He'd turned the conversation deftly away from himself, but Lily didn't mind. She could at least give him something in return for his honesty. 'They live in Wisconsin,' she said. 'I grew up in a small town there.'
Brian blinked in surprise. 'You're a small town girl? How did you end up in Chicago?'
'While I went to college at Northwestern, I interned for DeLay Scoville. They liked me and hired me after I graduated and I've worked there ever since.'
'And Boston? How did you end up here… with me?' Brian asked.
Lily met his inquisitive gaze straight-on. 'A real estate developer in Chicago hired us to handle his public relations. I was the account manager. He had a little bit of a scandal and I helped minimize the media coverage of it.'
'So, you could say you came to Boston just for me?' Brian murmured, reaching out to touch her face. He rubbed her lower lip with his thumb, then stuck his thumb in his mouth. 'Mustard.'
Lily felt a warm flush creep up her cheeks. 'You never give up, do you,' she murmured.
'In my business, persistence is a virtue.' His gaze locked with hers for a moment and Lily was certain he was about to kiss her. She'd already decided that she wouldn't resist. It was no use. But then Brian glanced down and pulled another sandwich out of the bag and unwrapped it. 'You know, if you want a real New England meal, I should take you to a clambake.'
'No dates,' Lily warned.
Brian sighed. 'This is getting old fast. Why not? I don't have anything to hide from you. And I don't care what you hide from me. We're a perfect match.'
'No, we aren't.'
'We felt pretty perfect that night in the limo,' Brian said.
'You shouldn't base anything on that night,' Lily said. 'That was just… lust. Sex. Nothing more.' Though she'd said it before, this time it sounded so cold and calculating. Even if it was just lust, it was incredible, toe-curling, mind-numbing lust. The kind of lust a woman dreamed about.
'You were just using me, right? Any old guy would have done the job. Hell, if I hadn't come along, you'd have invited that… what was he, an insurance salesman? You would have invited him for a ride.'
'No!' Lily cried. 'There was a little more to it than that.'
'Then it wasn't just about sex?'
Lily squirmed a little under the intensity of his questioning. 'There was some attraction,' she admitted. 'Mild attraction. And I do find you very interesting. Intelligent and witty. And you're handsome, but I get the feeling you know that already.' She took a dainty bite of her sandwich. 'I'd assumed that the feeling was mutual or you wouldn't have come with me, too.'
Brian stretched his legs out in front of him and considered her question. Then he sent her a devilish grin. 'Nah, it was just about sex for me.'
Lily snatched up the bag and hit him across the chest with it. 'You are such a-a jerk.'
He held up his hand. 'Truthfully? The first time I saw you in that dress I thought, this is a girl I have to meet. You were beautiful, more beautiful than anyone at the party. And when that other guy sat down, I figured you were already taken. But then, you looked over at me and I could tell you needed rescuing. So I stepped in and the rest is history.' He paused. 'I liked the way your hair fell against your neck, I liked the scent of your perfume and the sound of your voice. And I liked the way you felt in my arms when we danced.'
Lily stared at him for a long moment, her sandwich still clutched in her hands. 'That's very nice of you to say.' She looked away. 'But I suspect you say nice things to a lot of women.'
'A lot of women don't deserve them like you do,' Brian countered.
Lily set her sandwich down and wiped her hand on a napkin. 'Have you considered how difficult dating might be? First, we didn't start off the way a normal couple would. And we disagree on some major issues. We'd probably spend most of our time arguing.'
'How do we know unless we try?' Brian asked.
Lily sighed. 'What if I said I'll think about it and get back to you.'
He grinned. 'I guess I'll have to be satisfied with that. At least now we're making progress.' He rolled over on his stomach and set his sandwich in front of him. 'What's this?' he asked.
When Lily glanced over her shoulder, her heart stopped. He had the investigator's report in his hand. He made to hand it to her, then froze, his gaze fixed on the file folder which had his name emblazoned on the front in big block letters. 'Give that to me,' Lily demanded, reaching out to snatch it from him.
But Brian had quicker reflexes. He scrambled to his feet and walked away from her, reading as he moved. When he finally stopped he was standing next to the fountain. Lily wasn't sure what to do. Maybe it was best he knew how far Richard Patterson was willing to go to protect his interests. If he hadn't found the report first, she might have considered telling him… warning him… as a simple courtesy.
Lily got to her feet and approached him. But before she could explain, he looked up at her with a furious expression. 'You had me investigated?' He laughed harshly, then slowly shook his head. 'I can't believe this. This is my life. Either you're planning to use this against me or you were a little worried about the man you had sex with.' She opened her mouth to explain, but he held out his hand. 'Never mind. Whichever it is, I don't want to know.'
'I didn't ask for the investigation,' Lily said. 'Patterson did. He wanted something to use against you.'
'This stuff happened when I was a kid.' His jaw went tight. 'I guess wiener water soup isn't nearly as interesting as my juvie record, is it? Doesn't make for good ammunition. But just think about how the press is going to eat this up-my father was absent and when he wasn't, he was drunk. My mother ran away from home and didn't come back. We lived in a run-down house in Southie that didn't have heat in the winter or electricity when we couldn't pay the bill. Sometimes we stole food from the market just to eat. And all we cared about was staying one step ahead of the social workers. What a pathetic childhood I had. Won't everyone feel sorry for me.'
'I'm not going to use this,' Lily said.
'No,' Brian countered. 'Don't back off on my account. Because if you do, I might be tempted to cut you a little slack. We'll just agree that there are no rules. That way, neither one of us can be held responsible for what happens.' He glanced around. 'I have to go.'
Lily watched as he stalked away, the report still clutched in his hand. 'I need that report. You can't take it.'
Brian stopped short, then slowly turned. His lips were pressed into a tight smile as he approached her. 'You need the report.' He nodded, then flipped the report over her shoulder. She heard a splash behind her and closed her eyes. 'There's your damned report.'
She turned to see the report in the center of the fountain, water pouring down over it. And when she turned back, he was nearly to the street. 'I thought you didn't care what I hid from you!' she shouted.
Why did every encounter with Brian Quinn seem to end badly? 'Maybe it's for the best,' she muttered, kicking off her shoes and crawling over the low wall that surrounded the fountain. 'If he hates me, then he'll stay away from me. And if he stays away from me, then I won't be tempted to-' She brushed the images out of her head, refusing to give into another daydream about what they'd shared.
Though the fountain contained no standing water, the shower falling down from the center couldn't be avoided. She held her breath and stepped beneath it, snatching up the report before she nimbly retreated to the other side of the wall.
Water dripped from her hair and the shoulders of her suit were soaked. With a soft curse, Lily smoothed her hair out of her eyes, picked up her shoes and returned to her spot on the grass. Brian had left their sandwiches there, along with the two bottles of root beer. She flopped down on the grass and decided to finish lunch. Maybe by then, she'd be dry enough to return to work.
Lily grabbed up her sandwich and took a big bite. 'And he wants to date,' she muttered. 'I can't spend fifteen minutes with the man before he gets on my last nerve.'
5
'I don't know what the hell I'm going to do if the report comes out.' Brian leaned his head
