The Bachelor Next Door. Kathryn Springer
pivoted toward the doorway, and his gaze locked on Lily. Her wide smile didn’t hold the least bit of repentance for eavesdropping on a private conversation. Missy sat at her feet, and it looked as if she was smiling, too.
If Brendan hadn’t known for a fact that, at that very moment, his mother was sunbathing on the promenade deck, he would have accused her of orchestrating the whole thing.
* * *
Lily finished rinsing out her paintbrush and turned off the faucet in the laundry room sink. A few yards away, Missy dozed in a patch of afternoon sunlight streaming through the blinds, paws pedaling the air as she chased a phantom squirrel in her dreams.
She couldn’t help but smile as she remembered Brendan’s reaction to her impulsive announcement to provide a temporary home for the dog. She hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but a deliveryman had shown up at the front door with an invoice that needed Brendan’s signature. She’d arrived just in time to hear a woman asking him to keep the dog until Sunni returned.
Guessing what the answer would be, Lily had squeezed in a yes before Brendan could say no.
Honestly, how could the man even consider returning Missy to the shelter when he had plenty of space for a dog to roam?
A question she’d asked after he’d hung up the phone.
Brendan had taken the clipboard from her outstretched hand, walked out the door and tossed one word over his shoulder.
Trouble.
Lily begged to differ. From what she’d witnessed so far, the dog was proving to be far more agreeable than its master.
Brendan hadn’t been exaggerating about the amount of time he spent in his office. Their paths had intersected once in front of the coffeepot, but other than that, the door to his office had remained firmly closed the rest of the morning.
Lily plucked a towel from a hook on the wall next to the sink and dried off her hands.
“I don’t know about you, Missy, but I’m getting hungry. What do you think about lunch?”
Judging from the speed with which the dog rolled to her feet, she must have thought it was a pretty good idea. Missy followed her to the kitchen and watched Lily raid the refrigerator.
A quick inventory of the contents yielded the ingredients for a fairly presentable Cobb salad. While the eggs boiled, Lily diced up a thick slice of smoked ham and shredded a pungent wedge of Wisconsin cheddar to sprinkle on the top of the fresh greens. After laying everything in a pretty glass bowl, she stepped back to admire her work.
Plenty for two.
Lily yanked out that thought before it could take root.
No. Way.
Brendan had made it clear he didn’t want any interruptions.
Until God had gotten her attention, Lily been the same way. She’d turned down so many invitations from her coworkers to join them in the employee lounge for lunch, they’d finally stopped asking.
Lily felt an internal nudge and groaned.
Really, Lord? Because I’m pretty sure the man keeps a box of thumbtacks stashed in his desk drawer in case he gets hungry.
Another nudge.
And because Lily had made a promise she would never ignore those divine promptings again, she took a deep breath and rapped on the door of Brendan’s office.
“It’s me. Lily,” she added unnecessarily.
She waited. And waited some more. Just when she was about to give up, the door swung open and Lily found herself face-to-face with a…wall of blue denim. Lily was by no means petite, but she was forced to tip her head back to meet Brendan’s gaze.
“Five minutes,” he growled.
“Five minutes,” Lily mused, refusing to be intimidated by The Frown. “Five minutes to pack my bags and get out of Dodge? Five minutes for the police to arrive and arrest me for trespassing? I’m afraid you’ll have to be more specific.”
“Four minutes and fifty-eight seconds.” He wasn’t closing the door when he said it, though, which gave Lily the courage to follow through with her mission.
“I wasn’t sure what your plans were for lunch—”
“I usually eat in my office.”
Alone.
Even though he didn’t say the word out loud, it flashed like a blue neon sign in his eyes.
Oh, well. She was halfway up the hill. Lily decided there was no point in retreating now.
“It’s a beautiful day to soak up some sunshine and the beautiful view.” The view you can’t appreciate because your desk faces the wall. “You could eat outside at the picnic table.”
From the expression on Brendan’s face, Lily would have thought she’d asked him to participate in some unfamiliar—and slightly disturbing—ritual.
“Sunni put you up to this, didn’t she?”
“Up to what?”
“Lunch. Sunshine.”
Lily grinned. “You make them sound like health hazards.”
Brendan took a step back, as if she were the health hazard. “I can’t today, but…thanks. I’ll grab something later.”
“All right.” She shouldn’t have been surprised. “I’ll put half the salad in a container for you. I used up the rest of Sunni’s salad dressing, but I can pick up a bottle when I go to the grocery store later this afternoon.”
Lily knew she was chattering. Brendan didn’t care about salad or salad dressing. What she didn’t know—and what she was afraid to analyze too closely—was the pinch of disappointment she’d felt when he’d turned down her invitation.
Brendan glanced down at Missy, who’d bravely camped at her feet during their brief exchange. “I have an appointment with a client, so I won’t be able to keep an eye on the dog.”
“That’s all right, I’ll bring her along.” Lily reached down and fondled one of Missy’s silky ears. “She’s been a perfect companion all morning. I don’t know why you called her trouble.”
Suddenly, there it was again. The shooting star of a smile that had had Lily’s stomach performing backflips the day before.
“Who said I was talking about Missy?”
The door snapped shut.
* * *
Brendan stepped onto the patio and felt a stab of unease.
The evening breeze stirred shadows into the river, turning the water from sapphire to a deep indigo.
After Lily had returned from the grocery store, he’d watched her disappear into the woods, a colorful backpack slung over one slim shoulder and Missy trotting along at her heels.
They should have been back by now.
Had Lily decided to hike up to the falls? Alone?
The path along the river wasn’t well marked, although Brendan could have found it in the dark. He and his brothers had explored every inch of these woods when they were kids.
If you’d had lunch with Lily, maybe she would have told you her plans.
Brendan tried to shake the thought away but it stuck to his conscience like a burr on a wool sock.
It had been self-preservation, pure and simple. There was no doubt in his mind that Sunni had had an ulterior motive when she’d hired Lily.
Mom thinks you’re lonely.
Once again, Aiden’s words cycled through his mind.
It wasn’t that Brendan