The Bachelor Next Door. Kathryn Springer

Чтение книги онлайн.

      Chapter Two

      Lily waited for the man to fill in the blank.

      He didn’t look dangerous, but a girl couldn’t be too careful nowadays. Dark hair. Eyes the velvet-blue of an evening sky. The chiseled features would have been improved by a smile, but he was attractive in a brooding, Mr. Darcy kind of way.

      “Brendan Kane,” he finally said.

      Now it looked as if he was waiting for something. Lily stitched the pieces of their brief conversation together in her mind, trying to make sense of them. He’d apologized for being late. And the flash of disbelief in his eyes when she’d introduced herself meant that he’d been expecting someone else—a Domita Somebody or Another.

      “Did you have an appointment with one of Sonia Mason’s employees?” she ventured. “Because I think everyone left for the day.”

      “Not all of them.” A wry smile kicked up the corner of his lips, and Lily felt a corresponding kick in the general vicinity of her heart. Flustered, she lowered her gaze—and spotted the logo embroidered on the pocket of his polo shirt.

      Castle Falls Outfitters.

      Brendan Kane was one of the employees.

      “I…” Feel like an idiot? “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you worked for Sonia Mason, too. She hired me a few weeks ago to do some painting while she’s on vacation, but I’m afraid I don’t know much about her business.” Lily forced a smile. “I should have asked more questions.”

      “You aren’t the only one,” he muttered.

      She wasn’t sure how to decipher the cryptic statement, but something in Brendan Kane’s tone told her that he wasn’t pleased by the situation. Was he afraid she was going to get in his way?

      Or was he the type of person who thought her type of work was unnecessary? Frivolous?

      Anyone can splash paint on a wall, Lily. You’re wasting your talents…and your time. If you take a leave of absence now, someone else is going to take your place. Everything you’ve worked to accomplish will be gone.

      Her father’s parting words had left their mark. In Nolan Michaels’s world, the number of hours a person worked, combined with the number of digits that made up their annual salary, equaled success. The fact that Lily was being considered for a promotion had made it even more difficult for him to understand.

      It didn’t even seem to matter that Lily’s change in careers, in order to help out a friend in need, was temporary.

      If only her father had seen the expression on Shelby’s face when Lily had offered to take over her custom painting until she regained her strength after being diagnosed with Lyme disease.

      Hope.

      Lily folded the memory into a smile and tucked it away for safekeeping.

      She’d made the right decision.

      “If you’ll excuse me. I have a few things to unload before it gets dark.” Lily skirted the six-foot-two, blue-eyed obstacle on the sidewalk. She could only hope her and Brendan Kane’s paths wouldn’t cross very often in the next ten days….

      “I’ll give you a hand.”

      Lily dragged in a breath, ready to decline, but the masculine—and all-too-appealing—scent of fresh air and freshly laundered cotton filled her lungs. And did strange things to her vocal cords. All she could manage was a…squeak.

      A squeak Brendan must have taken as consent, because he reached into the trunk of the car and pulled out a box filled with drop cloths.

      “You can set the bins in the hallway.” Lily found her voice as she wrestled a folding ladder from the backseat. “I’ll organize everything later.”

      “What’s this?”

      Peeking over the top of the door, she saw him holding her pink paisley Vera Bradley weekender, a birthday gift from Shelby, at arm’s length. The way a person might hold a plastic bag bound for the curb. Or a package that had suddenly started to tick.