Lily watched Mac from beneath lowered lashes as she leaned back in her seat near the front of the boat. They’d just arrived at Pot-a-hock Island, one of at least fifty boats scattered around the immediate area. Most people lounged in their boats for the day, enjoying the water and sun, but there were several couples and families on shore, setting up their gear for the day—coolers, towels, and beach stuff.
She breathed out a long, slow breath, adjusting her dress so that the top wasn’t pressing in on her chest.
Last night she’d convinced herself that Mackenzie wasn’t anything more than the result of a bad decision and too much cheap champagne—there was a reason God had invented Dom Pérignon. For all she knew that hot, passionate night was nothing more than a fantasy. A big, inflated version of something ordinary.
But she was wrong. Holy hell was she wrong.
The physical reaction going on inside her was crazy. She had come here today, armed with Blair Hubber as an extra buffer, confident that her overreaction the day before was just a fluke. Why else would she run away from him like a teenager?
Lily St. Clare didn’t run. Lily met things head on. She dealt with things in a no-nonsense manner with a heavy dose of cool detachment thrown in for good measure.
But with just one look, he’d made her gut clench, and right now, her freaking nipples were standing on end.
She blew out a long, hot breath.
Again.
What the hell? Sure he was all male and gorgeous to boot, but she was used to the pretty people. They populated her old life on a regular basis, yet Mackenzie Draper transcended that.
With his longish blond hair, golden skin, and wicked green eyes set beneath the aristocratic arch of his eyebrows, he made her heart beat like an out-of-control drum. His even, white teeth, chiseled jaw, and square chin were enough to pull any girl into his orbit, and Lord knows, Lily was spinning crazily. Christ, if she didn’t hold on, she was going to float away and never come back.
Never had she reacted to a man this way, and she might not know much, but she was pretty darn sure that Mackenzie Draper wasn’t the kind of guy to get hung up on.
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” Jake slid into the seat beside her, his eyes on Raine, who was at the wheel of the boat. Mac had already jumped into the water, the shallow water at mid-thigh as he chatted up the couple in the boat anchored beside them.
Blair stood, his hands shoved into the front pockets of his shorts, a smile on his face as he turned to acknowledge a shout from someone else.
That was the thing about small towns. It was hard to be incognito, especially when everyone knew your name and your business. It was the only aspect of living in Crystal Lake that she wasn’t yet used to.
“Lily?” Jake prompted.
For the moment, Lily and Jake had some privacy. She considered lying, but Jake knew her too well, and besides, lying wasn’t her thing.
She glanced behind them. A boat cut through the water, churning up spray in its wake. Overhead, the sun shone, and she knew it was going to be a hot one, especially considering it was only the end of May. It didn’t bode well for what was coming this summer. Already her dress clung to her body, the bathing suit underneath damp from the heat. She waited a few more seconds, gathering her thoughts.
“I slept with your friend on New Year’s Eve.”
For one brief second, pure shock filled Jake’s eyes. “You slept with Mac?” he sputtered.
She nodded but didn’t answer.
“Mackenzie Draper,” Jake said.
“The one and only.”
“You’ve got to be kidding. You and Mac?”
Lily leaned closer. “Get it together, Edwards. I don’t want this broadcast all over the place. Lori the hairdresser is in the boat next to us, so unless you wipe that stupid look off your face, she’s going to smell gossip, and it will be all over Crystal Lake before I make it home.”
Jake’s eyes narrowed, and he leaned back, exhaling loudly. “You and Mac…you guys… I don’t get it. How the hell did you two get together and I didn’t know about it?”
“It just happened, okay? Call it a moment of insanity. I was leaving the Coach House and he arrived in a taxi.” She shrugged nonchalantly, though she was feeling anything but. In fact, heat ran through her like wildfire as images of the two of them danced in her mind.
“I got in,” she continued as she turned around to face the water. “He didn’t get out. End of story.”
Jake settled his elbows on the edge of the boat as he too looked out over the water. In the distance, several boats dotted the pristine, blue lake. All of them headed for Pot-a-hock Island.
“You never said anything,” Jake said quietly.
“It wasn’t any of your business,” she answered abruptly.
“Huh.”
Lily glanced at Jake and knew she’d offended him. Tugging a few loose strands of hair from her eyes, she tucked them behind her ear and leaned into Jake. “Don’t take it personally, sweetie, but I don’t tell you everything.”
“Yeah,” Jake said. “You do.”
Okay, he had her there.
“Look, I had no idea he was your friend, and he didn’t know who I was until yesterday.”
“You guys spent the night together but didn’t bother to exchange names?”
“Honey, we were busy doing other things, and I left before he woke up.”
“Jesus.”
She glanced at him sharply. “Don’t get all judgmental on me, Jake. Guys pick up women all the time. They get a pat on the back and a wink, wink from their buddies, and the girls think he must be great in the sack, so they flock to him, wanting to be the next in line. Just because a woman chooses to have sex with someone she just met doesn’t make her a slut. As long as she’s careful and in control, there’s no difference.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Good. Because that’s all it was. Sex. I wanted sex, and he was there, and it was just…sex.”
“Wow.”
“What?”
Jake shrugged. “I just…you’ve never really been interested in anyone before and, Lily, you barely tolerate a hug.”
“Jake,” she said carefully, “I’m not interested in Mackenzie, not in that way. I might not be the most physically affectionate person you know, but sometimes that itch needs scratching.” She shrugged. “He was there. He was convenient. And he scratched it. End of story.”
Keep telling yourself that, she thought.
Jake’s eyes narrowed again, and his lips thinned when he glanced over to where Mackenzie was chatting up Lori the hairdresser. Lily had to work hard to keep the distaste off her face as she watched the two of them.
