A STRANGE MIX of excitement and panic filled Lily’s heart as they drove down the familiar streets of Magnolia two days later.
Her body ached after so many hours in the car and her heart hadn’t been the same since the kiss she’d shared with Garrett in the woods.
It would be easy to blame her feelings for him on the situation. She was nervous about starting over in her hometown, and a quick embrace shouldn’t be a big deal. They were two adults, after all. It didn’t have to mean anything.
But she couldn’t deny that it did.
Obviously he felt the change in her. The past two days in the car together had been awkward at best, with neither of them speaking about the kiss or anything beyond casual observations about the scenery or comments on Chloe’s silly behavior.
The distance between them bothered Lily. Even though she’d only really known Garrett for a few days, their time together had been a revelation. A lesson in not judging a person before she got to know them. He was one of the good ones, and she couldn’t ignore the way her heart hammered when he smiled at her or how she craved more time with him.
“That’s my house,” she said, pointing to a two-story colonial on the tree-lined street. “My dad’s house, actually.”
“The house where you grew up,” Garrett said with a nod. “It will always feel like home.”
She sighed and nodded. Little comments like that made her feel as though he understood her and really cared.
Half of the reason she was so unlucky in love stemmed from the fact that she led with her heart and always wanted to see the best in a person. She might want to believe a special connection had developed between them during the past four days, but that was silly. People didn’t fall in love over the course of a cross-country road trip.
Pressing her knuckles against the sharp ache in her chest, Lily opened the car door when he pulled into the driveway.
She hooked Chloe to the leash then led the dog to the back of the SUV to begin unloading boxes.
“I’m happy to give you a ride to the hospital after we unpack your stuff,” Garrett said, his quiet tone making goose bumps erupt across her skin.
“My sister left me the keys to my dad’s truck. I’m sure you want to get back on the road anyway.” She forced a smile. “You have a new book to start and all that.”
“All that,” he repeated, giving her a look she couldn’t quite decipher. “Sure.”
They each grabbed a box, and he followed her up the walk. Helena had texted that she’d left the front door unlocked. Magnolia was that kind of town.
Lily hadn’t realized how much she missed home until she arrived. Yes, the town had seen better days, largely funded by famed artist Niall Reed, Magnolia’s most famous resident. But even now, in need of a facelift, Magnolia looked beautiful to her. She realized she didn’t care that she’d failed as an actress because it wasn’t her dream.
She wanted a place to call home, to care for people and be a part of a community. Magnolia would give all of those things to her. Her father’s house was the same as she remembered, cozy and cluttered. It still smelled of linseed oil from the woodworking her dad did in his spare time. She could hardly wait to visit the hardware store. As a child, she’d loved the neat rows of tools and supplies, the potential in the items her family sold.
If only things hadn’t gone bad between her and Garrett, Lily would love to show him around the town and introduce him to her dad. She wanted a chance to get to know him better and see if the tender spot he’d so quickly occupied in her heart was more than just infatuation.
But as she met his gaze over the pine dining room table that her great-grandfather had built for her great-grandmother’s first Thanksgiving as a wife, he looked away, and all her hopes that their ending might be a happy one faded into nothing.
Chloe whined and tugged at her leash.
“Great house,” he said, taking in the framed photos on the wall. “I’ll grab the rest of the boxes if you want to take care of her.”
“Okay.” Biting down on the inside of her cheek, Lily led the dog through the kitchen and out into the backyard with the town’s namesake tree blooming in one corner. She unfastened the leash and Chloe trotted away to investigate her new surroundings.
The privacy fence that surrounded the property would keep the dog contained, but Lily didn’t move for several minutes. She watched Chloe and tried to smile at the animal’s usual antics. Tried not to acknowledge that she’d been foolish enough to open her heart to Garrett, and now she’d have to deal with that pain on top of everything else.
True to his word, he’d gotten the rest of her belongings unloaded by the time she returned to the front of the house.
“Thank you,” she told him but couldn’t quite force the muscles of her face into a smile.
“No problem.”
Lily wrapped her arms around her chest. “You’ve paid your debt.”
“Aunt MJ will be thrilled.”
They stood with a heavy silence between them for a few long moments.
“I’m going to head out.” Garrett scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “You probably want to get to the hospital anyway.”
“I do,” she confirmed. “Thank you,” she repeated, unable to come up with anything better. “For everything.”
“Good luck, Lily.” He leaned in for a hug, but she shoved her hand out instead. He took it, and even that small bit of contact was almost too much in her current state.
“Have a nice life, Garrett,” she managed as he turned away.