Lily was glad to have something to focus on after the awkward ride home. This was definitely not working out how she'd planned. So far, it had all backfired on her. Instead of helping to build a friendship with Nate, being around him like this was just reminding her of how much she'd missed having him in her life.
Nate snapped the monitor into its base then took the ends of the cords Lily handed him.
"There should be a spot to plug those in on the back of the monitor." She took the other ends and plugged one into the laptop and one into the power bar under the desk. After the other monitor had turned on, she sat down in the chair and began to go through the steps of setting it up as a second monitor for the laptop.
She was acutely aware of Nate's presence behind her but managed to keep her attention on the task at hand. Once the monitor functioned the way she wanted, she showed him how it would work.
"That's perfect," he said. "Thank you for your help with this."
"You're welcome. And now I'll get to work inputting the invoices into your system."
Nate bent over her shoulder, his chest brushing against her arm. He touched a file on the screen, and as it popped open, he said, "This is where I had Don's daughter scan all the invoices. Do you need me to go through them with you?"
Lily tried to keep herself focused on Nate's words, not his nearness or the familiar scent of his cologne. "Not unless you've changed things significantly over the past few years."
"No." She felt him straighten. "Everything is the same."
Lily looked at him as he moved to the side of the desk. "You don't need to hang around here while I do this. If I have any questions, I'll give you a call or save it for later."
His eyes narrowed briefly. "Trying to get rid of me?"
"There's no sense in both of us being tied up here when it only takes one to do this. I'm sure there are other more important things that could use your attention."
Nate stared at her, his face expressionless. "Yes, you're probably right." He turned away from her and headed for the door.
"Is your number still the same?" Lily called after him.
He stopped then swung back around. "Yes. It, too, is still the same."
Lily stared at the empty doorway once he'd left. There had been an undercurrent of...something...emanating from him. Anger? That's what it had felt like. Though she knew Nate could get as angry as the next guy, that anger had never been directed toward her. Whatever he'd been feeling in that moment had definitely been flowing her way.
Pushing aside her thoughts, Lily stood for a moment and slowly stretched her back and legs. If she was going to be sitting for a while, she needed to make sure she took breaks to keep from getting too sore. Then it was down to work on the mess that was Nate's bookkeeping.
~*~*~
Nate stomped on the accelerator of his truck when he got on the highway. The big vehicle surged up to the speed limit in no time flat. He fought the urge to edge it up, but the last thing he wanted was to have to rely on the sheriff's understanding and goodwill to avoid a speeding ticket. Keeping an eye on the speedometer, he felt relief slowly overtake the frustration as he put distance between himself and the manor.
Try as he might, Nate just couldn't seem to keep his life from spinning even more out of control than it already had. Ever since that night almost three years ago, nothing had gone right.
"I'm sorry, Nate. I just don't think it's going to work for us." Though Lily's voice was determined, all Nate saw on her face was tension and weariness.
Pain engulfed his heart and took his breath away. Fighting past the agony that was slowly spreading through his body, Nate asked, "How can it suddenly not work for us? It's been working fine for almost seven years. What's changed?"
"Me." Lily laid a hand over her heart.
"Is there someone else?" He had to force the words out.
Her eyes widened as she shook her head. "No, please don't think that. This is just about me. I need to..." Her words trailed off as her brow furrowed. "I need to do more than just hang around Collingsworth. I want...more. To travel. See the world."
Nate's eyes closed briefly as he recalled the conversation he'd had with her several months back about traveling. When she'd mentioned taking a trip somewhere, he'd immediately shot it down. After all, he had responsibilities there with his dad and the business. "If I said I'd be willing to take a trip with you every few months would that change things?"
Her mouth tightened. "You and I both know that would never happen. You have responsibilities here. And you'renot the type of man to shirk those."
Nate's shoulders slumped. She was right. His priority would always be his father and the business. As he stared at Lily standing in front of him, her hair glinting in the sunlight, he knew that he hadn't even given her the priority he should have. Maybe this was just what he deserved. "Is there anything I can say or do that will make you change your mind about us?"
Lily shook her head. "I think this is for the best. You need someone who is content to stay here in Collingsworth. That's not me."
"But do we have to break up? Can’t you just travel and then come back?"
