Lily put her feet into her slippers and wrapped a lightweight robe around her shoulders before exiting her room. The smells grew stronger as she made her way toward the kitchen. Her stomach gurgled. She might be out of this part of her job. Whoever was in the kitchen cooking knew their stuff. Had Cade been hiding some culinary skills?
She poked her head into the kitchen and a swarm of butterflies erupted inside her. She would know those broad shoulders and blond hair anywhere. Azalea slouched at the table, swiping through something on her phone. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun on top of her head.
Azalea glanced up and met Lily’s eyes. “Good, you’re up. I can go back to bed now.” She scooted back from her chair and Wesley turned around.
The nerves in Lily’s stomach worsened. His face broke into a crooked smile as Azalea shrugged past Lily in the doorway. “Your friend wanted to make breakfast for everyone. Apparently my window was the closest one to a pile of pebbles.” Her voice sounded grumpy, but her expression hinted at amusement. “He’s a keeper,” she mumbled. “Better than the guys I’ve been on dates with lately.”
Lily watched Azalea disappear into the living room and turned around to come face to face with Wesley.
He grazed her jaw with his thumb. “Hey, beautiful. I was hoping you’d sleep longer.”
Sparks erupted at his touch. She flushed and grabbed his hand in hers. Hidden away in her room, she could fantasize and revel in her current situation. Now that she stood in front of him, hearing him call her beautiful, something felt off. “Doesn’t this seem weird to you?”
His brows pulled together. “How do you mean?”
“This. You and me.”
Wesley tugged at her hand and pulled her toward the stove. He flipped over a piece of bacon. “No.”
“Why not? I mean, don’t get me wrong, but this—you and me—are you sure it’s what you want?”
He stilled, the hand holding the tongs hovering over the sizzling pan. He worked his jaw, rolled his shoulders, and put the tongs down. Wesley faced her. “Lily, if I’m pushing you into something you don’t want, you can tell me. I get that I can come on strong.”
Lily’s heart dropped to her stomach and she held up her hands. “No, that’s not what I meant. I just—” Mia came to her mind again. But bringing her up might make him upset. She blew out a breath. “I want this.”
He smiled and the edges of his eyes crinkled. “Me too.” Wesley pulled her into a firm hug. She laid her head against his chest as his arms tightened around her. His chin rested on the top of her head. This was the new normal. She just had to shove down those thoughts of doubt. He’d picked her.
Someone cleared their throat. Lily stiffened, her first instinct to pull away from Wesley. He must have sensed it, because his arms tightened further. Lily turned her head to see Marguerite in the doorway with Cade and Titan.
Her big sister grinned widely as she entered the kitchen and pulled out a chair for Titan. “It’s about time.”
Heat seared Lily’s cheeks and she rubbed her nose against Wesley’s chest, his cinnamon-vanilla scent filling her with a different kind of warmth. A soft giggle escaped her lips and she slowly eased out of Wesley’s embrace. Cade flashed her a smile as he took a seat next to Titan.
“Good for you, Lily. It’s about time you focus on your happiness.”
Lily scoffed. “I’m happy.”
Marguerite rolled her eyes but didn’t comment. Instead she nodded to the spread on the counter. Plates filled with omelets, pancakes, and hash browns took up almost all the space available. “Am I correct in assuming you plan on sharing all that?”
Wesley chuckled and pushed a plate toward her. “Of course.”
Marguerite grabbed a plate of bacon, picked up a strip of meat, and took a bite. She smiled appreciatively. “Keep cooking like this and we’ll never let you leave.” She winked at Lily.
He slipped his arm around Lily’s shoulders and squeezed. “I’m glad you like it. One of these days, you’ll have to come to my restaurant and get the royal treatment.”
Come visit him? In New Jersey? A lump formed in her throat. He still planned on going back. Of course he planned on leaving. How could she be so blind not to see that? Hadn’t they had that conversation about Mia?
