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A breath Lily didn’t know she was holding escaped, and she smiled.

Inside, Nate definitely was not smiling.

“Are you going to explain this?” he asked Daniel.

“There’s nothing to explain.”

“Really? You don’t think photos of you holding that girl’s hand warrant an explanation?”

Daniel raked his hand through his hair, obviously aggravated. “What do you want me to say? Yeah, I took Lily’s hand. I wanted to get her to my car as quickly as possible. Why are you even asking me about this? I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Nate ignored his last statement. “I’m asking because those guys turned around and sold those photos to TMZ. I’m already fielding a ton of calls wanting to know who this new girl is to you. Frankly, I’d like to know myself.” He crossed his arms over his chest and held Daniel’s eyes with a pointed stare. “Are you interested in her?”

Daniel sat back down on the couch with a groan and rubbed his hand over his chin. “No, I’m not interested in Lily—at least not like that. She’s a great girl, and she’s been a good friend to me. Why does it matter to you and everyone else who she is?”

Nate rolled his eyes. Daniel was an extremely talented actor, but not so bright when it came to being “famous.”

“It matters because she’s not . . . her,” Nate said, gesturing to the patio. “You held some other girl’s hand. And then, on top of that, you go and bring her back to your house! It makes you look like, well . . . a cheater.”

“That’s ridiculous. We’ve never confirmed or denied—”

“Come on, Dan! How long has it been since you’ve been photographed like
that
with another girl?”

Daniel sighed. “Fine. How do we fix this?”

“Well, to start off with, we explain who she is and why she’s here.” Nate held up his hand to stop Daniel before he could protest. “Look, all I’ll say is that she’s a friend and a journalist profiling you for an upcoming magazine article. There is no lie in that.”

Daniel nodded. “Okay, on two conditions,” he countered. “First, let me ask Lily before you say anything. I’m not dragging her name into this without asking her first. Second, you need to apologize to her for what you said when you got here.”

Nate sighed. Now that he’d had time to calm down, he knew his reaction had been harsh. He’d felt justified at the time, but he’d overreacted.

They made their way to the kitchen for something to drink and soon heard the girls’ voices coming from outside. Nate gazed at the two women through the window. Noticing the worried expression in Lily’s bright blue eyes, he felt even worse for his boorish behavior. He also noticed the way her hair shined in the sunlight.

Nate stepped outside and cleared his throat. “Sam, do you mind if I speak with Lily for a minute?”

Sam glanced at Lily. “Sure, Nate,” she said before standing and making her way to the door.

Lily squared her shoulders and sat a little taller.

After a moment, Nate met her gaze. “Lily, allow me to apologize. I shouldn’t have stormed in here and yelled at you like that.”

Lily sighed. “No, you shouldn’t have. But I should apologize, too. I had no idea that would happen, and I’m terribly sorry for contributing to any negative press about your client when the whole purpose of me coming here was to avoid that.” Nate’s bewildered gaze shifted around for a moment before returning to Lily.
Is this girl for real?

He couldn’t believe she was apologizing for something he realized was beyond her control. He idly wondered if this was the type of thing that had earned her Daniel’s trust, because it was working on him. Not many people would be brave enough to stand up to him, nor would they be willing to accept responsibility for the part they played in whatever PR disaster he was currently trying to deflate.

Her big blue eyes stared back at him, and it wasn’t the first time he’d noticed her sweet, innocent disposition.

She really is lovely
, he thought, immediately wondering where that came from.

He shook his head to clear it. “Lily, you have nothing to apologize for. I behaved like a Neanderthal, barging in here, shouting at you. It wasn’t your fault, and I’m sorry if I ever made you think it was.”

Lily’s smile was tentative. “Thank you, Nate. And I understand. I put your client in a bad position.”

Nate sighed and made sure he had her full attention. “The situation isn’t the best, for sure. But you did nothing wrong. I’m glad Daniel helped you through that.”

Daniel cleared his throat from the doorway before joining them outside. “Lily, Nate needs to tell the press something. He was thinking of telling them your name and that you were interviewing me over lunch for an upcoming article. But only if that’s all right with you.”

Lily paused for a moment before answering. “Um, that’s fine. I know you need to say something. Believe me, I understand—from the other end of the press perspective. Thank you for asking me.”

Nate smiled. “No, thank
you
, Lily. Thank you for understanding.”

Daniel glanced between the two of them. “Now that all’s forgiven, would you two like to stay for dinner?”

Half an hour later, the girls already had ingredients out to put together a quick pasta dish.

Daniel clapped his hands together. “Well, ladies, looks like you have everything in hand here. Nate and I are going to go over a few things in my office. Don’t burn down the kitchen!”

Both women rolled their eyes and promised him they’d be careful. They chatted as they chopped and dropped vegetables and aromatics into expensive cookware.

“See, I told you there was no reason to feel bad, Lily.”

She smiled as she sliced some garlic. “Logically, I know that. But I still can’t help feeling a little guilty.” She dropped the garlic into the sizzling olive oil and faced the other woman with a slightly confused look. “I have to say, I’m not so sure Nate likes me very much.”

