I leaned my head back against Dereck’s chest when I felt him trembling. With anger?
“Okay, Katy. Here’s what going to happen…”
It wasn’t until after eleven o’clock that night that the last police officer left, with Katy in the back of his cruiser. After her confession, Jerimiah had ushered the four of us back into his office and called the cops.
I was sure their presence had caused quite a stir in the bar, but we were able to keep most everything on the downlow. After giving our statements, we found out that Katy had a missing person’s report filed on her by her sister. Apparently, she had been missing for weeks, after she broke off her engagement, and was off her meds.
Jerimiah handed me a glass of water, and I took it, smiling my thanks. Dereck was sitting next to me on the sofa in Jerimiah’s large office, his arm wrapped around me, his thigh touching mine, and his warmth spreading across my skin.
I didn’t know what to say to him.
Jerimiah took a seat behind his desk and took us in. I knew he was waiting for an explanation about why I had kept my relationship with Dereck a secret from him for so long, but I was drained.
I just wanted to go home, and not think about this night. Not only did it not go the way I had envisioned, but Katy’s presence reminded me that there was this distance between Dereck and me that I hadn’t noticed before.
Or at least I hadn’t noticed how wide the gap actually was.
I’d known he was more experienced when I decided to jump into this relationship with him. I’d known he was worldlier than me, more mature… older. I’d known it, but for the first time, I truly felt like that distance mattered, and I didn’t know what to do about it.
I felt too vulnerable in his arms then, and he’d never even told me he loved me.
Did he though?
Or was this all just fun and games, and I would find myself in Katy’s position one day? Probably not that extreme, but close. Where I would be pining after him, always comparing to him any man I might take to my bed after and realizing they would never measure up.
I didn’t want to go back mediocre sex.
I placed the glass of water down on the table. Both men looked at me.
“I’m sorry. I have to go.”
“Lily?” This from Dereck, and I didn’t know what that desperation in his voice meant, or why it was even there in the first place. He grabbed my wrist, his palm warm and comforting. But it shouldn’t be that way, should it?
I didn’t say anything more. Ignoring his hold on me, I shook him off and ran out of there.
I held in my tears, even when I saw Rachel’s satisfied smirk where she stood near the bar, and walked out into the cool night. Luckily for me, a taxi was nearby, and I climbed in, stumbling over my words to give the driver my address.
I didn’t think I took a breath until the bar was out of sight.
11
Dereck
I started after her, when Jerimiah spoke up, stopping me in my tracks. “Let her go. She probably needs some time to herself.”
“Some time to herself? She’s hurt. I need to make sure she’s okay.”
“Lily will be fine whether you show up at her door on your hands and knees in the next five minutes, or in an hour. Sit down. You and I need to talk, and I’m sure this is long overdue.”
Gritting my teeth, I sat back down on the sofa. I was only being accommodating because I knew how important Jerimiah was to Lily. If I could show up at her door tonight and tell her I had worked things out with her brother, it would be one less thing she’d have to worry about.
“You’re right. We need to talk.”
“How long has this been going on?” he asked.
“Since her first day of work,” I answered.
He scowled. “So only a couple of days after I warned you to stay away from my baby sister?”
I shook my head and leaned forward. “You need to understand—what Lily and I have might have started on her first day of work, but I was lost to her from the moment I saw her, and no one, not even her beloved brother, can keep me away from her, or stop me from making her mine completely.”
He was silent for a moment. Then he said, “You’re serious about her.”
“I love her. I plan to marry her, no matter what. Now, this will be easier with your blessing, but make no mistake. Lily Winthrop will be my wife, whether you approve or not.”
Jerimiah did something that surprised me then. He threw his head back and laughed. And laughed. He laughed so hard, tears started coming out of his eyes. I scowled at him.
“What’s so funny?”
He wiped the tears away, and I resisted the urge to punch him in the face. Lily wouldn’t like it if I sent her brother to the hospital.
“I didn’t believe it. I thought it was a myth.”
“What?” I asked with a frown.
“Love at first sight.”
He laughed again, and my frown eased. I rubbed at a small pinch in my chest at the mention of those words, and yeah, I supposed that was what this was. I had been trying to put a name to my obsessive thoughts, my need to protect her, to love her and cherish her, even if the whole relationship was still so new. I never thought it would be a simple as that.
Coup de foudre.
I had been struck by the thunderbolt.
Jerimiah continued on, as if my entire world hadn’t just shifted on its axis. “I mean, my father, may he rest in peace, always talked about how he fell for my mom the first time he saw her in their econ class. I thought he was just pulling my leg. Or being a
