The Bachelor Next Door. Kathryn Springer

rolled his eyes. “Your blarney, you mean.”

      Listening to their banter, Lily found herself wishing that Brendan was as easygoing and uncomplicated as his brothers. Any fears she’d had about Liam and Aiden resenting her presence in the house had been put to rest the day before when they’d invited her to join them for a piece of pie and then peppered her with questions about her plans for the house.

      Laughter had punctuated their lively conversation and Lily could tell that even the good-natured insults flying back and forth across the table welled from a deep affection rather than malice.

      She couldn’t help but compare it to the rare times her father had actually been home for the evening meal. She’d told Shelby once that their interaction was more like dinner interrogation than conversation. Her father expected a list of things Lily had accomplished that day followed by the goals she’d set for the next.

      Gaining his approval had become Lily’s ultimate goal. Until she’d realized it was an unreachable one. She swept the thought aside, along with the feelings of regret that inevitably accompanied it.

      “Those short little legs sure don’t slow her down much.” Liam pointed to Missy, who’d set off after a monarch butterfly that drifted past.

      “Or stop her from breaking into unattended vehicles.” Lily sighed. “I promise I’ll keep a closer eye on her.”

      “No harm, no foul,” Liam said easily.

      “Especially when the unattended vehicle belongs to Brendan, not us,” Aiden added with a grin.

      Now Lily was really sorry.

      “I’d better take Missy back to the house so I can make it to church on time.” And disappear before Brendan made an appearance.

      Aiden’s gaze bounced from her to Liam and back again, a smile brewing in his eyes. “Which one?”

      “New Life Fellowship.”

      “So are we,” he said cheerfully. “You’re welcome to ride with us.”

      “I don’t want you to go to any trouble.”

      “It’s only two miles down the road, and we’re going to the same place,” Liam said. “I don’t call that trouble.”

      Lily doubted Brendan would have the same perspective. But Liam hadn’t mentioned that his older brother would be attending the service with them….

      “All right.” She gave in.

      “We’ll swing by the house and pick you up in five minutes,” Aiden said.

      Lily lured Missy to the door with a biscuit she’d stashed in her pocket and closed her in the three-season room once they were inside. The wicker furniture provided the least amount of temptation for a dog who viewed leather furniture as a gigantic rawhide chew.

      A short time later, a sleek black convertible—not a pickup truck—pulled up in front of the house with Aiden at the wheel. Lily slung her purse over her shoulder and glanced at her reflection in the oval mirror hanging in the hallway. Cheeks flushed pink from chasing Missy through the woods. Hair loose around her shoulders instead of confined in a tidy French braid.

      Oh, well. It was a good thing God looked at the heart!

      Lily locked the door and skipped down the steps. Liam hopped out and opened the car door the moment before she reached it.

      Smiling, Lily slid inside. “Thank—”

      The rest of the sentence stuttered and died when her gaze locked on the man sitting in the backseat.

      Hair gleaming like obsidian from a recent shower, Brendan wore dove-gray dress pants that accentuated his long legs and a white linen button-down shirt.

      She almost didn’t recognize him.

      Brendan was staring at her as if he didn’t recognize her, either. And then he frowned, which, Lily thought ruefully, proved that he had.