The Bachelor Next Door

* * *

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.

Brendan should have realized that Sunni hadn’t given up her matchmaking, she’d simply changed tactics. His mother knew the long hours he spent in the office weren’t exactly conducive to getting to know the single women living in Castle Falls, so she’d imported one.

Although why Sunni thought he’d be attracted to someone like Lily Michaels was a mystery. The woman was too stubborn. Too…perky.

Too distracting.

The fact that he was in front of the window instead of his computer screen proved it.

Unfortunately, Lily was also running out of daylight.

Which meant it was up to him to make sure her and her furry sidekick made it safely back to the house.

Brendan grabbed a flashlight from a shelf in the hall closet on his way out the door. The moon was already rising over the trees, and adrenaline spiked Brendan’s blood as he picked his way along the narrow foot path that ran parallel to the river. If Lily was on her way back, he should have met up with her by now.

He hiked another quarter mile, judging the distance by the subtle change in the river’s current. Castle Falls was just up ahead, an appropriate name for the steep sandstone wall that towered above the water.

“Lily?” Brendan pitched his voice a notch above the rushing water. In the fading light, he spotted the trunk of a dead aspen near the base of the falls. The jagged stub of a branch had caught on one of the rocks, holding the tree in place as it bobbed gently in the foam.

Like a suspension bridge.

Brendan’s breath snagged in his lungs even as he tried to rein in his overactive imagination. The challenge of crossing the river on a stick might prove irresistible to his two younger brothers, but a grown woman would be too level-headed to attempt it….

“Hi!”

He twisted toward the lilting voice and saw Lily waving to him from the opposite side of the riverbank.

Apparently not.

Stubborn. Perky. Now Brendan could add reckless to the list he’d started.

“It’s so beautiful here!” Lily skipped across the fallen tree with the nimbleness of a professional tightrope walker.

Halfway across, the log shifted, and Brendan heard her gasp.

Without thinking, he splashed into the shallow water, shoes and all, and reached for her.

“Thanks.” Lily latched on to his hand, and the warmth of her touch shot up his arm like a current of electricity.

Brendan sucked in a breath and let her go the moment their feet touched dry land. “What—” he tossed the word down like a gauntlet “—did you think you were doing?”

Lily smiled up at him, eyes shining in spite of the fact she’d almost fallen into the river. “Exploring, of course.”

Of course.

Brendan shook his head. “Look, the sun is setting—”

“I know! I watched it from up there.” She pointed to one of the granite turrets that bracketed the water spilling over the top of the falls. “The best seat in the house.”

The best seat… Brendan tried to shut down the image what could have happened if Lily had lost her footing and slipped. Or somehow stumbled upon the cave located behind the falls.

Brendan battled the temptation to share the discovery he’d made years ago. To watch her face light up with wonder.

Now who’s the reckless one?

“You probably spend a lot of time here.” Lily clapped her hands and Missy trundled out of the brush, sporting a brand-new collar that could have only been purchased in the pet food aisle of the grocery store.

“No.” Spotty cell phone reception and no internet equaled no customers. “Not really.”

“You should.” Lily cast one more longing look at the falls before she fell into step beside him.

Brendan didn’t answer.

There were a lot of things he knew he should do.

Spending time with Lily Michaels definitely wasn’t one of them.

Chapter Four

Lily’s gaze bounced from the gleaming, freshly primed wall to her laptop, where a perky woman wearing a pristine white smock was demonstrating a cutting-edge technique in the world of faux finishes. She made it look so easy. But then again, that painter didn’t have to contend with a neighbor who didn’t want her to listen to the radio. Or sing along with it. At one point, when Lily had started a pleasant, albeit one-sided conversation with Missy, the heels of Brendan’s chair scraping against the floor on the other side of the living room wall let her know that he didn’t want to hear anything at all.

Absolute silence might have been Brendan Kane’s idea of a perfect work environment, but it was driving Lily bonkers. Listening to music while she worked helped her stay on task. And she could use a little focus—especially when the only thing she could hear was the husky—and rather appealing—rumble of a masculine voice on the opposite side of the wall every time the telephone rang.

And it rang a lot.