Yes. She’d told him yes.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you! I printed out all these photos for inspiration and put them in this binder,” Claire called from the other room as Lillian slung her bag over her shoulder and quickly focused on where she was. “Could I show you quickly? Do you have another couple of minutes?”

Not right now, Lillian thought, but smiled gracefully. “I would love to, Claire, but I have another appointment and I’ve got to get going.”

“Could you come back afterwards? I’ll be happy to pay you for another hour.” The woman, who was so short she didn’t even reach Lillian’s shoulders, gave her a look that nearly read as desperation.

“You’re so sweet, Claire!” Lillian exclaimed, giving the woman a hug. “I really wish I could, but I’m taken the rest of the day. How about you compile all your visuals and we’ll spend some time looking over them next week?”

Claire’s face lit up like a light bulb. “Oh, that just sounds wonderful. I’ll look up some more ideas and think about which ones would be most practical here.” Scratching her chin in thought, she stared at the closet near the bottom of her front staircase.

Lillian knew if she didn’t leave now, Claire would get an idea and start rambling about it. “Excellent. Thank you for lunch!” She sidestepped to the door.

“Don’t worry about it, silly.” Opening the front door, Claire patted Lillian on the back. “Have a good afternoon, and thank you for all your help, dear!”

“My pleasure.” Lillian smiled with her lips together.

“I’ll call you if I have any questions!”

She’ll call me. Not the other way around. Every encounter with this woman was like something out of a sitcom, and she stifled an exhausted laugh. “All right. ‘Bye, Claire.”

As she shut the car door behind her, she heard the woman calling yet another goodbye to her. If it were an option, Lillian would have sat in the car to decompress from the constant talking, but every time Claire stood there on her front steps watching her until she drove off. Today was no exception. Glancing out of the corner of her eye, she saw the woman still standing there with her hands in her pockets. She looked so small compared to her big house; it was a caricature come to life.

She started the car and drove slowly down the street, her energy totally depleted from the last hour and a half. Before she arrived at Claire’s this morning, she couldn’t get her mind off breakfast with Cayden. He asked for a chance, and she said yes. His grin was so wide and bright it stuck in her mind and put a smile on her own face even now.

The weather was gorgeous she couldn’t help but roll down all the windows and take a deep breath. She felt the air fill her lungs. It smelled like honeysuckle and roses. Honeysuckle. That’s a plant I haven’t seen in his garden, she realized, and made a mental note to ask Cayden about it later. What are those red ones? Poppies? I’ve got so many names to learn...

Her phone blared from the passenger seat, jolting her out of her trance. With every ring it also vibrated, adding unwelcome chaotic noise to the peaceful vibe.

Lillian snatched it up. The number wasn’t in her contacts and didn’t look remotely familiar. To answer or not to answer, she debated, and decided to answer on the last ring. “Hello, Lillian Warren.” There was a millisecond too long of silence from the other side. “Hello—”

“Hey, stranger.”

She gasped, immediately identifying the voice. “Andrew?”

“You guessed it!” His voice was smiling.

“What the hell, Andrew! Where have you been? Are you good?”

“Where have you been is more of the question, milady.”

Ouch. She knew it was true. After Amelia had passed, she detached from the family. Processing together was impossible for her at that time; it reminded her of too many memories, and happiness wasn’t something that meant a lot to her at that point. All the heartache of the past pinched her with his words.

“I know,” she replied quietly. “Andrew, I’m really sorry. I never meant to leave.”

“We know you better than that.” Hearing his voice brought tears to her eyes, and she pulled the car over to the side of the road in front of a random house. “Mom told me you called the other day.”

“Yeah, I did. I’ve just...” She took a breath. It had been so long since she had felt this soothing feeling, like someone was stroking her hair. “I’ve had a lot on my mind lately. I...there have been a lot of things in my head.” The words weren’t coming. Why can’t I just say it? “I’ve been thinking about Amelia. It all came back to me. And I had a tough time with it. I miss you. I miss the family.”

“We all miss you, too, Lillian, but we never gave up on you. We knew you would always come back. And look, here you are.”

She wiped a teardrop off her cheek.

