Lily handed her bags to the man. His blond hair was trimmed close to his head along the sides, and the top of his hair wasn’t much longer. His blue eyes looked at everyone with suspicion. He gave Lily a small smile as he greeted her with a “ma’am” and took the bags.
Denae walked to her, laughing. “I called our driver as I was paying.”
“Those men aren’t just drivers.”
Denae turned and began to walk out of the store. “Nope. They sure aren’t. Dreagan has enemies, Lily, and Kellan wanted to make sure we were safe.”
“I’m surprised he let you come without him.”
“Oh, he didn’t,” Denae said with a chuckle. “He’s near.”
Lily wasn’t surprised by her admission. Kellan was the protective sort. Despite the fact Denae said she could defend herself. To have that kind of relationship. Rhys’s face flashed in Lily’s mind, her soul aching to kiss him again, to touch him and hold him.
“Lady Lily?” said a high-pitched female voice behind them.
Lily froze, her heart thumping wildly in her chest. Her breath came faster, the world spinning. It had been so terribly long since anyone had called her that.
“Oh, my God. It is you,” the woman said as she walked around Lily and stood in front of her. “It’s me, Elizabeth Dabney, though I’m Attwater now.”
That meant she had married James Attwater, Earl Attington, one of the men who once courted Lily. It seemed like a lifetime ago.
Lily plastered a smile on her face. “Hello, Elizabeth. I always knew you would make a lovely countess.”
“He was supposed to have been yours,” Elizabeth said, though there was no heat in her words. “Where have you been, Lily? We’ve not seen you in years.”
Lily’s throat closed up as images of her time with Dennis ran through her mind. Something bumped into her from the side, and she saw Denae out of the corner of her eye. Lily grasped at the opportunity. “Elizabeth, let me introduce you to my friend, Denae.”
“Hi,” Denae said and stuck out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“An American,” Elizabeth said with a brow raised.
Denae glanced at Lily. “I’m from Texas, yes.”
“Are you visiting?”
“I live here. Have for some time actually.”
Elizabeth was intrigued now. “Really? What do you do?”
Denae’s smile was slow. “I’m married to one of the owners of Dreagan Industries.”
“Oh,” Elizabeth exclaimed, her eyes looking at Denae with new interest. “How exciting. My husband loves Dreagan whisky. We must have you and your husband to dinner if you’re ever in London.”
“Of course.”
Lily watched the exchange with curiosity. Denae could handle herself with the peerage, especially someone like Elizabeth who liked to flaunt the fact she was a countess. Then again, Denae seemed comfortable in any scenario.
“Please forgive us,” Denae said. “Lily and I really must go. We have another appointment.”
Elizabeth stepped aside. “It was good to see you, Lily.”
Lily waved, throwing a good-bye over her shoulder as she followed Denae out the door and to the car awaiting them. Once they were inside, Lily drew in a deep breath and said, “I can explain.”
“No need,” Denae interrupted her. “Your past is your past. You’ll share when you want to.”
Lily looked away, tears gathering in her eyes. She had fully expected Denae to grill her on Elizabeth calling her Lady Lily, and yet Denae didn’t say a word. “I didn’t run away from my family,” she suddenly said, needing to fill the silence.
“When is the last time you saw them?”
Lily looked straight ahead. “Four years ago.”
There was a stretch of silence before Denae said, “I know there’s somewhere else you want to go. Before that, I wanted to tell you my surprise.”
“Which is?” Lily asked as she looked at her.
“We have rooms at Radisson Blu Hotel. We’ve had a long day, and I’m exhausted. That is, if you want to stay. If not, we can return to Dreagan right now.”
Lily shook her head, grinning again. “I think it’s a fabulous idea.”
They talked of nothing and everything during the ride to the hotel. It wasn’t until Denae was out and all the bags had been unloaded that Lily remained standing in the open door of the car.
“Is everything all right?” Denae asked.
“That one other place I wanted to go? Do you mind if I do it alone?”
Denae gave her a comforting smile. “Tell the driver where you want to go. He’ll take you anywhere and bring you back.”
Lily waited until Denae was inside the hotel before she got back in the car. She pulled out her phone and touched the screen so the quote was visible. “Take me to the best tattoo place you know, please.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Rhys pushed his shadows again and again at Ulrik, but no matter how much Ulrik was injured, he didn’t answer a single question Rhys threw at him.