'Can we order lunch now?' Sean asked. 'I'm starved.'
Brian reached in his pocket and withdrew his wallet, then motioned to the waitress behind the counter. 'Run this through,' he said, he said, offering his credit card. 'I'm paying for my brother's lunch. Give him anything he wants. In fact, give him five of everything he wants. And add a tip for yourself.'
Brian grabbed the envelope, then hurried out to the street and hailed a cab. He gave the driver directions to Patterson's office building. For the second time in ten minutes, Brian punched her number into his cell phone and asked for Lily when the receptionist answered. When he heard her voice, he couldn't help but smile.
'Hi, it's me. How's it going?'
'Surprisingly well,' Lily said. 'I still have a job.'
'I need to see you. Can we have lunch?'
She hesitated. 'I can't. Brian, I don't think we should see each other anymore. I have to focus on my job.'
'This is important. I need to talk to you now. I promise, this is strictly business.'
'All right.'
'I'm in a cab about five minutes away. Be out front.' He paused, fighting the urge to tell her how he felt. What was he supposed to say? I think I'm falling in love with you? How the hell was he supposed to be sure? 'I'll see you in a bit.'
Brian flipped off the phone, then tipped his head back and closed his eyes. Maybe he shouldn't worry. The way things were going with the rest of the Quinn boys, he probably didn't have much choice in the matter. If the curse had struck again, he'd realize his true feelings sooner rather than later.
But then, he was only seeing this from one angle. Lily had a life in Chicago and for now, she still had a career. He might fall in love with her, but the curse didn't necessarily force her to feel the same way. 'It's too early,' Brian murmured. 'Or maybe, it's too late.'
The cab pulled up to the curb a few minutes later and Brian asked the driver to wait. He stepped out and saw Lily, then waved at her. When she hurried up to him, he pressed his palm into the small of her back. 'Come on,' he said.
When they were in the cab, Brian leaned forward. 'Take us over to Storrow Lagoon on the Esplanade.' The cabbie pulled back out into traffic and Brian immediately slipped his arm around Lily's shoulder and pulled her in for a kiss. 'I've been thinking about that all morning,' he murmured.
She bit her bottom lip. 'You promised you wouldn't-'
'So, what happened?' Brian interrupted. 'I assume that Mrs. Wilburn kept her mouth shut.'
'No. She told Patterson and he called me in. He thought I was using my feminine wiles to… influence your pursuit of the story. You know, trading my body for your silence.'
'He said that to you?' Brian asked.
'Not in those words, but it was implied. And encouraged. So I guess we have a green light. We could go get a hotel room right now.' She laughed, but it sounded forced. Lily folded her hands on her lap. 'So, what did you need to talk to me about?'
'Not right now,' Brian said. 'I just want to kiss you, then we'll talk.' He reached out and ran his thumb over her lower lip, his gaze fixed there. 'Do you want to kiss me, Lily?' He touched her lips to his, gently teasing with his tongue.
She opened beneath his gentle assault, but Brian felt as if she were holding something back. He'd kissed Lily enough to be able to read her feelings, to sense her emotions. And Lily didn't taste happy to him. Hesitantly, he drew back, then grabbed her hand and wove his fingers through hers.
The cab dropped them off near the lagoon and they walked across the grass, his hand still clasping Lily's, the other holding the envelope filled with pictures. The lagoon was one of the prettiest places along the Charles River. Across the lagoon, a slender island was connected to the river bank by little stone bridges. On a warm, sunny day, children usually sailed toy boats in the water, but today's windy and threatening weather had driven most people closer to shelter.
'Every day you show me a place that's prettier than the last,' she murmured.
Brian pointed to a bench. 'Let's sit.'
Lily took a spot on the far end, sitting just far enough away so that they wouldn't touch. Brian took a deep breath. He wasn't sure whether he was doing the right thing, but he'd know in a few seconds. Brian handed her the envelope and watched while she opened it. As Lily flipped through the photos, her eyes grew wider and wider.
'Where did you get these?'
'That doesn't really matter.'
'Are you going to use them?'
'That's the head of the planning commission with him. It makes the connection I need. It's only a matter of time. He'll be up for bribery of a public official and he'll probably go to jail. I just thought you might want to know.'
'Why?'
'I don't know. So you can be prepared,' Brian said. 'This is going to get messy, Lily. I just want us to come out all right on the other side.'
She stared down at the photos. 'There's no way I can… I can't tie a ribbon on this and make it look good.' She stood. 'I have to go.'
'Lily, let's talk about this. You have to understand. He's breaking the law. I have to report the story. If it were just unfounded suspicions then I might be able to sweep it under the rug, but in a few days, I'm going to have all the proof I need.'
'Do what you want,' she said. 'I'm finished.' She started back toward the street and Brian jumped up and followed her.
'What do you mean, you're finished?'
'I'm going back to Chicago. I've got the groundbreaking in a few days and then I'm packing my bags and leaving. They can send someone else to clean up the mess.'
Brian frowned, grabbing her hand and spinning her around to face him. 'You can't leave.'
'I can. I'll just quit. It's really quite simple. My boss will assign someone else and they can deal with the problem. And you can report your story and gather your awards.'
'No,' Brian said, his temper rising. This wasn't like Lily. She didn't give up so easily. But she looked so defeated, as if the photos had taken the last ounce of fight out of her.
'This is for the best,' she said. 'Really. From the start we knew we were on opposite sides. I just don't see any way that we can both come out of this with our integrity intact. I should have stayed away from you from the start. I should have been stronger.'
'Lily, I didn't give you much of a chance.'
'This is the way it's always been. I just pick the wrong kind of guy. There's always something. They always look good on the surface, but then sooner or later, I find out the truth. I thought if I tried a different approach, I wouldn't get hurt. I guess it didn't work either.' She started off again toward the street, but this time when Brian went after her, she turned and held out her hand. 'Just let it go. It's for the best. Really, I'm fine.'
Brian watched her walk away. He wanted to follow her, to find some way to work this all out. But though his heart was willing, he knew in his head that they'd just go round and round and come out in the same place all over again.
'So much for the Quinn family curse,' he muttered.
The office at Patterson Properties and Investments was quiet, the lights were dimmed and the sounds of the cleaning crew drifted through Lily's open office door. It was nearly seven, but she'd been working on the media kit for the Wellston waterfront project, readying everything for the official ground-breaking on Friday afternoon. She'd made contacts with all the news organizations and made sure that any questions would be answered in the media kit. And now, all she had to do was wait… and hope.
Lily reached into her desk drawer and pulled out a bag of peanut M &Ms. She dumped a pile on her desk and popped a few in her mouth, the chocolate immediately calming her cravings. A few days ago, the only cravings she'd had were for Brian Quinn. And now, she'd gone back to sweets. 'I'll weigh two hundred pounds, but at least I won't have a broken heart,' she murmured.
Lily had been waiting all week for some story-any story-to hit the news, for Brian Quinn to finally reveal his case against Richard Patterson. It was like waiting for an earthquake. She knew it would come sooner or later, but
