about, Lily?”

  “It’s about remembering everything you’ve forgotten.” I looked at my nails, and Café Forgot seemed oddly appropriate at the moment. I curled my fingers into my palms. I wasn’t going to back down so easily. “We came up with an idea to help you. Do you mind?”

  Nick shrugged. “It’s your party, princess, but I am kind of curious about why you’re wearing a robe.” He leaned sideways in his chair so he could see the entire ensemble. When he noticed the feathered slippers, he let out a laugh. “And your choice of footwear is interesting, too.”

  Nick watched me closely, and I knew it was now or never. I liked fixing things, putting them back in o
rder. It made me happy, and I was good at it. And this might be my one chance to fix everything between us. I took a deep breath, braced myself, and went for it. “It all started with a bad manicure….”

  I proceeded to tell Nick the story of us. I took off my robe and showed him the pajamas I’d been wearing the first night we talked. I ran to the back and changed clothes, putting on the outfit with the matching daisy-covered headband to remind him of the day he bothered me in calculus. I went through each day we spent together. When it got to the moment when I told him I loved him, Nick looked at me in surprise.

  “You told me you loved me and walked away?”

  “You made me angry. You’re good at making me angry.”

  Nick leaned forward in his chair. “What happened next?

  I swallowed hard. “You followed me into the kitchen.”

  “Ti amerò fino al giorno dopo per sempre.” Nick sat back, a shocked expression on his face. “I said, ‘I’ll love you until the day after forever,’ didn’t I?” He shook his head. “Tell me more.”

  By the time I got to the part about our trip to The Zone, Nick remembered more and more. I hurried to the back room to get dressed. “It’s time for the big guns,” I said to Zoe.

  She grinned at me. “Literally.”

  When I walked back into the private party room in my biker bimbo getup, Nick almost fell off his chair. He jumped to his feet, taking in the leather bustier and the tight pants, his eyes widening in surprise. A full body blush rushed over me, and I noticed something else in his gaze. Recognition. Nick forgot the daisy headband but remembered the leather biker outfit. It figured.

  He swallowed hard. “I’ve seen you wear this. I’m sure of it.” He came closer, his eyes so dark and hot, I found it a little hard to breathe. Although the tight bustier didn’t help either.

  “You do?”

  “And I remember wanting to touch you so badly, but I couldn’t.”

  “Well, you can touch me now,” I said, holding out my hand to him. He took it, intertwining his fingers with mine.

  “And there’s something else I’ve wanted to do for a long time.” Nick’s face was close to mine, his voice was husky and deep.

  “What?” My brain had stopped working and I sounded weird, like someone doing a bad Marilyn Monroe imitation.

  Nick didn’t seem to notice. His dark eyes focused on my lips. “I want to kiss you, Lily Madison.”

  “Then why don’t you?”

  He leaned forward and brushed my lips with his, softly at first, over and over again. I sighed, pulling him closer, and running my hands through his hair. Soon our kisses deepened, and they became hot and hungry and a little wild. But it was a good kind of wild, and nothing had ever been so right, or so perfect. I kissed him with all the love and hope and fear inside me. He did the same, and with each kiss, the chasm between us shrank bit by bit until nothing remained but Nick and me and the memories we now both shared.

  Suddenly, the earth quivered and shook under our feet. I held onto Nick and we looked at each other in surprise.

  “Did you feel something?” I asked.

  He nodded. “Was it an earthquake?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Should I check for damages?” Nick looked around the room, trying to figure out what happened.

  Mrs. Chang said Nick needed a little shake. Was this what she meant? I’d thought she’d used the word figuratively, but now I wasn’t so sure. There had been no pause in the steady beat of music coming from the main room, no sounds of people panicking. Could it be Nick and I were the one two people who felt it?

  I put my hands on his face and smiled. “Not an earthquake, Nick.”

  “Then what was it?” He placed his hands on my hips, and I could feel the strength and warmth of his hands through my leather clothing.

  “A much-needed cosmic realignment. Now everything is finally how it should be.”

  “A cosmic realignment?” He sat down, pulling me onto his lap. “After everything that’s happened between us, you might be right, Tiger Lily.” He wrapped his arms around me, holding me close.

  “Tiger Lily,” I said, leaning back a bit so I could see his face. “You even remember my nickname. Has it all come back to you now?”

  Nick stared into my eyes. “There are still some fuzzy parts, but one thing is clear.”

  “What?”

  Nick kissed me gently and sweetly, his hands stroking my face. “That I love you, Lily Madison,” he said, his voice a throaty whisper.

  “I love you, too.” I covered his face with little kisses, his eyes, his cheeks, and the line of his jaw. He nuzzled my neck, making it difficult to concentrate, but there was one more thing I needed to find out. “Nick, there’s something I’ve been curious about since the first day I met you in my hospital room.”