Sam tilted her head in Lily’s direction with a thoughtful expression and eventually sighed. “Or maybe he likes you more than he’s willing to admit.”

That thought circled around Lily’s mind as the spoon circled the pot she stirred. She couldn’t deny that Nate was an attractive man. And she certainly liked pushing his buttons. The thought that he might be interested in her caused Lily’s heartbeat to take off. Perhaps it was time to admit to herself that she might like him more than she thought, too.

Later, the wine and conversation flowed as day faded into night. They kept the topics light, and there was as much laughter as there was food. Lily caught Nate smiling at her from time to time, causing her to blush—and that blush only made his grin widen. And the more Nate interjected into the conversation, the more Lily could see how much he cared about not only his work, but also his friends.

As the evening grew late, Lily knew she needed to go.

“Thank you so much for dinner and, well, everything. But I should be getting back to my hotel.”

Sam set a stack of dishes in the sink before turning to Lily. “You’re sure? Daniel can drive you back while I clean up the dishes, but I hate to see you leave.” Lily knew she’d made a new friend.

“Yeah, I’m sure. I need to pack so that I’m ready to go tomorrow.”

Nate cleared his throat. “I don’t mind driving you back to the hotel. If that’s okay with you, of course, Lily.”

Lily smiled. “Sure. Just let me grab my things.”

Daniel walked with them to the front door. “What time is your flight tomorrow?”

“It’s at one twenty, I think,” Lily responded.

“Okay, cool. Be waiting at seven. I have another surprise for you in the morning.” Daniel then flashed her that killer smile. It should have been her first hint.

“Oh, all right, then.” Lily raised her eyebrow in question.

Sam entered from the kitchen to say her goodbyes. She and Lily hugged and exchanged e-mail addresses while Nate and Daniel shook hands.

The drive back to the hotel was relatively quick due to the late hour. They spent the first part in comfortable silence.

Lily turned to look at him as they left the Hollywood Hills. “I’m glad we both decided to stay for dinner.”

Nate smiled. “Me, too. It was good to get to know you.”

A sly grin graced Lily’s lips. “You, too. Maybe you’re not the big bad wolf I thought you were.”

Nate couldn’t help but laugh. “Touché. And maybe you’re not the conniving reporter I thought you were.”

Lily huffed with mock indignity. “Well played, Mr. Brennan. Well played.”

A few minutes later, they pulled into the circular driveway at the Four Seasons.

Nate’s expression turned serious as he walked her to the door. He put his arm on her shoulder, and Lily turned to look at him. “Being here with you again reminds me that I owe you another apology. When we ran into each other after the press conferences . . . well, I assumed the worst. After seeing you at the play, and then here . . . I just wanted to protect my client. But I am sorry for speaking to you that way.”

“I can’t believe you remember that night in New York. That explains things a bit.” Lily smiled. “And thank you for apologizing, but I understand where you’re coming from. What happened, happened—both then and today. Besides, this day ended on a good note.” She grinned at him. “Most of this evening has been a pleasure, Mr. Brennan.”

Nate laughed. “I agree. I ended up having a great time. In fact, I wish we had more time to get to know each other.”

His next words came tumbling out of his mouth, almost as if he’d spoken without intending to.

“Lily, would you like to come to the
Life Saver
premiere with me? Help me out and shadow me for the evening? You can do your own stories, too, of course—”

Lily’s eyes widened, but not nearly as much as Nate’s, who looked partially bewildered. “Really? Are you sure?

“Um, yes?” He cleared his throat. “Yes. Yes, I’m sure.”

“That would be . . . amazing. But only if you’re sure.” Lily tried to hold in her giggle, but failed miserably.

Nate smiled, looking much more certain now. “Yeah, I’m sure. Nothing is set yet, but if it’s all right, I can e-mail you with the details.”

He turned toward Lily before extended his hand to her. She took it and felt the same warmth she’d felt when they met at the airport. “I’ll be in touch. And I’ll try to keep your name out of things as much as possible. But if you need anything, just ask, all right?”

Lily looked down at their joined hands before letting his go.
Did he feel it, too?
“Okay. I’ll see you later, then.”

Chapter Twelve

It was way too early, and Lily had too few cups of coffee running through her system when she stumbled to the circular drive the next morning. She wore a simple yet stylish outfit that was comfortable enough to travel in and giant sunglasses to block out the morning sun.

She spotted the Audi and dragged her suitcase toward it as Daniel got out and popped the trunk. He greeted her with a warm hug again before lifting her luggage into the car.

“You ready?” he asked.

“Yeah, but where are we going?”

He grinned as they got into the car and fastened their seatbelts.

“Well, I know you heard me mention the photo shoot for your story this morning. I thought you might like to see it—at least for a little bit before you need to leave for your flight. And I thought it’d give you a chance to ask any last-minute questions for the story, too.” He grinned sheepishly at her before pulling out into the surprisingly light Los Angeles morning traffic. “I hope you don’t mind that I got you up early for that.”