The Bachelor Next Door

“Suitcase.” He frowned, clearly suspicious.

They do come in more than colors than black and navy blue, Lily thought. Then promptly asked God’s forgiveness for the uncharitable thought.

“Don’t worry about that one.” Setting the ladder down, she held out her hand, ready to rescue the bag from his grip. “I’ll take it upstairs.”

“Upstairs?” The frown deepened.

And he was still attractive.

Life, Lily thought, just wasn’t fair.

“You’re not staying here.” It came out sounding more like a statement than a question.

“Sonia offered the use of her guest room while she’s on vacation,” Lily explained. “Paint the Town is based in Traverse City, so it would have been too far to drive back and forth.”

“I’m surprised you accepted a job way up here in the middle of nowhere.” A muscle working in that chiseled jaw tightened at the words.

Lily didn’t know why it mattered where she stayed. But if Brendan Kane was Sonia’s manager, as she suspected, he probably resented the fact that his employer hadn’t kept him in the loop.

“I didn’t have the luxury of turning down the job.” She pressed out a smile. “And Sonia assured me that I have all the qualifications she’s been looking for.”

The blue eyes closed briefly, and Lily could only guess what the man was thinking of. Tossing her offensive floral luggage in the river? Ordering her off the property?

She decided not to wait around to find out.

“I appreciate your help, but I can handle the rest of it.” Plucking the suitcase from his hand, Lily headed to the front door. This time—thank You, God—he didn’t follow.

She practically sprinted up the stairs to the second floor and took refuge in the spare room at the end of the hall. Number four on the makeover list. Sonia had requested something lighter than the existing hunter-green walls and burgundy trim, which gave the room a distinctly masculine feel.

Lily unpacked her suitcase and matched each item of clothing to a plastic hanger in the closet. She read through Sonia’s list and matched paint chips to the appropriate rooms.

In other words, she was stalling.

After an hour or so, when she figured the coast was clear, Lily padded downstairs.

Anticipation began to wash away the memory of her encounter with Brendan the Brusque. She sorted through the cans of paint until she came to the words chai tea scribbled on the lid. Rich vanilla, with a subtle vein of gold, would provide the perfect frame for the window overlooking the river.

Lily practically skipped down the hall to Sonia’s office. And bumped into a wall she hadn’t encountered on her first tour of the house. Solid. Warm.

She stumbled backward. “What are you doing here?”

“That’s funny.” One dark eyebrow lifted. “I was about to ask you the same question.”

If it was funny, then why wasn’t he smiling?

“I’m going to do some prep work.”

Her explanation was met with silence. Lily tried again. “Scrub the walls. Tape around the windows and trim—”

“I know what prep work is,” Brendan interrupted. “But why are you in here?”

Lily took a deep breath. Prayed for patience. “Because this is the room I’ll be painting first.”

“No.”

Manager or not, she was getting a little tired of the man’s high-handed ways.

“My employer—” Lily couldn’t help but press down on the word “—gave me a list of the rooms she wanted me to paint and this office happens to be one of them. Is there a problem?”

Yes. There was.

In fact, Brendan had started a list of his own.

Beginning with the fact that Sunni had neglected to mention the person she’d hired for Castle Falls Outfitters: Makeover Edition was a leggy blonde with violet eyes.

Or that she’d be living upstairs.

Maybe his mother hadn’t had an ulterior motive. Maybe a woman—a beautiful woman—in her mid-twenties who lived in a city over half a day’s drive from Castle Falls had been the only painter available.

Yeah. Right.

“This isn’t Sunni’s office.” Brendan speared a hand through his hair. “It’s mine.”

“Who is Sunni?”

“Sunni Mason…my mother.” The words had gotten easier to say over the years. Unlike his brothers, Brendan still remembered the woman who’d given birth to them. Even if those memories weren’t the kind a person was eager to share.

“But—” Lily’s forehead puckered “—I thought you were the manager.”

“I am. I’m also the son. My two younger brothers work here, too, but they’re gone for a few days.” Brendan could only imagine what his siblings’ reactions would be when they returned and discovered what Sunni had done. “We all take care of a different aspect of the business. Liam designs the boats, Aiden tests them and I find people to buy them. From this office,” he couldn’t help but add.

Some unidentifiable emotion flared in Lily’s eyes. “Do you live here—in this house—too?”

Brendan shook his head. “In a cabin behind the shop. I like my privacy.” It had to be said. “So you understand why this won’t work. It’s a small space, and there isn’t room for both of us.”

“Oh, I understand.” The corners of her watercolor-pink lips twitched.

Was she trying not to smile? Okay, maybe that had sounded like something the sheriff in a cheesy old black-and-white Western might say—this town isn’t big enough for the two of us—but it also happened to be the truth.

Lily took two steps forward and paused in the doorway. Tipped her head. “Do you like it?”

“Do I like what?”

“Your office.”

Did he like… What kind of question was that?