Lily’s body went cold. She couldn’t leave. Her family needed her here. If she left, who would help out? Her father wouldn’t hire someone to replace her. Marguerite was too busy and everyone else had their own lives. They wouldn’t survive if she left.
Would Wesley consider making the move back to Texas? Could she ask him to move his whole world to their small town? In her heart she knew the answer. She couldn’t expect him to make that sacrifice. This whole thing wasn’t as perfect as she thought. They might be able to finish each other’s sentences. Their chemistry might be out of this world. But ultimately, none of that mattered if they couldn’t be in the same city.
The fluttery feeling in her stomach settled into something more twisted and heavy. Wesley would be leaving in a few weeks. He’d said as much when he showed up. Lily looked up at him as he put a few more sausages on a plate and passed it to Cade. Azalea and Aster showed up a few minutes later along with their father. She took a seat at the table beside her father and Wesley settled into the chair on her other side.
He glanced around the table. “What’s Zinnia up to these days? Last I heard, she married Sam. Didn’t they plan on moving to the city?”
The table grew quiet. Wesley looked to Lily. She cleared her throat but her nephew spoke first.
“Uncle Sam died.” Titan popped a grape in his mouth.
“Titan!” Marguerite shot him a look. “What a callous attitude about your uncle’s death!”
Titan shrugged. “What? He did.”
Wesley’s brows rose. “Sam Davis died?”
Lily nodded slowly. “Yeah. It was a rodeo accident about a year ago.”
He whistled. “I had no idea… Wow. How’s Zinnia doing now?”
Lily gave him an appreciative smile. It was so like him to worry about others. “She’s doing well. You remember Tyson Lee? They’re married now. And Zinnia had a little boy a few months ago.”
Wesley’s hand froze halfway to delivering a bite of food to his mouth. “That was fast.”
A few chuckles rippled through the people at the table.
“The baby is Sam’s. Zinnia married Tyson about a month before he was born.” She took a sip of her drink.
Titan tapped Marguerite’s arm. “When do I get to play with baby Sam again?”
Marguerite smiled. “I’ll have to call and see. I’m sure Aunt Zinnia would love that.”
Wesley seemed to follow the conversation with interest. He smirked at Lily. “I guess you miss a lot when you move out of state.”
She lost all taste of the food in her mouth. Yet another reason she didn’t want to move away. She couldn’t bear not to see Titan and Sam grow up to be the handsome men they were bound to become. The sacrifice would be far too much.
Lily put her fork down and sat back in her seat. Conversation from everyone floated around her, sounding muffled like she was in a tunnel. She was a fool for thinking this would work. If she continued down this path, she’d lose herself and everything she valued. Falling for Wesley would only end in a broken heart.
She felt his eyes on her. Meeting his gaze was a mistake. He winked and her pulse raced. For the first time in her life, she could see something more in his expression—an inkling of adoration, maybe?
They needed to break this off before it went even further. She’d made a decision based on how she felt rather than what was smart. He would understand, right?
Her father had already left after clearing his place. Aster had soon followed with Titan. Only Cade, Marguerite, and Azalea lingered. The moment they left, she’d be able to have a word with Wesley and put this whole thing right.
A shrill ring echoed through the kitchen. Marguerite got up from the table and grabbed the phone fro
m the counter. A beep ended the ringing when she pushed the button. Marguerite held the phone to her ear and her happy expression flattened. She turned toward the window. “You can’t be serious. You were supposed to come by tomorrow to prepare for the event. It starts in five days!”
Wesley grabbed Lily’s plate and took it to the sink. Lily exchanged looks with Cade, who then returned his focus to Marguerite.
“… and where exactly do you expect me to find someone on such short notice? There has to be something you can do.” She shook her head and paced in front of the window. “No, I paid you a deposit to guarantee you’d be here. That’s not good enough.” She stopped and placed her hand on her hip. “No, I don’t want a refund. I want your chef out here tomorrow.” She groaned and shook her head again as she listened for what seemed like an eternity. “Yes, send the refund to the method of payment on file. Yeah, you too.”
