Lily was at Brian’s almost daily by the time July had reached a midpoint. Sometimes the pair would visit with me, sometimes not. Brian looked happy as a cloud each and every time I saw him, though, whether or not Lily was there. Nick said working with him was a dream come true now, that he’d found inspiration again.
Summer seemed to be flying by, although it seemed that spring had just ended a few days ago. Nick and I were together most days, and I was getting used to living in the fast lane. I didn’t want to admit that what he had said was true, that I was thinking with a different mindset now, but I couldn’t find a way to deny it. I’d visit Jason and Lily together and calmly listen to them discussing their upcoming wedding in October and not be fazed in any way when the next day I’d see Lily’s car pulling up in Brian’s driveway. Back home this would’ve been an outrage. Here, this was just the way things were, and I was adapting - for better or worse.
It was true that little surprised me anymore, but when Brian popped over one Thursday unannounced to invite me to another party I have to say that a little of the emotion seeped back in to me.
“Another party? When?” I asked as we sat together on my porch.
“Tomorrow.”
“When did you decide this?” I wondered. He grinned sheepishly as he sipped at his iced tea.
“Yesterday.” I rolled my eyes but said nothing, trying to figure out why he was throwing another shindig if the only point had been to attract Lily. “Jason’s coming,” he said a moment later.
“Jason as in--” I raised my eyebrows as a finish to my question. Brian nodded.
“Yeah, as in him. With Lil, of course.”
“Brian...” I trailed off and he looked at me. “Why?”
“I mentioned them - you know, my get-togethers - to Lil and she said she was sorry she never made it to one. She’d actually heard about them but that wasn’t Jason’s ‘scene’, so they never came out.”
“Well I guarantee you it still isn’t his scene now,” I told him.
“Oh I know, but Lily wants to come. She’ll get him here.”
“Is this going to be easy for you - you know, seeing them together?” I asked, looking into his blue eyes. He simply blinked.
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
“They’re still together, Brian...” I searched his eyes for a shadow of doubt, a spark of hesitance, anything, but came up short. All I got was a nod.
“Yes, Carra, they are. For now, at least.” He stood up, finishing off his drink. “I’ve gotta go make some arrangements. See you tomorrow night.” He gave me a smile and I said goodbye.
* * * * * *
That Friday night brought another flurry of activity and luxury to the grounds next door. This time it was Nick himself that showed up with a dress for me, not to be outdone by Brian. Both my knights in shining armor had fabulous taste because the second dress - although completely different - was just as gorgeous as the first. Nick gave me a wolf whistle of appreciation as I emerged from the bathroom ready to go.
“You never disappoint, you know that?” he said as he kissed me.
“Are you kidding? I’m not blind - the first time I do you’ll have me traded in for a better model so fast my head’ll spin.”
Nick laughed and took my hand as we went for the door. Jordan was mewing pitifully there, looking up at Nick beseechingly. He bent down to pet her. “That’s my girl, I almost forgot - here,” he said, pulling a golf ball out of his pocket and rolling it across the floor. Jordan went scurrying after it gladly.
“You just made her day. She’s been looking more like a lost puppy than kitty since she lost the last one.”
“I’ve never seen a cat so excited about golf,” he observed, laughing again. We trekked across the lawn and were soon lost in the chaos that defined Brian’s parties. Just like the first time faces flashed and disappeared before me, but this time I got more than a hello most times. People had seen Nick and I around together a lot and it hadn’t gone unnoticed. An hour after we arrived I caught sight of Lily and Jason wandering into the backyard. I waved to her and we met in the middle.
“Carra, you look gorgeous!”
“So do you,” I told her. She did too. Jason and Nick exchanged hellos while Lily eyed Nick.
“All right, Jason knows who you are and I don’t and you’re obviously here with Carra, so now I’m jealous,” she announced. Nick laughed.
“Nick Carter. I work with Brian. I’ve heard a lot about you.” He gave her a wink and it was Lily’s turn to laugh. I saw Jason’s eyes narrow just a little but anything he might have said was pushed aside by Brian’s arrival.
“Hello!” he called out happily, first reaching out to shake Jason’s hand then kissing Lily‘s cheek. “So great to see you both,” he welcomed. I found myself wondering just how Lily had explained knowing Brian. “Let me introduce you to some people, although you probably recognize a lot of them.”
Jason looked around critically. “I don’t know anyone here, actually.”
“I like him, over there,” Lily said, pointing off. “Who’s that?”
Brian put an arm politely around her and smiled his invitation to the rest of us as he explained just who it was that caught Lily’s eye. Brian trooped us all over the property doing introductions. Jason seemed to grow more and more annoyed the more we walked but Brian kept on. It seemed Lily was just dazed, but I couldn’t be sure of exactly how she felt. Finally Jason shook his head.
“I’m tired of this, I’m off to get a drink,” he announced. Lily nodded, going into her purse.
“Good, you do that. Here,” she agreed as she held out a tiny pad of paper and a gold pen, “just in case you want to take down any lucky numbers.” She smiled brightly and pointed behind him. “The one over there in the blue’s quite cute. A bit plain but your type, I’d say.”
Jason opened his mouth to argue but then thought better of it, took the paper and pen and stormed off into the sea of people in search of a drink. Quickly Lily turned to me.
“We’ll be back,” she said as quietly as possible as Brian stepped close and took her hand. “You’ll explain it, I know you’ll find a way - say I was swept away by a, an act of God.” With a flashing grin Lily and Brian disappeared as well, leaving Nick and I to our own means. We found drinks and some people Nick knew, eventually being rejoined by Jason. He was clearly sick of the whole night and became even less pleasant when Lily’s return was long in coming. I had nothing to offer him, only that I had lost track of her.
“With Brian, no doubt,” he muttered. I could only shrug.
Finally, just when my tolerance of Jason was reaching an all-time low we spotted the pair making its way back to us. Both were still smiling but Jason barely bothered wiping the disgust from his face.
“I’m tired and I’m ready to leave,” he told my cousin flatly. “Let’s go.”
Lily turned back to Brian. “Thank you for a wonderful time,” she said graciously.
“My pleasure - please, come back anytime.”
Jason just gave us nods as he practically charged off. Lily had little choice but to follow. Nick and I followed Brian up to his office afterwards. We were chatty but Brian was silent, plopping down behind his desk and taking a long drink of whatever he held.
“What’s the matter?” I asked, perching on the edge of the table.
“She hated it.”
“She seemed like she was having a lot of fun,” I tried to comfort him, although I knew that she probably hadn’t, aside from the time she and Brian had spent alone. He shook his head.
“No, she didn’t like it. How could you not tell, it was all over her face,” he sighed, getting up and walking out onto the balcony. Nick smirked from his chair.
“And so ends the legacy of Brian Littrell’s parties,” he muttered. I said nothing, knowing he was absolutely right.
Chapter 9