Loving Lily Lavender (17 page)

“Jordan, thank you for saying that. I’ve enjoyed getting to know
you.”  I reached up and gave him a tight hug.

“Hey,” Lucas interrupted, taking me in his arms, “break it up,
this is my girl. Go get your own,” he teased, patting Jordan on the shoulder.

It was a lovely evening, a perfect way to end such a memorable
time in my life.

I can’t even describe how good it felt to be back at home. Lucas
moved all of his things in. He insisted that the house stay just the way it
was. There were just two big objects that he’d insisted on adding to my decor.
One was a flat screen T.V. we added to the den. The other was a grand piano we
added to the living room. It didn’t take much to make him happy and these two
additions seemed to do the trick.

At least once a day, he disappeared into the living room to play
his music. I, on the other hand, was feverishly busy finalizing all the details
of my October twenty-fourth wedding, not to mention my own wedding on December
twelfth. It was a busy, but fulfilling time for me.

My favorite thing was to be working upstairs in my office while
Lucas played the piano downstairs. It gave me a strong sense of security
knowing he was there and enjoying himself in
our
home.

I recall one day I was working in my office while Lucas was
playing the piano, when he suddenly began playing the
Star Wars
theme
song. I instantly smiled and stopped what I was doing. I knew he was trying to
get my attention, and he did. The next thing I knew, he was standing at my
office doorway, which doubled as a guest bedroom. “So—what’s on your mind, Mr.
Lavender?” I asked in my sexy voice.

He smiled and answered, “Mrs. Lavender.”

“Oh, you’re thinking of your mother?”

“Funny.” Then, so quickly it made my head spin, he picked me up
and carried me over to the bed. We made love all afternoon. I think it would
suffice to say it was a fine day indeed.

Finally, the October twenty-fourth wedding was over, and I could
focus solely on my own wedding, only seven weeks away.

Although the girls in Toronto helped me plan a lot of the
details, it was Meagan who helped me the most. She helped me pick out the
perfect dress and decide on the bridesmaid’s dresses. We chose one-shoulder,
floor-length gowns in a cranberry color, with pearl chokers for necklaces and
matching earrings.

I had booked the Jasper Country Club for our reception, and it
would be decorated to the hilt, with trees lining the entrance and ballroom,
decorated solely with white lights and a huge, cranberry colored ribbon on top.
The tables would be decorated with white satin tablecloths and huge cranberry
colored poinsettias with white lights scattered throughout as the centerpieces.
The chairs would be covered with white satin tied back with a black ribbon. It
was sure to be the wedding of my dreams.

Lucas and I had been celebrating every month on the twelfth as
the anniversary of the day we met. Last month Lucas surprised me with a pair of
his-and-hers Snoopy pajamas. My outfit was a tank top and matching pajama
bottoms and his was just pajama bottoms, although we didn’t spend much time in
them.

For our fifth month, I went with Meagan to a lingerie store and
bought the sexiest thing I could find. It was black lace and didn’t leave much
to the imagination. My only hope was that I was brave enough to pull it off. My
plan was to wear it under my red wrap dress and reveal it after supper, if all
went according to plan.

At about three o’clock, Lucas called and said he wanted to take
me out to dinner. There was a new restaurant that had opened down town and it
was supposed to be nice. It had three stories and even had an elevator.

Lucas was with Randall when he called. The two of them had been
spending more time together since Randall had bought a small building and was
renovating it into a recording studio. Randall and Lucas shared a passion for
music and Lucas was excited about helping him.

The restaurant was lovely. We ate by candlelight on the third
floor. A few people were brave enough to ask for his autograph, but most people
just stared. For the most part, we were oblivious to everyone except each
other.

“You are so beautiful, you take my breath away. I really like
that red dress. It’s a good color on you.”

“You have no idea,” I said under my breath. He just stared at me
in confusion, but said nothing.

As we got in the elevator to go to the main floor, I had a sneaky
idea. When the doors closed, I reached out and hit the stop button. He looked
at me in confusion as I unwrapped my dress and let it fall to my sides, saying,
“Happy anniversary, darling.”

“Oh mama!” His mouth fell open as he took in the sight.

