“Hush now, Evan,” Lily scolded. “There’s no reason to give our new friend the wrong impression about me.” She returned her gaze to Maria. “Please try to forgive him. He’s as sweet as can be and more intelligent than he lets on, but he went to State and he was in a fraternity. You know what that means.”
“At least my university was coed,” Evan countered.
“And as I’ve assured him repeatedly,” she responded, nudging Maria, “I will never hold that flaw against him.”
Despite herself, Maria smiled. “It’s nice to meet you both.”
Still holding Maria’s hands, Lily turned to Colin. “Colin, you must admit that you weren’t being fair to Maria at all when you told me about her! She’s absolutely breathtaking!” Then back to Maria: “It’s no wonder that you’ve been all that Colin has been able to think about lately. You must know that you’ve been the topic of discussion every time we’ve spoken in recent weeks, and I can certainly understand why.” Letting go of Maria’s hands, she kissed Colin on the cheek. “You’re very handsome this evening. Did I buy you that shirt?”
“Thank you,” Colin said. “And yes, you did.”
“And that’s a good thing, don’t you agree? If I wasn’t around, you’d probably be wearing one of those awful T-shirts with slogans on them.”
“I like those shirts.”
She patted his arm. “I know you do, bless your heart. Now, shall we head to the table? I’ve been on pins and needles all day and I want to know absolutely everything about the woman who already has you wrapped around her little finger.”
“I’m not sure that’s quite true,” Maria protested.
“As true as due north. Colin – despite his stoic demeanor – is actually quite expressive in his emotions once you’re familiar with them. Now, shall we?”
When she turned for the table, Colin shrugged at Maria, as if to say I told you so. While Maria had become acquainted with the Southern belle debutante phenomenon among the sorority girls at Chapel Hill, Colin was right: Lily took it to a whole new level. Maria initially assumed it to be partially an act, but as they settled into wide-ranging conversation over dinner, she gradually changed her mind. What was interesting was that as much as Lily could talk – and the girl could talk about anything – she could also draw out information simply by the way she listened. She had a way of leaning forward slightly and nodding when appropriate; making noises of empathy or sympathy, followed by probing questions. Maria never once had the sense that Lily was trying to think of the next thing she wanted to say while Maria was still talking, and to her surprise she even found herself telling Lily and Evan about the delivery of the roses and its aftermath. At that, the table went quiet, and Lily impulsively covered Maria’s hand with her own.
Later, while the two women were freshening up in the restroom after dinner, Maria caught Lily’s reflection in the mirror.
“I feel like I did most of the talking,” Maria said. “I’m sorry about that.”
“There is absolutely no reason to apologize. You have a lot going on in your life right now, and I’m flattered by your trust in us.”
Maria added some lipstick before her voice softened. “You weren’t surprised by what Colin did, were you? With the photo and tracking down where the roses came from?”
“No,” Lily answered. “That’s who he is. When he loves someone, he’ll do anything for them.”
“It feels like half the time, I’m still trying to figure him out.”
“I’m not surprised,” Lily said. “At the same time, since you were so honest with Evan and me, you must know that prior to dinner, my loyalties lay completely with Colin. I wanted to meet you so I could make sure that you were everything he said you were.”