Lily Fields (Garden of Love 1)

by Melanie Wilber

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, kissing her gently. “Don’t make me wait too long to see your beautiful face, all right?”

  “All right,” she said. He smiled and leaned back to his side of the car, opening the door and telling her good night. She felt compelled to say something before letting him go.

  “Peter?”

  He turned back.

  “Thank you.”

  He looked confused. “For what?”

  She smiled. “For loving me. For being you. For everything.”

  He smiled and reached for her hand, squeezing her fingers and lifting them to his lips. “The pleasure’s all mine, Lily.”

  On the drive to the beach the following morning, Lily learned some things about Peter she hadn’t known before from listening to him answer questions from Rose. Her younger sister was one of those people who could talk to anyone with ease. Lily had no doubt she would make a wonderful nurse on that count.

  “You play tennis?” she replied after he had listed off a string of athletic interests to her sister.

  “In high school and during my Air Force years at least. I haven’t been playing lately. It’s sort of funny actually. All those years of being in cooler climates, except for my two years in Florida, and I always braved the cold. Now I’m back in California, and I think I’ve played twice this spring.”

  “No one to play with?” she asked, thinking how that was her biggest reason, aside from Oregon weather, for not playing her favorite sport.

  “Not really,” he said.

  She smiled. “I’m probably not nearly as good as you, but I’d love to play with you sometimes.”

  “Yeah? Did you play in high school and college?”

  She told him about some of her glory days. Tennis had been one of the things she had gotten into initially because of Cami, but had ended up enjoying for her own sake. She had surpassed Cami in the sport and even gotten a partial scholarship for her talent.

  By the time they reached the small coastal town of Cannon Beach, Lily had discovered Peter also enjoyed bike-riding, and he was pleasantly surprised to hear about her past summer excursions with a local cycling club that made regular short and long-distance runs around northwestern Oregon. They both thought that would be something they would like to do together in the future.

  The four of them had lunch together and then decided to separate for a few hours. Geoffrey had some studying to do, and Rose went with him to find a quiet place at one of the local parks. Lily and Peter went to the beach, walking hand in hand for a long walk along the shore before settling themselves in the warm sand.

  “This is nice,” he said. “Do you come here a lot?”

  “A few times a year,” she said, feeling a gentle breeze tickle her face. “This is about as warm as I’ve ever seen it in May. Usually I have to put on long pants and a sweatshirt anytime before July, but it’s not too bad today.”

  He grasped her bare arms and adjusted his position to sit behind her rather than at her side. “It’s a bit chilly for me,” he said. “I think I need you to warm me up.”

  Leaning back into Peter’s chest and feeling his arms wrap around her, Lily closed her eyes and slipped into a dream world. Being held in Peter’s arms felt amazing. Her heart surged with the intensity his loving touch stirred within her.

  To think of the difficult months she had been through since Christmas and what a sharp emotional contrast she was experiencing now, however, made her feel a bit apprehensive. Was this too good to be true? Were her feelings for Peter only temporary and superficial? Did something lie around the corner that would bring more heartache?

  Maybe I shouldn’t be letting myself feel this good right now. Maybe I need to be more cautious in giving my heart to Peter as freely as I’ve been doing. I’m getting my heart set on marrying him, and I find myself not wanting to have to wait too long for that.

  But what if Peter isn’t thinking that way at all? What if he’s one of those men who’s afraid of commitment or isn’t going to want to get married for two or three years? I don’t know if I can wait that long. I know I won’t be able to stand only seeing him once a month if our times together are always this great.

  Almost as soon as those thoughts began to surface and bring on a feeling of anguish in her soul, Peter kissed her ear and rested his cheek against her hair.

  “I hope you know that I’m never letting you go, Lily Sullivan.”

  Her worries were swept away, as if being carried by the gentle breeze coming off the ocean and traveling down the shore.

  Feeling giddy and alive once again, free to fall in love with this man holding her gently in his arms, Lily playfully ducked out of his embrace and sprang to her feet.

  “You have to catch me first,” she teased, dashing away from him and heading for the cool water. She knew she was doomed from the beginning. Her skinny, petite legs would be no match for Peter’s long strides, but she gave it her all anyway, striving to reach the water’s edge before he caught up with her.

  Turning to face him as soon as her feet splashed into the cold, Arctic-fed waters, she laughed as he scooped her up into his arms and carried them both forward into the foamy surf. Cold water splashed onto her bare arms and legs as he ran, even though Peter held her several feet above the water.

  She screamed and giggled, trying without success to wiggle out of his tight hold on her arms and legs. Without setting her down, he stopped his forward motion and kissed her windblown hair, her ear lobe, and her cheek. She stopped squealing and laughed, looking up at him with a smile.

  “Got ya,” he said, kissing her salty, dry lips. “Now you’re all mine.”

  He set her feet down into the shallow, cool water, holding her close and kissing her as if they were the only two people on the beach. Recalling the many times she had seen other couples sharing intimate moments for all to see, she felt amazed to be the one having such a handsome man holding her in his arms.

  She knew she had a pleasant personality and could imagine Peter being attracted to her on that count, but he had been interested in her since the first time he had met her and had flown 600 miles two weeks later to see her again. She still didn’t understand it.

