The Bachelor Next Door

Brendan didn’t know which brother to muzzle first.

He’d been hoping Liam and Aiden wouldn’t figure out why Sunni had hired a self-described “custom” painter. A painter who lacked so much confidence in her ability she had to watch a tutorial before starting a project.

Brendan had caught a glimpse of a woman wielding a paintbrush on an open laptop, but it was the guilty look on Lily’s face right before she’d snapped it shut that caught his attention. He suspected his mother hadn’t even bothered to check Lily’s references before she’d signed the contract.

Because she had all the qualifications Sunni was looking for…

“I’ll help you unpack.” Brendan took a step toward the door.

No one followed.

“So what do you think of Castle Falls, Lily?” Aiden yanked a clean plate from the dish drainer. “Have you had a chance to get acquainted with the area yet?”

Brendan could see where this was going, and it made the decision easier.

His youngest brother first.

“Mom hired Lily to paint, not go sightseeing,” Brendan reminded him.

“I plan to do both, actually.” Lily smiled. At his brother. “The area is beautiful.”

“You should hike up the river when you get a chance.” Liam nudged Aiden aside and began to rummage through the utensil drawer for a fork. “The falls are kind of a well-kept secret around here because they’re located on private property and not in a state park.”

“Who owns the land?” Lily opened the freezer and pulled out a container of vanilla ice cream Brendan hadn’t known was there.

The situation was quickly getting out of hand. Not only had Lily staked a claim on the living room, she’d invaded Sunni’s kitchen and stocked it with contraband. His brothers would be circling the table all day if she kept this up.

“We do,” Aiden said. “And—”

“She’s already been there.” Once again, Brendan relived the moment he’d seen Lily blithely skipping across a fallen log while the current did its best to shake her loose. And once again, the cartilage in his knees turned to mush at the thought of her getting pulled beneath the surface of the churning water.

Aiden, of course, ignored him. “What did you think of the cave?”

Lily tipped her head in a gesture that was becoming as familiar to Brendan as her bright smile. “Cave?”

“You didn’t tell her about the cave?” His brothers turned and launched a verbal strike at the same time.

“I didn’t think about it.” The truth was, Brendan didn’t want to think about it. A memory shivered through him, as cold as the water that trickled down the amber walls of the cave they were discussing.

“He didn’t say anything about a cave. And I didn’t see it when I was exploring,” Lily said.

“It’s not near the falls…it’s behind them.” Without missing a beat, Aiden broke a pact the three of them had made years ago. For the second time. “Brendan discovered it when we were kids.”

“You have to go through a passageway to get to it, though,” Liam added.

“It’s kind of dark and creepy, too,” Aiden put in cheerfully.

Most women would have been deterred by that information. If possible, Lily appeared even more intrigued. Brendan was beginning to realize that Lily Michaels couldn’t be lumped in the category of “most women.”

For the first time since his brothers had wandered into the kitchen unannounced, Lily made eye contact with him. “That must have been a great place to play.”

Or hide.

A memory began to work its way to the surface and Brendan thrust it back down again. Some things were better left in the past.

“Yeah.” Liam slanted a look at him. “Ready to unload that trailer now, big brother?”

“Sure.” Brendan wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or annoyed that he hadn’t masked his reaction to Lily’s innocent comment as well as he’d thought he had. But then again, Liam had always been the most intuitive one in the family.

Aiden reluctantly set the plate down.

“It has to cool a little before I can cut it anyway.” Lily must have seen the look of disappointment that crossed his youngest brother’s face. “But you’re welcome to come back and try a piece when you’re finished with your work.”

“Count me in.” Liam clapped Brendan on the shoulder. “I’ll eat Brendan’s piece, too. He doesn’t take a break until ten o’clock at night.”

Why bother to deny it? “I still have a few phone calls to make.” Even if the thought of leaving Lily alone with his brothers made Brendan feel as if he was wearing a wool shirt inside out.

Half an hour later, after dodging portage packs and barrel bags and the smug looks tossed his way, Brendan retreated to his office to tackle the next thing on his agenda.

Thirty seconds later, there was a soft tap on the door.

“Come in.”

Given the fact that Liam thumped the door with his fist like he was trying to put a dent in it and Aiden didn’t bother to knock at all, by process of elimination, Brendan wasn’t surprised when the door swung open and Lily poked her head inside the office.

What was a surprise was the way Brendan’s heart kicked against his rib cage when she smiled at him.

“I brought you a piece of pie.”

“Thanks.” Brendan flicked a glance at the plate in her hands. “You can just set it aside in the kitchen, though. I don’t have time to eat it right now.”

“Are you sure about that?” Lily rocked forward on her toes and nodded at the calendar on his desk.

“What…” Brendan glanced down. In a narrow space between his two and three o’clock phone calls, someone—and there was no question who that someone was—had written the words apple pie.

In permanent marker.

“Enjoy.” She set the plate down and was gone before he could summon a protest.

Clearly, Lily Michaels had no respect for boundaries.

Brendan sighed as he reached for the fork.

* * *

“There’s three of them?”

“Uh-huh.” Lily kept the phone pressed to her ear as she jogged to keep up with Missy, who’d veered off the gravel driveway and begun to blaze a new trail through the woods.