Summer of Love

by Sophie Pembroke

  Whatever it was, it wouldn’t be enough to dampen his good mood. The studio at the Mill was this close to being his, the photos from Mabel’s wedding looked fantastic, and life was coming together nicely. He closed his laptop screen on a particularly lovely shot of Lily helping to adjust the bride’s veil, and went to answer the door as the knocking grew more insistent.

  ‘What the hell did you say to Lily?’ Without waiting for an answer, Cora swept past him into the house, standing accusingly in the middle of his lounge, tapping one high-heeled foot.

  Alex tried to figure out exactly what he’d done wrong, and gave up quickly. ‘I’ve said a lot of things to her this week. She’s been helping me with the photography thing, remember?’

  ‘Oh, I remember. But what I want to know is, what did you say to her to make her leave Edward?’

  Ah. That. ‘How did you hear?’

  Cora scoffed. ‘Are you kidding? Everyone in town has heard by now. So I’ll ask again. What did you say to Lily?’

  ‘Wasn’t me. She came up with that all on her own.’

  ‘After seven years, she suddenly decided the man she agreed to marry wasn’t the right one for her?’

  ‘Well, he wasn’t! He’s an idiot.’

  Cora’s eyes widened. ‘He loves her! They were getting married! And it seems highly coincidental that Lily should suddenly figure this out the week you come back to town.’

  ‘I have no idea what you mean.’ Except, of course, he did. The fact that Lily was now single opened up certain… possibilities, and of course that hadn’t escaped him. Not that he was about to admit that to Cora. He just had to keep reminding himself that she was a friend, and he was looking for a forever kind of love. Something Lily had made it very clear she had no interest in.

  But right now, romance wasn’t the first thing on his mind. He was a busy man, with a new profession to build. In the hopes of conveying that to his cousin, Alex perched himself on the edge of the sofa and reached for his laptop again. After all, those photos weren’t going to edit themselves. And if Cora was going to talk around in circles like usual, he probably wouldn’t miss anything important if he got on with a little work.

  ‘Come on, Alex.’ Obviously not intuiting the logic behind his plan, Cora sank onto the sofa beside him, even as he opened the laptop screen. Could he work with her sitting beside him? Looked like he’d have to try, if he didn’t want the evening to be a total waste. ‘I know you’ve been talking a lot about settling down and stuff. But I know you, remember? I know the stories, and I know the sort of guy you are. I love you like a brother, but people don’t just… change overnight. Even if you really do want to find “the one”, you can’t tell me you’re not tempted. If you decided you wanted Lily, turned on the charm…’

  His heart jolted in his chest as Cora’s words coincided with his laptop screen bursting to life again, revealing his favourite photo of the batch. Ostensibly, it was one of the bride, mascara mostly fixed, holding onto her bouquet with a grim, determined smile. But behind her, Lily stood, bent slightly at the waist as she straightened Mabel’s veil. Her bright, neat teeth bit into her plump lower lip, her hair falling just over one brow as she worked. Her navy dress, which had seemed so utterly un-Lily-like when he’d seen it in person, draped to a v at the front, giving just the barest glimpse of creamy cleavage. And, at just the moment when he’d pressed the button to take the shot, she’d looked up at him, her green eyes sparkling…

  ‘Are you honestly trying to tell me you’re not interested?’ Cora said, pointing at the screen as if it made her argument for her. Which it kind of did. ‘Alex, tell me truthfully. Did you set out to break up Lily and Edward?’

  ‘No.’ If he said the word firmly and swiftly enough, maybe he could forget how much he’d wanted to. ‘And even if I did –’ Cora groaned and pulled a cushion to her face beside him. ‘Even if I did, you can’t claim it’s not a good thing. How could you ever let her get involved with such an idiot in the first place?’

  Cora peeked out from behind her cushion. ‘This is my fault now?’

  The more Alex thought about it, the more convinced he became that, actually, yes. This had to be much more Cora’s fault than his. ‘Yes. Yes, it is. When I left Felinfach –’

  ‘Ten years ago,’ Cora interjected.

  Alex ignored her. ‘When I left, Lily was sparky, individual, capable of anything. What happened?’