  “What?” he asked, looking both distracted and adorable.

  I put my lips close to his ear, enjoying the way he shivered against me as I spoke. “Your tattoo. I want to see what it is.”

  “Why, Miss Lily,” he said, his tone incredulous as he gave me a cheeky grin. “Are you trying to tell me you like a man with tats?”

  “I didn’t say that,” I said, but he winked at me, calling my bluff. “Fine. I like tats, especially your tats. Now let me see it.”

  He lifted the sleeve of his T-shirt so I could look at the tattoo on his arm. It was a Chinese character, and one I instantly recognized.

  “Oh, Nick,” I said, laughing. “I’m so stupid. It was right there all the time.”

  “What are you talking about?” he asked, glancing at the ink on his bicep.

  I lifted my wrist so he could see my jade bracelet and the Chinese character dangling from it, an exact match for the one on his arm. “It’s karma. None of this was random, Nick. From your accident, to the moment I drove into the lake, and all the way to tonight. It worked out exactly as it should.”

  “Karma,” he said, with a grin, pulling me close for another heart-stopping kiss.

  “Karma,” I repeated.

  Before I closed my eyes to kiss Nick again, I saw something fly past. A little black fuzzy shape spun around the room and did a happy dance above out heads, before disappearing into the ceiling.

  “Bye, Rosie.” I whispered. I knew in my heart she’d come back to make sure everything worked out as it should, and now it was time once again for her to leave.

  Nick followed the direction of my gaze, and grinned. “I finally got to see you. Bye, Blobby. Thanks for everything.”

  As I leaned down to kiss him again, I heard the faintest echo of my sister’s laughter and caught the sweet scent of roses in the air. I smiled against Nick’s lips. Rosie was saying farewell, but I knew I’d see her again someday. And I also knew her spirit would remain with us always.

  Chapter 20

  A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. ~ Chinese proverb

  The guests arrived at Nick’s surprise party at nine o’clock. I had just enough time to change back into my own clothes before everyone came. My father couldn’t have handled seeing me in the black leather again, but that wasn’t the only reason. I’d grown to like that outfit, and the effect it had on Nick, but I felt more comfortable slipping into a jade green strapless dress I’d chosen myself. Sexy, but not overwhelmingly so, and it matched the necklace and bracelet Mrs. Chang had given me. I let my hair hang down and slipped into a pair of heels.

  I watched as Nick milled around the room, talking to everyone. I could tell he remembered more and more with each face he saw, each story he heard, and it was exactly what I’d hoped would happen. Our eyes met from across the room, and I knew he truly remembered the one thing that mattered—how we felt about each other. And it was enough for me.

  The Fortuna Brothers played onstage, and we danced and sang and had a great time. Uncle Johnny was the consummate showman. Uncle Danny, the master of the guitar. Maria hung out with her brothers’ wives and a host of cousins, nephews, and nieces. She’
d given me a warm hug and a kiss on both cheeks when she came in, and had known, simply by looking at our faces, all was well again. My parents had never looked happier, and even Miss Lin seemed to be having a good time. Her cheeks were bright pink, and she openly flirted with Nick. Mr. Wan winked at me as he told her to sit down and leave the young people alone. She called him a silly old goat, but from her it was almost an endearment.

  Nick pulled me into his arms for the last slow dance of the night, and I sighed. I rested my head on his shoulder and he sang softly in my ear. The song was the old Fortuna hit from the eighties, “Lucky One.”

  “What’s this song about?” I asked, nuzzling Nick’s neck.

  He kissed my forehead. After weeks of not being able to touch each other at all while he was in his shadow state, now we couldn’t seem to stop.

  “Well, you know our last name means ‘lucky’ in Italian,” he said, and I nodded. “My grandfather arrived in this country with nothing but the clothes on his back, but whenever anyone would ask him about it, he would say ‘I am lucky.’” Nick grinned. “It happened to be the only sentence he knew in English. He’d memorized it because he found out Fortuna meant lucky. He was trying to tell people his name, but it turned out to be the truth. He faced a lot of hardships, but he had a great life. My uncles learned a valuable lesson from him. They’ve been lucky all their lives.”

  I watched as the Fortunas sang and played onstage, happy to be here, sharing this moment and playing their music. Other people might see a group of middle-aged rockers with day jobs, but I could see the pure joy in their faces. They loved it. “They are lucky.”

  Nick gave me a sweet, lingering kiss before pulling me close. “But I am the luckiest one of all,” he said softly into my ear.

  The next morning, Nick had orchestra rehearsal. I planned to meet him afterward for a picnic by the lake. It might have seemed a little strange to have a date where I once died, but if I hadn’t driven my car into Lake Eugene, I never would have met Nick.