by SJ McCoy
She nodded. “I would have loved to come back, but my family moved away in my freshman year of college.”
“I thought no one ever left this place?”
She laughed. “No one with any sense does. The people who were born here either stay for life or if they move away, they come back again. Just look at Emma, Pete, Missy, and Ben. And so many of the others, too.”
“And you. You came back.”
“I did, but I wasn’t born here. My family only lived here for my four years of high school. They left again just as soon as they could.”
“Why was that?”
Lily shrugged. “We moved here when they had financial troubles. It’s so much cheaper to live here than most places. But it wasn’t good enough for my parents. They’re not small-town people, and saying you live in Summer Lake doesn’t give the same impression as saying you live in Malibu, does it?”
“I guess not. And that’s important to them?”
“Very. Anyway, enough about that. I’d rather take my mind off my family than dwell on it. Do you want to me to take the backpack?” She reached for it, but Nate held it out of her grasp.
“Nu-uh! You might be little Miss Capable, but let me at least feel like the man around here?”
Her mouth turned down. Shit. What had he said wrong?
She turned away and started walking. “Sorry,” she muttered as he caught up with her. “I guess talking to my mom really got me down. Maybe she’s right, and I don’t have a boyfriend because I don’t know how to treat a man like a man.”
“Aww, Lil. You’re awesome; any man would be lucky to have you.”
She shrugged and trudged on.
He put a hand on her shoulder and gave her his best charming smile. “Though if you like I could give you lessons on how to keep a man happy?”
She scowled at him for a moment and then burst out laughing. “Nate Evans! You are incorrigible.”
He grinned. “I like to be happy; that’s all. And I know what it takes to make me happy. I just thought if you needed help learning how to please a man, then we’d both win. No?” He raised an eyebrow hopefully, though even as he did it, he wondered why. This shit worked on most women. Teasing and flirting and acting cute. It didn’t work on Lily, though, and he wasn’t sure he’d want it to. He was playing all his usual games with her, but he wasn’t looking for the usual result. He didn’t want her just to fall into bed with him. Wow. He didn’t? No. Weird as it was. He liked her too much.
“Thanks, but no thanks. I don’t want to be any good at keeping a man happy in the way my mom means.” She gave him a sassy smile. “And I already know how to keep a man more than happy in the way you mean.”
Nate felt the blood surge in his veins. He had a feeling she wasn’t joking about that. She was gorgeous, there was something very sensual about her. “I think you should prove it, then.” Why did his mouth automatically spout stuff like that?
She shook her head. “You’ll just have to take my word for it.”
He heaved an exaggerated sigh. “How did I know you were going to say that?”
She laughed. “Because much as you like to play cute and dumb, I think you’re actually quite a smart guy.”
“Jeez, thanks, I think.”
As they walked on, Nate wondered what her life must have been like growing up. It didn’t sound like she got along with her family too well. He couldn’t imagine that. He loved his parents and his brother and sister. They were all close, even if they didn’t live close.
As the path rose higher, they reached a clearing and Lily stopped and turned to look out at the blue lake and the little white boats that sparkled in the sun as they zipped around leaving white wake lines behind them. “It’s so beautiful here. I missed it the whole time I was gone.”
“I must admit, I wasn’t too keen on the idea of coming to live here at first, but I love it.”
“It must be a big change for you.”
“It is, but I think it’s a good change.”
Lily laughed. “For now. I bet you can’t wait for Jack and Pete to get another project going somewhere exotic.”
Nate smiled. “That’s what I thought when I first came; that it’d only be temporary, I’d only have to put up with it until they send me somewhere more exciting. Now I’m kind of dreading them finding the next big development. I don’t want to go.”
“Give it a couple more months, and I bet you’ll be chomping at the bit to get out of here.”
“Maybe, but the way I feel right now, I don’t think so.”
“Maybe you’re getting older, if not growing up completely.”
“Maybe.” He had to wonder what that would look like. Getting older meant wanting to have a home, not wanting to move on every few months, but wanting to settle down in one place. Growing up? To him that meant what his friends were doing—getting married, having babies, taking on responsibilities. He wasn’t sure he was cut out for that.
Lily pointed to a fallen log a little farther up the clearing. “What do you think, shall we sit there and break out the picnic?”
“Sure.”
~ ~ ~
Once they were settled and Nate had all the goodies spread out, Lily popped a strawberry in her mouth. “Mm, that’s so good!”
Nate grinned. “Aren’t they?”
“I wouldn’t have had you down as a healthy eater. I’ve only ever seen you with burgers and pizza.” Though judging by his body, she should have known he ate well at least some of the time—and he must work out too. She watched his muscled forearm as he reached for a carrot stick and dipped it into the humus. Oh! She needed to stop thinking like that. She watched, mesmerized, as he brought the carrot up to his mouth and licked the humus from the tip. Her nipples hardened as if his tongue were caressing them. She sucked in a deep breath. She needed to drag her mind away from there. “Are you going out with everyone tonight?” she asked.