  ‘All that talking, and she didn’t tell you?’

  ‘Tell me what?’

  Cora sighed, and placed the cushion in her lap, folding her hands over it. ‘It was just before I left for university. Lily wasn’t going; she’d dropped out of college, got some awful part time job somewhere. We weren’t speaking much at the time, to be honest. It was the first time our lives were going in different directions, that we weren’t doing things together. She’d moved in with her boyfriend. He was older, twenty-eight or something. He had a flat on the new estate. I never saw it; Lily never invited me over. Which should have been the first clue, really.’ She took a shuddering breath, and Alex felt a chill settle over him.

  ‘What happened?’ he asked, not sure he really wanted to know.

  ‘The night before I left, she showed up at Mum and Dad’s. Her face… Her right eye was swollen almost shut.’

  Alex’s jaw ached, from clenching his teeth too hard. ‘Tell me you didn’t let her go back there.’

  Cora laughed, a watery, humourless chuckle. ‘Are you kidding? Besides, this was still Lily. She promised me it was the first time he’d hit her, that he’d changed since she met him and he wasn’t the guy she loved any more. As far as I know she walked out and never saw him again.’

  ‘Does he still live in town?’ Because if he did, Alex wanted to meet him. And punch him through a window. Just the idea of some bullying guy touching Lily, hurting her… Every muscle in his body was tense with the need to do something about it. To protect her, save her, keep her close and safe and with him.

  Still, it certainly helped to explain her fear of people changing.

  ‘It was eight years ago, Alex. You can’t make that better now. But you can try to understand.’

  ‘Understand what?’

  ‘Why Lily chose Edward.’

  ‘Because he’d never hit her? That seems a remarkably low bar to set.’

  ‘Because, after her dad dying, and after the abusive bastard who hit her, Edward was normal. Safe. Dependable. All the things she was supposed to want.’

  ‘And you let her settle for that?’

  Cora sighed. ‘Look, Alex, you weren’t here. Edward… he was good for Lily. Helped her get her confidence back. They were sweet together, fun even. But seven years is a long time, I guess. Edward started working more and more, putting his career first. I tried to talk to Lily about it, but she said it was all fine, that she had Tiger Lily to focus on anyway.’

  ‘She said that they’d grown apart,’ Alex said. ‘Changed. When she ended things, earlier. I guess… I guess I just thought it had always been like this. That he’d just been trying to make her into the person he wanted her to be.’

  Cora gave him a sad smile. ‘Don’t we all do that? We see what we want to see in people, and we assume they want the same things we do. Maybe I did the same thing. When Edward proposed and Lily said yes… I thought maybe she’d found what I had. Wanted what I wanted. I thought marriage, being wives, could be something we’d do together. Like everything else.’

  ‘It doesn’t work that way, Cora. You can’t just make marriage happen like that.’

  Cora looked up at him, eyes serious. ‘Isn’t that what you say you’re trying to do? Deciding you’re ready to settle down, then coming here to find some hapless maiden to wed?’

  Shifting uncomfortably on the sofa, Alex was aware of Lily’s eyes watching him from the photo. ‘That’s not it.’

  ‘Are you thinking you can make Lily the wife you need? Because she’s my best friend, Alex. And I won’t let you play around with her. She need
s time to think things through. To realize what she’s giving up, not marrying Edward. I don’t want you confusing her. Or hurting her.’

  ‘I won’t,’ Alex said, stunned at the certainty in his own voice. Whatever else happened, hurting Lily was the last thing he wanted. ‘Look, we’re friends, that’s all. And we’re looking for different things. Like you say, she needs to figure out who she is now. So even if I were interested, it’s unlikely to happen. And even if it did –’

  ‘Which it’s not going to.’

  ‘She’d be much more likely to break my heart than the other way round.’

  The level of disbelief in Cora’s eyes was, frankly, quite insulting. ‘Just be careful, Alex, please. Give Edward a chance to win her back. For her to remember how happy they used to be, and see if they can have that again.’

  ‘You’re not just saying this so you don’t have to redo the table plan for your wedding, are you?’ Alex asked, only half joking.

