Loving Lily(13)

Drowning in my own thoughts, Bass’s words lingered. He was right. A child made a whole difference to a man’s life. Not only was it an added responsibility, but nurturing, making sure the child was brought up properly, was going to be tough. Nevertheless, the positives outweighed the negatives. If I had my own way, I would have a baby of my own, too. Maybe someday, Lily and I would be granted that joyful news again.

Funny how life worked. One never really knew how much the value of something was until it was gone. I had to admit, I still mourned for our lost baby, and whenever I got the baby blues, I would console myself into believing that, when the right time came, the magic would happen for us.

For another hour or so, Bass and I chatted about the movie and our personal lives. Katie had somehow vanished amidst the crowd. Since arriving here, she had basically gone on her merry way while I was left to greet actors and actresses that the company had funded movies for. Whether young or old, I was acquainted with them all.

As much as I hated to admit it, it was nice to be out. Not particularly socializing, because I was more of the selective type when it came to whom I chose to converse about my personal life, to have another guy talk and relate to about marriage and the new life ahead of us.

Married life wasn’t for everyone. That saying was very true. If a man wasn’t ready to change his old ways, what was the point of getting married at all? It didn’t matter if the guy in question vowed his love, because love could only stretch so far. It was respect and hard dedication that kept the woman in question happy, and if a man wasn’t ready to go the extra length, the marriage wouldn’t last.

That was what I had in common with Bass Cole.

Just as Sherman Alexie had written, “He loved her, of course, but better than that, he chose her, day after day. Choice: that was the thing.”





Chapter 7

Lily



“Mmmm,” I murmured upon feeling Drake’s kisses on the back of my neck. I had been a second away from falling into deep coma before he came home and began leaving tender, loving kisses. “How did the dinner go?”

“It went well …” he said, pausing. “Contracts are to be drawn up first thing tomorrow morning.” He pulled me closer to his naked body. I could feel him getting harder by the second. “How was your day, baby? Missed me at all?”

I did. Near or far, I always did.

“Why bother asking a question you already know the answer to, Mr. Tatum?” Sleepy though I was, my body remained effortlessly responsive as it slowly drew to his heat.

“Lil …” he said with a raspy tone, “I know I don’t say this often, but I just want to tell you, thank you for putting up with my bullshit and hectic lifestyle and for everything else. Thank you for not giving up hope.”

Biting the bottom of my lip, I took a second to digest what he’d said. Why was he randomly saying thank you at this godforsaken hour?

“O … kay …” I murmured before giving him a quick, skeptical glance. “Did something happen to you?” There was something in his tone that made me question him.

He slightly shook his head, giving me a straight look. “Nothing like that—don’t give me that accusing eye!” He immediately went on the defensive. “Is it so bad that I just want to thank my wife for being so great?”

“Uh … Yeah, it kind of is, Drake.”

“God, Lily! Okay. Fine. Fine.” He held up his hands, as if surrendering to my interrogation, or maybe he was annoyed that I was pestering him this late at night. “I saw someone from my past tonight, and it made me think that, had you not come back into my life, I’d still be living that kind of life—the disastrous path of partying and woman after woman, thinking and believing that this was the life people coveted the most. It’s superficial, I know, but I didn’t know any better. It was all I knew.”

Great.

I nodded, confused as to why he had woken me up. “So … uh … You woke up me to tell me you were walking sex on a stick or that you were a sorry piece of sex god that was bored out of his mind by being surrounded with all these pretty obnoxious women who fawned all over your hot rod?”

He stared at me like he couldn’t believe what had just came out of his mouth. “You know, I was being serious here, Lil. I just poured my heart and soul into that, and you poked fun, thinking it’s hilarious.”

I shrugged. “It kind of is. Who cares? I’m sick and tired of your I’m-so-hot-I-can’t-help-it stories.” Feigning a yawn, I raised my brow to goad him further. “Will that be all? Because I’m truly exhausted here, buddy. So, if you have any more of your I’m-part-of-the-hotness-brigade stories, they can wait for tomorrow’s sessions.”