“It’s not like that,” Saul said.
Lily threw her hands up then waved them at us. “It looks like it is like that. You’re touching her, she’s here with you, you said you were together.”
“Have I ever brought a girl here?” he asked her.
Lily shook her head. “No, you haven’t. But Saul, she’s not like the girls you date. Henley is a good girl. She’s got a plan for her life and she has goals.”
“And I can’t date her because she’s good?” he asked.
“I don’t think I can stand it if you hurt Honey’s granddaughter. And you will, Saul. You will.”
Saul’s hand fisted in my shirt and that was the only indication his mother’s words were affecting him. I wanted to say something, but I didn’t know what to say or if I should speak at all. Lily wasn’t well right now and she was recovering and getting back on track. I didn’t want to say something to derail her.
“I would never hurt her,” Saul said.
Lily sighed then and looked at her son. “You won’t mean to but you will. It’s what you do.”
Saul’s hand tightened on my shirt again and I knew he was struggling not to say the wrong thing to his mother. Knowing she was going to keep saying things to him that upset him, I couldn’t keep standing there silently.
“Honestly, Lily, you should be worried about me hurting him. I’m terrible with relationships and run when things get tough. Heck, I may be out of town by next week,” I said this as blasé as I could, wanting to ease the tension and get Lily’s focus off of Saul and his inability not to hurt me.
Lily looked at me then and her smile returned. Then she laughed. “You reminded me of Honey just now. That sounds like something she would say.”
Taking this as my chance to stop all talk of our relationship and its future, I returned her smile. “And like Gran, I also enjoy Italian food. It smells great.”
Lily spun around then and looked back at the kitchen. “Oh, I need to set the table for three. Do you like iced tea, Henley? If not, I can make some lemonade. I believe I have a mix in here somewhere,” she said, hurrying back to the doorway leading to the kitchen
When she was out of sight, Saul relaxed and ran his hand over the part of my shirt that he had held in his fist. “Thank you,” he said.
I tilted my head back to look up at him. “Don’t thank me now. Remember I could run off next week with another billionaire’s son who poses as a lawn boy.”
Saul grinned and bent his head to kiss me gently. “Let me know when he gets to town so I can show him the way out. Only one of us per town. It’s a rule.”
I shrugged. “Not if he’s hot. I may want to keep him.”
Saul’s expression changed. His smile went serious. “I’ll make sure I’m the only man you want to keep.”
My knees went a little weak and I wanted to make a snarky comeback to make him laugh, but in that moment, I just wanted to be back in his bedroom.
“Found the lemonade!” Lily called out.
Saul cut his eyes toward the kitchen. “Let’s go get this over with,” he said. “Don’t take a big bite at first. Nibble. There’s a good chance this taste like ass. My mom can’t cook for shit.”
I covered my mouth to muffle my laugh and nodded.
We walked to the kitchen together and I truly hoped the worst of the evening was over. I hated to see Saul upset or verbally attacked. Lily should have nothing but praise for her son. He had given up any plans he had in his life to make sure she stayed alive. He’s sacrificed for her. I doubted she would see it that way. She was struggling to make it day to day.
Once we were in the kitchen, I assured Lily that I liked iced tea just fine and when we sat to eat, I was thankful for the warning. There was a good chance that Lily had used an entire container of salt and pepper in the sauce. Small bites were all I could manage and thankfully she didn’t make dessert.
Listening to Lily talk about my gran and hearing stories of things they had done together made the meal enjoyable regardless of the food. I had no idea that my gran had gone parasailing or that she could line dance. Hearing these things made me wish that I’d spent more time with her in the summers. Not just the one week, sometimes two weeks, that I saved for my visits here. Now, I wouldn’t get those times back and it was an ache I would always have.
When Lily walked us to the door, Saul hugged her and told her he loved her. She clung to him tightly and kissed his cheek. Will had been what my mom called “one of the good ones” and I’d always believed he was the best. He never broke rules, he was polite, and he was faithful. He was trustworthy and would get me to go to church any chance he could. I had always thought that a man like Will was the best kind of man. But I couldn’t say that Will would have given up his plans for his mother. Had she been an addict and needed him this way, I don’t think he would have been able to do this. He would have resented her for her sickness. He would have prayed for her and possibly judged her, that I was sure of… but he wouldn’t have given up everything for her.
Saul stepped back and Lily moved to hug me. I returned her hug.
“Be careful,” she whispered in my ear then let me go and stepped back smiling, but when her gaze met mine, I realized the smile didn’t meet her eyes. She was warning me and she feared I wouldn’t listen.
Twenty-Seven
Leaving Saul’s bed at four in the morning wasn’t easy. However, work started off busy and didn’t let up. Emily had woken up with a migraine and we were shorthanded. Hillya had called her other part-time employees, but no one had been able to come in on short notice.
It wasn’t until one thirty that we got our first lull in the day and could take a moment. Hillya sat down on the stool behind the counter. “I should be making some food for the evening crowd, but I need to sit for a minute,” she told me.
I walked over to the espresso machine to make myself a cappuccino. I had never required caffeine as much as I did today. Everything I had made this morning was gone and Hillya only had three pecan muffins and some shortbread cookies left in the bakery display. I knew she had more things in the cooler to put in the oven but neither of us went to do that.
“Want something?” I asked her, as the machine started brewing the shot of espresso.
Hillya shook her head. “Nothing you can make. Now, I could use some younger legs and a better back,” she replied.
I finished making my cappuccino then went to take the vacant stool. It did feel good to get off my feet. I needed to find time to get more sleep. The past two days hadn’t had much of that.
“Is your mother coming down anytime this summer to see you?” Hillya asked.