  “Why are you attracted to me, Peter?” she had to ask, looking up into his handsome face. “I’m nothing special--a wallflower blowing in the wind, hoping some guy would come along and pick me.”

  He shook his head, apparently thinking she was crazy to think such a thing about herself. “You may see yourself as a wallflower, Lily, and maybe a lot of guys out there do,” he said, brushing her coppery hair away from her forehead. “But the first time I saw you, I saw a beauty I couldn’t describe. It wasn’t any one thing about your looks or your body, it was about you--all of you. Your hair and your eyes and your smile, and the way you looked at me, and the genuineness of your kind spirit--it was nothing, and it was everything.”

  She didn’t know what to say and decided it was best to remain silent and let his words penetrate her heart.

  “I went home the day after the concert and told myself, ‘You’re never going to meet a more wonderful woman than that, Peter Fields, and you better do something about it.’ I’ve never seen you as anything but beautiful, Lily. And you are something special. You’re one in a million.”

  He kissed her tenderly, engraving the sincerity of his words onto her heart. She made herself a promise to never doubt her beauty in Peter’s eyes. And the truth was, he made her feel beautiful and desirable. She loved everything about him and decided to believe he felt the same way about her.

  They spent a perfect afternoon together walking on the beach, sitting together in the warm sand, and finding some out-of-the-way places to share some private kisses before meeting Rose and Geoffrey for dinner. Her sister and future brother-in-law kept glancing at them with teasing smiles, apparently remembering those early days of falling in love with each other.

  Following a romantic sunset, Lily let Peter drive when he offered and enjoyed a
quiet ride with him as Rose and Geoffrey dozed together in the back seat. Lily got up the nerve to ask Peter when he thought they might be able to see each other again after tomorrow. She knew his work schedule might not allow him to come for a full weekend again for awhile. He was actually supposed to work today but had swapped shifts with someone. She knew she couldn’t expect him to be doing that all the time.

  The thought of not seeing him for several weeks seemed unbearable to her. Being with Peter made her feel so different than she had ever felt in her life. Thinking back to her days in college when she and Marty were separated from each other for months on end, and as difficult as that had been, she knew this would be much harder. She and Marty had been close friends, but Peter was her soul mate, and she didn’t like the idea of being separated from him for even a day, let alone weeks.

  “Next Saturday and Sunday are my normal days off,” he said, making her heart leap. “But by the time I got off shift, flew up here, and had to be back for the start of my next shift, it wouldn’t give us much time together.”

  “Oh,” she replied, trying not to let her disappointment show. She didn’t want to make him feel bad, knowing he couldn’t help it if he had to work. She remembered the time Rose and Geoffrey had almost broken up over Geoffrey’s busy schedule, and she felt determined to not feel that way about Peter. She knew he loved being a firefighter, and she had no intention of taking that away from him or making him choose between it and her. If this was the man she was planning to marry, she knew she’d better get used to it now.

  “But,” he said, reaching for her hand and interlacing his fingers with hers. “If you wouldn’t mind coming down there instead of me coming up here, you could be there by the time I get off, giving us a few more hours at least.”

  Her heart melted at the longing in his voice. He sounded like he would be missing her too.

  “If you want to, that is,” he added at her hesitation to reply. “If not, I--”

  “No. I’ll come down,” she said, letting her smile emerge. “I definitely want as much time with you as possible.”

  He glanced at her and gave her a warm smile. “I was hoping you’d say that. I don’t think I could make it more than a week without seeing you again.”

  “Me neither,” she said, smiling at him. “I’ve already endured enough time without you.”

  “I know, and I’m sorry about that. I want to do everything I can to make it up to you.”

  She believed he meant that, and she didn’t say anything else until she needed to direct him back to her parents’ house.

  “You better bring Peter inside,” Rose said when they arrived. “Mom will be crushed if she doesn’t get a chance to meet him.”

  Her parents had both been out this morning when they had stopped by, and Lily knew Rose was right, but she didn’t want to force Peter to meet them if he wasn’t ready for that.

  “Do you mind?” she asked. “It’s okay if you don’t want to, but since my mom usually meets most of my dates before I do, she may not survive if she has to wait.”

  “I’d love to meet them,” he said. “Will I shock them too bad if I start calling them Mom and Dad now?”

  Lily knew her eyes must have doubled in size before she recovered enough to reply. “I think so--yes,” she laughed, wondering if he was only teasing or being serious. She hadn’t learned to tell the difference with him yet.

  They followed Rose and Geoffrey inside, and her mother appeared within moments.

  “Hello,” she introduced herself. “You must be Peter.”

  “I am,” he said, shaking her outstretched hand and leaning to give her a kiss on the cheek. For a moment Lily thought he might actually say ‘Nice to meet you, Mom,” but he didn’t.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said instead.

  Her mother gave him her best smile, and Lily knew he would win her over in no time. “Is Daddy in bed yet?” she asked, glancing at her watch.

  “No, he’s in the study,” her mother replied. “Do you want me to go get him?”

