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Reed looked at Brett who shrugged. “I happened to mention where you’d gone when we returned from dinner with Allie’s brother’s family and saw you pulling into your garage.”
“Don’t worry, Reed. I got the lecture about staying out of your business,” Allie said as he handed them their drinks. “But if it is Lily you’re waiting for, you best invite her to your birthday party next week unless you’d rather your mother did it.”
“Mom doesn’t butt into our relationships,” he insisted, but Allie’s smirk made him think she had mentioned Lily to his mother. “What did you tell her?”
Brett set his bottle down with a thunk, glaring at his fiancée. “Allie, I warned you.”
“Why is it you both think the worst of me before asking? Andrea is the one who said she wished Slade and Reed were seeing someone special they could invite. All I did was mention how much time Reed spent with Lily here at Casey’s.”
“The innocent look is lost on both of us,” Reed told her just as Lily entered. “I planned to invite her if she showed up tonight, and there she is, so not a word out of you.”
“I’ll bartend now. You can spell me in a little while.” Brett stood and traded places with Reed as he came around. “Had I known you invited Lily tonight, I would have insisted that Slade come out. Jordon never asks for a night off, and I think he’s planning on proposing to Bianca.”
“That was my understanding, and it’s about time. Inviting Lily out tonight was a last minute decision and no big deal. I told her I was filling in for Jordon, but I appreciate the short break.”
Reed caught Lily’s attention as he navigated his way through the crowd to meet her at the door, his gaze taking in the snug fit of her white skirt around her waist and hips. She pivoted away from the doorway, her skirt flaring around her thighs and knees, drawing his eyes below the hem to her bare legs. The distracting image of her slender limbs wrapped around his waist as he pounded into her snug heat popped into his head. He quickly squashed that mental picture, and his lust, the same as he’d done the other times they were together. His long-term goal was more important right now than appeasing his physical need.
So she wouldn’t make the mistake of thinking their relationship was temporary and could sweep it under the rug, he cupped her face and kissed her long and deep first. He ended the kiss with a nip to her lower lip then soothed the bite with a stroke of his tongue, the bemusement in her whiskey eyes tickling him.
“I’m glad you came.”
“I could tell,” she teased him, licking her lip. “You’re a very demonstrative man, Reed Kincaid, and good at keeping a girl on her toes.”
“I’m only interested in keeping you on your toes, hence, staking my claim. Brett is spotting me for a few minutes. Do you want to dance before I relieve him?”
She shook her head, sending her long braid swinging. “No, I’ll play it safe and sit at the bar with you.”
“Play it safe from what?” he asked, taking her hand. Her bright red halter top dipped in the front, offering a peek of cleavage as distracting as her bare legs. Of course, he had wanted her just as much clad in worn cutoffs and a T-shirt in the yard and dressed in slacks and a blouse at the fundraiser.
It was never the clothes but the woman who had drawn him since first meeting her.
She blushed and averted her face. “Never mind. Let’s just visit.”
With luck, Reed’s plan to put off sex until next weekend, when he asked her to stay at his place after the party, would pay off in gaining her full trust. He hoped the delay demonstrated the difference between him and John, and didn’t make her edgy and confused. Telling Lily he wanted more was fine, but getting her to believe him required proof. And a lot of cold showers for him.
The barstool next to Allie was still vacant, and Reed helped Lily onto it as Allie greeted her. “I’m glad you came back, Lily. How’s it going?”
“Good,” she answered. “Your big day is approaching fast.”
“It is, finally. We’ll be in next week to finalize everything.”
Brett grinned at Reed. “And Slade won’t be able to get out of dressing up. He’s still griping about that part.”
“Your brother doesn’t like weddings?” Lily asked him.
“Slade’s idea of socializing is attending a play party upstairs or putting his time in down here,” Reed told her. “He’s dreading donning a tux and being nice to a lot of people he doesn’t know. What can I get you?”
“A screwdriver, please, light on the vodka. I’m driving.”
A shadow crossed Lily’s eyes, reminding him she and Vickie had returned to a dark house when they were last at Casey’s. “Stay until I close, and I’ll follow you home,” he stated, now worried about her making that drive alone at night. Why hadn’t he thought of that last night? It was along that stretch of highway where Allie had been rammed from behind after leaving Casey’s and ended up run off the road.
Lily shook her head, her jaw set, and he realized his mistake in ordering instead of asking. There were those who believed Lily allowed men to walk all over her because she put up with John’s failings for so long, but Reed knew better. Ninety-five percent of the time she was sweet, caring, and went along with others. She’d proven in the past she possessed a rigid backbone the other 5 percent of the time.
“I can get home by myself, Reed, and plan to get up early.”
Reed braced his hands on the bar top and leaned forward until his mouth was two inches away from hers. “I care about your welfare. Get used to it.” He gave her a quick kiss then said, “I’ll get your screwdriver.”
Allie grinned at Lily. “He’s almost as hot as Brett.”
