What Makes Us Stronger (A Well Paired Novel Book 3)

by Marianne Rice

  Ty scrubbed his hands across his face. “My intent was to let you have the upper hand. To be at your mercy.”

  “Well. When you put it like that.” Lily grinned and pressed hard into his clavicle.

  “Ouch.” Lily chuckled and let up the pressure. “Brat,” he teased. “I like the sound of that. Your laughter. I’m hoping I can hear more of it.”

  “Me too.” She skimmed her fingers down his chest and worked her palms in circles.

  “Shit. You need to stop.” Ty grabbed on to both wrists and stopped her from moving.

  Lily’s face softened as she let up the pressure. “Am I hurting you?”

  “Not in the way you think.” Ty sat up, still holding her wrists, and swung his legs to the side of the bench. “I didn’t mean to—”

  “You’ve already said that. A few times. About a few different things. Why don’t you instead tell me what you did mean to do?” Lily wiggled her wrists free and stepped back, hoping he’d readjust the sheet. His right thigh and hip were naked and free, the corner of the sheet slipping away.

  “I...” Ty stood, obviously forgetting he was naked underneath and grappled for covering. He stepped on the sheet and tried to yank it up at the same time, bumping into the table that held the music and incense, knocking it over. He reached to pick up the bottle of essential oils, and the sheet dropped to the floor again. He bent to pick it up and looked up at Lily, locking his dark eyes with hers.

  Lily chewed on her bottom lip to stop the laughter threatening to erupt. Her body shook, and she bit harder.

  “You think this is funny?” He wrapped the sheet around his body like a bath towel and sat back down on the massage table.

  “Kind of,” she giggled.

  “I’m glad I can amuse you. Like I said, I like your laughter, even if it is at my own expense.”

  “It’s not like there’s anything I haven’t seen before.” She bit her lip again, not intending to sound so... sexual. Or intimate. While it was the truth, Ty’s visit today wasn’t about sex.

  “That’s not what I—”

  “We’ve established that. Which brings us back to my question. What did you hope to get out... of this? Besides a massage?”

  “You’re very good, by the way.” Ty rolled his shoulders and placed his hands on his lap, his smile softening to a serious flat line. “Like I said before, I caught you at a weak moment and took advantage of that. I dumped my insecurities on you, trying to make you feel at fault when really I didn’t know how the hell to process it all. I never asked about your safety. What I could do to help. I was a selfish bastard and will never forgive myself for treating you that way.”

  Lily toyed with the hem of her shirt, unsure how to respond or what to do. Ty stared at her with an intensity so strong it almost scared her. He’d beaten himself up over this as much as she had.

  “I’m not going to use my past or my depression as an excuse for treating you that way; I took the easy way out. And instead of talking to you about my suspicions with Thorne, I cast you aside. I didn’t want to love you because it hurt too much. If I pretended you didn’t matter, I could go on making myself believe I was better off without you. That you were just like the others. Or other. Shit. No wonder I could never get a girlfriend.”

  “Ty, you’re not fully to blame. I walked away as well. I should’ve stormed down your door and made you listen. Made you see the truth.”

  “No.” He stood, framing her face in his hands. “You told me the truth. It was up to me to believe it. You gave me the space I needed to process, to be angry. To heal. I’m still healing. Not from anything you did, but from myself. So much of this is self-inflicted. I’m learning to cope, to handle my self-doubt, to ask for help when I need it. When I’m stronger, when I’m not as needy, we’ll figure this thing out. All I’m asking is for your patience.”

  He kissed her lightly on the lips, scooped up his clothes from the chair in the corner, and walked out the door, leaving her speechless once again.

  She heard his heavy footsteps go down the stairs, and the squeak of the bathroom door closing. Noticing an article of clothing he missed, she picked it up and shook it out. A Parker Construction pullover.

  She held it close to her heart like a teddy bear and then slipped her arms through the sleeves, inhaling his woodsy scent and replaying what just happened between them.

  Ty wanted her back. She wanted him back. He took ownership for treating her badly and asked her to wait patiently for...

