The Day He Kissed Her (Bad Boys of Crystal Lake 3)

He’d just reached the boat when he heard Jake.

“Jesus, Lily. What did you do? Buy out the bakery?”

Mac glanced back and dammit if his heart rate didn’t spike when he caught sight of her. Maybe he should have thought more about the impact she had on him, but he didn’t. He drank her in, grateful that his glasses hid the covert moves his eyes were doing.

“Would you be surprised if I told you that I stayed up all night and baked this myself?”

“I’d be more than surprised,” Jake shot back. “Domesticity isn’t exactly your strong suit.”

“Screw you, Edwards,” she said with a smile, turning to Raine as she set down a large red, white, and blue beach bag brimming with containers. The two women nodded to each other but there were no girly hugs or anything like that. Lily smiled, said hello, and gazed down the dock at Mac.

Her long, blond hair was pulled back into a high ponytail and she sported large, black sunglasses that hid half of her face. Coupled with the short, yellow-and-white sundress that fell a few inches above her knees, plain white flip-flops on her feet, and the barest hint of gloss on her lips, she looked a hell of a lot younger than…Christ, he didn’t even know her age, but he was guessing late twenties.

Though at the moment she looked like every teenage boy’s dream.

She lifted her chin and gave a half nod toward him, a sort of fuck you, and heat pooled low in Mac’s gut, burning up his skin until his jaw clenched tight. Her body language said “you don’t scare me” and “you don’t matter,” but if that were true, she would remove those damn sunglasses.

A smile curved his lips and a jolt went through him when her chin inched up a little higher.

She was challenging him.

A fresh shot of adrenaline rushed through him, and Mackenzie pulled off his aviators as he walked toward the three of them.

Boston had no idea who she was wrangling with.

He stopped a few inches away, and his smile widened when he caught sight of the throbbing pulse at her neck.

She had no idea at all.

“This is a surprise,” he said softly, his eyes piercing the dark glasses on her face. A smattering of small freckles danced across the bridge of her nose, so pale, you’d miss them if you weren’t looking.

“Really?” she answered. “You don’t look surprised.”

“No?” Mac shoved his hands into the front pockets of his faded navy board shorts. “What exactly do I look like?”

“You really want me to answer that?” she shot back.

Mac shrugged, enjoying the color that slowly flushed up her cheeks.

“Only if you have something nice to say.”

“That would be a stretch,” she replied, not missing a beat.

“Am I missing something?” Jake said with a frown. “Do you guys know each other?”

Lily opened her mouth, but Mac beat her to the punch.

“Nope,” he said with a grin. “At least not until yesterday. Isn’t that right…Boston?”

Her mouth thinned a bit. Score one for Draper.

“Don’t call me that,” she said softly.

“I like it,” Mac shot back.

“You would,” she retorted.

For a moment there was silence, and then Raine let out a long, slow whistle. “Wow. This is gonna be fun.”