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Otherwise it was like she worked hard to rein herself in. Or maybe more like she was in a holding pattern, waiting for something.
Waiting for Sullivan.
“Have you tried though, really? No. You haven’t told him your feelings. So don’t throw in the towel before we at least put our plan into action.”
Lilly nodded. “You’re right. Okay, so when should we go out on our first fake date?”
“Are you free Friday? How about you pick the first date and I’ll pick the second, how does that sound?”
“That works for me.”
Liam gave her a smile. “I’ll call you tomorrow and we can firm up our plans.”
Lilly tossed her purse into the car. “This is the weirdest thing I’ve ever done.”
He raised his eyebrows and put his hands on her shoulders. “Lilly.”
She lifted her gaze to his and he felt it again. That kick of lust. He ignored it and gently squeezed her shoulders.
“Yes?”
“I say this with care and concern. You need to get out of the house more if this is the weirdest thing you’ve ever done.”
ChapterThree
Lilly took a deep breath and steeled herself to step into La Bella Vista, the only somewhat upscale restaurant in Beaver Bend. The name was in reference to the lake it overlooked, but the cuisine was firmly American steakhouse. She had chosen it because it seemed like a good first date spot if you wanted to impress someone, not that she had much experience with first dates. It had easily been five years since she’d had one.
Which was why her palms were sweating and her heart was racing.
It was a fake date.
But that didn’t make it any less awkward.
This was Liam O’Toole. She had known him her entire life, she argued mentally with herself as she pulled the door to the restaurant open.
That still didn’t make it less weird, in spite of his teasing her about it. She had a very routine life. Nothing exciting or interesting ever happened to her.
This was Lilly going rogue in life and it was nerve wracking.
Liam had offered to pick her up but something about riding in the car with him intimidated her. Or worse, his motorcycle. She really couldn’t fathom wrapping her arms around Liam’s midsection and leaning against his back as the wind whipped through her hair.
Oh God.
That was a visual that did something completely unexpected. She felt an odd flutter in her stomach that if she didn’t know better was her body reacting with desire. Which only confirmed she had been single for far too long because what the hell was that? This was Sullivan’sdad. The thought of a motorcycle shouldn’t have her feeling anything.
Liam was waiting for her in the waiting area by the hostess station. For some reason, she had expected him to be at the table, or maybe that was just wishful thinking. If he was at a table, she could slip into a chair and avoid any sort of greeting.
No such luck.
He was leaning in and kissing her cheek before she could even think what to do or say. She caught a whiff of his cologne at the same time she was aware how broad his shoulders were. Instantly, her cheeks burned. She was off her game. Then again, she had no game, so feeling extremely awkward was not a surprise.
Taking a deep breath, she smiled at him when he retreated from the greeting. “Hi,” she said. “Sorry I’m late. You could have gotten a table.”
“I wanted to wait for you.” Liam swept his gaze over her briefly. “You look beautiful.”
Her cheeks felt even hotter. “Thank you.”
She had worn a summery dress that was dressy enough for the restaurant but still casual enough to be comfortable. It did display her cleavage though, something she had debated over for ten minutes in the mirror before deciding she was being insane. She’d worn this dress a dozen times over several summers at everything from a baby shower to the fish festival. Half of Beaver Bend had seen this cleavage and she hadn’t thought twice about it. Liam wasn’t going to think she was actually interested in him because she had a little bit of boob out.
