Read The Seeds Of A Daisy: The Lily Lockwood Series: Book One (Women's Fiction) for Free Online Page A

that they didn’t allow cell phones on the floor.
    “Hello,” I whisper.
    “Doll, I just got your message. I worked late last night and just got up,” Donna says.
    “Where are you, Auntie D.?” The sound of her voice is enough to start my tears again.
    “Oh Lily, honey—shhh—please take a deep breath. I’m in Portugal, with the band, on tour.” Donna’s a fantastic singer, moderately successful in the USA, but for some reason, a bona fide superstar in Portugal.
    She continues, “Franny left me a message. My assistant’s trying to get me on the next flight to New York. Tell me what’s happening.”
    I can’t stop crying. “That’s the thing, Auntie D. I don’t know. I’m waiting here for her doctor. When I first came here, they told me her car hit something and flipped over and she suffered some—what the hell did they call it? Brain injury trauma or something like that. She’s unconscious. She has all these tubes going everywhere and she’s on a breathing thing.”
    Donna gasped. “A
ventilator
? She’s on a ventilator??”
    “Yeah.” I stop crying. “Is that bad?”
    “I’m not there, I really don’t know,” she says. “Have you called Tommy?”
    Tommy’s been Mom’s editor for years. He and his partner are two of her dearest friends. I adore them both, but in times like these, they tend to get overly dramatic. I don’t think I can take anyone else’s drama right now.
    “No, I can’t speak to anyone, I’m way too upset. I just took your call.”
    “Don’t worry. I’ll call him. I’ll text you with my flight info when I get it.” Her voice cracks “I can’t believe this; I just spoke to your mother yesterday morning around nine, my time. When did you speak to her last?” she asks.
    “I don’t remember,” I lie.
    “She told me she was going to head back to the city because she was supposed to have a meeting with Tommy this morning,” Donna continues. “They were going to go over some rewrites or something.”
    “Auntie D., when you call Tommy, tell him I’ll call him and Fernando later, when I have a better idea of what’s happening.”
    “Okay, sweetheart. I love you. Hang in there, I’ll be in New York soon.” She hangs up and for the first time since I arrived at the hospital, I feel a wave of relief.
    I remember the last time I
did
speak to my mother. Was it really only two days ago?
    It was Monday morning after Jamie left for the airport. I called her to talk about the fight he and I had had the night before. We’d been invited to a party at producer Harvey Leder’s house in the prestigious Los Angeles community of Bel Air. The occasion was a pre-production meet-and-greet for the actors, their significant others, and the director of Jamie’s new movie. Principal shooting was to begin a few days later in New Mexico, and they wanted everyone to get to know each other.
    I was really proud of Jamie; he had the lead role in a remake of an old Hollywood Western. Before going to the party, he and I sat out on our terrace talking, drinking wine, and watching the sun, a massive blazing red egg yolk that hung over the Pacific, slowly disappear into the horizon. What had begun as a light-blue sky was now transformed into a gorgeous palette of pinks, purples, blues, and yellows.
    I looked over at Jamie and felt as though my heart was going to burst with joy. I was blessed to be in my gorgeous Malibu beach house, next to my adorable boyfriend, taking in all this beauty.
    He caught me looking at him and smiled “I love you, babe,” then took my face in his hands and kissed me.
    Love and gratitude welled up in me and I got teary-eyed.
    “What’s wrong?” he said, surprised.
    “Oh, nothing. It’s just that I’m going to miss you,” I said, playing off the emotion I was feeling.
    “No worries, babe. It’s a short shoot. I’ll be home in no time.”
    He kissed me again, this time more passionately, leaning me up against the railing and unbuttoning my blouse. While