Marguerite jabbed her finger onto the receiver and slammed the phone into its cradle. “Unbelievable. Where are the days when your word was the most important thing?”
Cade stood. “What’s going on?”
She blew a harsh breath out of pursed lips. “My caterer bailed. I’m going to have to find someone on short notice who can handle all the food for this weekend. Not only that, but someone who can make a wedding cake.”
Wesley’s brows rose. “A wedding cake? Who’s getting married?”
Marguerite flicked her wrist at him. “Two of the competitors. I guess they met at our rodeo a few years ago. They wanted to get married on opening night. I put this all together for them and now they won’t have a caterer. I’m going to have to tell them we’ll need to cancel.”
“I could do it.”
All heads swiveled to look at Wesley. Marguerite’s mouth dropped open. “Oh yeah. I totally forgot this was right up your alley. You’d do that?”
Wesley grinned at everyone. “Sure. I can’t think of a better use of my time than to save a wedding.”
Azalea swooned. “That’s so sweet.”
“How many guests are you planning for?”
“Officially? Three hundred. But the happy couple didn’t want to turn anyone away. We have two hundred fifty presold tickets. Typically we’ll sell a good couple hundred tickets on the first night too.” Her brows pulled together. “Are you sure you can do it? You’ll have to plan a menu, order food, and cook.”
Wesley grabbed a dish towel from the counter and dried his hands. “Sure, I don’t see why not. It’s not like I have anything planned this week besides helping Lily out with a few things.” He approached Lily and tossed the hand towel over his shoulder. “What do you think, Lily?”
He’d already captured her heart. The more time she spent with him, the harder it would be to let him go. If she told him no, she’d be the one ruining the wedding. Could she go along with it and keep her heart protected? She smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I think it’s a great idea.” There went her plan to break things off and stay far away from him until he went home.
Marguerite clasped her hands together. “That would be amazing. Thank you so much, Wesley. I can’t believe we’ll have a high class chef heading the food prep this time. I have to make a few calls.” She picked up the phone and headed out of the kitchen.
Lily rubbed her hands together. “Welp, I’m going to get a few chores done. If you’re planning on preparing all the food for this thing, you’re going to need help.”
Wesley squeezed her shoulder. “I’ll clean up in here and come find you.”
She flinched with his touch, not because it hurt, but because of the innate desire to slip into his embrace again. “I’ll be out in the storage shed. Marguerite wanted me to decorate the cafeteria for the festivities. You know—tables, chairs, centerpieces.” Lily shrugged away from him and forced a smile. “You might want to look around the kitchen over there to familiarize yourself with the equipment.”
Something unreadable flickered in his eyes. He nodded. “Sure. I’ll do that. Then maybe when we’re done we could go for a walk.”
“Yeah, maybe. If we have time.” Lily stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. “Thanks for breakfast.”
Lily took off, escaping the house like it was on fire. Why did everything suddenly feel like it was unraveling? Her control over the whole situation was gone. He could tell something was up. That much was clear. But did it really matter? He would return home sooner rather than later and she wouldn’t follow him. There simply was no way to make this little crush work.
She hurried to the shed, pulled open the door, and stepped into the darkened room. The tables were already stored in the building that housed the cafeteria. She’d need to find the tablecloths, centerpieces, and chair covers first. They’d purchased everything for Marguerite’s first wedding and hadn’t used them since.
She searched through box after box and then moved each one to the side. Dust floated through the air as she opened another box only to find old pictures. Where were the wedding decorations? Lily shoved a large cardboard box to the side and came across one labeled Wedding. Finally. Surrounding the box were at least half a dozen more. She hoisted one into her arms and headed for the door.
Lily stepped out into the light and bumped into a tall figure. She stumbled back a step, her heart leaping into her throat.
