Page 34 of Only Lovers in the Building

It was the second-chance wedding of the summer, and Lily couldn’t wait. She wore a pale blue chiffon dress so light and breezy

the ruffles caught in the coastal breeze. Picked up at a thrift shop, it was perfect for the occasion. Her mother would have

approved.

Ben looked handsome in a cream linen suit selected by Roxanna. After the ceremony, there would be cigars and salsa dancing.

For now, though, there were mojitos and mini empanadas for the guests filing into the bayside restaurant. Lily and Ben helped

themselves to all that was on offer and stepped onto a wraparound terrace. They staked claim to a bar-height table.

“This is home base,” Ben said. “If we lose each other, we’ll meet here.”

“A man with a plan. Love it.”

He gave her a tight smile and stuffed an empanada into his mouth. Lily stirred her drink with a custom Roxy there was nothing he could do to

stop it.

“Are you all right?” she asked.

He did not have a chance to answer. A rowdy gang rushed up to them. “Cuz!” they shouted.

Lily instinctively positioned herself behind Ben, using him as a human shield. They were four in total, and their ages ranged from the late twenties to the midthirties. They all had Ben’s coffee-colored hair and dark good looks . And they were all lit .

“Where were you?” one demanded. “You missed the tailgate.”

“Oh man,” Ben said without an iota of regret. “I fucked up.”

“Loser! We poured one out for Tio Alberto and you missed it, so fuck you.”

Ben draped a protective arm around Lily’s shoulders, and said, “These are my cousins, Anita, Jose, Logan, and Sandra. Everyone,

this is my Lily.”

Lily waved a shy hello. She’d expected to meet his family and wanted very much to make a good impression, but she hadn’t expected

to meet them like this. Moreover, or more importantly maybe, she hadn’t expected Ben to introduce her as his Lily.

Anita stepped forward. “I know who you are. I listen to the podcast, and I love it! Congrats!”

“Thanks,” Lily said, loosening up.

“I love it, too,” Sandra said. “Only I had to hear about it from a coworker. You could have told us you were hosting a podcast

with your girlfriend.”

“Or you could have told us you had a girlfriend,” Logan added.

“I’ll put it in the next newsletter.”

Jose laughed good-naturedly. “Good one, bro.”

“Benito, I love this for you,” Anita said with a pat to his cheek. “You’ve finally found someone, and she’s smart and pretty.

I think she’s the one! Before you roll your eyes, I predicted Roxanna would get back with the devil, and here we are.”

“Why not predict the Powerball, instead?” Logan asked. “Something useful for a change.”

“Lily, if you marry this brainiac, you’re stuck with us,” Sandra warned. “I apologize in advance.”

“Also, tailgating at weddings and funerals, or any other event, is tradition,” Jose said.

“Family gatherings are tricky. Say the wrong thing to the wrong person and all hell breaks loose. We like to arrive early and meet up in the parking lot to share intel. Everybody brings a little something. Ben usually brings the tequila, only this time he left us high and dry.”

Ben wasn’t moved by any of this. “Dry? I doubt it.”

“Sorry to break this up, but you’re coming with us,” Anita said. “Tia Ada has been asking for you.” She turned to Lily. “She

can’t walk far,” she explained, “not even with the cane. No matter what we say, she refuses to go to physical therapy. Maybe

Ben can talk sense into her. He’s the favorite.”

Ben turned to Lily, but she took a step back. There would be time enough for her to meet Tia Ada. For now, Ben should catch

up with his family. “Go on,” she said. “I’m headed to the ladies’ room. We’ll meet back here.”

“We won’t be long,” Anita promised.

Ben was led away like a prisoner of war. So these are the cousins, she thought. He didn’t have siblings. Last year, his mother

had moved out of state with a new husband. The cousins were his safety net. They had their own language and traditions, like

tailgating at weddings.

Lily entered the event room and took the opportunity to poke around.

The wedding venue was a popular seafood restaurant with a panoramic view so stunning it allowed the owners to get away with watered-down drinks and overpriced entrées.

At least that’s what she’d picked up, eavesdropping on the guests.

Everyone seemed to know everyone. As only immediate family on either side was invited, they chatted liberally.

There were couples from every stage in life—old ones with decades of history, and young ones just starting out, with or without kids.

No wedding was complete without a contingent of single ladies, trooping in and out of the ladies’ room.

A string quartet played the standards, from Sinatra to Streisand.

An aisle strewn with rose petals led to an altar.

