She grins. “You look like you slept.”
I bark out a laugh. “Debatable.”
Larkin spots me and throws her arms out like she remembers I’m the one who took ten thousand photos of her frosting-faced joy the other day.
“Hi, birthday queen,” I coo, and she squeals.
Lily shifts her to the other hip and lowers her voice. “Luc has her for the morning. We’re going for a wander. You in?”
“I’m in.” I nod, accepting the challenge with delight. She passes Larkin off to Luc when he appears out of nowhere, and after giving him a kiss, she links her arm through mine as we step outside into the wet-warm Memphis morning. The air smells like river water and barbecue smoke and something fried that makes my stomach growl.
“Okay,” Lily declares, steering us down the sidewalk. “I want coffee, I want at least one ridiculous souvenir, and I want to see that mural Mikey keeps bragging about.”
“Mikey brags about everything.” I scoff on a chuckle.
“True.” She bumps my shoulder. “But today we let him be right.”
We walk without any rush, and it’s almost unsettling how nice it feels to not have to look over my shoulder for the next place I’m supposed to be. The city is already alive with tourists in shorts, locals in work boots, and music drifting out of open doorways like the sidewalks are wired for sound.
We find a little café tucked off Beale where the barista has pink hair and a drawl as thick as honey. Lily orders something very Lily, an oat milk latte, extra foam and I get an iced coffee that could strip paint. We sit by the window. Sunlight pools over the table. For a few minutes we just watch the city move.
Then Lily asks softly, “So?”
I choke on a sip.
She smiles into her cup. “Relax. I’m not going to interrogate you.”
“Good,” I admit on a laugh, because my heart is already sprinting.
“I’m just letting you know I’m here if you want to talk. About anything.”
There it is. The gentle door. I stare at the condensation on my glass like it’s fascinating. “Sometimes,” I start carefully, “I think I’m fine. And then I realize I’m not. And I don’t really know which one is true anymore because it’s like I’m on a see-saw.”
Lily’s voice goes even softer. “That sounds like someone who’s been holding onto a lot for a bit.”
I exhale. She’s not wrong.
“I’m trying not to be stupid,” I blurt, feeling my cheeks heat at the admission.
“Stupid how?”
I laugh without humor. “Thinking I can tame a man who runs from daylight.”
Lily studies me, not with pity, not with shock. Just with that steady, see-you kind of compassion. “I don’t think you tame someone like Dean,” she continues. “But you wouldn’t want to anyway. Not really.”
The way she says it makes me look up. She shrugs one shoulder. “You want him to choose you. That’s different.”
My throat tightens. Because yes. That’s exactly what I want. I don’t say his name. I don’t have to. It hangs between us anyway like a chord that’s already been struck.
Lily turns her mug slowly. “Dean’s built like a house with no front door.”
“That’s a perfect way to put it,” I whisper as I nod.
“He doesn’t let people in because he thinks every room leads to a fire.” She pauses. “But I’ve watched him. He’s not as numb as he wants everyone to think.”
I don’t trust myself to speak, so I just take another sip.
Lily’s gaze drifts to the window. “Do you know how Luc and Dean met?”