“Yes, come to mama.” But when he approached, he wrapped my dress
back and hit the elevator button. When the doors opened, I stifled a giggle as
he grabbed my hand and pulled me through the restaurant so quickly I almost
lost my footing.

It only took seconds before we were in the parking lot, and even
less time to reach the car.

What I thought was a cute idea, however, turned out to be not so
cute as we spotted the blue lights flashing in the rearview mirror. Lucas was
driving so fast to get us home that the local police pulled us.

“Sir, do you realize you were going 80 in a 40?”

“I’m so sorry, Officer. I was distracted and didn’t notice.” He
glanced at me and smirked.

“Are you Lucas Lavender?” he asked in surprise.

“Um, yes sir
.” I guess being famous has its advantages
.

“Could you give me your autograph for my teenage daughter? She
would never speak to me again if she knew I pulled you and didn’t get an
autograph.”

“Yes of course, anything you like.” Okay, well he shouldn’t have
said that, because then he asked me to take a picture of them together, then
one of all three of us. Needless to say, the excitement of why we were rushing
in the first place wore off, but at least we didn’t get a ticket.

When we arrived home, he walked around to my door and opened it
for me, and then we walked at a normal pace to the back door. He unlocked the
door and we stepped inside. I turned to him and said, “It’s obvious to me that
you’ve clearly lost your motivation.” I unwrapped my dress, letting it fall to
the floor, and turned around painfully slow so he could get every angle. Before
I completed a full circle, his arms engulfed me and we went crashing to floor
in a heated frenzy. The foyer is as far as we made it.

The next morning, Lucas was awake before me, so when I made it
into the kitchen he was already having his coffee.

“Are you all right?” he asked, noting my slow movement.

“Yes, I just didn’t realize how hard our floor is.” He laughed,
and I scowled at him.

“I’m sorry, but I guess it didn’t bother me so much.”

“Ha, ha.”

He smirked. “Here, have a seat, and I’ll get your coffee for
you.” He leaned down and kissed me on the cheek.

“Thank you. Since when do you read the paper?” I asked, noticing
it unfolded on the bar where he was sitting.

“Since we landed on the cover. I guess nothing else eventful
happened in Jasper last night, except that you and I went out to dinner.”

“You shouldn’t be surprised that someone in the restaurant had a
camera. I just hope they don’t have cameras in the elevator.” I smiled.

“That’s not funny,” he said, handing me a steaming cup of coffee.

“Hey, what’s this?” I picked up a white envelope with my name
typed on it sitting on top of the mail pile. I opened it and pulled out a white
piece of paper. I unfolded it and took a careful sip of my coffee as I read . .
.

You ruined my dreams—now I’m going to ruin yours.

You might have dodged the drugs, but you won’t dodge

what’s coming next.

I gasped and dropped my coffee in my lap. I screamed as I jumped up
from my seat.

“Lily!” Lucas ran to me and started dabbing at my pants with a
dishtowel. “Are you okay? What happened? Lily?”

With my mouth still hanging open, I handed him the letter. As he
read it, he took me in his arms and held me close.

Detective Rick Davis, from Charlotte, the largest city nearby,
was assigned to our case. He contacted Detective Santiago, from Toronto, and
got all the information on the case so far. It was obvious, from the letter,
that the same person was involved in both incidents.

Detective Davis’s main concern was that since the letter didn’t
go through the mail, it meant that the sender knew where we lived, most likely
delivering the letter themselves. He also felt like the sender was a woman,
possibly a fan that thought she was in love with Lucas and felt like I stole
him from her.

My
main concern and worry, however, was that the psycho
was going to try to wreck my wedding day.

I didn’t sleep well at all that night. I tossed and turned for
hours, thinking about the letter, about what she said, “You’ve ruined my
dreams, now I’m going to ruin yours”. I kept hearing it over and over again.
Finally, I came to my senses, sitting straight up in bed and proceeded in
giving myself a speech of encouragement. “Just let her try and ruin my wedding.
I have Lucas, Meagan, and God on my side. Who does she have? I’m going on about
my business just like I always do. I’m not giving some loser control over my
life. I have the wedding of my dreams to plan and by-golly it’s going to be
perfect.” I looked over at Lucas, who was sleeping soundly, and whispered, “And
I refuse to let you hire me a bodyguard. No matter how hard you try to convince
me.” He mumbled a response in his sleep and rolled over, but I couldn’t make it
out.
Hmm, had he heard me? I didn’t think so
.