  ‘I’m saying it because Lily is one of the few things more important to me than wedding planning right now.’ Cora got to her feet and bent down to kiss his cheek. Pausing at the door, she turned back and said, ‘That’s a fantastic photo, by the way. I’m sure this new enterprise of yours will be a great success.’

  As the door shut behind her, Alex was left staring at the photo, still trying to make sense of the whole conversation. And remembering that he had a wedding to attend on Saturday. With Lily.

  * * * *

  An hour later, buffered by a microwave chilli and an actual full glass of wine, Lily curled up in her childhood bedroom, ignoring the way it was now painted in inoffensive neutral colours instead of the teal and purple she’d chosen at sixteen, and called Cora.

  ‘How’s Evelyn taking it?’ Cora asked, when Lily had filled her in on the day’s events.

  ‘Shouldn’t you be asking how I’m taking it?’

  ‘Well, since I had three reports this afternoon of you drinking brandy in the Bull and Frog with my cousin this lunchtime – and don’t think I haven’t already spoken to him about that – I’m assuming you’re fine. Evelyn, on the other hand…’

  ‘Thinks I should apologise and beg him to take me back. But I did get a full glass of wine with dinner.’ Lily paused, and pictured Cora on the end of the line, lips pursed in her “I’m not going to ask, but you’re going to tell me anyway” expression. ‘And look, about Alex…’

  ‘Oh I’m sure it’s none of my business. I mean, he’s only my cousin. And you’re only my best friend, after all.’

  Lily winced. Apparently she owed Cora a few girly catch-up sessions. It was just that Cora was all about weddings at the moment, and Lily really, really wasn’t. ‘Has he told you about his new business yet?’

  ‘The photography? Yes.’

  ‘Well, then you know that’s the only reason I’ve been spending time with him this week. Purely professional reasons.’

  ‘Hmm.’ Cora didn’t sound convinced.

  ‘Although…’

  Cora sighed. ‘Yes?’

  ‘He is coming with me to my cousin’s wedding this weekend. As friends.’

  ‘Lily…’ The warning note in Cora’s voice sounded loud and clear.

  ‘As friends! It’s not… I know what people are going to say. That I left Edward for him. But that’s not how it is and, of all people, I’d hope my best friend would believe me about that.’

  There was a pause on the other end of the line. ‘Evelyn’s really not taking it well, then,’ Cora said, eventually.

  Lily sighed. ‘I’m sorry. It’s been… a bit of a week.’

  ‘So I gathered.’ There was a rustling on the other end of the phone, as if Cora were settling down against her pillow for a proper talk, the way they had every night after school when they were teenagers. ‘Why didn’t you tell me you were thinking of leaving Edward?’

  Ah. So that was it. Of course. If Lily hadn’t been so preoccupied with Alex and Evelyn and everything else, she’d have guessed instantly why her best friend was in such a mood. She felt left out.

  ‘Because I wasn’t really. Until I did.’

  ‘Honestly nothing to do with Alex?’

  Lily sighed. ‘Not the way you’re thinking, anyway.’

  ‘I hope not. Lily… I know Alex can be charming and he’s good looking and rich but… You know what he’s like with women. I’ve told you enough stories about him.’

  ‘I know that. And it’s not… We’re not… That’s not why I left Edward.’

  Cora wasn’t listening. ‘And I know he says he’s looking to settle down, but really, I don’t think –’

  ‘Don’t think he’d be looking to settle down with me?’ Lily asked, stung at her best friend’s opinion, even if it was the same one she held herself. ‘No, of course not.’

  ‘That’s not what I meant! Lily, no. He’d be damn lucky to have you. But leaving Edward on the off chance –’

  ‘I told you. That’s not why I left.’

  ‘Then why?’ Cora asked, sounding weary. ‘Because honestly, Lily, I don’t understand it. You were happy, we were both going to get married this summer, together, like always. Alex said you thought you and Edward had grown apart but honestly, the only thing I can think of that’s changed is Alex coming home.’