  Lily jerked her head back as if the answer would be written on the wall in front of her.

  Wait? Wait for what? She jogged down the stairs and stood outside the bathroom. Ty emerged a minute later dressed in khaki shorts and a Parker Construction shirt and a warm smile on his face.

  “Wait?” Lily poked him in the chest. “I’ve been waiting for over five weeks for you to talk to me. What is it I’m waiting for now?”

  “I’m not mentally healthy. I’ve only been back on my medication for a week. I’ve had two therapy sessions. In time I’ll get better. I’ll be sure of myself. Of you. Of us. In the meantime, I don’t want to risk hurting you again.”

  “How exactly do you think you’re going to hurt me?”

  “By questioning why you’re with me. By asking you if you could settle down with a middle-class construction worker from central Maine when you’re accustomed to fine dining, expensive jewels, and a ton other crap I’m completely ignorant to.”

  “First. I, Lily Novak, am not familiar with any of that other crap. You’re referring to a woman I want nothing to do with. I don’t want to be her. Ever again. You’re the one putting her between us. Not me.” Lily held up two fingers, and Ty flinched in surprise. “Second, if I didn’t want to be with you, I wouldn’t. If you’re so set on picking apart my past, know that she nor I have ever done anything we didn’t want to do. If I want out, I get out. Got it?” She poked him in the chest again.

  “And that’s why I need time. I’m going to keep pissing you off with my doubt.”

  “No. You’re going to keep pissing me off if you don’t talk to me about your feelings.” She softened her voice and placed a hand on his chest. “You’re going to keep pissing me off if you keep pushing me away. I’m here for good. The Sea Salt Spa is my business, my home. I have friends here. I have nowhere else to go. So if that’s what you’re worried about, stop. And if you can’t, then talk to me. Don’t make assumptions or decisions for me because that will piss me off.”

  “You’re mad.” Ty shoved his hands in his pockets again, his sign of retreat.

  “Yeah, I am. Who said this was going to be easy?” She slid her hands down his arms, joining their hands together in his pockets. “We’re going to argue. Do you think Ben and Alexis never argue? Hope and Cameron? That’s what couples do. But they talk. They compromise. They figure things out. They make up.”

  “You still want to be a couple?”

  “Is that doubt I hear in your voice?” She squeezed his hands in hers and tugged him toward her.

  “I thought you’d need more time.”

  Lily slowly shook her head from side to side. “You assumed. Ass. You. Me. Don’t.” She lifted herself up on her toes and kissed him on his lips.

  He pulled their joined hands out of his pockets and brought them behind her back. Her chest lifted and pressed into Ty’s. This. This was what she missed. Being in his arms. Being on the receiving end of his gentle touch. He was such a good, good man. More than anything in the world she wanted a relationship with Ty.

  She had the physical baggage and he carried more mental baggage, but together, they could get through anything. Releasing her hands from his, she lifted her arms and draped them over Ty’s shoulders.

  “I missed you so much,” she whispered into his mouth, taking their kiss deeper. He electrified her with his kiss sending bolts of desire through her body, and his hands hadn’t even moved from her lower back.

  Again, Lily pressed her body harder into his, fee
ling his strong desire for her, yet he didn’t move his hands.

  “Ty,” she moaned, wiggling in his arms.

  He released her lips from his and left a trail of kisses up her cheek and into her hairline, resting his cheek on her head. “Lily.” His voice raw, yet tired. “We should stop.”

  “We should not. We should take this upstairs.”

  “Don’t tempt me,” he growled. Squeezing her hips, he placed a hard, swift kiss to her lips and stepped back.

  “What’s wrong?” She immediately missed the heat between their bodies.

  He picked up her hands in his and kissed her knuckles. “As much as I want to continue this, I’m suggesting we take things slow.”

  “No.” Lily shook her head aggressively making Ty laugh.

  “Yes.”

  His smile took her breath away. She wanted him more than ever before. It used to be the sizzle of chemistry and heat between them, but now with the added element of love, she thought she’d spontaneously combust. Her heart raced, and she was dizzy with love.

