Although Jefferson was gradually acclimating to his companion’s lightning-fast subject changes, it still took him a few beats to catch up. “Uh, don’t do it?”
“The other stuff. Like when we were in the snow fort, and you were being super-survival-y.”
“Keep your matches dry and carry a flint steel for backup?”
Hildy’s nose wrinkled. “Doesn’t ring a bell. I’m talking about the control part. How you choose the place and find the materials, and once you light the spark it has to be nurtured like a tender, defenseless infant so it’s there when you need it. The primal power of fire at your command.”
“I said that?”
“I zhuzhed it up a little.”
“And in plain language?”
“I’m gathering sticks.”
“Uh-huh.” Jefferson had learned that if he held on longenough, he’d find the nugget of meaning in the maelstrom of words.
“Talent-spotting is a crucial skill for an editor. Lillibet is my discovery. If she hits big—and she will—I get the credit. Corner-office time.”
“What about college?”
Hildy bristled. “What about it?”
“Don’t you have a year left?”
“Who cares? If I already have the job I want, the degree is meaningless.”
“You might feel differently about it later on.”
“I’m an attractive young woman with a trust fund who happens to be in asorority,Jefferson. People are going to judge me no matter what piece of paper I have hanging on the wall. I could rack up a dozen Pulitzers and they’d still be like,You know she only got that job because of her family.So spare me the lecture about making good choices. Sometimes the unconventional path is a shortcut to fulfillment, even if it looks like a rockier road.”
“Lillibet?” he guessed.
“She speaks to me. It’s like she knows exactly what I need to hear. Lillibet would understand that this is my moment. I have the taste, I have the talent, it’s my time. You know what that means?”
Jefferson was still imagining Hildy’s affirmations shellacked to a plank in one of the tourist gift shops, with a watercolor sunset in the background. “Unlikely.”
“I’m ready to pour on the gasoline, and then boom!” She sketched an explosion with her hands. “Fire.”
“Just to clarify,” he said, after a troubled silence, “you would never do that under real-world conditions. Especially in the backcountry.”
“Totes metaphorical, babe.” She patted him on the knee. “We’re learning so much from each other. Although this is nothingcompared to the wisdom Lillibet is going to drop. You better get ready to have your mind blown.”
That seemed about as likely as a polar bear attack, but Jefferson kept that to himself. “I’ll try not to swoon.”
Chapter 5
lovelillibetEven if your home is a literal castle, it should still be cozy. Small luxuries make such a difference: cashmere throws, an heirloom rug, linen and leather. Your space should speak to you, but it can also speak for you, telling the world, “This is who I am. A person who values her own comfort. And has great taste.”
Love, Lillibet
Image: Pastel balls of yarn stacked in a hand-carved wooden bowl.
#homeiswheretheartis #comfortmewithcashmere #irishlinen #organicfibers
Libby tried to lower the lid of the toilet so she could sit. It resisted the pressure of her hand, closing at its own stately pace, because nothing in her life was simple anymore. There must be a magical wealthy-person mechanism to keep the commodes in this house from clanging shut like tacky peasant toilets. Most likely this had been explained to her during the tour, but there was only so much information about plumbing fixtures her brain could retain.
With a final whisper-soft sigh, the lid settled into place. Libby’s descent was less graceful. Her legs had gone wobbly from standing at attention all morning as Mr. L showed them around his beach house. Not to be confused with his other homes scattered across the globe. Designing bathrooms for the filthy rich wasapparently big business. Libby probably shouldn’t even be sitting on something that cost more than a used car, but there was nowhere else to hide, and she needed a break. A few quiet minutes to let the smile slip off her face and her shoulders droop while she escaped her present “reality.”
