What Makes Us Stronger (A Well Paired Novel Book 3) Page 10

  “He hasn’t even seen the water yet. He doesn’t know what he’s missing.”

  “I guess I can carry him down.” Ty went back and picked him up. He was dead weight in his arms. Lily skipped alongside them cooing and talking with excitement to his deadbeat dog.

  “Do you want to play ball? Chase a stick? Dig in the sand?” She rubbed his chins, ignoring the drool and the bad attitude.

  “I told you not to expect much. Meatball isn’t exactly a dog filled with emotion, energy, or life.” Ty’s arms tightened around his dog as his words hit home. Would Lily say the same thing about him? Again?

  Was this why he didn’t have a circle of friends other than Hope and Cameron? They were the best, and he didn’t mind one bit being the third wheel or sitting at home alone with his uncommunicative dog. Not being overtly social, he didn’t mind being home alone on a Friday night. Or all weekend.

  When a woman he’d met from a construction job crossed his path, there was the occasional date or brief hook up.

  And there was always work to do, a project to plan and execute. Either the Sox were on or the Pats. The Celtics and Bruins ran simultaneously from fall to spring.

  And he had Meatball.

  Damn. His life was pathetic.

  When they reached the sand, Lily put one hand on his shoulder for balance and slid off her flip-flops. Ty set Meatball down and watched the lack of enthusiasm as the dog sat its butt in the sand.

  “Let’s get closer to the water.” Lily jogged to the shoreline and splashed her feet in the gentle surf. “Come on, Meatball!” she called.

  God, she was gorgeous. The light spray from her prancing dotted the front of her shirt and glistened on her skin in the sunlight. He could see the sparkle in her eyes even from twenty yards away. Lily lifted her hands above her head and danced and frolicked in the waves, looking more like a little girl than a grown woman.

  Except her curves and long limbs. Yeah. Those were anything but girlish.

  The sun warmed his skin, but the breeze off the ocean cooled the temps a bit making the morning air fresh and invigorating. At least for him. And Lily. Damn, she was a dream.

  “Dude. Look at her. How can you not want to run your fat little legs to her and lap at her ankles?”

  Not waiting for his grump of a sidekick, he kicked off his shoes and licked his lips as his legs ate up the distance between him and the woman of his dreams.

  Shit. Ty stopped short of the water, his toes curling into the warm, coarse sand and rocks and took a moment to come to terms with the struggle in his head. Both heads.

  There was no doubt he wanted her in the most carnal way, but it was more than that. While he hadn’t had a lot of sex over the past few years, he wasn’t celibate and wasn’t a saint, yet he’d never wanted a woman as much as he wanted Lily.

  And it wasn’t just her beauty. He actually enjoyed being around her. She made him laugh, made him think, and called him on his surly mood. There was an open honesty in her he found refreshing.

  And she hadn’t given up on his dog. Granted, she’d only met him a few times; still, her determination tugged at his heart.

  “Don’t look now, but Meatball is hedging this way.” Ty started to turn his head and Lily rushed to him, taking his face in her hands. “Keep ignoring him.”

  “That’s easy to do.”

  “He’s curious.” Lily’s gaze was locked over his shoulder as she watched Meatball, oblivious to what she was doing to Ty.

  Her hands were soft and delicate on his face, and he reached up, covering them with his. Slowly Lily’s eyes shifted toward him. They darkened, changing from sky blue to a deep, mysterious cavern of sensuality.

  He didn’t want everything between them to be sexual, but the tremble in her hands and the way she seductively ran her tongue across her bottom lip made it near impossible to think about anything other than getting her naked.

  Something bumped into the back of his knee causing him to stumble, the physical and emotional connection now lost between him and Lily. He looked down and cursed. “Meatball.”

  “He came.” Lily clapped her hands and squatted to dote her love and affection on the beast. “Look, Ty! His tail is wagging.”

