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

Mom replied. “Oh and I
love
Neil Patrick Harris. Doesn’t he look great? Sweetie, do you remember watching
Doogie Howser, M.D
. together every week? He was so darling. You had a huge crush on him, remember?” She paused for a second. “Lily, he would be a good guy for you. He’s really serious and talented and cute, and extremely mature for his age.”
    “First of all, Mom, I have a totally cute and talented boyfriend. Second, Neil Patrick Harris is not and never was a kid genius or a doctor. And third, Mom, he’s gay.”
    “I don’t believe you.” She sounded genuinely surprised.
    “Believe it.” I laughed.
    From our televisions came the voice of Neil Patrick Harris, who announced, “Leading actress in a drama series…”
    “Shhh, here’s your category!” she shouted.
    Kristin Chenoweth read from the card she was holding. “Glenn Close,
Damages
. Sally Field,
Brothers & Sisters
. Holly Hunter,
Saving Grace
. Kyra Sedgwick,
The Closer
.”
    “Holy Mother of God,” I said. “Who’s next, Meryl friggin’ Streep?”
    “Lily Lockwood,
St. Joe’s
.”
    We both screamed at the top of our lungs. I danced around the room like a crazy woman. I didn’t care if I woke up half of Malibu! I jumped up and down on the couch and tried holding the phone close to my ear so I could hear what my mother was saying. Mom was, of course, crying. I could expect nothing less from her.
    “I’m so proud of you, honey.” She was bawling by this time. I stopped jumping. Reality doused me like an Arctic shower. I said, “Mom, those women are all icons. I’d have to be crazy to think I can win.”
    Mom sighed. “Lily, what is the one thing I’ve told you since the moment of your first audition?”
    “Don’t worry about anyone else; just worry about the girl in the mirror.”
    “Lily, you were just nominated for an Emmy.”
    We both screamed again and I jumped on the couch again.
    Jamie walked out of the bedroom and down the stairs into the living room. He was in his boxers, his hair sticking straight up, and he was rubbing his eyes.
    Even that early in the morning, he could easily be cast as a leading man. Six foot two, blonde hair, high cheekbones—a young Kevin Bacon or River Phoenix with a smidgen of Brad Pitt thrown in. He’s athletic without being too muscular, and he has a killer six.
    He yawned. “What’s going on, babe?”
    “I got nominated for an Emmy!” I shouted. Then I spoke into the phone. “Ma, Jamie’s up, I’ll call you later. I love you.” Jamie tried to grab the phone, but I held it away from him and clicked it shut.
    “Wow, babe, that’s awesome, an Emmy nomination. Wow!” He pulled me into him, gave me a passionate kiss (totally unexpected), and put his hand inside my pajama bottoms (totally expected). He gave my butt a good squeeze.
    “Hmm…very nice!” He took my hand and said, “C’mon, back to bed, babe, I’ve never done it with an Emmy nominee before.”
    I followed him up the stairs, taking off my pajama top and bottoms on the way up and flinging them to him, Gypsy Rose Lee style.
    The bottoms ended up around his neck. Very dramatic, I thought, and most definitely worthy of an Emmy nominee!
    I was completely naked by the time we reached the top of the landing. He lifted me up, opened the door with his foot, carried me into the bedroom, and tossed me on the bed.
    “My mother’s right again,” I said to him in between kisses. “She told me I’d be way too excited to go back to sleep!”

    Sitting in the back seat of the town car, I wondered if my mother would be seated next to me at the Emmys. How could I go to the ceremony if she wasn’t there? How could I do
anything
without my mother?
    The driver made a turn off the side road and into the hospital parking lot. I took a deep breath to steady myself for what lay ahead. Since it was the middle of the night, the lot was eerily serene. An ambulance slowly drove by, passing a sleeping guard.
    My driver pulled up to the front