  “No. We’ll go back,” she said, reaching for Peter’s hand and thoroughly enjoying the shocked look on her mother’s face that she had managed to bring on all by herself.

  “Should I be more nervous about this?” Peter asked, following her down the hall.

  She met his apprehensive gaze. “Well, I think you better hold off on calling him Dad, but otherwise it should be fine.”

  Walking past the formal living room to the back of the house, they reached the closed French doors and Lily tapped lightly on the wood frame.

  “Come in,” she heard Daddy say and opened the door. The slight creak brought back memories of times she had come into this room as a small child, coming to ask for permission for something or for her daddy’s help. As an adult she hadn’t felt as apprehensive around him, until now.

  Looking up from his leather chair, Lloyd Sullivan removed his reading glasses and stared at her curiously before shifting his eyes to Peter. He rose from his chair and crossed the room.

  “Daddy, I’d like you to meet Peter Fields,” she said, stepping to the side slightly to allow Peter to step forward and shake her father’s outstretched hand. “Peter, this is my dad, Lloyd Sullivan.”

  “Good to meet you, sir,” Peter said most respectfully.

  “Good to meet you, son,” her father replied.

  Lily pursed her lips to keep a laugh from bubbling to the surface. She had forgotten that her dad called every man under the age of forty, son.

  Peter flashed her a surprised expression, and she almost lost it.

  “Are you only here for the weekend?” her father asked.

  “Yes,” Peter replied. “I wish it was longer, but duty calls.”

  “Yes, it does,” her father said, certainly no stranger to long, irregular hours.

  A pang of apprehension hit her again concerning Peter’s work schedule. As a child, she hadn’t seen her father much. She had always hoped to marry a man who would give his children more time.

  Almost as soon as she thought of Peter being the father of her children, her apprehension faded. He would be a great father. The mental picture of him holding their child in his arms made a shiver pass through her.

  “A lot more patients would never walk out of the hospital alive if it wasn’t for you guys,” her father said. “It’s respectable work, son. Making a difference. That’s what it should be about.”

  “I agree, sir,” Peter replied. “There’s nothing else I’d rather do.”

  They only stayed a few minutes, but Lily had no doubt Daddy approved by the time they bid him good night and slipped back out the way they had come. Managing to get out the front door before her mother detained them too much longer, they got back in the car, and Lily drove to her apartment.

  “Oh,” she said, suddenly remembering how late it already was. “Did you want to go to Mark’s now? I wasn’t even thinking.”

  He reached out his hand and laid it on her fingers that were about to insert the keys into the ignition once again. “Not a chance,” he said. “I get at least another hour with you.”

  She smiled, feeling secretly relieved she didn’t have to tell him good night yet. Even though she knew she would be seeing him next weekend, she still felt the need to be with him a little bit more today.

  Still feeling some sand in her toes when they ascended the stairs, she removed her shoes by the door and went to use the bathroom and wash off her feet before returning to the living room and letting Peter hold her in his arms. She surprised herself by asking him something they hadn’t discussed yet.

  “Do you want children, Peter?”

  “Yes,” he replied, stroking her arm and kissing her hair. “Do you?”

  She smiled. “Yes.”

  He tilted her face toward his and kissed her tenderly. “I want children with you, Lily.”

  She enjoyed his passionate kiss that followed but gently pulled away and laid her head on his shoulder when she felt the de
sire within her growing too intense.

  “Let’s not wait, okay?” he said.

  She looked up at him, feeling a bit alarmed. Apparently it showed on her face.

  He laughed. “I mean once we’re married, let’s not wait too long to have kids, okay?”

  “Okay,” she said, feeling somewhat surprised by his words about marriage. She knew she wanted to marry him, but she thought it might take him some time to decide that about her.

  “I don’t want to be too old to play with my kids by the time they’re in little league or learning to shoot hoops. My dad wasn’t around much during those years for me. I don’t want to be that kind of dad. I don’t want to miss out on their growing up years.”

  She looked up at him and felt the tears coming too fast to hold them back. He appeared perplexed by her reaction.

  “Are you for real, Peter Fields?”

  He laughed. “Was that such a rare thing to say?”

  “I don’t know, but it seems like I fall more in love with you every minute. I’ve been waiting and praying for you for so long, and now you’re here, and it seems unreal to me.”

  “It seems unreal to me too,” he said, pulling her back into his chest and holding her gently in his arms. “I hope I’m not scaring you by talking about marriage and having kids, but I don’t think I can help it. Do you think we’re being crazy?”

  She laughed. “I know we are, but I’ve honestly never felt more at peace about anything than being with you, Peter. Is that the way you feel too?”

  His tender green eyes told her the answer. “Yes,” he said. “There’s no doubt in my mind or my heart that you are the one for me, Lily.”

  She didn’t expect him to propose to her right now, and she didn’t want him to. She wanted to enjoy the newness of their relationship without placing unrealistic expectations on each other. But when she kissed Peter good-bye at the airport the following afternoon, she knew they would only be separated for a short time and their future visits with each other would be frequent. Nothing, not even 600 miles was going to keep them apart. And she could dare to dream that sometime within the next year she was going to marry Peter Fields.