I began to relax a bit as I buried myself in wedding preparation,
only two weeks left. And—only one week until the in-laws arrived from London.

I was feeling nervous about meeting them, though I’m not sure
why. I knew they were wonderful people and would love me if for no other reason
than the fact that I loved their son. Six of them were coming. Richard and
Barbara were his parents. Abigail and Hannah were his sisters. His Uncle Dean
was coming as well as Lucas’s best friend from childhood, Nicholas. They were
all staying in three of our guest rooms. As nervous as I was, I enjoyed the
idea of having the house full of people, and these people were my family now.

Ruth, from the dress shop, called and said she had the
alterations finished on my dress and needed me to come in for my final fitting.
I called Lucas to let him know and then scurried out the door.

Meagan couldn’t go with me so I called Kristen and asked her to
meet me there. I just needed one last opinion.

My dress fit perfectly and Kristen agreed it was perfect for me.
Everything was starting to fall nicely into place. I was very excited as I
walked through the parking lot to my car, singing the song,
I Will Survive.

Suddenly, I heard a loud screeching noise followed by a deep
voice yelling out to me, “Lily, watch out!” I turned quickly to see a white car
speeding toward me. I dove to the ground beside my car, just barely avoiding
the impact. As the car sped away, a man rushed to me and rolled me onto my
back. “Lily, are you alright?” he asked.

I gazed up into the face of a man I’d never seen before and, in
my daze, I just stared at him blankly. “Lily, my name is Cody Stiles. Your
husband hired me to watch over you. Are you okay?” he asked again as he reached
for me. I pulled away from him in confusion. He grabbed my arms and pulled me
to my feet.

“Oww,” I groaned. I couldn’t seem to get clear from the daze. I
vaguely recall seeing Cody pull out his phone and call someone.

“Mr. Lavender, this is Cody. Your wife was involved in an
attempted hit and run….No, she’s fine, a little banged up maybe, but I can’t
seem to get her to focus on me. Maybe if she hears your voice she’ll snap out
of it….Okay, here she is.” He put the phone up to my ear.

“Lily! Lily, honey, can you hear me?” I thought I recognized the
desperate tone.

“Lucas?”

“Yes, honey, it’s me. Are you okay?”

“Lucas?”

“Lily—honey?”

“Oh, Lucas.” I began to cry as his voice finally penetrated.

“Lily, where are you? Are you all right?”

“I—I think so. I’m in the parking lot of Ruth’s Dress Shop, at
Jasper Park Strip Mall. Lucas, someone tried to run me down!”

“I’ll be right there. Let Cody help you, okay?”

“Okay.” I snapped the phone closed and handed it back to Cody.

“Lily, are you hurt? Do I need to call an ambulance?”

“No, I think I’m okay. I feel a little sore though.” My palms
were bleeding slightly.

“Did you see the driver, or recognize the car?”

“No, I didn’t see the driver, it all happened too fast, and I
didn’t recognize the car either. All I saw was that it was white.”

“Well, I saw the car. It was a white BMW, but I couldn’t get the
license tag number.”

“Thank you, Cody, for saving my life. If you hadn’t yelled at me,
I wouldn’t have seen the car in time.”

“You’re welcome. I’m just glad I was here and that you’re okay.”

Lucas’s black Mustang came flying into the parking lot and to a
screeching halt beside mine. “Lily!” he yelled as he jumped out and ran over to
me, taking me in his arms and holding me tight. Without breaking our embrace,
he reached out and shook Cody’s hand. “Thank you, Cody, I owe you.”

“You’re welcome, but I was just doing my job.”

“Now, tell me everything.”

From that moment on, it was impossible to escape Cody’s
always-watchful eye. He took his job very seriously, and I’m sure Lucas was
paying him shamefully well to do so. He ate every meal with us and went with me
everywhere I went, even staying in our guest room downstairs. I guess it was
safe to say he had become my shadow.