  Normally a wagging tail on a dog was no cause for excitement, but when Meatball’s tail wagged, it was truly a momentous occasion. Delaney had been the only one to get a stir out of the short numb on his backside, and sometimes Hope. Since Cameron came into their lives their visits to his home were more infrequent, but he didn’t begrudge them. They were a new family, and he couldn’t be happier for the three of them.

  “He likes the water.” Lily stepped away and stomped in the water, causing spray to hit Ty and Meatball.

  Meatball shook his head and stepped closer to the water until his paws stumbled on the pebbles and were nearly covered with water. He barked at the waves and scurried back. Then back in following the tide. Over and over again he barked as the tide came in, and he chased it out trotting into the water before being chased by the waves themselves and backing out of the water.

  “He’s adorable, Ty. Look. He doesn’t know whether to be afraid of the water or to play in it.”

  Both Lily and Meatball ignored him, finding the coming and going of the waves more interesting than him. Figures.

  Not much of a beach person, he backed away and sat on the dry sand thoroughly enjoying the two playing in the water. She continued to talk to Meatball as if he were a young toddler and Meatball barked, played, and wagged that stumpy tail of his.

  Ty caught himself smiling and even barked out a laugh when his dog found himself deeper in the water than he wanted to be, the waves splashing over his wrinkled face. When he shook himself free from the coating he’d received, his spray shot out, covering Lily. She shrieked and ran away from him.

  Meatball, enjoying her reaction as much as Ty had, followed her down the shoreline. They couldn’t go far before an outcropping of rocks stopped them. They played at the far end of the beach and slowly made their way back to Ty.

  “I’m a mess.” Lily stood in front of Ty blocking the sun from his eyes.

  She was. A beautiful mess. Her shorts were soaked, and her tank top was more wet than dry. Meatball followed at her heels, dropping to the sand at her feet. Within seconds his eyes were closed.

  “I didn’t think he’d ever do enough to actually tucker himself out. Nice job.” Ty patted the sand next to him. “Have a seat and dry off.”

  “Eww. I’m wet. The sand will stick to me, and I didn’t even think to bring a towel.” Neither had he. Ty really didn’t think Meatball would actually touch the water. “I don’t want to make a mess in your truck.”

  “I’m not worried about my truck.”

  “You sure?”

  He gave her a measured look, and she plopped herself in the sand next to him.

  “You seemed to enjoy yourself out there. Both of you.”

  “I did.”

  “Did you go to the beach a lot as a kid?”

  Lily tucked her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “No. Never.”

  The sadness in her voice pulled at his heart. “As a teen?”

  She shook her head. “My parents... my dad wasn’t... really the beach type.”

  “Your mom?”

  One shoulder lifted. “Died when I was young.”

  “I’m sorry.” He ran his hand up and down her back in what he hoped to be a comforting gesture. Since she didn’t add any more information and he respected her privacy, he asked, “What about later on? Did you go to college or venture out on your own?”

  Lily rested her chin on her knees and stared off over the ocean. “I went to NYU. I have a master’s degree in business management. A minor in finance. Until recently, I’d never had the luxury of playing in the water.”

  It was the most she’d ever said about her past. The first sign of her opening up to him. While he didn’t distrust her, he didn’t know much about her. Granted, she could say the s
ame thing about him.

  He didn’t want to push, to pry, and held back on the questions he wanted to ask. Where was her father? Did she have a family somewhere she wanted to escape from, or were they gone? Why would a woman who had a master’s degree from NYU be scraping by in a low to moderate socioeconomic community like Crystal Cove?

  Money didn’t mean much to him. He wanted to make enough to live comfortably, have a roof over his head, eat three squares a day, and have reliable transportation. Ty wasn’t one for exotic vacations or expensive toys. His four-wheeler was ten-years-old and was perfect for riding around the tote roads. Maybe someday he’d get a snowmobile, but riding alone wasn’t a smart thing to do and he didn’t have much of a social circle.

  Men his age didn’t stick around Crystal Cove. They moved to the bigger towns or out of state. The locals were an older crew; many were lobstermen and fishermen. Good, hardworking citizens. Nothing glitzy and glamorous, which was what he’d expected Lily to be interested in.

