Page 18 of Irresistible

CHAPTER SEVEN

Friday

Turning the engine off, Brock glanced up at Lilly’s front door. He hadn’t been on a date in longer than he could remember and his nerves were jumping. Being the lone scout sniper on a mission was comfortable, but a date…that was whole other bag of bones. Sliding his hand over his new haircut, he took a calming breath.

It was Lilly, a woman he knew better than almost anyone. There was nothing to be nervous about. Except this chance meant everything. Had he not gone into the Marines, he probably would’ve pursued her the moment she graduated from college. But that hadn’t been the case. So here he was—looking at her doorstep with a damn hornet’s nest buzzing in his stomach. Opening the car door, he got himself together. Worse case, he screwed up. Best case, he could keep trying until he got it right.

Striding toward her door, he decided to do them both a favor and relax. The moment he tensed up, so did she. It had been true when they were kids, and he had no doubt it would happen again. He’d noticed when he was eleven or twelve that whatever he was feeling, Lilly mirrored. It was like they were on their own wavelength together, and whatever was happening to one happened to the other. The weird connection had disappeared when he hit his teens, but he’d bet they could get it back if they tried. And he meant to try everything he could think of.

Tonight was the first night of the rest of his life, and he was going to have a relaxed attitude. He knocked gently and heard Popcorn give a bark in greeting. As far as he could tell, it was the best damn present he’d ever come up with. When he’d seen the Aussie pup, he knew he would be perfect for Lilly. In his reptile brain, it bound them together even when he was halfway across the world.

Watching Lilly walk toward him almost took his breath away. Through the glass door, he could see that she’d gotten dressed up. Her hair was draped over her shoulder in a shiny curtain, and she wore a pretty dress. Which, in and of itself, told him that she was taking his offer seriously. At her core, she was a tomboy and rarely took the time to get herself dolled up. Which was fine by him. He thought she was prettiest in her cutoff shorts and T-shirts.

But the woman walking toward him was a damn good sight too, and there would be no complaining on his part. When she opened the door, he held out the flowers he’d gotten earlier. “Hi.” When her face lit up, he knew he’d done the right thing.

“These are lovely,” she said as she stepped back to let him in. “Thank you.”

Popcorn tilted his head and gave him a curious glance. If he didn’t know better, he’d think the dog was asking what he was up to. Patting Popcorn’s head, Brock winked. This wasn’t business as usual, and he planned on pulling out all the stops. “You’re so damn beautiful, Lilly. Every man is going to wonder why you’re taking pity on me and keeping my company.”

Sliding a glance over her shoulder, she laughed. “No need for flattery, Brock. All I did was put on a dress and brush my hair.”

When she set the flowers down on the counter, he took her hands and stepped back. “You’ve always been the prettiest girl in the world. Time passing has only made that more true.” When he saw her cheeks flush a lovely pink, he figured he was on the right track. “You know me as the boy who lived next door. I’d like you to get to know the man I’ve become.”

The corner of her mouth lifted as a smile crossed her face. “I think I might enjoy that.”

When she twirled around, the light from the kitchen allowed him a view of her figure. A really clear view. She grabbed a vase from the cupboard and turned around, and he cleared his throat. “I like your dress, Lilly. But I was wondering…are you wearing anything that’s covering the good china?”

Setting the vase down, she gave him a smile that told him she owned him…and might very well destroy him. “If you consider a couple of scraps of pink lace covered…then yes. The good china is covered.”

Leaning forward, he braced his hands on the island while she calmly placed the flowers in a vase. If there was a white flag around, he would’ve waved it. Officially he was done, game over. The rest of the evening was going to be a fight between his desire and good intentions. Unfortunately, his good intentions had a snowball’s chance in hell of winning.

When Lilly was done arranging the flowers, she gave him a smile. “You know the girl you grew up with and not the woman I’ve grown into. I think tonight is a chance to see if the adults we’ve become have anything in common. I want to get to know you, Brock, just as I would any man who asked me out to dinner.”

Lifting her hand, he entwined their fingers. “Me too, Lilly. I’ve never spent time with a bestselling author, and I want to see what interests you.” When she smiled, his heartbeat slowed down, and for a second, he swore they were one. He was relieved to see it was still possible.

***

Brock opened Lilly’s car door and held out his hand. When he saw her long legs slide out, he whistled silently to himself. Several images flashed through his mind, and the one that stuck was having them wrapped around his waist. Definitely not first-date thoughts, but what the hell could he do? “Hope you like my choice of restaurants.”

Lilly squeezed his hand as she stood next to the car. “Are you kidding me? Café Vermillionville is such a treat.”

“Well, if you like it, then we can make it a regular thing.”

Laughing, she shook her head. “Sir, we are on a first date, and I’m not even sure that we’re going to have a second. Given our history, we could be in an argument before we hit the main course.”

Leading her toward the restaurant, he grinned. The only argument he saw them having was about how many times he was going to make her come before he buried himself inside her welcoming heat. But he figured he should keep that to himself for the time being. “We’re adults and we have no reason to argue.”

“When did that ever stop us?”

“We’re kissing now and not fussing. I think the redirection of our energy is going to take care of the disagreements between us.” Opening the front door to the old building, he waited for her to walk ahead of him. The best that he could tell, a lot of their arguments were a result of frustration on both their parts. They had heat and connection, and it had never been the time to do anything about it. All of that had changed, so he figured they would get along just fine.

They sat in the beautiful old dining room with windows that opened onto the patio. Lights strung across the garden made the place look like a fairyland. He knew something about fairies because Lilly had been obsessed with them when she was young. There had been more than one occasion when he’d accompanied her on treasure hunts. During those walks in the woods behind their neighborhood, she had enlightened him about all things fairy. He’d sometimes watch her build the fairy houses in the yard. He’d even given her sparklers once to set up around the houses she’d built. They put them in jars and set them in front of the enchanted land she’d created. Even at twelve, he’d known she was capable of creating magic. Watching her now told him that she’d only gotten better at it.

The waitress delivered their drinks and he picked up his menu. “What looks good?”

“Everything,” she replied. “I’m thinking about the Gulf Fish Acadian. What about you?”

“I’m going to have the pork chop. Let’s share the Café sampler appetizer.”

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