Brendan shrugged. “It’s an office.”

“The place where you spend the majority of your day?”

“Yes.” He wondered where she was going with this. “When I’m working, I’m focused on work.” Even if the walls were—Brendan took a quick inventory of the room—dark green with a brownish fleck.

Kind of like the algae that coated the rocks along the riverbank.

“I really don’t care about the color of the walls.” He closed the conversation with a polite smile.

Lily didn’t move. “What are your regular business hours?”

“There’s no such thing when you own your own business.”

Something Brendan had discovered the first time he’d driven through the night to personally deliver an order, and as the owner of a small business, she should have known that, as well. “Why?”

“If you don’t want me in here when you’re working,” Lily said sweetly. “I need to know when you won’t be.”

“I thought we already established that I don’t want you to paint my office.”

“I’m sorry, but it really isn’t a question of what you want, is it? You might be the manager, but Sonia is my boss.” Lily held up a square of flowered stationery that looked as if it had been cut from the same material as her suitcase. “And this office happens to be on the list of rooms she asked me to paint. If you have a problem with that, I suggest you take it up with her.”

Brendan would have—if Sunni had taken her cell phone. Or her laptop. But someone had insisted she leave all means of communication behind in order to truly “get away from it all.”

He mentally kicked himself.

“I start work at seven in the morning and stay as long as necessary.” He pushed the words out slowly, one by one, hoping she could take a hint.

“When is your day off? I’ll try and work around that.”

“It…varies.” Brendan tried to remember the last time he’d taken a day off. “A lot.”

“Are you always this difficult?”

“Are you?” he shot back.

Lily had the audacity to grin.

“I guess you’ll find out, won’t you?”

* * *

Things weren’t turning out quite the way Lily had planned.

She rolled onto her back in the twin bed and stared up at the ceiling, mentally sifting through the emails she and Sonia Mason had exchanged over the past few weeks.

The boys are in and out, Lily vaguely remembered the woman saying. What her client had failed to mention, however, was the fact they were her boys. Lily had assumed it was simply an affectionate term for her employees.

Whatever her reason for not sharing that little tidbit of information, Lily didn’t look forward to tip-toeing around Brendan Kane for the next two weeks.

The man had no sense of humor.

She’d tried to tease him. Tried to get him to lighten up a little and make the best out of an uncomfortable situation. But her attempt had been met with silence. Oh, and another frown.

At least they didn’t have to share the same living space, although Lily suspected that working in close proximity would prove to be difficult enough.

From the brief conversation they’d had in the office the day before, she could tell there were no boundaries between Brendan’s professional life and personal life. He was ambitious. Single-minded. Devoted to his career.

Lily recognized the signs. A few weeks ago, she’d been the same way. But watching your best friend battle fatigue and constant pain had a way of changing a person’s perspective. Made her see what was really important.

Thank You, God.

It was a prayer Lily had repeated at least a dozen times every day.

The cell phone on the nightstand chirped, starting a countdown to Brendan’s arrival. He’d claimed he was in the office by seven in the morning, so Lily had set her alarm for six.

She dashed down the hall to shower and then slipped into her uniform—paint-splattered overalls and a clean

T-shirt—before making her way downstairs to the kitchen. Even though Sonia had given her permission to raid the refrigerator, Lily didn’t want to take advantage of her host’s generosity. She planned to drive into Castle Falls later that afternoon and pick up a few things at the grocery store.

She did, however, locate the coffeemaker and brew a fresh pot.

During her brief tour of the house the day before, Lily had discovered a stone patio located off the back of the kitchen. She shouldered open the weathered screen door and stepped outside, a steaming mug of coffee in one hand and her Bible in the other.

Proof that her morning routine had changed, too. A few months ago, Lily’s definition of “time with God” had been a muttered prayer, asking God to bless her day, as she sprinted to her car. Never realizing that a continued conversation with God, the privilege of sharing her heart, was the blessing.

She lowered herself into a wicker rocking chair that faced the river and closed her eyes, letting the scents and sounds wash over her as she thanked God for the beauty of His creation.

When she opened them again, she was no longer alone.

A dog with long ears and an even longer body sat next to the chair, staring up at her with liquid brown eyes.

Lily smiled at her unexpected visitor. “Well, good morning. Where did you come from?”

Sonia hadn’t mentioned owning a pet, but Lily couldn’t quite picture Brendan choosing this particular breed to be his canine companion. Although it would explain the mournful expression on the basset hound’s face. And its sausage-like shape? Evidence of a master who practically lived in his office.

Lily took pity on the poor thing.

“You can hang out with me for a while. How about that?”

The dog’s tail thumped the ground, which Lily interpreted as a yes. She tucked the Bible under her arm and the basset hound trotted alongside Lily as she made her way back to the house.

With limited access to Brendan’s office, she’d decided to concentrate on the living room. By the end of the day, the glowing tangerine walls would be replaced with a soft shade of aqua. Pale. Serene. A respite from a stressful day.