  That was before they started talking. Hanging out. Having sex. He knew whatever was happening between the two of them wouldn’t be forever. Despite her interest in him now, she’d tire of the simple life, the simple man he was.

  Kristi wasn’t impressed. At least he found out before they got married.

  “What about you?” Lily turned her head, her cheek resting on her hands as she innocently batted her long lashes at him.

  “What about me?” There wasn’t much to tell. What you saw was what you got.

  “You said you weren’t much of the ocean guy. You went off to fight for our country and settled back in Crystal Cove. Why here? Do you like to travel? Explore the world?”

  And this was what he wanted to avoid. Yet she’d shared a glimpse of her past. He supposed he could give her that much. “I’m a homebody. The military was something I wanted to experience, test out. After eight years I realized it wasn’t for me.”

  “Were you interested in carpentry before you enlisted?”

  In other words, did he take the easy route by working for his dad instead of exploring his own career? Kristi hadn’t been impressed when he’d told her he wasn’t reenlisting and would be working for—now with—his father. It wasn’t something he was ashamed of at the time, but she’d made him feel like he was settling. Like he wasn’t his own person if he took the easy way out by working with his dad.

  Truth was, he liked his dad. His family. Nothing else really interested him.

  “I like working with my hands.”

  “I’ve always been enamored by a man who can build things. Fix things. There must be a lot to learn. I’m sure you’re always learning. Like my dryer. You didn’t learn how to take apart the machine by building houses. You must have a gift for being able to look at something and figuring out how it works, and why it doesn’t.”

  “I guess.” Maybe. He hadn’t really thought about it that way.

  “Unless it wasn’t your first rodeo. Finding a black thong burning up the belt in a dryer.” She leaned back on her elbows and stretched out her legs, burying her toes in the sand.

  “It was definitely my first.”

  “I’m glad.”

  Ty’s heart did that squeezing thing again. “Will you come over for dinner tonight?” The words came out before he could think about the ramifications.

  Sounding desperate. Coming on too strong. Rejection.

  “I’d love to.”

  Damn. Hook, line, and sinker, he was putty in the woman’s hands.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  IT HAD BEEN TWO DAYS and Lily couldn’t keep the smile off her lips, and her Tuesday afternoon appointment called her on it.

  “It’s Ty Parker, isn’t it?” Priscilla pulled her hand out from the nail dryer and pointed her new manicure at Lily. “I told you he had an aura about him. You two have intense colors. I always knew that boy was hot under the collar. And by the gooey, lovesick smile on your face all day, I’d say he’s gotten to ya. ‘Bout time. Poor Celeste Parker’s been waitin’ nearly a decade to be a grandma.”

  “Grandma?” Lily covered her belly with her hands. They didn’t even have sex after dinner Sunday night, even though the temptation had been strong. There was some serious kissing and grinding against her car. The condom from Saturday, though... she prayed it had done its job. “I think you’re getting a little ahead of yourself, Priscilla.”

  “I don’t think so. You’ve got that blue hue around you, doll, that wasn’t there the last time I saw you. Blue’s rubbed off from someone else. You’re a passionate one. The sex—”

  “Did you say you wanted nail art today?” Lily shot out of her seat and grabbed the sample artboard from the wall. “This rainbow of stars would look great on your nails. Annie, you have time to add some art to her nails, right?”

  “I’m too old for that fancy stuff. I think it’s a waste getting my nails done when they’re just gonna get chipped anyway, but Diane gave me that gift certificate for Christmas that I didn’t want to go to waste.”

  Annie, bless her heart, stayed quiet while she cleaned up her station.

  “It’s nice to be pampered every now and then, don’t you think?” Lily filled the tub at the foot of the leather pedicure seats with warm water. “Let me know if it’s too hot.”

  “I can’t remember the last time I had a pedicure. Must have been before I married Henry. He was a good husband. Died too young, he did. Fishin’s a dangerous job.”

  Lily listened while Priscilla told the story of how she met her first husband, his long hours on his fishing boat, and how his death gave her this second sight.