“So, do you want to get together and talk about it?”

“Yeah, your mom mentioned you were coming.”

“Actually, I’m already here.”

Her heart stopped mid-beat. “What?”

“Yeah. She thought I was coming in a couple of weeks. It was much more sudden than we thought. They told me a few days ago, ‘Hey, Andrew, we need you to go down to Hanniston soon to make sure they’re getting set up right.’” The way he talked in a deep voice like someone else lightened her mood. “And later that night I got a call saying to pack my bags. I got here yesterday.”

“Where are you staying?”

“They’ve put me in a hotel down near the museum.”

She nodded. “I know it, but I have a better place for you to stay. My house.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it. I’m settling in here just fine. Only going to be here for a week or so anyway.”

“I won’t accept no for an answer.”

“I can come tomorrow.”

“Tonight would be better.”

“It’s too sudden.”

“The guest room is ready. Come on, Andrew. I haven’t seen you in years. I haven’t even talked to you in years. We have so much to catch up on, a week won’t be enough.”

He exhaled. “Fine. I’ll get done around five. Text me your address and I’ll be there around six.”

“Perfect.” Excitement rushed through her body. “I have stuff to make soup, so dinner is provided.”

“Wow, that’s a lot better than this place I’m at now.” His dry sense of humor hadn’t changed since they had last talked. “See you later, love.”

“See you later.” She hung up and let out a squeal. This is really happening! Andrew’s here just when I needed a familiar face and some company. As she put the car in drive and moved forward again, the only thought on her mind was how much she wanted Cayden to meet the guy she’d considered her brother for such a long time.

* * *

HER HANDS WERE PRACTICALLY trembling as she typed. Come over for dinner in half an hour.

Cayden’s reply came in less than thirty seconds. You commanding me is kind of hot.

We can experiment sometime. She was shocked at herself for daring to send that, but she was too distracted by cleaning the house before Andrew arrived.

I like that idea!

I want you to meet someone. Remember Amelia? “Of course he’ll remember Amelia.” Lillian picked up Black Cat and held his face right in front of hers. “I was really drunk when he learned about her. That was a memorable experience.”

Yes?

She replied with one hand while stirring the simmering soup. Her brother is in town for business and is going to stay with me for a week or so.

They had been responding to each other so quickly, something felt off when she hadn’t received anything from him for five minutes. She was about to call him when she heard the back door open. “Hello? You here, Lil?”

“In here,” she called, tucking the sheet under the guest bed mattress.

Cayden walked in, and the first thing she noticed was his V-neck shirt. “You look good.” She winked.

“Someone’s in a good mood.” He winked back, but didn’t smile. “Seems like things have really opened up between us since this morning.”

She stood up straight. “I’m passing on that opportunity for a dirty joke. Is something wrong?”

He traced his finger along the doorframe. “Not really.”

“Talk to me.”

“I’m not upset, but I’m trying not to care that a guy is coming to stay with you.”

“It’s just Andrew, Cayden. He’s family.”

“I haven’t even stayed the night at your house.”

“Stay tonight.” Maybe the commanding thing will work again.

It didn’t. “I’ll give you two some alone time.”

“Please don’t make it sound so romantic.” Her blood suddenly took on a simmering state. Why was he being such a dick? Andrew was practically family.

“I didn’t mean to. When was the last time you two saw each other?”

She looked down. “Couple of years. Three, I think. Maybe four.”

“That’s a while. I’m sure you two have a lot to talk about.”

Probably him more than me. “I want you to stay.”

“We’ll see. Is he going to be here soon?”

“Any minute. Could you help me spread this quilt on the bed?”

Cayden took a corner and pulled it up to the pillows. “Just forget what I said. I’ve had endless energy since this morning and I just had a great session with my client. Don’t want to ruin the mood.”

“You said you were glad I approached you last night, right?”

He nodded.

“Same now. I’m glad you told me how you feel, to put it in ‘girl terms’.” As she took a last look at the room, she tried to put herself in his shoes. “It must suck a little bit to have put the label on this and the same day some other guy comes over.”