She didn’t know Lori all that well, but she knew the type—newly single, with a nice figure and a need for validation. The woman had dated her way through a hefty number of Crystal Lake’s eligible guys. From the looks of it, she had her sights set on Mackenzie.
She was preening like goddamn peacock, her crimson and black hair tousled, her trim body barely covered by a super-hot, pink bikini. The man with Lori looked impatient as his “date” flirted outrageously with Mackenzie.
Something curled in Lily’s gut. Something hard and hot. Something maybe a little ugly and green.
“I love Mac like a brother, Lily, but I have to tell you, he’s got some hard-core issues.” Jake shook his head. “He’s not a forever kind of guy. I’d hate to see you get hurt.”
“Hurt?” She turned to Jake in surprise. “Hurt would imply that I care for him. I don’t know Mackenzie at all, and I have no plans on getting to know him.” She bristled. “I’m not looking for a forever kind of guy. New Year’s Eve was a one time thing, and I’m sure he feels the same.” She frowned and bit her bottom lip, eyebrows pulled tight. “He didn’t say anything to you did he?”
“Say anything?”
Lily nodded. “About New Year’s Eve. About meeting someone.”
Jake shook his head. “No. This is the first I heard.”
“Oh.” Somehow she thought Mac would have shared the fact that he’d scored New Year’s Eve. Lily wasn’t sure if she should feel relieved or annoyed. Or both.
“So that’s why you practically ran from my parents yesterday.”
Lily tore her gaze away from Mackenzie and glared at Jake. “I didn’t run.”
“Bullshit. You ran as fast as those pretty legs of yours could carry you.”
She stared at him for a few seconds and then shrugged. “I was surprised to see him and didn’t want an awkward scene. You never told me he was coming, or I would have stayed home.”
“Uh-huh.”
“What?” Irritated, Lily stood and wiped her damp palms over her hips.
Jake followed suit. “I just think there’s more to it, is all.”
“Maybe you should try not thinking,” she retorted.
A slow grin crept over Jake’s face when he leaned close and tweaked her nose. “Maybe I should. But what would be the fun in that?”
“You two done flirting?”
Raine’s voice cut between the two of them, and Lily’s head shot up.
“Seriously,” Raine said with a soft laugh. “Half the town already thinks something is going on between the three of us.”
“Three of us?” Jake’s head whipped around.
“Yep,” Raine answered and held up three fingers. “I heard about it when I was in the hardware store the other day. I was in aisle six looking for barbecue utensils, and Mrs. Lester was in the garden-tool section. She was telling old man Lawrence that”—Raine made quotation marks with her fingers—“‘the Edwards boy was having his cake and eating it too, carrying on with those two women.’”
“Seriously?” Jake’s mouth hung open in shock.
Raine giggled. “She seemed quite scandalized at the thought, so I had to assure her that Lily and I traded off on a weekly basis.”
Lily bit her lip at the expression on Jake’s face.
“You know,” Raine continued, “so that she could sleep at night because technically the Edwards boy wasn’t having his cake and eating it at the same time.”
Jake moved toward Raine, his hands reaching for her. “You did not say that to Mrs. Lester.”
“I did,” Raine managed to squeak out before Jake’s lips silenced her.
Lily moved past them, a lump in her throat and an ache in her heart that she was getting more than a little tired of feeling. There was no point to it because when had she ever wanted that for herself?
When had she ever wanted love? Love was too complicated. Too painful and, besides, only in rare cases did it ever last. She hoped it worked out for Jake and Raine. She really did.
Lily took two more steps and halted when Mackenzie jumped back into the boat, his eyes on her, the look intense. He edged his way past Blair, whose ear was still tuned to the boat beside them and the guy who was complaining about garbage pickup.
“So, Boston,” Mackenzie said softly, dangerously, “looks like we’ll be spending the day together.”
“I don’t think so,” she managed to say. “I’m here with Blair.”
A slow smile swept over his face. It was the kind of smile that a girl had to beware of, because it was the kind of smile meant for one thing only—seduction.
Heat curled in her gut, pulling tight, and it took a lot to hold his gaze when everything inside her screamed, run!
“Sure you are,” he said. “But…”
“But?” She arched an eyebrow.
Mackenzie took the few steps needed to bring him within an inch of Lily. He’d already doffed his T-shirt, and his bare chest gleamed from the sunlight. The tattoo she’d noticed New Year’s Eve drew her eye—only for a moment—before she tore her gaze away from his left bicep and exhaled. Jesus, did the man have to smell as good as he looked?
He leaned forward, his breath caressing the side of her neck, sending a pack of goose bumps crawling down her flesh. Again, everything tightened inside her, and an ache began to pulse between her legs.
“Do you really think it matters who you came with?”
Her heart took off again, and she ground her teeth together, trying to remain calm as he continued.
“Because I’m thinking the real question is…” He paused, and she stopped breathing, shivering, as his eyes bored into hers. “The real question is who are you going home with.”
“It won’t be you,” she said in a clipped tone.
Mackenzie laughed, a soft, throaty kind of thing, and moved back, though his hand caught her chin, forcing her eyes upward.
Wrong thing to do.
His eyes were dark, filled with heat and something else…a promise of things to come.
“Is that a challenge, Boston?”
“No,” she said. “It’s a fact.” She was all bravado on the outside, but inside, Lily was a mess.
Get it together, Lily.
His hand dropped from her face, and with a rakish grin, Mackenzie gave her a cocky salute. “We’ll see.”
Lily had no comeback. Hell, all she could think about were the zigs and zags running through her—hot, cold, and intense. All that just from the touch of his hand.
Holy. Hell.
Lily St. Clare was in trouble, and she had no idea what she was going to do about it.