  “Twenty-four hours ago you hated me,” he said with a sad smile.

  “I never hated you.” He cocked his head to the side. “I was mad at you, yes. I hear make-up sex is amazing.”

  “You’re a brat. Stop tempting me.” He laughed again.

  “I don’t ever want to stop tempting you,” she said with a long sigh, hooking her fingers through the belt loops in his jeans.

  “I like that.” He kissed her lips and pulled back before she could take the kiss deeper. “I also like this on you.” He traced his finger across the embroidery over her chest.

  “Your sweatshirt?”

  “My name,” he said softly, still tracing the lettering with his fingers.

  Lily’s heart thundered in her chest as she gasped. “Oh.” Did he just...?

  “You have your book club with my sister and your friends tonight. Go have fun.” He kissed her chastely and stepped back. “I’d like to take you out to dinner tomorrow night, though. If that’s okay.”

  “What?” He couldn’t do that. Almost propose one second and then send her off to book club the next.

  “A date. A real date. I want to pick you up, take you out to eat, maybe even bring you more flowers, if that’s okay. I think I actually like this dating thing. As long as it’s you I’m going out with.”

  Damn Ty and his sweet, sensitive side. She was so doomed. So head over heels in love with him she couldn’t care less if she ever went to another book club. Being wrapped up in his strong arms and warm kisses was all she’d ever need for the rest of her life.

  “We can order in.” Having Ty to herself sounded much more attractive than sharing him with a waitress and customers.

  “There’s plenty of time for that.”

  “We can take things slow if you want, but I’m not walking away from you, Ty. I love you. This... what happened between us didn’t destroy our relationship. It made us stronger. I love you even more than I did before.”

  “Lily,” Ty sighed. “I don’t know how I got so lucky. That’s not doubt. That’s a fact. I love you too. I never stopped. I’ll admit I tried. I tried not to think about you. I tried telling myself it was never love between us. That it was fake. We both know it wasn’t.”

  Ty framed her face in his hands and sipped at her lips. She kissed him back with passion and desire as every inch of her craved him.

  “My love for you keeps growing every damn day. That whole cliché about absence making the heart grow fonder? One hundred percent fact. I love you even more for giving me a second chance. You feel so right it scares me.”

  “You still going to turn me down on my offer to go upstairs? I can really show you how right we feel together.” She had never been so flirtatious or suggestive before, and she liked it. Especially seeing the reaction she got out of Ty.

  His eyes lit up as he raked his fingers through her hair. “I’ve already kept you, and if I know my sister and Hope, they’re going to give you a hell of a time for being late.”

  “It’s not like they know what I’ve been up to,” Lily said with a sly smile.

  “Sweetheart, they’ll know.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  “OH MY GOD. YOU HAD sex!” Mia yelled from across the bookstore.

  “What?” Hope snapped her head around and stared at Lily, who couldn’t help but blush. “You and Ty made up?”

  “Or she took my advice and went out to sow her wild oats.”

  “Mia! You did not tell her to do that,” Grace reprimanded.

  “Oh, lighten up. You’re just worried about the competition.”

  Lily didn’t say a word; there was no need to. She grinned from ear to ear listening to her friends’ banter, to take her defense in their unique ways.

  “I’m hoping that glow means you and Ty are back together.” Jenna hugged her and offered a spiked seltzer.

  “Ben’s been trying to get Ty to go out with him and Cameron, but Ty wanted nothing to do with the guys. He misses his new friend. I’m hoping this also means he’s going to come out of hiding. Ben needs a friend. He’s crowding me and moping all day.” Alexis put her arm around Lily and led her to the overstuffed chair.

  “I walked through the door thirty seconds ago. What makes you guys think Ty and I are back together?”

  “You’re blushing.”

  “You’re lips looked like they’ve gone through a major make-out session.”

  “You’re smiling.”

  They said one after the other. Lily giggled and sipped her drink. Yeah, there was no amount of money in the world that could tempt her away from this town or her friends.

