“At least this means I get to eat with you instead.” Evie set the cookie down and leveled Lily with a look. “Speaking of dates, explain how you’re suddenly kissing Sheriff Sexy good night. I’ve had no fewer than ten texts swearing you two were cozied up at the pub and then were seen leaving together.” She eyed Lily’s lips and hair. “Explain.”
“It’s a long story,” Lily mumbled. She looked through the old metal cutters until she found the gingerbread man and started rolling and cutting each cookie from the dough.
Evie adjusted her glasses on her nose and arched her brow, the same one she arched when people were talking too loudly at her library. It had a similar effect on Lily. “My night is wide open,” she said dryly.
“It’s complicated. This recipe is amazing.” Lily bit into one of the thickly frosted snowmen and let it keep her mouth too busy to explain. She wasn’t exactly hungry after Rush’s omelet earlier, but chewing was easier than admitting to her twin that she was in anarrangementwith the sheriff.
“Mmm.” She reached for another cookie, a green-frosted wreath this time, but Evie’s hand landed on hers.
“I had to hear this from someone else?”
The hurt in her voice made Lily wince. They didn’t keep secrets. Not the big ones.
“We’re not exactly dating,” Lily said carefully. “He’s moving to Boston at the beginning of February, so this is more of a…” She paused, aware of how ridiculous it sounded. “… a temporary arrangement.”
Evie’s eyes widened. “A temporary arrangement?” Her voice dropped to a scandalized whisper, even though it was just the two of them. “So… friends with benefits?” She gave Lily a knowing once-over. “That explains the sex hair and the swollen lips. He must be a god in bed,” she added half enviously.
Lily groaned, touching her tender mouth. Already, she wanted more of those kisses. “Not quite,” she muttered.Yes, exactly.“We’re just having fun with each other… temporarily. No strings attached.”
“Uh-huh.” Evie nodded, as solemn as a judge. She got up to remove the trays and put in two more. “Because that always works so well.” She turned with the kettle in her hand. “Hot chocolate?”
“Definitely.” Lily sighed, glad that Evie’s back was turned. She had her fair share of concerns, but she was all in now, no matter the outcome. After a month of thinking about the man, she knew there was something between them that deserved to be explored. “This wasn’t planned. Tucker showed up at the pub with Madison, my date imploded over a cheese plate”—she waved off Evie’s choked laughter—“and Rush just stepped in. Next thing I know, Tucker thinks we’re together.”
“How does this help you?” Evie asked mildly, pouring the hot water into two mugs. “You’ve always said you wanted ahouse and a family, the whole package. Marriage, kids, house with the front porch. You’re not exactly built for temporary.”
“It helps me stop being everyone’s pity project,” Lily said firmly. “No more awful blind dates, no more grandmas whispering about ‘poor Lily.’ Just me taking control for once with a clear end date.”
She set aside the rolling pin. “I want firsts, Evie. I’ve spent more than half my life muting my feelings and settling even when I knew it wasn’t what I wanted.” She shuddered. “I don’t want polite anymore. I want real, even if it scares me.”
Evie leaned against the counter, studying her. “Just be careful, okay, Lil? Rush seems like a good man, but good men can break hearts without meaning to.”
Lily forced a smile, even though the warning made her stomach twist. “We’re just having fun. I’ll be fine.”
Evie pushed her glasses up with one delicate finger, giving her a look that saw right through her big words. Twins. Couldn’t have any secrets. “Good luck explaining your temporary boyfriend at Sunday dinner. Mom already texted me—Rush is on the guest list.”
“I know.” Lily rubbed her forehead. “She texted me too. I’m not sure if family introductions are on the agenda for a ‘temporary arrangement.’” Not that she had the faintest idea whatwason their agenda. Sex, probably. Lots of hot, dirty sex with the Sheriff Sexy. Her heart thudded wildly in her chest even thinking about that.
“Oh, this is going to be fun,” Evie said, rubbing her hands together. “One of us needs an exciting love life.”
“It will be fun.” Lily grinned reluctantly. “No more Bradleys or Coopers, and most of all…” Her smile turned wicked. “I can’t wait to see Tucker’s face when he realizes we weren’t pretending.”
Evie tilted her head. “Weren’t you?”
Lily swallowed, her grin faltering for half a beat. “Oh yeah. We were. Totally pretending.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
“There’san ice dam on Mr. Kang’s roof. I sent Murphy over to check it before it brought down half his gutters. Mrs. Wasinski swore someone was rattling her back door last night—Wendell made a report. Looked like maybe a stray cat looking to get warm.”
Deputy Ben Tanner leaned against Rush’s office door, grinning and flexing his biceps. “Oh, and the bunco club called again to ask if you’d reconsider being their ‘special guest.’ They said all you have to do is take your shirt off. Pants optional.”
Rush scrubbed a hand over his face. “Christ, not again.”
At his feet, Riggs cracked open one eye, as if to check if he needed backup. Rush gave the dog’s head a quick stroke, earning a grumbly sigh before Riggs settled back down. He had a perfectly good bed in the corner, but when Rush was in the office, Riggs always planted himself next to him like a shadow.
“They claim it’s perfectly legal. Gets real warm in Mrs. Solano’s living room.”
Laughter drifted in from the squad room. Rush grimaced. Judy Solano and her blue-haired crew had been asking him tocome to their Bunco night for weeks. If she didn’t remind him so much of his Gram, he would’ve shut it down harder, but that mischievous twinkle in her eyes made it impossible to be more than mildly irritated that she wanted to see him naked in her living room.
