Wasn’t that the essence of dreams? The bigger they were, the harder you could crash and burn. Lily felt that with her creative work. It was almost like she’d cleared some huge hurdle by breaking into the film scene in LA, and now that success made the thought of pursuing other things—like her novel—feel even more terrifying.
How could she clear that kind of hurdle twice? What if she’d used up all her good luck and karma on Wave of Love? What if she walked away from scriptwriting to pursue novel writing and it was a total disaster and she ended up with nothing?
Opportunity cost.
Sean caught her eye from the front of the room, and he flashed her a cheeky smile. They’d been making eyes at each other the whole time. He looked impossibly handsome in his black tuxedo. Jasper had treated himself and the guys to an old-school barber, who’d come to the inn and cleaned them up. This was the most polished that Sean had ever looked and… wow.
She didn’t even know it was possible for him to be more wow than he was before.
They were kept busy after the ceremony with all the photos—both inside and outside the inn—and then everyone returned to the main room to watch the newly married couple enter together. It was a cocktail function, with free-flowing champagne, canapés galore, and an incredible dessert buffet that Monroe had put together.
Lily had forced herself to have a few savoury bites first before turning her attention to the sweets. But she was more than prepared to consume her bodyweight in sugar this evening, because it would be a crime not to indulge in literal dessert perfection. Monroe, Katherine and Zoey were all standing in a huddle, talking business. It made Lily smile to see three talented women in the food industry sharing tips and tricks.
Biting down on her lip, she wriggled her fingers over a display of Christmas-themed mini cupcakes when a hand landed on her wrist.
“Can I tempt you with another kind of dessert?” Sean’s breath was warm against her ear as he wrapped an arm around her waist. “There’s a walk-in pantry with our name on it.”
“You’re bad,” she said in mock admonishment. But excitement fluttered inside her like butterflies.
He led her out of the main room, toward the kitchen. They passed Jasper’s friend from Melbourne and another guest on the way out, and when they got to the kitchen, he tugged her toward the generous walk-in pantry.
“Oh my gosh, you’re serious? Sean, we can’t go in there,” Lily said in a harsh whisper. “I thought you were joking.”
His eyes twinkled with mischief. “Why not? Doesn’t look like anyone else is in there.”
“That’s because it’s a food storage area.”
That didn’t stop her following him, giggling as they tumbled inside and pulled the door shut behind them. It was made of slatted wood, and when someone entered the kitchen a few seconds later, they went stock still. They could see the vague shape of a man through the slivers of visibility between the slats. The squeak of taps was followed by rushing water, then footsteps faded away. They were alone again.
Sean pressed Lily against the shelving, his lips finding her neck. “Still don’t think we should be in here?”
It was hard to grasp logic or sensibilities when he kissed her like that. Even though something was poking into her back, she didn’t care. Nothing but the feel of his hands slipping behind her and the warmth of his breath at her neck mattered.
She let her head roll back with a soft thud. “Wha…?”
His responding chuckle was dark and delicious. “Now I know the secret to making you speechless.”
“Canned goods and a musty aroma.”
“Hey, I showered.”
She giggled and clamped a hand over her mouth as someone else came into the kitchen. Sean didn’t freeze this time. Instead, he squeezed her backside.
“I’ll say it again, you’re bad,” she whispered.
“You love it.”
She did. These past three days had been like something out of one of her movies.
They’d woken in each other’s arms, and he’d kissed her slow and easy, like it was naturally how they started every single morning. Yesterday, they had breakfast with her family and Sean had kept everyone in peals of laughter with stories of bar patrons behaving badly. Then they’d teamed up for the gingerbread competition—narrowly missing out on the win, which was stolen by the dynamic duo of her mum and Aunty Patricia. They’d almost gotten caught stealing a kiss by the Christmas tree, and Sean had coaxed her into slow dancing with him to Michael Buble’s ‘It’s Beginning To look A Lot Like Christmas’.
It felt utterly magical. Utterly real.
You’re hoping for a job offer and he’s never going to leave Patterson’s Bluff.
It would be crazy to ask him to move to LA so they could see where this went… wouldn’t it?
The thought swirled in her mind, but it quickly turned to smoke as Sean brought his mouth to hers. His lips coaxed hers open, his tongue sliding against hers—confident, seeking. It felt like her whole body was humming. Her palms came to his chest, and her fingers curled into his lapels. She kissed him back with spirit, with energy and excitement. In her eagerness, she accidentally knocked something off a shelf.
“What was that?” A voice in the kitchen made both Sean and Lily suck in a breath.
Her eyes widened, darting to the slatted door, where she could spy two figures standing by the table. Crap! Was that… oh my goodness, was that her uncle? She’d never hear the end of it if he caught her making out with a man in a cupboard, like she was a teenager playing seven minutes in heaven.
Sean grinned and placed a fingertip over her lips. Then he leaned forward and whispered in her ear. “Don’t make a sound.”
The couple in the kitchen appeared to lose interest when they didn’t hear anything else, and eventually they vacated the area. Lily let out a sigh.
“We shouldn’t be doing this,” she said, shaking her head. “We’re supposed to be putting this on for show, not for real.”
Sean nuzzled her neck. “Feels pretty real to me.”
She had the feeling he was talking about something below the belt, but the thing that worried Lily the most was that she was already thinking about how to avoid this arrangement ending. All day, ideas had circled in her mind about how they might make it work.
But ultimately, that would come down to one of them giving up their life. Either her going back to Australia, or him coming to LA. Neither of those things felt like a good option. It was too much to ask. Too much to give up. It was the sacrifice you made for genuine love. And this was…
She didn’t even know.
What if Sean was simply making the most of the situation? What if she said something and his response was that it was nothing but great sex? Lust. Something superficial. What if he played her like Brock had?
And every time she circled back around to that exact same point, her heart sank.
He’s not like Brock; you know that.
“What?” Sean looked up as if sensing her retreat. “Am I not supposed to say that?”
Gah, why couldn’t she just enjoy herself in the moment and then walk away happy and satisfied that she’d indulged her carnal pleasures while avoiding grief from her family? Why couldn’t she accept that this was a onetime deal?