"No!" Lily cried. "There was a little more to it than that."

"Then it wasn't just about sex?"

Lily squirmed a little under the intensity of his questioning. "There was some attraction," she admitted. "Mild attraction. And I do find you very interesting. Intelligent and witty. And you're handsome, but I get the feeling you know that already." She took a dainty bite of her sandwich. "I'd assumed that the feeling was mutual or you wouldn't have come with me, too."

Brian stretched his legs out in front of him and considered her question. Then he sent her a devilish grin. "Nah, it was just about sex for me."

Lily snatched up the bag and hit him across the chest with it. "You are such a-a jerk."

He held up his hand. "Truthfully? The first time I saw you in that dress I thought, this is a girl I have to meet. You were beautiful, more beautiful than anyone at the party. And when that other guy sat down, I figured you were already taken. But then, you looked over at me and I could tell you needed rescuing. So I stepped in and the rest is history." He paused. "I liked the way your hair fell against your neck, I liked the scent of your perfume and the sound of your voice. And I liked the way you felt in my arms when we danced."

Lily stared at him for a long moment, her sandwich still clutched in her hands. "That's very nice of you to say." She looked away. "But I suspect you say nice things to a lot of women."

"A lot of women don't deserve them like you do," Brian countered.

Lily set her sandwich down and wiped her hand on a napkin. "Have you considered how difficult dating might be? First, we didn't start off the way a normal couple would. And we disagree on some major issues. We'd probably spend most of our time arguing."

"How do we know unless we try?" Brian asked.

Lily sighed. "What if I said I'll think about it and get back to you."

He grinned. "I guess I'll have to be satisfied with that. At least now we're making progress." He rolled over on his stomach and set his sandwich in front of him. "What's this?" he asked.

When Lily glanced over her shoulder, her heart stopped. He had the investigator's report in his hand. He made to hand it to her, then froze, his gaze fixed on the file folder which had his name emblazoned on the front in big block letters. "Give that to me," Lily demanded, reaching out to snatch it from him.

But Brian had quicker reflexes. He scrambled to his feet and walked away from her, reading as he moved. When he finally stopped he was standing next to the fountain. Lily wasn't sure what to do. Maybe it was best he knew how far Richard Patterson was willing to go to protect his interests. If he hadn't found the report first, she might have considered telling him… warning him… as a simple courtesy.

Lily got to her feet and approached him. But before she could explain, he looked up at her with a furious expression. "You had me investigated?" He laughed harshly, then slowly shook his head. "I can't believe this. This is my life. Either you're planning to use this against me or you were a little worried about the man you had sex with." She opened her mouth to explain, but he held out his hand. "Never mind. Whichever it is, I don't want to know."

"I didn't ask for the investigation," Lily said. "Patterson did. He wanted something to use against you."

"This stuff happened when I was a kid." His jaw went tight. "I guess wiener water soup isn't nearly as interesting as my juvie record, is it? Doesn't make for good ammunition. But just think about how the press is going to eat this up-my father was absent and when he wasn't, he was drunk. My mother ran away from home and didn't come back. We lived in a run-down house in Southie that didn't have heat in the winter or electricity when we couldn't pay the bill. Sometimes we stole food from the market just to eat. And all we cared about was staying one step ahead of the social workers. What a pathetic childhood I had. Won't everyone feel sorry for me."

"I'm not going to use this," Lily said.

"No," Brian countered. "Don't back off on my account. Because if you do, I might be tempted to cut you a little slack. We'll just agree that there are no rules. That way, neither one of us can be held responsible for what happens." He glanced around. "I have to go."

Lily watched as he stalked away, the report still clutched in his hand. "I need that report. You can't take it."

Brian stopped short, then slowly turned. His lips were pressed into a tight smile as he approached her. "You need the report." He nodded, then flipped the report over her shoulder. She heard a splash behind her and closed her eyes. "There's your damned report."

She turned to see the report in the center of the fountain, water pouring down over it. And when she turned back, he was nearly to the street. "I thought you didn't care what I hid from you!" she shouted.

Why did every encounter with Brian Quinn seem to end badly? "Maybe it's for the best," she muttered, kicking off her shoes and crawling over the low wall that surrounded the fountain. "If he hates me, then he'll stay away from me. And if he stays away from me, then I won't be tempted to-" She brushed the images out of her head, refusing to give into another daydream about what they'd shared.

Though the fountain contained no standing water, the shower falling down from the center couldn't be avoided. She held her breath and stepped beneath it, snatching up the report before she nimbly retreated to the other side of the wall.

Water dripped from her hair and the shoulders of her suit were soaked. With a soft curse, Lily smoothed her hair out of her eyes, picked up her shoes and returned to her spot on the grass. Brian had left their sandwiches there, along with the two bottles of root beer. She flopped down on the grass and decided to finish lunch. Maybe by then, she'd be dry enough to return to work.

Lily grabbed up her sandwich and took a big bite. "And he wants to date," she muttered. "I can't spend fifteen minutes with the man before he gets on my last nerve."

5

"I don't know what the hell I'm going to do if the report comes out." Brian leaned his head back against the sofa and stared up at the living room ceiling in Sean's apartment.

"Who did the investigation?" Sean asked, flopping down next to him and handing Brian a beer.

"Some guy named Wiffram."

