"Are you going to give Nate a second chance?" Will asked.
Lily took a deep breath and let it out. "He didn't ask for one."
CHAPTER NINETEEN
By Thursday, Lily felt confident enough to take her car into town to run some errands. First up was an appointment with the doctor. After her latest flare-up, she just wanted to touch base with him to make sure he didn't feel she should have any testing done. As she pulled into the parking lot of the office, Lily said a prayer of thanks that her doctor was so in tune with MS and its many facets. He understood that peace of mind was important, particularly after flare-ups or attacks. He'd willingly made time for Lily when she'd called, and she knew he wouldn't rush her through their appointment by brushing off any concerns she had.
"Hi, Lily," Dr. Bennett said as he walked into the small room. He hitched his pants before sitting down at the desk. Without even looking at the file he said, "So I hear you had a flare-up."
She gave him the run down and then together they discussed what had caused it and the steps she'd taken afterward. He didn't think there was a need for another scan since she'd had one not too long ago, but was willing to set one up if she pressed.
"I think I'll pass this time, but if I have another flare-up within the next month, maybe we should consider it."
The doctor nodded his agreement then sat back in his chair. "So...I enjoyed meeting your young man. He had plenty of questions."
Lily stared at him, a pit growing in her stomach. Nate had talked to him? Why hadn't he said something? "He didn't mention that to me."
One of the doctor's eyebrows arched. "Really? He was at our house for almost two hours. Talked to both me and Beth."
And got enough information to scare him off for good, apparently. "Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with him. I wasn't sure he was going to take advantage of your offer."
"Yeah, I felt for him. I remember being in his shoes—facing that unknown—and I was even a doctor. It's completely different when the diagnosis hits someone you love."
Lily nodded. But apparently in the end, Nate had taken the information he'd been given and breathed a big ol’ sigh of relief. Pain lanced through her heart. She still wasn't worthy of his time. He'd heard how much time would have to be devoted to her because of the MS and had been grateful that he'd dodged that bullet.
As she left the doctor's office and headed to her next errand, Lily gave herself a lecture. She had no right to be upset by all of this. After all, she had been the one to end things with Nate. She had kept her secret and run for Europe. That alone gave her no right to be upset that Nate had decided to accept what she’d done three years ago and move on after making peace with his past.
It was a thought she needed to keep front and center as she pushed open the door of the bridal salon.
~*~*~
Nate stepped out of the small hardware store, coming to a stop when he recognized Lily's vehicle pulling into the strip mall parking lot. He waited to see if she spotted him, but she kept her head bent as she climbed out and, surprisingly, headed for the bridal salon. He stood there for a moment trying to figure out what she was doing there. Maybe it had to do with Amy and Will's upcoming nuptials since they were engaged now.
Before he could stop himself, Nate headed toward where her car was parked. His steps faltered when she came out of the store more quickly than he had anticipated. She held a long white dress bag and walked to her car without looking around.
"Hey, Lily," Nate said as he came up behind her.
She spun around, folding the dress bag over her arm and pulling it close. "Nate? I didn't see you."
"I was just in at Joe's." He nodded his head toward the hardware store. With a glance at the dress bag, he asked, "Getting ready for Amy and Will's wedding already?"
She stared at him for a moment before shaking her head. "No. This ismywedding dress."
It couldn't have taken him more off-guard or hurt more if a horse had kicked him in the gut.Her wedding dress?They hadn't even settled on a date, but she had a dress?
Nate shoved his hands into his pockets. "I didn't know you had bought one."
Lily shrugged. "I found it one day when I came into the shop to try on dresses."
"You didn't mention going dress shopping with anyone."
"I didn't. I went by myself. I hadn't planned to buy anything, but as soon as I put it on, I knew."
Though her words were steady, the soft tone pulled at his heart. She'd gone dress shopping by herself. Found her dream dress by herself and hadn't even told him. No doubt because he hadn’t been willing to set a date.
"I don't understand. Why are you picking it up now?"
"They have been storing it for me for the past three years." Her chin lifted slightly. "I picked it up today because I'm probably going to be selling it."
