Memo: Marry Me? by Jennie Adams

the valley clung to the fabric back of the chair. Zach closed his eyes and inhaled.
    In the days since his brother’s school hockey competition, he had tried to leave her alone, to forget her. But he still desired her. Still noticed her every move, still tracked her through the days whether he chose to or not, and dreamed of her through the long nights.
    Maybe he should capitulate about having one of her other workers in to replace her. Yet, even as he thought it, he knew he wasn’t ready to let her out of his life.
    ‘Hello. Is Lily not here at the moment?’ The familiar voice sounded from in front of the desk.
    Zach snapped his eyes open and stared into Mark Uden’s calm face. ‘Ah, Uden. Good afternoon. No. She’s delivering something on another floor, then we’ll be packing up for the day.’
    ‘I thought I’d give Lily a lift to her volunteer session at the institute.’ Uden paused, and added, ‘I saw your photographs in the paper the other day. Let’s see, page eight, the society column, wasn’t it? Many happy returns for your birthday. I hope it was an enjoyable event.’
    ‘It was. Thanks.’ Zach rose from the chair, but remained standing behind the desk. ‘You appear to have a good memory.’ And what did Uden mean about a volunteer session? What institute?
    ‘I have a natural gift for all types of recall. Faces, places, names, dates. I’ve never used a diary in my life.’ Uden gave a self-effacing smile. ‘I confess, some of my colleagues find my ability quite aggravating at times. I try to keep the knowledge of that skill from my patients, of course. No need to make them uncomfortable.’
    ‘Lily wouldn’t last long if she tried that, but she does a great job with her diaries and calendars and sticky notes.’ Zach
liked
her zany, intense commitment to recording just about everything that happened in her day.
    It wasn’t that odd. He scowled, recalling her commitment to her work, and his fixation on everything
but
her work, his fixation on Lily.
    ‘She’s confided in you!’ Uden’s smile was blinding. ‘I’m so pleased to know that. Lily is usually very secretive about her history, you know.’
    Lily’s history? What could Uden be implying about Lily? Did the man mean her past engagement?
    ‘Lily told me about her past, yes.’ He refused to pretend that he found any pleasure in the knowledge that Lily had cared for someone once and maybe still did. He raised an eyebrow. ‘Whether she’s over it or not is open to question.’
    Uden rocked back on the heels of his shoes. ‘It’s not really a case of getting over it. Rather, it’s about making adjustments. Because of the injury to her brain, she’s had to completely rebuild her confidence. That will take a long time, a lot longer than the year that has passed so far since her accident.’
    ‘What?’ Zach’s gaze narrowed. They were clearly at cross purposes. What was Uden talking about? ‘What do you mean, an injury? An accident?’
    ‘Ah, I beg your pardon.’ Uden drew himself up. ‘Did you not just state that Lily had confided in you?’
    ‘Lily told me about her
ex-fiancé
. I thought that was the history you meant, when you suggested she had confided in me. She hasn’t said a word about anything else.’ Zach faced the older man, stunned, unable to absorb that one, shocking truth. Lily injured. Her brain damaged.
    It couldn’t be true. He knew her. Had worked with her, seen her skills, her ability. Yet, even as Zach thought this, he recalled so many incidents that had meant nothing at the time.
    Lily having to leave a note on her door to make sure she didn’t let her cat get run over. Her difficulty remembering barrages of names or instructions. The way she had tried to check her phone messages twice before Dan’s hockey game.
    Zach felt awe and deep heartache for all Lily must have endured. He wanted to hold her close and protect her from ever being harmed again. He wanted to tell her she was incredible. But if