“Excellent, I’ll put this on her calendar. Now.” Natalia’s eyes gleamed with mischief as she met Lily’s stare. “Will you pack protection or should Lily?”
Blood rushed to Lily’s cheeks, and she scrambled for the phone again, tugging on Natalia’s arm and swatting at her face. “You are fucking unbelievable. Give me my phone!”
“Sunblock, Lily. I’m talking about sunblock.” Natalia winked and batted Lily away.
God, just let her crawl under her blankets and disappear.
“Lily has some sunblock under her bed. Have her pack some, and I’ll pick her up at ten.”
“Sounds wonderful. You have a great night, Gym Guy!”
He laughed again, and Lily sighed—regretting she’d ever left him on read. She could have been hearing his laugh in person.
“Good night, Nat. Give Lily my best.”
“I will, but I’m sure you give it to her so much better.”
“And you’re done.” Lily clambered onto Natalia’s back and wrenched the phone from her hand, slamming the red hang-up button before Natalia could find a way to fit in another innuendo.
Natalia looped her arms around Lily’s legs and spun, giving Lily a makeshift piggyback ride. “Come on, we need to pick an outfit for your date!”
Lily sighed and rested her head atop Natalia’s. She didn’t have a huge closet, but she did love her clothes and took care of each piece. Mixing and matching kept her looks fresh.
“Fine.” She could already picture a pair of blue jean shorts and a pale green plaid shirt that would look great for a hike. “The goal is sexy lumberjack. Go, team, go!”
ChapterTen
When Lily’s name appeared on his phone screen, he hadn’t expected to hear her best friend’s voice. He’d heard it often enough from Lily’s personal account on Hit It when the two got ready to go dancing. Not that he made a habit of watching her personal videos.
Agreeing to an outing with Lily was easy enough in the moment but not so much once he got off the phone. Maeve had the day off, so he didn’t need to worry about Saoirse, but he still had Danny. At fifteen, he should’ve been able to handle being home alone for a few hours, but that was asking a lot of his brother, apparently.
Kieran cracked his knuckles, the sound too loud in the claustrophobic hallway leading to her apartment door. When he’d knocked, Lily had called out, letting him know she’d be ready in just a moment. A too familiar acrid, earthy scent drifted from one end of the hall while a fishy scent crept closer from the other side. The overall effect made his stomach pitch. Was her pay at South Side MMA enough to get her into a better apartment complex? He eyed a splinteringcrack in the drywall stemming from her door frame. This place was a death trap.
Lily’s door swung inward and took with it his ability to speak.
She’d chosen a seasoned pair of brown hiking shoes. He took his time following the length of her legs up to frayed jean shorts a few inches shy of being Daisy Dukes. Under her plaid button-down was a blue cami, its cropped hem exposing the majority of her sun-kissed belly. It wasn’t long ago he’d kissed and nipped his way down that smooth expanse of skin. He could spare a few minutes. He didn’t need long to get her sighing like before.
“You’re going to give me quite the ego if you keep looking at me like that,” she teased, breaking him from his stare. She hiked her backpack over her shoulder and tugged her twin French braids free from the straps.
She’d forgone makeup, probably because she’d sweat it off. Even without the minimal makeup she tended to wear, she was beautiful. Mascara called more attention to her eyes, but without it there was something softer about her. Exposed.
Kieran cleared his throat and stepped out of her way. “Do you want me to stop looking at you like that?”
Lily’s smile was too quick to appear before she could turn to lock up. “Only when we’re on the clock.”
The gym. Right. This wasn’t a date. Not really. It couldn’t be, anyway. Not with the turn his morning had taken. “About that,” he began and shortened his stride to match Lily’s as they headed downstairs. “Remember how we said we’d keep this low-key?” He gestured between them both with a finger.
Lily’s eyes widened, and she gripped her backpack straps. “I’m sorry. Nat’s a menace to society. I shouldn’t have let her call you.”
The fervor of her apology and the splash of pink creepingfrom her neckline surprised a laugh out of him. Lily stopped on the landing of the stairs as if his laugh had shocked her to stillness. “No, it’s not about Natalia.” He urged her forward with a light touch at the small of her back. “I caught a visitor sneaking out of my brother’s room this morning, and well…” He opened the door for her as they exited the building. “I figured having to spend the day with me would be punishment enough.”
Sitting in the back of his Jeep with a permanent scowl on his young face was Danny.
* * *
The trouble with having his brother along for the hike was that any hopes he might’ve had regarding spending time alone with Lily were dashed. Part of his deal with Lily had been motivated by his need to protect Danny. The kid didn’t need to see a revolving door of women, which was why Kieran never brought women home. Why he hadn’t invited Lily to his place.
Still, it was hard not to watch Lily’s hamstrings flex as she descended the wooden stairs to their first canyon at Starved Rock—LaSalle Canyon. They’d parked on the eastern end of the park to avoid the crowds, since most people stuck to trails close to the lodge. Only those familiar with the park or those with an entire day to spend hiking ventured out this far. Less crowds meant more time to linger in the canyon and on the overlooks and trails. Just how he liked it.