It had only been an attempt to make conversation, just to get her mind to shift focus away from his tongue, but she wished she hadn’t asked. He looked uncomfortable. And she felt uncomfortable. Asking him if he was going out was the same as asking him if he was planning to pick up a woman to sleep with tonight and, unless the answer was no, she didn’t want to know.
“Are you?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I’ve given myself the weekends off; I need to start getting out and enjoying them.”
He nodded, but he certainly didn’t look thrilled.
“I guess, you don’t want to join me then? What’s up, do you have other plans?”
He looked more uncomfortable still.
“Dammit, Nate. What’s the problem? You do what you do every weekend, why do you think I’m going to get judgmental on you all of a sudden?”
“No!” He looked shocked. “I don’t think you’re going judgmental on me. It’s just …well, there was a girl last night …”
“I’m sure there was,” she couldn’t help saying.
He sighed. “Would you let me finish?”
“Yeah, sorry. Go on.”
“She … I …”
Lily wasn’t sure she wanted to hear this. She knew how Nate lived his life, but she didn’t need the details.
“I took her home.” He held a hand up when he saw the look on her face. “Not like that. I took her home because I didn’t want to have to hang out—or do anything else—with her anymore. I saw her to her door and left her there.”
“Why?”
He shrugged. “I just didn’t want … I dunno. The point is, I’d love to go out tonight and just hang out with everyone, with you. But she’s staying at the resort, and I don’t want to run into her again and have to put her off.”
“Oh.” Lily didn’t know what she’d expected him to say, but it wasn’t that.
“Do you want to go to Giuseppe’s for dinner or something?”
Lily thought about it. If he were any other guy, she’d think he was asking her on a date. But he wasn’t. He was Nate. He didn’t do dates. He’d just put
himself in an awkward position; he still wanted to go out, but not to the Boathouse. She shook her head. She wasn’t going to be his fallback option when he messed up. “No, sorry. I already told Renée and the others I’d see them in there.”
He looked so disappointed; she had to wonder if he had wanted a date—but only for a second. She knew him better than that.
“So, you’re going to leave me out in the cold all by myself?”
She laughed. That was more like it. “You put yourself in that position. There’s nothing I can do to help.”
The way he grinned told her he was getting an idea—and she probably wasn’t going to like it.
“What?”
“Maybe there is a way you can help.”
“And what’s that?”
“Well, I offered to be your pretend boyfriend next weekend. Maybe you can be my pretend girlfriend this weekend.”
“Oh, no! I’m not fending off some jilted woman for you.”
“Aww, but please? She probably won’t even bother us when she sees I’m with you.”
“And she might just come and scratch my eyes out!”
“I wouldn’t let her get anywhere near you, Lil. You’re safe with me. You know that.”
She nodded. She did. For all his ways, Nate was one of life’s good guys. She knew he wouldn’t ever let anything bad happen to her if he could help it. Or to any of his friends, she reminded herself.
“Go on, Lil. Say you’ll do it. We’ll have fun.”
Lily remembered her conversation with Laura earlier and couldn’t help the little thrill that ran through her. He wasn’t talking about that kind of fun—and she shouldn’t be thinking about it. “Okay, then.”
Chapter Three
As she got ready to go out, Lily had to wonder if this was such a good idea. Nate had said he’d come pick her up, which was totally unnecessary. He’d be here any minute, too, if he was on time. She checked herself over in the mirror and nodded. She looked good. These jeans were figure hugging, to say the least, and the top she’d chosen was low-cut enough to show off some cleavage. She always made an effort when she went out. Hell, she spent most of her days in work jeans, boots, and tank tops. Why shouldn’t she dress up when she got the opportunity? It was for her benefit. It wasn’t for Nate’s, and it certainly wasn’t for the girl he’d been out with last night. She shrugged. Okay, so maybe it was. She didn’t want whoever she was wondering why Nate was with the short chick from the stables, quite the opposite, in fact. Lily was hoping that the girl would back right off when she saw Nate with his attractive, if not beautiful, girlfriend.
There was a tap on the camper door and then it swung open. Nate stuck his head around it with a grin. “Can I come in?”
“You’re supposed to wait outside to learn the answer to that. What if I wasn’t dressed yet?”
He waggled his eyebrows at her. “Why do you think I opened the door myself?”
Lily had to laugh. “You’re such an opportunist.”
He nodded and came in, closing the door behind him. “Guilty as charged.” He brought his hand out from behind his back and handed her a bunch of grocery store flowers.
Lily looked at them and then up into his eyes. “Why?”
“Like you just said, I’m an opportunist. I’ve wanted to buy you some flowers for a while. Since you’re my girlfriend for tonight, I’m making the most of the opportunity.”
She took them from him with a smile. “Thank you.”
He gave her a wicked grin. “You’re most welcome.”
“What? That smile tells me you’re up to no good.”
He shrugged.
“We’re not going anywhere until you tell me.”
“Okay, then. I was thinking that giving you flowers is something I would do if I were your real boyfriend. And you accepted them like you were my real girlfriend.”
“And?”
The way he looked her over as he smiled sent shivers chasing each other down her spine. “And I was hoping that if I wanted to do other things like I was your real boyfriend, you might let me.”
Lily met his gaze. “Things like what?”
