Page 17 of For My Finale

A pologies were not a Lilah Paxton thing.

Back home, if she’d offended someone, her publicist would issue a carefully crafted statement, or a hand-picked journalist would run a story.

Sometimes gifts would change hands. But this, this was different.

This was Blossom, and Lilah had no idea how she was supposed to go about fixing things.

She walked into town earlier than usual, mostly because she hadn’t slept well and she really wanted to get this over with.

The village was still waking up. Arty waved to her from the pub window, baking bread smells came from the bakery, people walked dogs.

There were a lot of dogs. Lilah was reconsidering her position as an animal lover.

She was considering whether or not fish counted as animals when she found that she was already standing in front of the cafe.

Slowing down, her stomach tightened. She’d spent most of the night going over their argument in her head, realizing how stupid she’d been, how thoughtless.

Offering money had seemed such a simple fix in her mind.

She had it, Blossom needed it, problem solved.

But she got it now, got that she’d done wrong, and all she really wanted to do was make things right again.

She took a deep breath before she opened the door and stepped inside, the smell of warm coffee wrapping around her. Blossom was behind the counter, polishing the espresso machine with quick, efficient movements. She looked up when Lilah came in, expression unreadable.

“I’m just about to close up,” she said, concentrating on her task. “I’ve got a meeting at the bank.”

“Right,” Lilah said. “The business plan thing.”

Blossom nodded, still not quite meeting her eye. “Yeah.”

Lilah blew out a breath. Apologies might not be her thing, but she knew that this was going to take more than mumbling sorry and walking away. She looked around the empty cafe, then back at Blossom.

“Don’t close up,” she said suddenly. “I’ll take care of things for an hour.”

Blossom’s hands stilled on the machine. “You’ll… what?”

“It’s the least I can do,” Lilah said, warming to the idea. “You’re already doing a million things at once. Go to your meeting, I’ll hold down the fort.”

“You. Running my cafe.” Blossom had narrowed her eyes.

“I’ll have you know that I made an excellent bartender.”

“Not the same thing,” Blossom said.

“Close enough,” said Lilah breezily. “You make drinks, you take orders, you smile at customers. I can handle it.”

Blossom was still looking skeptical, but something in her expression softened. “You really want to do this?”

“I really want to do this.” Lilah cleared her throat. “I’m sorry about yesterday. I wasn’t thinking about the implications of what I said, and I didn’t mean to offend you, although I see why I did.”

“Right,” said Blossom, finally looking her in the eye. “That’s alright then.” She looked around at the cafe. “If you burn the place down, you’ll be fully responsible.”

“Fair,” agreed Lilah, feeling lighter and very relieved.

Blossom hesitated for a second, almost long enough for Lilah to get offended, then grabbed her jacket and keys. As she moved past Lilah, she paused. “Thanks,” she said. “For offering. ”

There was a whiff of scent, vanilla and fresh cut grass, that took Lilah’s breath away. “You’re welcome. Go save your cafe. I got this.”

One last skeptical look, and Blossom headed out the door. As it clicked shut behind her, Lilah took a deep breath and turned toward the counter.

“How hard can it be?” she muttered.

LILAH STOOD BEHIND the counter, staring down the ominous-looking coffee machine.

It had so many buttons, levers, and gauges, that it was more like standing at the controls of a spaceship than in a small town cafe.

She put her hands on her hips and tilted her head.

Nope. No use. She couldn’t make sense of the thing.

She scratched her nose and looked around. There was a pot of coffee in the drip machine. Alright. That would have to do. She grinned to herself. She could do this.

She managed to get through the first three customers without a hitch.

Pouring cups of coffee, smiling, complimenting Mabel on another fine hat, and generally being charming.

In fact, she was starting to think that perhaps small town diner waitress was her thing.

Maybe she should open a restaurant even.

And then Ives walked through the door.

Lilah was more than aware that Ives disapproved of her. So as the woman strolled up to the counter, arms crossed, surveying Lilah with a mixture of amusement and skepticism, Lilah’s skin prickled.

“You’re working?” Ives said finally, tone heavy with disbelief.

Lilah straightened up, poured a cup of coffee, slid it across the counter and shrugged. “You say that like I don’t know how to function as a human being.”

“I just find it hard to believe that you’d voluntarily be behind a counter serving coffee,” Ives said acidly.

Lilah sighed. “Look, obviously, you think that I’m just a spoiled actress, and honestly, that’s pretty fine with me.”

Ives raised an eyebrow. “Um, why? ”

“Because I am a spoiled actress,” Lilah said.

“Or at least I was. I had everything handed to me, I got whatever I wanted, the whole nine yards. However, I’m here now, and I’m trying to change all that.

I quit and I’m trying to find something else that means something to me.