Lily had a feeling she would be spending a lot of time there.

“First things first.” Lily looped a bandanna around her hair and knotted the ends together at the nape of her neck. “In this line of work, it’s function over fashion.”

The basset hound made a strange sound.

Lily glanced down and saw a colorful piece of cloth clamped in her jaws.

She laughed.

“I guess this means you want to help.”

Chapter Three

Laughter.

It was the first thing Brendan heard when he opened the front door the next morning.

That’s all he needed. Someone in the house holding a paintbrush in one hand and a cell phone in the other.

Brendan bypassed the kitchen, ignoring the lure of freshly brewed coffee as he strode down the hall to the living room. If he and Lily Michaels were going to be sharing space for the next two weeks, it wouldn’t hurt to establish a few ground rules. Let her know what he expected…

He pulled up short in the doorway.

Lily was kneeling in front of the fireplace. The paint-splattered overalls she wore somehow managed to enhance her slender curves rather than detract from them. Two bright golden tassels peeked out from underneath the green bandanna tied around her head.

No paintbrush. No cell phone. Instead, she was holding on to the corner of another bandanna…the other end was attached to an overweight basset hound.

It couldn’t be.

“Missy?”

Brendan realized he’d said the word out loud when Lily’s head jerked up.

“Is that your dog’s name?” Smiling at him, she surrendered the colorful strip of fabric.

“She’s not my dog.”

Missy clattered over to him and deposited the damp cloth at his feet.

“Really?” Lily rose to her feet and parked her hands on her hips, a pointed look at Missy conveying her skepticism.

“My mother volunteers at the shelter and she tries to find people willing to adopt the animals that end up there.” Although Brendan had no idea how the dog had covered the mile-long trek from town on those stubby little legs.

“She’s a stray?”

“Not anymore,” Brendan said quickly. “Mom found a home for her before she left. Missy must have gotten loose somehow and wandered away.”

There was also the distinct possibility she’d been dropped off on his front porch in the middle of the night.

“Maybe she thinks this is home.” Lily looked down at the basset hound, and her expression softened.

The furry martyr collapsed at his feet with a heavy sigh.

Brendan inwardly rolled his eyes. “I’ll give Mr. Wilson a call and let him know Missy’s here.”

“She’s probably thirsty.” Lily moved past him and the scent of her shampoo, something light and citrusy, teased his senses. “I’ll get her some water.”

“There’s a dish under the sink.” Brendan pivoted in the opposite direction and retreated to his office to find a phone book. He was expecting a call from a customer within the next few minutes and a shipment of materials for their next order was on its way, something Brendan needed to sign for when it arrived.

He punched in Ed Wilson’s number, foot tapping the floor in time with every ring. Just before he was about to hang up, Brendan heard a click.

“Wilson residence.”

“Mr. Wilson? This is Brendan Kane. I’m calling because you must have—” give the man the benefit of the doubt now “—misplaced something. Missy showed up here a little while ago.”

“So that’s where she ran off to.” Brendan heard a rusty chuckle. “All I can say is the good Lord must have put a homing device in those critters when He created them.”

“Her home is with you,” Brendan reminded him.

“Can’t keep her,” Ed said bluntly. “My son called last night and invited me to spend the summer in Chicago, but he lives in one of them fancy condos. No pets allowed.”

“I understand.” Brendan squeezed the base of his skull, a futile attempt to ward off the tension headache snaking its way up the back of his neck, one vertebra at a time. “Thanks for your time, Mr. Wilson.”

“Sorry I can’t help you out.”

Not as sorry as Brendan.

The second call he made was to the animal shelter. It rang ten…twelve times…before Yvonne Delfield answered with a breathless hello. The woman was a close friend of Sunni’s, one of the few who’d actually supported her decision to take in three rowdy boys who’d slipped between the cracks of the child welfare system.

“Missy is with me,” he said without preamble.

“Brendan?” And then, “Oh, that’s a relief! I was hoping you’d decided to keep her.”

“What? No, I didn’t…. July is one of the busiest months of the year.” Brendan put Yvonne on speakerphone and fired up his computer to confirm the time of an afternoon appointment. “She managed to escape from Ed Wilson and ended up back here. I was just calling to make sure someone would be around when I bring her back to the shelter.”

“Oh.” The word rolled out with Yvonne’s sigh. “One of the county deputies found a litter of puppies living in a shed and brought them in, so we’re a little short on space at the moment. Would you be willing to keep Missy until Sunni gets back and finds another home for her?”

“No problem.”

Brendan heard the words, but he hadn’t said them.

He 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 was anti-relationships. He just knew the successful ones took time and attention—and right now, the business required all of his. He’d been talking to the CEO of Extreme Adventures for several months and, finally, it looked as though his persistence was paying off. Filling orders for the sporting-goods chain guaranteed stability in a competitive market and uncertain economy.