Page 4 of For My Finale

B lossom wasn’t often lost for words. But as she stood in her doorway staring at a dripping-wet Lilah Paxton, she found that the cat had, momentarily, got her tongue. It wasn’t every day that a world famous actress showed up on her doorstep looking like a drowned rat.

Lilah shivered, a large drop of rain falling from her hair to the ground. “So, am I supposed to stand here like a Victorian orphan? Is this some sort of quaint village tradition? Do I have to complete a task in order to gain entry?”

Blossom started to breathe again and felt herself flush. “God, yes, right, come in, I’m sorry.” She stepped back hastily, letting Lilah stumble inside, dripping all the way. “Sorry, just, well, um, you’re Lilah Paxton.”

“I think we’ve established that,” Lilah said, sighing and wringing out her jacket all over the welcome mat. “And trust me, I’m very aware of the fact.”

With a small, awkward laugh that made her cringe internally, Blossom said, “Right, of course.” She closed the door quickly, then hurried to the airing cupboard and pulled out a fresh towel. Lilah Paxton. In her house. She turned back with the towel. “Here, dry off, you must be freezing.”

The actress accepted the towel with a muttered thank you and immediately began dabbing at her face and hair. As she did so, she cast a disapproving glance around Blossom’s sweet cottage, her gaze lingering on mismatched furniture and dusty rugs. “Cute,” she muttered.

Blossom decided to take this as a compliment. She grinned. “Come on, the kitchen’s this way. I’ll get you a cup of tea. That’ll warm you up.” She was slowly getting used to this idea, she thought. Maybe.

“Have you got coffee?” Lilah said.

“Lord no, no coffee machine here. There’s one at the cafe where I work, though. Anyway, tea’s what you need. Good for the shock as well,” said Blossom, switching the kettle on. “And you’ll regret not having a warm drink if you catch cold.”

“Gods, the English and their tea,” said Lilah, groaning and flopping into a wooden kitchen chair. Her wet clothes made a squelching sound as she sat. “And I already have regrets. So many regrets.”

Blossom decided not to pursue whatever Lilah’s regrets might be. It seemed rude, somehow. The woman was obviously not in good shape. Anyone who’d walked away from a successful career would have their reasons. So she concentrated on making tea.

“Here,” she said finally. “Try this. It’s my favorite.” She handed the steaming cup to Lilah, who took a cautious sip and immediately pulled a face.

“What the hell’s this?”

“Earl Grey with honey,” Blossom said.

Lilah smacked her lips. “It tastes like soap.”

“It does not,” Blossom said, in genuine horror. “It’s a classic.”

“Yeah, so was the Black Plague,” Lilah said, setting the mug down.

Blossom snorted a laugh, unable to help herself. Lilah didn’t crack a smile, but Blossom thought she saw the smallest twitch of amusement at the corner of her mouth before she schooled her famous features back into a scowl.

“My name’s—” Blossom began.

But before she could finish, a large, wet nose appeared through the open kitchen window. Lilah screamed and launched herself backward, nearly knocking over her chair. “What in the hell is that?”

“Oh, that’s Billy,” Blossom said, grinning and reaching over to scratch the bull’s nose. “I’ve been waiting for you, Bill. Here you go.” She reached under the sink and grabbed one of the carrots she kept for him. “There’s a good boy.” Billy chomped down happily.

When Blossom turned around, Lilah was gawking at her. “That’s the bull. The actual bull that just chased me through a field and tried to kill me.”

Blossom scratched Billy’s nose again as he chewed on his carrot, like he was a particularly large dog. “He wasn’t chasing you, I’m sure. He’s a good boy. He just likes company is all.”

“He likes company?” repeated Lilah, incredulous. “He tried to murder me!”

“He probably just wanted snacks,” Blossom said, as Billy withdrew his nose and lumbered back across the garden.

Lilah let out a noise of pure exhaustion and dropped her head into her hands.

“Bit dramatic, aren’t you?” Blossom said, pulling out a chair and sitting down.

“You say that like it’s news,” said Lilah, head still in her hands.

Blossom watched her, trying to take it all in. Lilah Paxton was in her kitchen. Lilah Paxton was sitting on one of her chairs. Lilah Paxton was… dripping wet and, to be honest, not particularly friendly and, to be even more honest, slightly ungrateful for the shelter and the tea.

She’d spent years watching Lilah’s face on the screen, admiring her confidence, her talent, and, Blossom sighed, and her attractiveness. Grumpy and wet Lilah wasn’t at all what Blossom might have expected.

What was it that people said about meeting your heroes?

Still, she supposed the woman had had a hard few days. What with blowing up her career and all. Blossom scratched her nose. “So, um, what is it exactly that you were doing wandering around in the rain?”

“Being chased by your bull,” Lilah said .

“He’s not mine exactly,” said Blossom. “He’s… Never mind, but what were you doing before that?” She looked down at Lilah’s outfit. “If you don’t mind me saying so, you’re not exactly dressed for a day in the country.”