His gaze rested on her breasts as he stepped toward her. “Oh, I don’t know.” He was standing so close now she could feel the heat of his body and smell his cologne. The combination of the two had her willing to let him do whatever he wanted. She looked up into his eyes. For a moment, he looked as shocked as she felt. Then it was gone, and he laughed. “I need to go pee, and I’m hoping you won’t bust my balls if I forget to put the seat down.”
Lily nodded. “Yeah, that figures.” All the excitement that had been coursing through her veins a moment earlier evaporated. She’d been getting carried away. “And don’t worry. I have a little brother who’s left the seat up my whole life. I’m used to it.”
She shook her head as he disappeared into the bathroom. She needed to get a grip and remind herself why she didn’t want to get involved with Nate in the first place. Well, why she didn’t want to sleep with him; he wasn’t up for getting involved with anyone. He was a great guy—so good-looking and sexier than sin—but from what Lily knew, he’d never been in a real relationship and wouldn’t know how to treat a woman anyway. She sighed. He was like her, a failure with the opposite sex. Well, maybe not so much of a failure as she was. He at least had great success with women in bed. She messed herself up there. She liked sex to be part of a relationship, and she was no good at relationships.
Nate came back out with a smile on his face. “I put the seat down.”
“Thanks.” She was about to ask if he’d washed his hands but thought better of it. He might not be boyfriend material, and he might be off-limits as a lover, but she didn’t need another little brother either.
~ ~ ~
When they got to the resort, Nate couldn’t find an empty space in the square, so he drove down one of the side streets and parked there. He looked across at Lily before he cut the engine.
“Did I tell you how gorgeous you look?”
She shook her head at him. “At least a dozen times, and I’m still not buying it.”
He sighed. “I wish you’d believe me, Lily-Bean. You’re beautiful. That chick from last night is going to understand straight away why I didn’t want to go with her. She’s not got a patch on you, and she’s a good-looking woman.”
“Whatever. Do we need to get anything straight before we go in there?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, what’s our story? Am I your girlfriend, or just the next one you picked up after her?”
Nate hated that she could be so matter-of-fact about him going from one woman to another. What he couldn’t figure out was why. Was it because he didn’t like her thinking of him as a manwhore, or was it because it didn’t seem to bother her and he wanted her to care? Who knew? He couldn’t resist. He reached across and took hold of her hand, then brought it up to kiss her palm. Her eyes widened as he sucked her finger into his mouth and caressed it with his tongue. It was a standard move; women usually liked it, but it had never had this effect on him before. His heart raced, and a surge of heat rushed through him as his cock sprang to attention, making him shift in his seat. Lily was staring at him wide-eyed, her cheeks touched with pink and her breath coming slowly. He kissed her fingertip before lowering her hand. “You’re not just another one, Lil.” He was supposed to be answering her about what their story was if the chick from last night bothered him. But his words were about so much more than that. He felt as though he’d been sucker punched as the realization hit him. She was so much more to him than just another woman. And he wanted her to be so much more than just his friend.
She was still staring at him. Seemingly lost for words, which wasn’t like her.
He squeezed her hand, not knowing what the hell to say or do next.
“So, I’m your girlfriend, then?”
He nodded. “I’d like you to be.”
“Okay, good.” She seemed to have recovere
d, and Nate was glad of it, even if she missed what he really meant. She withdrew her hand. “Well, we’re not going to have much fun sitting out here.” Nate could think of a few things they could get up to. “So, why don’t we get in there and find the gang? Hopefully, your friend from last night won’t even be here, and we won’t need to pretend at all.”
Nate nodded again, but as he climbed out of the truck he, too, was wishing they didn’t need to pretend about her being his girlfriend. But for very different reasons.
~ ~ ~
When they reached the door, Nate took hold of her hand, making Lily look up at him inquiringly.
“Just in case she’s already here, lying in wait ready to pounce on me the moment I arrive.”
Lily laughed. “You have such confidence, don’t you? You’re not worried that you might walk in and see her already here with someone else?”
Nate pursed his lips. “No such luck.”
A flash of jealousy took Lily by surprise. Standing here like this with him holding her hand, she almost felt as though he was her boyfriend, and the thought of him with another woman made her blood boil. “Well, she won’t be pouncing on you; I’ll make sure of it.”
He smiled. “Thanks, Lil. You’re the best.”
The moment of possessiveness passed as quickly as it had come. His words made her feel more foolish than anything. She was a good friend—that was all. She smiled back at him. It wasn’t his fault that she was getting carried away with herself. “I am, and you’d better not forget it. You owe me one, mister.”
“And I’ll be happy to return the favor. In fact, I was thinking we could use tonight as a practice run for next weekend.”
Lily considered it. Did she really want to take him to her sister’s engagement party? “Maybe. Perhaps we should wait and see how tonight goes first?”
Nate grinned. “Okay.” He held the door open for her. “Let’s get started.”
Ben waved at them from behind the bar. Lily didn’t miss the way his expression changed when he noticed that they were holding hands. He met her gaze, and she shook her head. She’d explain to him later.
“Let’s get a drink before we find the others,” said Nate.