"Harvey Wiffram. He's good. Most of his work is background checks for corporate clients. If there's dirt to be found, he'll find it."

"Everything was in there, Da's drinking, Ma's leaving, the social workers, every petty crime we got caught for. He even interviewed one of my grade school teachers. She made it sound like we were neglected."

"Technically we were," Sean said.

"But we were okay," Brian countered. "I mean, we were taken care of. Conor made sure of that. Things could have been a lot worse."

"So what's gonna happen?"

"They know about the shoplifting. And that little joyride we took with the neighbor's car. That might tarnish the image a bit. I'm worried about Conor. He had to pull some strings to keep us out of jail. And they have all the information about that murder rap that Da had hanging over his head last year. This could put some serious stink on all of us."

"Why don't you just give up the story?" Sean asked.

Brian frowned. He'd been thinking exactly that since he'd seen the report. But it went against every instinct he had as a journalist. Besides, he was determined to uncover the truth, just to spite Lily Gallagher's efforts.

An unbidden surge of anger raced through him. He shouldn't have been surprised that Lily would stoop so low. Though he hadn't expected her to be as single-minded as he was when it came to her own career, he could certainly understand it. Maybe he'd hoped that their relationship might give her a different perspective on Richard Patterson. It wasn't as if Brian was making the story up. Patterson was a sleazeball.

But to Lily, their attraction was all about animal lust and nothing more. Yes, he'd spent a lot of free time fantasizing about stripping off her clothes and making love to her all night long. There was something about her that could arouse his desire with just the thought of touching her.

It wasn't just lust that drove him, though. He'd always had such control over his desires, able to take a woman or leave her, depending upon his whims. But for some reason, he couldn't let Lily go, couldn't put her out of his head-or his life-for good.

"I'm not going to back off. That's just what Patterson wants. I have to report what I find."

"Is that some kind of rule they teach you in reporter's school?" Sean asked.

"No, it's just part of the job. Conor doesn't walk away from a murder, Dylan doesn't walk away from a fire. And I don't walk away from a story. It's as simple as that."

Sean shrugged and took a long drink of his beer. "Aren't there degrees of importance in your stories?" he said. "Maybe this story isn't as important as you think it is."

Brian considered the suggestion for a long moment. Was Sean right? Had he somehow built this all up in his head? Hell, he'd been trying to break the story for over a year and still didn't have one single shred of solid proof that Richard Patterson had violated any laws. Everyone at the station, including his bosses, would be more than happy if he walked away from it. And if he did, it would solve all his problems with Lily. They could call a truce.

"I can't let it go," he murmured. "Not as long as I think there's something there."

"Maybe she won't use any of that stuff."

"Oh, she'll use it," Brian said. "She's too smart not to. But my guess is that she'll probably save it, maybe wait until I'm just about ready to break the story, then drop it in the media to destroy my credibility. They'll be talking about me instead of the story."

Though Brian wanted to believe that Lily was as coldhearted as that, it was still a stretch. Everything he'd seen in her up to this point had led him to believe she felt at least a small measure of affection for him. Maybe she wouldn't use the report as ammunition. Either way, he'd have to be prepared with a counterattack.

"You need more bargaining power," Sean said as if he'd read his twin's mind.

"And how am I supposed to get that?"

"Find some skeletons in Richard Patterson's closet. Big, nasty skeletons."

"I've been looking," Brian said.

"At his business affairs. You haven't looked into his personal life. Is he cheating on his wife? Does he ignore his children? Does he employ any illegal immigrants? There's a million and one things that might be just as dangerous as what he has on you."

"Can you find something for me?" Brian asked.

Sean scratched his thumbnail over the label on his beer bottle as he considered the request. "Only if you can get me tickets to a Sox-Yankees game next month."

"I can do that," Brian said. "You find me something good to use on Patterson and I'll get you press box passes for the entire series with the Yankees."

The front doorbell rang and Sean jumped up from the sofa. "Pizza's here," he murmured.

Brian grabbed his wallet and tossed it to his brother as he walked to the door. "My treat," he said.

Sean didn't bother to argue so Brian figured he was a little short of cash. He felt guilty asking him to do some legwork for no pay, but Sean didn't seem to mind. He took money when it was offered and worked for nothing when it wasn't.

A few seconds later, Sean returned with the pizza and set it down on the coffee table. Then he went to the kitchen and retrieved two dish towels, throwing one in Brian's direction. "Don't tell Ellie," he muttered. "She'd kill me if she knew I was using her dish towels as napkins."

"Where are Liam and Ellie?"

"They're out looking for an apartment. I told them I'd move out and they could have this place, but with Ellie's salary at the bank and Liam's new projects, they can afford better. I don't know how I'm going to swing the rent on this place alone."

"You could always move in with me," Brian said. "I've got room."

"Nah. I'd have to leave once you and this Lily woman move in together."

Brian laughed, but it sounded a bit too forced, even to his own ears. "I'm not moving in with Lily Gallagher," he protested. Yet, he wasn't entirely convinced that he hated the idea. He at least wanted a chance with her, an opportunity to see if there was anything behind the passion they shared. Or if that passion would just burn out over time.

"You're not going to have a choice." Sean grabbed a piece of pizza and blew on it to cool it down. "It's the curse. There's no getting out of it."