Page 12

“Ow! Stop!” He halted the next swing with one hand and then rubbed the spot at the back of his head with the other. “Are you all right?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” She shoved his chest with her free hand.

“I would, actually. Lil, I’m⁠—”

But “sorry” didn’t make it out of his mouth. She swung the ax with renewed vigor. She was a lot stronger than he’d have guessed. Did she know jujitsu or something?

“Lily, stop!” He snagged the toy, catching her around the waist at the same time. Then he pressed every inch of her against his torso. She felt amazing. She looked even better. Wild hair, flushed cheeks…

She also looked a little murderous.

In no mood to cuddle, she pushed away from him. “You could have given me a heart attack. Did you consider that?”

“You wouldn’t have had a heart attack. You eat salads all the time,” he said, not exactly answering her. Granted, he hadn’t thought the prank through. Since he wasn’t going to admit as much, silence was his only friend.

She held up the mask. “Care to explain yourself?”

He offered a sheepish shrug. “I’ve never been to Hawaii.”

“Yeah?” She threw the mask into the driveway like a Frisbee. “Well, you’re not going now, either.”

She was pissed off and passionate—which had the added bonus of sending over a wave of pheromones his body couldn’t resist. She stomped into the mansion and tried to shut the front door in his face. He wedged his hiking boot into the crack just in time.

“Move.” She glared through the gap in the door. Just fucking gorgeous. Every angry inch of her.

“Look, I’m sorry.” He needed to wipe the half-smile off his face, but damn, she looked good in black joggers that fit snugly around her butt, and a matching zip-up hoodie. There was nowhere he’d rather be tonight than here with her.

She continued glaring at him.

“I’m a dirty cheater,” he said.

“And?”

“And…I’m immature.” He held his palms in front of him but didn’t dare move his boot. She couldn’t leave him outside alone. He was injured. “Let me in. I’ll explain.”

Her blue eyes narrowed further.

“Lily, come on. What do you have to lose?”

Frustration seeped from her every pore, aimed straight at the man on the other side of the door. Part of her wanted to tell him where he could shove his explanation, and the mask for that matter, but as her adrenaline ebbed, she lost some of her fight. She was less worried about the Jason Voorhees impersonator and more relieved to think that Marcus might have had something to do with the phantom voice upstairs.

A rational explanation after all.

Still, no reason to make this easy on him. “You can explain from out there.”

He licked his bottom lip, revealing the dimple on one cheek. Moonlight sifted through the doorway, backlighting him and casting a long shadow onto the floor. She resented the way she was admiring how handsome he was when she was trying to stay mad at him.

“First off, I was only going to wear the mask long enough to jump out and say ‘boo,’ but it got stuck in my hair.”

When she screwed her mouth to one side in disbelief, he turned and pointed at the back of his head. “See this giant bald spot?”

She didn’t. “No.”

“Lil. Come on. It’s me.”

“That’s the problem—you.” She sighed.

He might have been competitive and shortsighted, but they had always been able to work together and focus on what mattered when the time came. Maybe the mansion was one of those things. And anyway, she didn’t relish the idea of being in here alone. She stepped back and let him open the door the rest of the way.