She waited for him to say something, but he didn’t. Walking around to the other side of the bed, she stood so close to him that his chest touched her chin when he inhaled. “I said yes because, no matter how much I want to pretend it’s not true, you’re inspiring me.”

Cayden put a hand on her waist. “How so?”

“I’m starting to learn the names of the flowers I’ve been drying for years.” She felt quite silly admitting it, and jokingly winced.

It brought a smile to Cayden’s face. “Is that it?”

“Easy, tiger. We just got started today.”

“You’ve already invited me to stay over. How scandalous.”

“Tonight is supposed to be cold. I’m worried about you over there all by yourself. At least I have the cats.”

A knock on the door interrupted their banter, and Lillian jumped.

“We’ll finish this later,” said Cayden, brushing a quick kiss on the top of her head. “You’re beginning to convince me to stay over.”

“Good.” Letting her eyes flit across his body, she sashayed out of the room and toward the front door. “Hurry up, Cayden!”

He smoothed his hair as Lillian opened the door. Her jaw dropped at the sight of Andrew standing there, half hidden behind a bouquet of flowers.

“She lives,” he said, beaming.

Tears filled her eyes. “Put that thing down,” she demanded, and as soon as he did she threw her arms around his shoulders. “Your voice still sounds the same,” she whispered, muted by her emotions.

“Thank goodness it does. I was worried I’d gone through puberty again since we last talked.” He patted her back and gently pulled away. “Well, introduce me to this fine gentleman!”

“Andrew,” Lillian sniffed, wiping her face with her sleeve. “This is Cayden. My...boyfriend.”

He didn’t notice her fumbling over the word or the fact that her face went bright cherry-red. Cayden’s had more color to it than usual at his new label, but didn’t let it faze him. “Andrew,” he stated firmly, extending his hand. Andrew was tall, but nowhere near as bulky as Cayden. “Good to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you and your sister.”

“All good things, I hope?”

“Don’t be stupid,” Lillian scolded, holding the bouquet against her chest. “These are so beautiful. Thank you.”

“It’s the least I could do.”

“You’ve gotten more formal, Andrew.”

“No way.” He winked and took the flowers from her. “Where should these go?”

“On the table. Put them at one end so we can still see each other while we eat.” She closed the door and led the men into the kitchen. “The stew’s almost done, so make yourselves at home and I’ll bring everything over.”

Cayden started to say something, but Lillian’s attention was taken by the simmering stew and her long-lost friend. “I’ll help,” said Andrew.

“You can help by sitting down.”

“I’ll fix drinks.”

“I shouldn’t argue with you, should I?”

“You know better than to do that, missy.”

Lillian stuck her tongue out. “The glasses are in that cabinet. I have a bottle of wine if you two want any, but who knows how old it is.”

“Don’t drink much anymore?”

Her gaze darted to Cayden. “Not much at all.”

Cayden snorted, but it got no reaction from Andrew. “Is it because of your stomach? Mom told me you were doing better.”

“Yeah. I’ve got it pretty much under control, though. Avoiding trigger foods and too much stress.”

Andrew laughed dramatically. “You? Lillian? Stressed? Never!”

“Would you shut up?” She flicked a green pea at him and he dodged it. “Hey, you’re not on any weird dietary restrictions or anything, are you?”

“Actually, I’m veg now.”

Lillian’s eyes widened to dinner-plate size. “Oh, shit.”

“What is it?”

“This is beef and vegetable stew.”

Neither of them moved, and neither of them noticed Cayden staring awkwardly from a few steps away. “Listen, I’ve got some things here that you can eat because I don’t eat meat every day. Do you like—”

“Lillian! Chill out. I’m just kidding.”

She froze again. “What!” Lunging forward, she slapped his shoulder and pushed him away. “That was not funny! Cayden, please look after this one. He’s a troublemaker.”

“I can imagine,” Cayden grunted.

Andrew fixed the drinks and poured the wine while Cayden folded three napkins over and over again. In a few minutes everything was ready and they sat at the table over stew, salad, and bread. Lillian and Andrew dominated most of the next hour’s conversation.

After the chatting hit the nightly lull, Cayden stacked the plates and carried them to the sink.

“I’ll wash,” Andrew protested.