  Rubbing a hand across her forehead, Lily tried to find a way to explain it that didn’t sound stupid or petty. She was pretty sure “I didn’t like the ring” wasn’t going to cut it as an excuse for Cora. ‘It felt like I was living someone else’s life,’ she said, finally. ‘Like I woke up one day, and everything about my existence felt wrong. Like I’d changed, and my life hadn’t kept up. Like I was two people, and neither of them felt quite like me any more.’

  ‘Why didn’t you tell me that?’

  ‘Because I was still trying to figure it out, I guess. Trying to fit myself into the role I thought I was meant to be playing. But then Alex came –’

  ‘So it is his fault!’

  ‘Not really. He just made me remember who I used to be. What mattered to me. The things I wanted out of life. And then, when I started paying attention to my real life, with Edward, I realized that none of those things were there. It’s not like you and Rhys. Rhys knows you backwards, knows everything you want, every dream you have. But Edward… We both assumed we knew what the other wanted, but we never talked about it. And I suddenly realized that… we’ve both changed since we got together. We’re both still changing. And I just knew that, if we got married right now, without ever talking about it, we’d change so much we’d end up making each other truly miserable.’

  ‘Oh.’ There was silence on the other end while Cora digested that information. ‘Well, okay. You’ve made your decision. Maybe the time apart will make you and Edward realize what you’re missing. Fall back in love with each other. I mean, it’s not like you won’t still see each other – you’ll both be at my wedding, for a start. You can take it slowly, learn to love each other again, maybe. You don’t have to get married this summer, after all. And now, since you’re not planning your own wedding, that means you’ll have plenty more time to help me with mine. And I’ve been thinking about the favours…’

  With a sigh of relief, Lily settled back against her pillow and prepared herself for an extended debate on the merits of chocolates versus wild flower seed packets. She didn’t much care about the outcome. All that mattered was that Cora was still on her side, even if Lily feared she was being wildly optimistic about her future with Edward. If she had Cora, and Max, and maybe even Alex in her corner, what on earth did she need a husband for anyway?

  Eventually, everyone would come to see that ending it with Edward was for the best.

  It just might take a little while, in Cora and Evelyn’s case.

  * * * *

  The next morning, Alex was waiting for Max when he arrived at his office.

  ‘You’re really serious about this,’ Max said, unlocking the door.

  Alex followed him in, portfolio in hand. He�
�d been up half the night going through the photos he’d taken at Tiger Lily and the ones from the wedding, editing, cropping and perfecting them. ‘What on earth could have made you think I wouldn’t be?’

  Max shrugged. ‘Wasn’t sure if you were just going along with it to get the girl, so to speak.’

  ‘Lily?’ Alex blinked at the older man, and tried to forget the way he’d lingered over the shots with Lily’s face in them, pale and drawn but still devastatingly beautiful. ‘She was engaged until yesterday.’ And, despite the long series of rings he’d placed on her finger, not to him.

  ‘Like that matters.’ Max threw his keys into a bowl on the shelf and dropped into his chair. Leaning back, he looked up at Alex, still loitering in the doorway, his gaze examining. ‘You’ve been back in town what, a couple of weeks? And you knew she shouldn’t marry the guy, right?’

  A memory of the flash of that stupid golden ring, so unlike any of the ones Lily had made, made Alex’s jaw tighten. Just another sign that the idiot thought Lily’s talent and dream was just “a little job.” ‘Yes.’ The word came out hard and violent.

  ‘And so did I. Whatever her mother says about needing to see her settled down. Besides, I’ve heard your reputation. If you wanted her, word has it all you’d need to do is click your fingers.’

  ‘I wouldn’t. Not while she was engaged.’ Alex gritted his teeth to keep his rising temper in. What stories had Cora been telling about him, anyway? Yes, he liked women. But the image most people here seemed to have of him really wasn’t going to help him in the long run.

  ‘And now she isn’t?’ Not waiting for an answer, Max held out a hand for the portfolio. ‘Toss that thing over here.’

  For a moment, Alex wanted to hold the file to his chest and never let it be opened. How could Edward not see what a huge thing Lily had done, putting her dream out there to succeed or fail? But maybe Alex wouldn’t have, until he was there at the ledge about to do it himself.

  He placed the portfolio on the desk and pushed it across, reminding himself to breathe as Max picked it up.