Bound to the Bachelor (14 page)

“You all right?” Beau asked, but she could see the smile lurking around his mouth and knew that he was pretty damned pleased that he’d robbed her of the ability to stand.

“Don’t get too carried away with yourself. For all you know, I could have poor circulation,” she said.

His grin was cocky as hell. “Sweetheart, you don’t have poor anything from where I’m sitting.”

Despite the astonishing intimacy of the act they’d just shared, she felt the heat of a full body blush working its way up her chest and into her face. Desperate to cover, she bent to collect her jeans and concentrated on disentangling her panties from the legs. Predictably, they resisted her efforts, and she could see Beau smiling out the corners of her eyes.

Next time, he could be the one who stripped naked and she’d stay almost fully dressed. Then they’d see how amused and cocky he was.

She gave herself a mental shake when she registered her own thoughts. There wasn’t going to be a next time. If ever there was a one-time-only event, this was it. In fact, it was the very definition of the concept.

She tugged her panties on, then pulled on her jeans. Beau passed her bra, and she slipped it on, smiling as a thought occurred to her.

“What’s so funny?” he asked.

“I was just wondering if this means I failed my first self-defense class,” she said.

He laughed and she allowed herself to look into his eyes for the first time. There was a lot of warmth there, and a certain appreciative, very male glint of knowledge.

Well, she knew things about him now, too, so they were totally even.

She smoothed the hem of her sweater as she pulled it down, then turned and collected Andie’s long coat from where she’d let it drop when Beau kissed her. The beanie was beside it, and she threw him a quick look before slipping it on.

“Just so you can sleep at night without worrying about me contracting triple pneumonia,” she said.

“I appreciate it.”

She cleared her throat then, determined to get something straight between them.

“I’m going now. And I’m going to save you from trotting out whatever it is you say to women to maintain your lone wolf status. I had a great time, but it was just sex, and I am totally cool with that.”

An indecipherable emotion flitted across his face before he was once more Mr. Impervious.

“You like beating me to the punch, don’t you?”

She realized he was referring to the fact that, when the chips were down, she was the one who had jumped him. A lot of women would prefer to be the jumpee instead of the jumper, but she liked it that way. It meant she was in the driver’s seat. In charge.

“Thanks, Beau. For everything.” She set her hand on his shoulder, and leaned close to press a last kiss to his lips.

She crossed to her bag, grabbed the strap, and headed for the exit. She didn’t stop moving until she was safely ensconced in the cold interior of her car. Starting the engine, she punched the heater on and pulled on her seat belt.

A slow smile curved her mouth as she realized that parts of her body were still buzzing happily. Her smile widened as it occurred to her that in all the times she’d imagined sleeping with Beau – and despite her overt animosity toward him, there had been plenty over the years – she’d never imagined feeling this way once it was over. She’d always thought she’d feel cheap, or stupid, or guilty. Instead, she felt… good. As though he’d just given her something she hadn’t even known she needed.

So, not a mistake, then. Not a disaster. Something else entirely. Something
necessary
.

Feeling better than she had in a long time, she headed for Andie and Heath’s.

‡

T
he good feeling
 – all right, the afterglow – lasted into the following week, making her smile at odd moments and transforming even the most frustrating problems at work into easily surmountable obstacles.

“You’re in a good mood,” her boss said on Thursday, throwing Lily a questioning look.

Rhonda was in her early sixties, and despite her sometimes short temper, she and Lily got on pretty well most of the time. She’d inherited the small printing works from her uncle, and even though business wasn’t what it used to be, thanks to the internet and the advent of home printers, she still managed to drum up enough work to employ a small staff of eight and keep them busy throughout the year.

“I didn’t realize I was such a grump usually,” Lily said lightly.

“You aren’t grumpy. You’re just not usually all shiny and smiley. What happened? Did you get laid or something?” Rhonda asked.

Lily was used to her boss’s lack of self-editing, but Rhonda’s guess was so on the money she found herself shuffling things around on her desk, swapping her stapler with her sticky-tape dispenser pointlessly.

“That’s such a cliche, Rhonda. Great sex only makes little woodland animals come and sing outside your bedroom window in Disney movies,” she said.

“I’m pretty sure there isn’t a lot of sex combined with woodland animals in Disney movies,” Rhonda said dryly, crossing her arms over her skinny body. She was in-between hairdresser’s appointments at the moment, and her bold red hair showed white at the roots. “And nobody said anything about
great
sex.”

Lily swapped the sticky tape and the stapler back to the way they’d been, trying to formulate the best strategy for exiting this conversation with her privacy intact. Then she realized she didn’t care. She had nothing to hide, especially from Rhonda.

“Did I say great?” she said, sitting back in her chair. “I meant mind-blowing.” She gave her boss her brightest, most innocent smile.

Rhonda coughed out a laugh. “Well look at you go, little miss celibacy. Finally decided to break the drought, huh?”

“That would be telling,” Lily said.

Rhonda picked up her coffee mug and took a big mouthful before speaking. “Typical. Have mercy on an old married woman. At least throw me a few details.”

Lily propped her head on her hand and pretended to think about it. “What were you thinking? Girth? Heft? Angle of penetration?”

Coffee snorted out Rhonda’s nose as she tried to laugh and swallow at the same time. Murmuring an apology, Lily passed her the box of tissues from her desk to help her mop up. Rhonda gave her rueful look after she’d surveyed the damage to her sweater.

“I guess that will teach me for being a nosy parker,” she said.

“Sorry,” Lily said. “I could have timed that better.”

Rhonda waved off her apology. “It was worth it. Heft. I’m not even sure I know what that is.”