“I have a dishwasher, you nut.” Lillian followed Cayden and turned on the water. “Let’s rinse them and put them in.”

“I can do it,” he said, giving her a little smile.

In that moment she realized he hadn’t spoken much during the evening. “Are you sure?”

He nodded and went to work on the dishes.

“So, Andrew. If you’re at a stopping point with your wine, I’ll show you around my penthouse.”

“Charming.” He put on an accent and offered his arm. Lillian took it and led him through the house.

“This is your bathroom,” she pointed out. “The maid cleaned it today with organic lemon cleanser and fairy dust.”

“It does smell wonderful.”

She laughed. “It gets very hot, though, so don’t get in until it’s just right. I can’t believe I don’t have burns from it.”

“You use this bathroom, too?”

“I have my own, but it’s the same way. I don’t know if it’s where the water heater is or the pipes are always piping hot.” She giggled. “Pun slightly intended. Come in here.”

Andrew stepped into his room first. “This is so nice, Lillian. Thank you.”

“The sheets and blankets are clean. Your towel is on the chair. There might be some cat hair in here, but other than that it’s all yours.”

“Where’s your room?”

A question like this would never have made her think twice except for Cayden’s earlier remarks. “It’s over there,” she pointed down the hall. “It’s messy. Don’t go inside.”

“Don’t you organize people’s houses for a living?”

“Yeah. Funny, huh?”

“Guess it’s the same as how hairstylists usually have the worst cuts.” He stretched his arms. “I’ll go get my stuff from the car.”

“Do you need help?”

“Nah, I travel light. Only got one bag.”

While Andrew went out the car, she joined Cayden in the kitchen. He was wiping off the table. “Hey,” she murmured, as if speaking too loudly would scare him.

“Hey.” He squeezed the water out of the cloth and hung it on the faucet to dry.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m cool.”

She frowned. “Somehow I don’t believe you.”

“I don’t think right now is a good time to talk about it.”

“When is?”

“Where’s Andrew?”

“He went out to get his bag.” She touched Cayden’s arm. His muscle was round beneath his shirt and she felt a little tremor run through her core. “Do you want to go to your place?”

His face softened. “Are you asking what I think you’re asking?”

“Maybe. I also want you to tell me what’s on your mind.”

“What’s on my mind should be easy to understand. I mean that actually and sexually.” Taking a breath, he asked, “Yeah, could we walk to mine for a little while?”

“Let me go tell Andrew.” She trailed her finger down to his wrist. The front door closed and she met Andrew there. “Hey, I’m going to Cayden’s for a bit. I believe you have everything you need for now. If the cats start harassing you, good luck.”

“No problem. I’m going to shower and wind down. I need to be at the factory tomorrow before eight.” Andrew pretended to yawn and rested his hand on her shoulder. “I’ll see you later.”

“Yep.” They parted ways and she went back to the kitchen. Cayden wasn’t there, so she opened the back door and peeked onto the porch. He stood at the bottom of the steps and motioned for her to come.

“He’s really touchy-feely,” Cayden muttered.

“I didn’t notice.”

“I don’t know, Lil. That guy isn’t really making my good list right now.”

“Why not?”

“He likes you.”

Oh, hell no. “That’s absolutely—”

“He brought you flowers, and he stared at you the whole meal with that weird smile on his face. It was like I was almost not even there.”

“Cayden,” she put in, frustrated. “We just became a real ‘thing’ at breakfast today. I don’t want to ruin the mood. Andrew’s like my brother.”

“Does he know that?”

She ignored him. “I swear there’s nothing going on. Otherwise I wouldn’t have invited him over.”

“What does he do, anyway?”

This question brought her to reality, and she had to admit that Cayden and Andrew, so far, hadn’t even spoken enough to ask basic questions like these. “He’s one of the top guys at a chain of factories. Latex factories. I think they make surgical gloves, things like that.”

He paused. “I never actually thought about where those are made.” Realizing he was getting off track, he squeezed his eyes together. “Well, I wouldn’t have a girl stay at my place, that’s all I’m saying.”

Is he really starting this? “Even if you grew up with her?”

He didn’t say anything.

“Even if you had nothing going on between you?”

