The Bachelor Next Door

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Guilt lit a fire in Lily’s cheeks when she realized she hadn’t responded to Liam’s comment. Hopefully he would assume her blush stemmed from losing Missy and not her sanity.

“Sorry.” Lily forced a smile. “I guess I should have bought Missy a leash to match her collar.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Liam said. “She didn’t hurt anything.”

“Speak for yourself.” Aiden laughed as he staggered away from the truck, weighed down by forty pounds of wriggling basset hound. He tried—unsuccessfully—to avoid the swipe of Missy’s tongue against his cheek as he set her down on the ground. “Take it easy now.”

“And people claim dogs are good judges of character,” Liam murmured.

“What can I say?” Aiden’s blue eyes danced with mischief. “The ladies can’t seem to resist my charm.”

Liam rolled his eyes. “Your blarney, you mean.”

Listening to their banter, Lily found herself wishing that Brendan was as easygoing and uncomplicated as his brothers. Any fears she’d had about Liam and Aiden resenting her presence in the house had been put to rest the day before when they’d invited her to join them for a piece of pie and then peppered her with questions about her plans for the house.

Laughter had punctuated their lively conversation and Lily could tell that even the good-natured insults flying back and forth across the table welled from a deep affection rather than malice.

She couldn’t help but compare it to the rare times her father had actually been home for the evening meal. She’d told Shelby once that their interaction was more like dinner interrogation than conversation. Her father expected a list of things Lily had accomplished that day followed by the goals she’d set for the next.

Gaining his approval had become Lily’s ultimate goal. Until she’d realized it was an unreachable one. She swept the thought aside, along with the feelings of regret that inevitably accompanied it.

“Those short little legs sure don’t slow her down much.” Liam pointed to Missy, who’d set off after a monarch butterfly that drifted past.

“Or stop her from breaking into unattended vehicles.” Lily sighed. “I promise I’ll keep a closer eye on her.”

“No harm, no foul,” Liam said easily.

“Especially when the unattended vehicle belongs to Brendan, not us,” Aiden added with a grin.

Now Lily was really sorry.

“I’d better take Missy back to the house so I can make it to church on time.” And disappear before Brendan made an appearance.

Aiden’s gaze bounced from her to Liam and back again, a smile brewing in his eyes. “Which one?”

“New Life Fellowship.”

“So are we,” he said cheerfully. “You’re welcome to ride with us.”

“I don’t want you to go to any trouble.”

“It’s only two miles down the road, and we’re going to the same place,” Liam said. “I don’t call that trouble.”

Lily doubted Brendan would have the same perspective. But Liam hadn’t mentioned that his older brother would be attending the service with them….

“All right.” She gave in.

“We’ll swing by the house and pick you up in five minutes,” Aiden said.

Lily lured Missy to the door with a biscuit she’d stashed in her pocket and closed her in the three-season room once they were inside. The wicker furniture provided the least amount of temptation for a dog who viewed leather furniture as a gigantic rawhide chew.

A short time later, a sleek black convertible—not a pickup truck—pulled up in front of the house with Aiden at the wheel. Lily slung her purse over her shoulder and glanced at her reflection in the oval mirror hanging in the hallway. Cheeks flushed pink from chasing Missy through the woods. Hair loose around her shoulders instead of confined in a tidy French braid.

Oh, well. It was a good thing God looked at the heart!

Lily locked the door and skipped down the steps. Liam hopped out and opened the car door the moment before she reached it.

Smiling, Lily slid inside. “Thank—”

The rest of the sentence stuttered and died when her gaze locked on the man sitting in the backseat.

Hair gleaming like obsidian from a recent shower, Brendan wore dove-gray dress pants that accentuated his long legs and a white linen button-down shirt.

She almost didn’t recognize him.

Brendan was staring at her as if he didn’t recognize her, either. And then he frowned, which, Lily thought ruefully, proved that he had.

Chapter Six

“Good morning.”

Lily fanned her skirt over her knees and tossed a quick smile in Brendan’s direction, ridiculously pleased to discover he took time away from work to attend church on Sunday morning. Even though it was a little unsettling that he was going to be attending with her.

“Morning.” Brendan practically grunted the word.

Lily suspected he left out the “good” part of good morning on purpose. An awkward silence swelled between them as she fumbled with her seat belt.

I’m trying, Lord, I really am. But I could use a little help.

One of the verses in a Psalm Lily had read during her devotional time that morning came to mind and she latched on to it like a lifeline.

This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Rejoice. Be glad.

Lily turned toward the window, pulled in a slow breath and let the words take root in her heart. There were plenty of things to rejoice about. Birds singing in the trees. Sunlight streaming through the canopy of trees that bowed over the road. The sky a deep velvet blue, the same shade of blue as Brendan’s eyes….

“Careful!”

Liam rasped out the warning a split second before Aiden swerved to avoid a rusty chunk of metal in the road. Lily gripped the leather seat in order to avoid ending up in her seatmate’s lap.

“That was close,” Aiden said cheerfully.

Lily couldn’t argue with the statement. Her silent promise to appreciate God’s blessings didn’t include Brendan Kane. Or the blue eyes she’d vowed not to think about.