“I do mind you saying so, actually,” Lilah said. “This is all Armani, I’ll have you know.”

Blossom cocked her head. “Um, I think my point might still stand,” she said thoughtfully. “This Armani chap makes a nice cloak, but it’s not exactly rain-proof.”

“I didn’t know it was about to rain.”

“This is England,” Blossom said. “It rains all the time.”

“There’s something to look forward to then,” said Lilah sharply. She puffed out a breath of air. “If you must know, I was looking for my rental cottage. I got… turned around.”

“No, you didn’t,” Blossom said brightly.

“I rather think you’ll find that I did. It was that damned bull’s fault,” Lilah said. She had her hands wrapped around her teacup, warming them.

“Nope, this is exactly where you’re supposed to be,” Blossom beamed. “The rental is next door.”

Lilah froze. “What?”

“Yeah. This cottage has always been two separate homes, even though it’s one building. I live on this side, and the other side is a rental.”

Lilah stared at her in dawning horror. “You mean… I’ve got to move in next door to a woman who has a pet bull?”

“Again, Billy’s not mine,” said Blossom “He belongs to a farmer down the road. He just likes to visit.”

“This is hell,” Lilah said, dragging her hands down her face.

“No, it’s really not,” said Blossom, because Lilah looked like she could use some cheering up. “Next door got a full reno, it’s really nice over there, I promise. You’ve even got internet and stuff.”

Lilah pulled her phone out of her pocket, looked at it, then stared at Blossom. “No wifi? Barely any reception?”

Blossom shrugged. “It comes and goes around town, depending on where you are. But like I said, next door you’ll be laughing. Come on, I’ll show you your new place if you like?”

She hopped up and pulled a key out of a drawer.

“You’ve got a key?” Lilah asked suspiciously.

“Just in case of accidents,” said Blossom. She looked at Lilah’s face, then held the key out. “You can take it if you want.”

Lilah looked like she was seriously considering this, but she shook her head. “Better keep it. Just in case my wallet gets eaten by a sheep or something.”

“Oh, that wouldn’t happen,” Blossom said cheerfully as she let them both out of the back door. “A goat, perhaps, but not a sheep.”

Lilah muttered something that Blossom didn’t quite catch, something about angering a higher power and rude words and animals. She decided it would be diplomatic to pretend that she’d heard nothing.

They walked around to the front door of the next cottage, and Blossom opened up the door, letting Lilah walk in first.

The place was small but cozy, with exposed beams and a stone fireplace. The furniture was a little matchy-matchy and minimalist for Blossom’s taste, she preferred an armchair that would swallow her whole, but the owners had done a nice job with the cottage.

Lilah stood in the middle of the hall, still dripping on the floor, surveying what was presumably her new home with a long-suffering expression. “Does the fireplace work?”

“Yes. You put some of the logs in and then set them on fire,” said Blossom helpfully.

Lilah shot her a withering look. “I know how fireplaces work, thank you.”

Blossom screwed up her face and eyed Lilah. “Are you sure? Because you really look like you might not. I mean, you do kind of look like you’ve only had electric fireplaces before. Or those posh ones that look like they’re real fires but they’re like holograms or something.”

Lilah scowled but didn’t deny anything.

“So, um, I suppose I’ll go and let you get settled in,” Blossom said. “If you need anything, just give me a knock.”

She was almost at the door when Lilah’s voice stopped her. “You haven’t asked why I’m here,” she said.

Blossom turned back. “Um, it’s none of my business,” she said.

Lilah’s eyebrows raised and she looked sort of… shocked. “Right.”

“You haven’t asked my name,” said Blossom, thinking that it was odd that Lilah hadn’t.

“Oh. Right.” Lilah scowled again. “What’s your name then?”

“Blossom,” said Blossom.

“You’re kidding,” said Lilah.

“No,” Blossom said. “Why would I be?”

Lilah shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s just a bit too à propos, isn’t it? You being Little Miss Sunshine and your name being Blossom.”

Blossom wasn’t entirely sure what à propos meant, so she just smiled and shrugged. “Definitely my name, though. It’s on my birth certificate and everything.”

“Right,” Lilah said. She nodded toward the door. “I’ll let you know if I need anything.”

Which was clearly a dismissal. Blossom let herself out and wandered back to her own house. Only when she shut the door did she let out a long breath.

Lilah Paxton was her neighbor.

Lilah Paxton had sat in her kitchen.

She grabbed her phone, fingers hovering over Ives’s number.

Then she reconsidered. She had a feeling that she knew how that conversation would go, and it would definitely involve her being teased mercilessly about something that had been just a teenage crush.

No, Ives would find out sooner or later.

In the meantime, Blossom hugged her little secret close, a giddy smile creeping up on her face.

Maybe Bankton wasn’t quite so boring after all.