Josh knew he’d hit a button, but the question now was how hard should he push it. He reminded himself that he needed to stay focused on the project, not on the girl.

They reached the front porch of the cottage just as the skies opened into a torrential downpour. Lily opened the front door, and they hurried inside. Connie quickly hopped up from the kitchen table where she had been sitting with Allen. They both looked guilty of something.

“What’s going on?” Lilly asked first.

“Nothing,” Connie said, taking Lily’s art supplies from her hands to set them on the kitchen counter.

Josh pointed at Allen. “Lily, this is my business partner and friend, Allen Bolton. Allen, this is the artist, Lily Holt.”

Allen offered his hand, and Lily took it. “Nice to meet you. I see that what Josh said is true.”

“What’s that?” Lily asked, and Josh fought the rise of panic.

Allen gestured to the easel with that monstrosity of a painting on it. “That you’re a talented artist.”

Josh bit his tongue and leaned into Lily. “I assure you Allen is not the art connoisseur of our group.”

Connie giggled with a nervous twill then tugged Allen back to the kitchen table to sit down. “We were just talking about our favorite places in New York. Do you know that we both run in Central Park three days a week? Well, I used to run there before moving here. I’m Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Allen is Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday. I even used to run the same path. How crazy is that?”

Josh eyed Allen who looked away. The only time Allen ever ran was when there was a deal to chase. Josh had invited him to join his early morning runs numerous times, but Allen had always turned him down. He wouldn’t call Allen out on it now, though, but if Connie was anything like her sister, his partner had better be a darn good liar or confess quick. “Really?”

“I’m surprised you don’t like to run,” Connie said to Josh. “I thought all you high-strung types loved to run.”

Josh eyed Allen. What exactly had he been telling her? “It’s not that I don’t like to run, I just prefer running through the city.”

Lily opened the refrigerator and started pulling out lunch meat and bread. “That’s because you haven’t run on the beach at sunset or sunrise. It puts running Central Park to shame.”

Connie moved into the kitchen and started helping Lily make sandwiches. “What do you boys like? Ham? Turkey?”

“Ham sounds good.” Allen eagerly joined the women at the counter, no doubt thankful the topic of running had been sidelined.

“What about you?” Lily asked Josh. “I have lettuce and tomato if you’re vegan.”

“No, I’m not vegan.” Josh figured the girls would kick them out the moment he returned with Lily. Now, they were making them lunch?

Lily set out plates and put slices of bread on each. “Stop worrying. If it makes you feel better, you can take it as an apology for your sunburn. I’m not going to have you being washed away in a flood adding to my guilt.”

How did she always seem to know what he was thinking? Maybe she really was a unicorn. He shook his head. “Turkey for me.”

“So, did you two work out the details?” Connie asked. “Is Lily doing the artwork for your company?”

Before he could answer, Connie grunted as her sister’s elbow connected with her side. “We haven’t discussed it yet,” Lily replied. “Now butt out.”

“Fine, but whether you decide to take it on or not, you need to finish that house painting first. I promised the customer we’d have it to him at the end of the week.” Connie carried two plates to the table and sat down, Allen sitting beside her. The small kitchen table didn’t allow for a lot of room. Lily sat across from them, leaving one seat left. The one beside her.

Josh slid into it, careful not to bump the table. They were so close he could smell the soft fragrance of her hair and skin. Her name fit her perfectly. She smelled like fresh flowers, like lilies. He recognized the smell from his sister’s wedding last year. But Lily smelled better, lighter, more alluring.

“What do you want?” Lily asked.

Busted. Sheepishly, he fumbled with his sandwich. “Want? Um…”

“The artwork. You said you wanted parts of it changed. What did you think I was asking?” Lily bit into her sandwich.

He took a drink of water to stall for a second and regain his composure. “Same setting, same girl, but the guy needs to be different. He was off somehow.”

“What do you mean by off?” Connie asked.

Allen cleared his throat. “Well, the owner of the company we’re working on this advertisement for said the man looked…wrong, like he was keeping a secret. Since the theme needs to be romantic, having the guy looking like he’s keeping secrets from the girl kind of ruins it.”

“Perceptive owner,” Connie mumbled.

The table jolted and Connie bent over. “Ow.”

Lily took another bite. “Fine, different guy. Got it.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, each of them focusing on their food. Josh had trouble concentrating on his sandwich with her leg up against his, and finally set it back on his plate.

“Oh, and the guy needs to look like he wants the girl as much as she wants him to want her,” Allen said.

Lily shot up from the table and dumped her half-eaten sandwich in the trash before heading for her easel. “Then I better get to work if I’m going to finish this on time.”

Josh wasn’t positive, but he guessed the guy in that drawing was someone Lily knew, and he’d hurt her. Yet why would a guy let such a beautiful, talented girl go without a fight, let alone hurt her? He tossed his own half-eaten sandwich into the trash. Now wasn’t the time to dig into that any further. He needed to stay focused on work. Besides, she was a grown-up. Who was he to try to help her through a tough time? “You could sketch a rough draft for us. We can take a look and go from there.”

“Fine,” Lily said without looking up from her painting.

Josh had an overwhelming urge to take the paint brush out of her hand and pull her into his arms and comfort her, but he shook it off and headed for the door. “Okay, I’ll be in touch. Allen.”

“I guess we’ll have to talk more about New York next time,” Allen said to Connie. “Hey, do you know of any decent places to eat around here? I love trying local cuisine.”

Connie cleared their plates while Lily continued painting and Josh remained with his hand on the doorknob. “Yes, there’s Zach’s Shack. It has great seafood. Oh, and if you want something more upscale, I recommend Ray’s on the Bay.”

“Great. I’ll check them out.” Allen finally made it to the door, but stopped again and Josh nearly growled in frustration. “You said Lily had to be done with the painting by the end of the week, right?” At Connie’s nod, he continued. “Then we’ll take you gals out to Ray’s on the Bay Friday night to celebrate.”

“Great,” Connie said with more enthusiasm than when she agreed to the sum of twenty-five thousand. “I love that place.”

Lily froze mid-stroke but didn’t say a word. Josh wrenched the door open and escaped into the fresh breeze, away from the smell of paint and perfume. The rain had slowed to a drizzle, but the humidity had kicked up a few notches, causing his clothes to instantly cling to his skin.

“See you, then,” Allen said as he followed Josh out.

They made it halfway to the car before Josh turned and slugged him on the shoulder. “What the heck were you thinking asking them out?”

Allen rubbed his shoulder as he walked ahead to the car and opened his door. “What? I thought you wanted this artwork done. You were going to blow it in there, so I was trying to lighten the mood.”

“Me? You’re the one who told her that guy didn’t want her.”

“What are you talking about?” Allen got in and shut the door.

Josh went around to the driver’s side and started the car. Then he sat for a moment, gripping the steering wheel with a strange sense of sorrow for Lily. “The guy in the sketch. It’s someone from her past and you basically just told her that it was obvious he didn’t want her.”