“Now, that’s my kind of wedding, you should do it that way,” Lilly said.
“Okay, fine, I’ll stop making fun because I need you to turn up. You’re kind of crucial to the whole day. We’re not having sausage and mash, Lilly, it’s going to be a grand affair,” Jacktold them.
“Charming Jack, charming. We’re going, so get back to work and sell some knickers,” Olivia said and linked her arm with Lilly’s and walked away from her future husband. The wedding was back on schedule.
“It will be fine sweetheart, I’ll make it up to you, I promise,” Jack said.
“You’d better, get to work,” Olivia ordered.
“Yes, my love,” Jack answered with a grin.
“He is such a rascal, I’m so sorry he asked you the sex question. He is very open about sex and doesn’t consider other people may not be,” Olivia said,
“It’s not a problem, I quite like his directness, it’s refreshing.”
“Good, because I get the feeling we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other after seeing Elijah gaze upon you earlier.”
Those words made Lilly smile, she liked the thought of Elijah gazing at her. She liked the idea of Elijah in her life. One single kiss in Blue’s and things had accelerated and now she was going to his brother’s wedding. Not that she had been asked, but that was just semantics.
“Come on Lilly, you need to try on the copious amount of dresses while I quiz you about your life to see if you can cope with Elijah,” Olivia said. “And you’ll get to meet my best friend Cecily.”
Lilly groaned at the prospect of being grilled, she had nothing to reveal or to boast about. Jack and Olivia were besotted with each other and that feeling was intoxicating to be around. It was becoming addictive, she had seen them in the hospital room and now in the bar. Their passion didn’t seem to have dwindled over the last six months.
“How long have you two been together Olivia?” Lilly asked as she was pulled in the direction of a steep hill. Shewas thankful she was wearing decent shoes to be walking around Edinburgh. She’d not heard of Evelyn’s shop but assumed based on Jack and his clothing tastes that it was an out of the way shop. She had plenty of dresses she could wear to the wedding, Olivia didn’t need to buy her another one.
“Well, that’s a long story but I shall entertain you with it as we walk, do you want to get a coffee first?” Olivia asked.
“Sure, we can go in here, I love this coffee shop, I can’t resist their giant jam tarts.”
“Excellent, I love this shop too, I have only recently discovered it.”
Olivia and Lilly ordered their coffee and pastries to go so they could make the most of the morning sunshine and walk to Evelyn’s place. It was at the top of the hill in a quiet street not far from Edinburgh Castle.
“Have you been to Evelyn’s before? Your tone changes when you talk about the shop, it’s full of fondness,” Lilly asked.
“Yes, I’ve been there a couple of times, it’s like going into an adult sweetshop, the ring of the door chime as you walk in and then the wonder that sweeps across your mind as you look around at all the decadence. You’ll love it I’m sure of it, you have a lovely sense of style.”
“Thank you. You and Jack are a beautiful couple. Tell me how you met? I love a good love story.”
“We met online,” Olivia said and smirked as she took a sip of her coffee.
“No way, you met on a dating site?”
“No, not a dating site, I reviewed a corset his company made, and I was a little sarcastic. He read one of my books and was a little sarcastic in his review and we starting talking online. He talked me into meeting him and he spentthe entire time trying to seduce me. Here we are getting married and a baby on the way,” Olivia said and stroked her flat stomach fondly.
“I love to hear how people meet. It gives me hope I will find the right man to sweep me off my feet,” Lilly mused.
“You already have, surely? I thought you and Elijah were an item. You must know he’s completely head over heels for you. He doesn’t stop talking about you, our weekly dinners start off with updates on your lunchtime meetings. We are so happy to finally meet you. It’s a shame that it was while my husband to be, fondled my breast.”
“Yes, that was a hell of an introduction but Elijah had already told me about how affectionate you two were so I wasn’t surprised. I think you’re wrong though, Elijah is an affectionate person and has plenty of women on his arm.”
“Name two women he has mentioned in the last six months, and not Elaine.” Olivia mock shuddered at the mention of the woman’s name. “Come on Lillian Harrison, name the string of women Elijah has been with.”
Lilly was stuck for words, she couldn’t think of any, she saw him talk with plenty of women at Blue’s when she was there but nothing more than conversation. She couldn’t recall a time when he touched any of them, not even in greeting. Perhaps the rumours about him were not all that true.
“See you can’t, can you? That would be because he has only been for coffee with that God awful woman, Elaine, in the last six months.”
Sipping on the latte in her hand Lilly slowed her pace and until she was at a standstill. She was thoroughly confused about how she felt. It was overwhelming to find out that someone she had lusted over for quite some time had stronger feelings for her than she had for him. How canhe be so sure that he felt that way? Lilly was attracted to Elijah, she craved his company and looked forward to seeing him. When they kissed, she felt excitement throughout her body, which hadn’t been felt with another.