  When Priscilla’s feet relaxed under her touch, Lily let her mind drift back to Sunday night’s dinner with Ty. And their morning on the beach with Meatball. Somewhere between splashing in the waves, grilling chicken on Ty’s deck, and laughing while attempting to get Meatball to play fetch, her heart took a quick turn down lover’s lane.

  She wouldn’t call it love. Love happened when two people had more of a connection than chemistry. It happened when there was communication and trust. Open honesty. Something she could never have with Ty. With anyone.

  So love was out of the question.

  “I’d say my feet are pretty well scrubbed now, hun.”

  Lily looked down at Priscilla’s pruned toes and drained the water. Normally she didn’t give the pedicures, but Annie was right out straight with manicures and Lily had an opening in her schedule.

  “I guess I got lost in your storytelling.” She picked up the file and shaped Priscilla’s toes, doing her best to listen to the stories of visions and readings and not daydream about her hunky carpenter.

  After the second coat of fuchsia had dried, Priscilla tipped Lily generously and waved her newly manicured nails in the air.

  “You can’t fight love. Neither can he.” She tossed Lily a wink over her shoulder as she strolled out the door.

  When the Tuesday evening rush had finally ended and she and the girls had the spa closed up, Lily climbed the stairs to her apartment and fell onto her couch.

  Was it just three nights ago she and Ty were stumbling with kisses and zippers right here? The memory warmed her and Lily rolled to her side, tucking her hands under her cheek.

  And then Sunday happened. First their adventure with Meatball at the beach and then dinner at his house. To say Ty was nervous would be an understatement. He’d tripped a dozen times going in and out of the house to check the chicken on the grill and asked her three times what she wanted to drink before she helped herself to a glass of water.

  It was cute. Painfully adorable. Incredibly sexy. And nearly impossible not to pout when he didn’t take her clothes off.

  Ty didn’t kiss her until he walked her to her car at ten o’clock. The spa was closed on Mondays and she’d hoped she’d be invited for a sleepover.

  “I, uh, have to be at the jobsite at the crack of dawn tomorrow,” he’d said apologetically.

  If his kisses weren’t so passionate, so full of
life and laughter and... Ty, she would have been put off. Keeping their clothes on when they both wanted to strip each other down was a sign of something more.

  What was happening between them wasn’t just about sex. Yet she couldn’t define it. Not yet. They’d both tiptoed around their past, not saying anything that would reveal who they’d been before they met.

  Her past was gone, wiped out. Didn’t exist anymore. But Ty was holding something back as well. Not the same kind of dark skeletons she kept locked and buried, but there was a sadness he tried to bury that rose to the surface when she prodded. It wasn’t her right to do so, especially since she couldn’t tell him anything that had happened in the first twenty-eight years of her life.

  It still haunted her. The secrets. The lies. The betrayal. The deaths. Living in near solitude for two years had helped bury the pain and scars, and the last thing she wanted was to have them lifted again.

  And that was the cost of growing relationships with girlfriends or a man. They’d want more and she couldn’t give it.

  Her phone vibrated on the coffee table, and her heart jolted in response. She reached out and frowned in disappointment when Mia’s name flashed across the screen. A wave of guilt rushed over her. This was what she wanted: girlfriends. And the real type. The ones who appreciated her for her, not her family’s name and social status.

  “Hey, Mia.” She rolled to her back and crossed her right leg over her knee.

  “Don’t say no. Hear me out first.” Mia’s music of choice, eighties rock, played in the background loud enough so Lily could make out the beat, but not so loud it drowned out Mia’s voice.

  “Way to start the conversation.” Lily laughed and listened while Mia filled her in on an up and coming band playing in Rockland Saturday night.

  “When was the last time we all did something together besides our once a month book club meetings? We need a girls’ night out. I already got Hope to commit.”

  “How did you manage that? Saturday night is her busiest night at the restaurant.” And if Hope had the night off, Mia usually worked.

  “She’s been training Alison ever since the wedding. Being married has made Hope want to stick around at night and do the family thing.”