“If she liked me, and I was with you, I would give it some serious thought and give her a disclaimer.”

“You can stay over anytime you want.” It surprised her, hearing those words come out of her own mouth. They had only spent the night together once; it was too early to think about doing it again, compared to her usual pace of things. But Cayden was shaking up all the “usual” areas of her life, and she knew it. She quickly raised a hand to cover her mouth, a little embarrassed at how she had spoken without thinking. Cayden caught on, and the corner of his mouth pulled up for a moment so brief she wasn’t even sure it was real.

“It’s not that,” he started, but his words faltered and gave way to a toothy grin.

She gave him a sarcastic look.

“Okay, maybe it’s a little of that.”

“It’ll be okay, seriously. He’s not going to come into my room at night and make a move on me.”

He held up his hand. “Please don’t. Not something I want to think about.” With a sigh, he pulled her close against him. “I know we’re just getting started, but I like feeling you here. Right here, where I can feel your heart beat.”

She closed her eyes. Screw it, she thought, and laid her hands on his shoulder blades. “Dammit, Cayden, you just smell so good. It melts me.”

When he chuckled, she felt the deep rumble in his chest. “Good. I always feel like the sweaty gym smell sticks to me like glue.”

“Diva.”

“Am I being too possessive?”

“I don’t think so. Let’s have a role shift and let me be the one to tell you to relax this time.” She never wanted him to let go. “Do you work tomorrow?”

“Yeah, early. Client at nine.”

“So, I guess that means you aren’t staying tonight.”

“I think I’ll sleep here. Maybe tomorrow I’ll stay over, if you’ll have me.” There was that mischievous glint in his eyes. “You want breakfast in the morning?”

“Sure.”

“It’s a date. I’ll pick you up at eight.”

“Date?” she squeaked, drawing back suddenly.

“Be there,” he pointed to her house, “or be square. Even though you’re anything but square. You’re like a line. A very small line.”

“Shut up.” Lillian pushed him and turned her back, putting a little extra swing in her hips as she walked. “See you in the morning.”

His voice carried across the yard just as she opened her door. “Sleep well, gorgeous.”

Gorgeous. Her heart felt like it grew two sizes. Cayden stood over there with that seductive smirk he gave her what seemed like all the time, and her blood pumped hard.

Do something cheeky, she dared herself. Tease him. Blowing him a kiss, she walked inside and locked the door behind her. That wasn’t a tease, stupid. There are so many better things you could have done! Scratch your cleavage or something, at least. She rolled her eyes. Just put the food away and go to bed.

The stew pot was already washed and put away, and the bread was wrapped in foil. Lillian looked around for something to wash or put away, but everything was done. He didn’t have to do that. She was impressed at how fast he had gotten it all cleaned up, and humorously decided he wasn’t so bad to have around after all.

A big yawn overcame her and she suddenly realized how much her energy level had depleted. That doesn’t feel right. Nothing she had eaten recently was a trigger food or out of the ordinary for her diet. Over on the counter the bottles seemed to stare at her.

I don’t need those. I must just be tired. She was always tired after any amount of time with Claire, and then she had gone to another appointment before rushing home to prepare the house for Andrew.

Tuning her ears, she couldn’t hear any sounds coming from the other end of the house. Andrew must have been done with his shower; she hoped he didn’t pop out of his room and want to talk. She pushed herself out of the chair and leaned against the counter as she poured water in her glass.

Why am I dizzy? I didn’t even drink any wine.

Her head got too light to think anymore, so her muscle memory led her through her nightly routine of washing her face and brushing her teeth. Time blurred; once she was in the bed with the lights turned out, she couldn’t recall anything that happened since she was in the kitchen.

“I’m just tired,” she whispered to herself, and tried to scratch an itch on her arm. It was no use; her arm was too heavy to lift. She couldn’t roll over, either. Everything weighed thousands of pounds and she was stuck there on her back, in the dark.

The last thing she felt before her body crashed into a deep slumber was a slight sensation of fear. Something didn’t feel right, but her mind was too far gone to spend energy figuring it out.

Blackness enveloped every tiny source of light in her room and quickly pulled her into its grasp as well.