  “I heard about Ty’s surprise visit in your massage room,” Mia admitted.

  Grace crossed her legs and wiggled her butt in her chair. “This, I have to hear.”

  Lily couldn’t contain her joy anymore and told them about their run-in at the beach last night and her surprise at finding him naked on her massage table.

  “Those tables are pretty sturdy. Did you test it out?” Jenna asked, shocking them all.

  “Oh, my ears. I don’t want to hear this.” Mia covered her ears with her hands.

  “I agree. No details in that department. Ty’s too much like a brother to me. I can’t do it. I’m going to assume by the smile on your face that your clothes hit the floor.”

  “Actually,” Lily said, setting her drink down and curling her feet under her bum. “My clothes didn’t come off. His did, though.”

  Grace howled with laughter, and Mia ducked her head between her knees. Alexis and Jenna giggled, and Hope unsuccessfully bit back a smile.

  “Ty was there for a massage, remember? Of course his clothes were off.”

  “And here I thought the Sea Salt Spa was a reputable place. Wait until the townsfolk hear there’s hanky-panky going on in those upstairs rooms of yours,” Alexis teased.

  “There was actually no hanky panky at all.” Lily picked up a whoopie pie and licked the creamy filling oozing out of the sides. “Ty was a perfect gentleman. Much to my dismay.”

  “Oh, I like you.” Grace pointed at Lily with her drink. “I can’t wait to be your neighbor.”

  “Neighbor?” Alexis gasped. “You’re moving?” She looked at her sister in surprise.

  “Not yet. I’ll keep my room at Mom and Dad’s until I’ve saved up more. I’m renting the space next to the spa and opening a boutique. I’ll be featuring graduate students and new fashion designers. Giving them a place to start out. I’m thinking of making it like a thrift shop or maybe a library. Where women can borrow high-end clothing and either return it or buy it. Still brainstorming.”

  “Crystal Cove isn’t exactly a fashion mecca, Grace.”

  “Someone tell my sister to have a little faith in me. I’ve done my research. Ben has given me some pointers as well. At least my brother-in-law supports me.”

  Lily wasn’t sure of the animosity between Alexis and Grace, but she knew it ran deep. They’d done wel
l to act civil around each other, and Alexis didn’t seem to mind Grace joining their group of friends. It wasn’t any of Lily’s business, but she’d be an impartial friend to both of them and pray the sisters could rebuild a relationship.

  Growing up, Lily never minded being an only child. Less people to deal with. Less responsibility. Her focus had been on her studies while in private boarding schools, and when home, her nannies continued her education, and her father only talked business. If she wanted to be part of any conversation, she had to learn about numbers and financing, marketing, strategies, schmoozing.

  She fell into the trap of having a single goal: making more money. Too bad she and her father never actually enjoyed what they did or even enjoyed their earnings. There were no vacations. A trip to Europe meant a potential business deal. The house in the Caribbean was a business investment. Clients from all over the world would meet there. More business transactions were made on the golf course than strokes.

  That was normal. Or rather, that was Veronica Stewart’s normal.

  Lily Novak’s normal was sitting around a small bookstore on tattered furniture talking about friendships, relationships, food, and sometimes books. The new normal was having arguments and making up. Walking the beach and tracking sand through the house and having to clean up after yourself, not relying on a maid.

  Normal was going on dates to the drive-in. Grilling in the backyard. Sitting around campfires.

  Laughing. Crying. Smiling. Hugging. Loving.

  Normal was simplicity. Normal was this.

  THE END

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

  WOW! THIS SERIES WOULDN’T be what it is without the love and support of my readers, especially my Ricecakes. I love you all for your encouragement and your constant nagging of me to write the next book!

  And of course, What Makes Us Stronger wouldn’t be what it is without my super fabulous editor, Silla Webb. You’re fantabulous! My knack for cover design more than sucks, but thankfully I have the ever-patient J.M. Walker of Just Write Creations who puts up with my long rambles and constant changes. I love this cover!!