If you can’t see beyond your first impression of me, then that’s a you problem, not a me problem. ”

For a long moment, Ives just looked at her. Then she barked a laugh. “Alright, fair enough.” She took her coffee, pulled out a stool, and sat down. But before she took a sip, she leveled Lilah with a serious look. “So, what are your intentions with Blossom?”

Lilah blinked. “Intentions?”

Ives rolled her eyes. “Don’t make me hate you again. Blossom clearly likes you. Anyone with half a brain can see that. So, I’ll ask again. What are your intentions?”

“Um, I don’t have any intentions.” Lilah felt her stomach flip over and she wasn’t sure why.

Ives looked unimpressed. “You sure about that?”

“Yes,” said Lilah, far more firmly than she really felt.

Ives sighed. “Listen, it’s obvious Blossom likes you. And frankly, you don’t seem terribly indifferent to her either.”

With something uncomfortable twisting in her chest, Lilah said, “I’m not interested in an overgrown teenage crush.”

“And if that’s not what this is?” Ives challenged.

Lilah didn’t have an answer to that. Because the truth was that she didn’t know what this was, because she wasn’t letting herself think about it.

Blossom was… special. She was warm and kind and full of life in a way that Lilah had never been.

Yes, seeing Blossom made her feel all tingly. But that didn’t mean anything. Did it?

Ives took a long sip of coffee, watching Lilah over the rim of her cup.

Then she set it down and leaned forward, her expression turning sharp.

“Listen, I don’t care how famous you are.

I don’t care if you’re a Hollywood legend or whatever.

What I do care about is Blossom. She’s my best friend.

She’s kind and gentle and sweet. And if you think that you’re going to waltz in, charm her, sweep her off her feet and then leave when you get bored, you’ve got another thing coming. ”

“I wouldn’t do that,” Lilah said.

“Maybe not on purpose,” said Ives. “But your intentions don’t really matter in the end. Your actions do. And if you leave this town and leave Blossom broken hearted, I will personally track you down and make your life hell.”

Lilah let out a small, dry laugh. “Good to know.”

Ives leaned back, satisfied. “Glad we understand each other.” She took another sip of coffee. “By the way, this coffee is terrible.”

“You’re welcome,” said Lilah.

But as Ives turned her attention to her phone, Lilah found herself staring at the cafe door, her mind turning over Ives’s words.

Was she really being so blind about what was happening between her and Blossom?

And if she was, did she actually want to do anything about it?

Could she afford to do anything about it?

She didn’t have answers. But her heart pounded at the thought of finding out.

THE CAFE WAS empty again, and Lilah was wiping down tables when she heard the door swing open. She looked up, her heart sinking immediately at the sight of Blossom’s face. She looked downcast, her shoulders slumped, her usual sunny expression nowhere to be seen.

Lilah’s stomach started to hurt. Oh no.

She set down her cloth and quickly stepped around the tables. “How did it go?” she asked, keeping her voice soft, bracing herself for the worst.

Blossom sighed heavily, shaking her head. She bit her lip, looking uncertain, and Lilah felt her pulse spike. “It was…” Blossom trailed off, staring at the floor.

Lilah swallowed hard, her throat dry. “Bad?” she ventured, already preparing to tell Blossom that they’d figure something out. That there had to be another way.

Then, suddenly, Blossom’s entire demeanor shifted. She looked up, and a slow, dazzling smile spread across her face. “The bank gave me a small business loan.”

Lilah blinked. “What?”

“Just a small one,” Blossom beamed. “But enough to give me a bit of breathing space.”

Before Lilah could react, Blossom was moving. The next thing she knew, Blossom had thrown herself into her arms, hugging her tightly.

Lilah stiffened for half a second, completely caught off guard. Then, without thinking, she wrapped her arms around Blossom in return, inhaling the comforting scent of her. Blossom was soft and solid all at once, her body pressed against Lilah’s, radiating happiness.

Which made Lilah’s stomach flutter. She liked this. A lot. Maybe more than she should.

Ives’s words echoed in her head. Intentions don’t matter, actions do.

And guilt began to creep in, mixing with the warmth. Blossom was so open, so trusting, so real. And Lilah… Lilah wasn’t even sure what she was doing here, or what she wanted. She didn’t want to hurt Blossom. She didn’t want to lead her on.

Carefully, gently, she extracted herself from the hug. Blossom didn’t seem to notice her hesitance, she was still smiling, still brimming with triumph.

“That’s amazing,” Lilah said, forcing her voice to stay even. “But you know this is only the beginning. You still need a plan. You can’t rely on a loan.”

“I know,” Blossom said, her excitement dimming slightly. “I know.”

“Good,” said Lilah, stepping back. “Good. Well then, I should go.”

Without looking back, she left the cafe. And yet, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop thinking about the way Blossom had felt in her arms.