Bride and groom would exchange vows under an archway loaded with orchids.

Roxanna had gone to great lengths to plan her wedding, and her mother or Tia Ada must have had a hand as well.

Lily’s own mother weighed heavily on her mind. They hadn’t spoken for weeks. Her father called repeatedly. She and her brother

texted often. He’d also rated their podcast five stars and left the briefest of reviews, which meant their reach had extended

far beyond South Florida to Virginia, where Patrick lived with his longtime girlfriend, Coco. From her mother, not a word.

When Lily called, she did not pick up. Lily knew, via information from Patrick—and personal experience—that she was on the

receiving end of the silent treatment, a tactic reserved for only the worst offenses. To her straitlaced mother, a daughter

taking off without a goodbye or a word of explanation was outlandish behavior. She might as well have joined a gang. This

time Lily wouldn’t fold, as she’d often done in the past. She was no longer her mother’s little girl to mold and guide through

life. If nothing came of her summer hiatus, she’d finally break the spell of her parents’ approval. It was a sad thing to

admit at her age, but she’d craved it for far too long. Patrick, older and wiser, had warned her before he head off to college.

“Those people will take over your life,” he said. “Be your own person.” Unfortunately, Lily had not known how to do that at

thirteen. Being the baby, the only daughter, her father’s favorite, and her mother’s crown jewel had fed into her personality

early on and aggravated her innate people-pleasing tendencies. She hadn’t dared risk their disapproval or their disappointment.

But today she missed her mother. Charlize Lyon loved weddings and would have very much appreciated the personalized touches that Roxanna had added to hers, right down to the cups and swizzle sticks that would fill the recycling bin at the end of the night.

Only, if her mother had attended this wedding, she would’ve spent the evening reminding Lily that she’d missed her chance with Darren.

Once Charlize learned of Darren’s marriage, Lily would never know peace.

Lily got a fresh drink at the bar and returned to home base. Ben joined her moments later. He looked at her as if searching

for signs of damage. “Sorry about that,” he said. “I should have warned you about my cousins.”

“Did you skip the tailgate because of me?” she asked.

“Oh definitely,” he said, without missing a beat.

“Why?” she cried. “You think I’m too delicate to pregame? Is that it?”

“That’s it, Lily. Bull’s-eye.”

She gasped. “What do you take me for?”

“For exactly who you are.”

“That’s not fair. I can pregame with the best of them.”

“I was doing you a favor. My cousins are a lot of things, but discreet is not one of them.”

“Then, why let them think I’m your girlfriend?”

“Never complain. Never explain.”

“Where have I heard that before?”

“It’s more fun this way. They assume I’m dating anyone they spot me with. You could’ve been my landlord or dental hygienist.

It wouldn’t have mattered. I like to keep them guessing. If you mind, I’ll set them straight.”

“No,” she said. Nothing wrong with a bit of lighthearted fun. “It’s fine. I like your cousins.”

“That’s good to know, because Anita is planning our wedding right now.”

“Lovely! Are you going to propose tonight?”

“Not unless you need my help to secure an inheritance of some kind. A marriage of convenience?”

“You got it,” she said. No Regency romance would be complete without one. “Anyway, if you do propose, promise you’ll do it

in a hot-air balloon. It’s my dream.”

“You can throw the man overboard if you don’t like the ring?” he asked.

“I’ll supply the ring. My mother has a collection of family heirlooms. Any one of them will do the trick. I just like the

drama.”

Lily rattled the ice in her cup. The drinks were criminally watered down, even for a lightweight like herself.

“Have you ever been proposed to?” he asked.

The question startled her. “If I had a proposal story, don’t you think you’d have heard it by now? I’ve shared everything

else. There are no great secrets left for you to discover. Oh, and by the way, I’m scared of heights. You’ll never catch me

drifting past the sun in a basket. Propose to me on solid ground.”

He laughed. “Is that the hurdle? Logistics?”

“I wonder if marriage is in the cards for me,” Lily said. “I’m devoted to my career. Destined to live a life of solitude.

That’s just how it goes.”

“I’m the artist with a sporadic income no sensible woman would ever marry,” he said, playing along.

Good thing she wasn’t sensible. “Have you ever come close to proposing to anyone?”

He turned away, squinting at the setting sun, then he slipped on dark glasses. Before her eyes, he transformed into the mysterious

man of the night they’d first met. What was he hiding? Suddenly, Lily was desperate to know. Ben had a past, great love affairs