Shaking her head, Rhonda wandered off. Lily went back to the invoices she was typing up, keen to get them printed and in the mail by the end of the day.

She was pretty sure it wasn’t the last she’d hear on the subject from Rhonda, but she was confident she could hold her own against her boss’s good natured curiosity. One thing was for sure, the name Beau Bennett wasn’t passing her lips.

For starters, his reputation for being a ladies’ man was well-known in town. And even if it wasn’t, Lily had bitched about him more than once since she’d been working at the printing works, especially around the time when Andie and Heath were getting married. She could only imagine the amount of mileage Rhonda would get out of her massive back flip.

Andie called as she was slipping into her coat to make the short walk to the post office.

“You home for dinner tonight?” she asked as Lily grabbed her handbag.

“I am. I was thinking I could get take-out for us all, since we all know my cooking sucks and it’s my turn,” Lily said.

“Heath’s making chilli,” Andie said.

“Yum. I’ll grab some wine.”

“Is it wrong I like having you staying with us?” Andie asked.

“I’m not sure Heath likes it.”

“What makes you say that?” Andie asked, surprise in her voice.

“The way he looks at you sometimes. Like he’d like to take a bite out of you. I’m sure I’m cramping his style.”

Andie laughed. “His style is fine, don’t worry about that. Just fine.”

“Well, I figure I should probably be able to go home by the end of the week. Toby hasn’t found any sign that Darren is staying locally. Maybe he just drove in for the day to bully me and your brother scared him off.”

She’d spoken to Toby just that morning and been heartened by the news.

“You need to talk to Beau before you move back home,” Andie said firmly.

“Excuse me?” Lily asked.

“He’s the security expert. Only an idiot would look a gift security expert in the mouth.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s not a saying.”

“It is now. I’ve got to go. See you later, okay?”

Lily contemplated her phone for a second before shoving it into her pocket. On the surface of things, Andie was right. Beau was an expert in security, and he’d dealt with lots of tricky situations over the years, situations she’d heard about via Andie. But Lily didn’t feel entirely comfortable turning to him for advice now they’d slept with each other.

This was the sting in the tail of what had happened between them. She didn’t want Beau thinking she was using the mess with Darren to try to parlay their one-off into something more. At the moment, she felt as though they’d both come out of their encounter as equals. He’d had a good time; she’d had a good time. They’d both been happy to leave it at that. Having to lean on Beau again felt as though it was going to muddy the situation.

But, as Andie had said, only an idiot looked a gift security expert in the mouth.

Her good mood slipping for the first time all week, she grabbed the letters and made the trek to the post office, grateful for the overhanging eaves along Main Street, which meant she was mostly walking on clear sidewalk and not wading through slush, mud, and snow. The queue was long, as it always was at this time of day, and it was after five by the time she returned to the printing works.

Rhonda was pulling on her jacket and winding her scarf around her neck as Lily entered.

“You heading off already?” Lily asked, surprised.

“Doctor’s appointment. Don’t ask,” Rhonda said, shaking her head grimly.

Lily hid a grin. No doubt she’d hear all about Rhonda’s gruesome appointment tomorrow.

“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“You head home, too. There’s nothing here that can’t wait till tomorrow.”

Lily considered her in-tray, then shrugged. “Okay. Why not?”

She could stop and grab some wine and beer for tonight on the way to Andie’s, maybe even see if the bakery had any of their crunchy sourdough left.

Her head was full of thoughts of a cozy night in front of Heath’s enormous fireplace, her belly full of chili and sourdough bread, as she changed into her waterproof boots and followed Rhonda out the door. She stood by while her boss locked up, then waved goodbye before heading for her usual parking spot at the rear of the building.

Snow and gravel crunched under foot, and she pulled the strap on her handbag higher on her shoulder as she neared the corner of the building. Her car was one of only three left in the lot, and she used the remote to unlock it as she crossed to her Honda.

It wasn’t until she was within a few feet of the car that she saw that the front left tire was flat. Then she registered the shattered glass beneath her feet and across the driver’s and passenger seats of her car. Someone had broken into her car. Which meant the flat tire was deliberate, not an accident.

She glanced over her shoulder, adrenaline pumping into her belly as she waited for Darren to come at her again. It was almost dark, but she could see well enough to discern she was alone. Her cold fingers curled around her phone in her purse and she pulled it out. She’d saved the direct number for the sheriff’s office and she pressed her back to the car, warily scanning the lot, as she waited for the call to connect.

“Marietta Sheriff’s Department. How may I help you?” a chirpy voice said.

Lily explained her situation and within seconds Toby was on the line, his deep voice reassuring as he told her he’d have a car there in under five minutes before instructing her to walk back to the main street where there was more traffic and greater safety. Lily nodded before she realized he couldn’t see her, quickly confirming his instructions verbally before ending the call. She was about to follow his instructions when she saw that her right front tire was flat, too. She did a quick circuit of her car.

All four tires had been slashed.

Anger ignited in her chest as she thought about how much it was going to cost to repair all the damage. Probably more than her crappy little car was worth. Her gut churning, she walked back to Main Street and stood with her arms wrapped around herself, waiting for the patrol car. When they arrived, she followed them back to her car and watched as they examined it by flashlight.

“Is this yours?” one of the officers asked, pulled a plain white envelope from the space between the driver’s seat and the handbrake.

“No, I don’t think so.”

She watched as the officer slipped on a pair of latex gloves and opened the envelope, extracting three sheets of dense writing on letterhead from the same legal firm who had notified her of her bequest. It took her a moment to understand what she was looking at – paperwork to sign over her rights to the money.