“Whoa! Easy.” Christian lunged at her. He plucked the box from her arms and steadied her at the same time. The box was propped under his arm and he flashed her a smile. “How’s it going, Lily?”
She looked up at him. His bright eyes and easy smile were so similar to Wesley’s. The swirling emotions from Christian’s attention were dampened compared to the vibrant ones she experienced with Wesley. But Christian would be around. He had no plans on leaving.
Lily chuckled and ran a hand through her hair. “Hey, Christian. Wesley’s inside, if you’re looking for him.”
Christian looked over his shoulder toward the house, then back at her. “Actually, I’m here to see you.”
“You are?”
He grinned. “Is that so hard to believe?”
“I suppose not. Except your brother’s here.” She chuckled.
Christian rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, I thought he might be. You guys were always really close.” He lifted the box under his arm. “You want me to put this somewhere?”
Lily pointed to a large structure near the arena. “The cafeteria. I’ll grab another one.” She ducked into the storage room and picked up another box. She should probably get rid of Christian. Based on the way Wesley had interacted with Christian on their double date, it might not be a good idea to let them cross paths.
She headed out into the morning and toward the cafeteria. Christian fell into step beside her. They walked quietly together until he broke the silence.
“Did Mia head to the city this morning?”
“I think so.”
“Do you know when she’ll be back?”
Lily shrugged. This whole thing with Wesley was beyond her comprehension. If Mia were here, she’d know how to handle it. Then again, if Mia were here and she didn’t know about Wesley’s interest in Lily, that could add a slew of problems to an already big one. “I think she comes back on Thursday night. She said she wanted to be here for the rodeo this weekend.”
“Is Wesley going to visit her?”
Another shrug. “Probably not.” She opened the door and gestured for him to head inside.
Christian put the box down on the floor. “Why not?”
Lily placed her box on top of the one he put down. She pulled her hair into a messy bun and placed her hands on her hips. “Marguerite’s caterer fell through. He offered to help.”
He muttered something unintelligible. “Of course he did. Sounds like it was meant to be.”
“Guess so.”
Christian’s blue eyes pierced into hers. “How are you doing, Lily?”
She scrunched up her face. “I’m fine. Why do you ask?”
“You seem less c
hipper.” He folded his arms, continuing to scrutinize her.
Suddenly feeling naked, she dropped her arms and pushed past him to leave the building. Why did all the Hall men have to be so good at reading her? She barely knew Christian. Was she so transparent for him to see she was already struggling with her decision to get close to Wesley? “I’m fine. It’s just going to be a busy week.” She picked up her pace as she made her way toward the storage shed again.
He jogged to catch up with her. “Lily?”
She paused and faced him. “What?”
“Could we go out again? Just the two of us?”
Her jaw dropped. “You want to go out with me?”
Christian smirked and rubbed the back of his neck. “That is what I asked.” He placed his hand against her cheek. “You’re beautiful, smart, and funny. You’re a catch, Lily. Anyone with eyes can see it.”
Chapter Eighteen
Wesley glanced out the window and dropped the mug he held. The ceramic cup crashed into the bottom of the stainless-steel sink. It was happening again.
Azalea yelped.
He cursed and picked up the three pieces of ceramic. “Sorry, Azalea.”
“Everything okay?” She stared at him from her place at the table.
“Yeah,” he muttered as he dropped the broken shards in the trash. Except his brother was moving in on the girl of his dreams. Already he could feel a shift in Lily from last night to this morning to now. Something he’d said or done had turned her cold. “I’m just about done here. Do you think you could put these dishes away? I’m not sure where they go.”
She put her phone on the table and hopped out of her chair. “Sure.” Azalea headed across the room and opened a cupboard. “Lily is so lucky to have you. I can’t seem to hold down a guy longer than a few weeks. They meet my family and they’re gone. I guess that’s what happens when you don’t pick a local.”
The Chef Chases his Cowboy Dream (Silverstone Ranch Book 3) Page 9