But the smile quickly turned into a frown. He scrambled to his feet and came after her. "Lily, look out for that-"

Her foot caught on something and she looked down and found it tangled in the wheels of a bicycle lying on the grass. She felt herself falling. There was nothing to stop her from tumbling on top of the bike… until she felt a strong hand on her elbow. When she looked back, she found Brian standing next to her.

"Be careful," he murmured. "Watch where you're going." He smiled as he smoothed his palm along her back and she felt her defenses waver. "Come on. Have lunch with me." He walked over and retrieved the bag.

"You're not going to take no for an answer, are you."

"I'm a nice guy. Women have a hard time resisting me." He sat down at her feet and then patted the grass next to him. "I wasn't sure what you liked for lunch," he said as he opened the bag. "After you ordered a salad the other night, I figured you were probably one of those women who eats like a gerbil."

"A gerbil?" Lily laughed as she sat down, thinking about the numerous desserts she had devoured in his name.

"Yeah, one of those little ratlike animals they have in all the kindergarten-"

"I know what a gerbil is," Lily said. She leaned over and looked in the bag. "So did you get me a salad?"

Brian pulled out a sandwich wrapped in paper. "Nope, I got you a grinder." He pulled out a dark brown bottle. "And a root beer." Lily slowly unwrapped the sandwich. "It's really good," he explained. "It has all kinds of meat in it and cheese. Boston is famous for them. In fact, we've taken sandwich-making to new heights."

"Gee, the Pilgrims, the Revolutionary War and now sandwiches," Lily teased. "All we have in Chicago is wind and deep-dish pizza."

Brian shrugged as he twisted off the cap of the root beer. "I thought since you were here, you might want to know something about the city."

She realized her comment sounded awfully cynical. "And what other culinary treats should I sample?" she asked, taking a sip of the soda then smiling as it foamed up in her mouth. He handed her a napkin and she dabbed at her lips.

"Well, you'll definitely want to try Boston Baked Beans. I like to eat those with fish. And New England Boiled Dinner, which is a traditional Irish dish. Since I'm one hundred percent Irish, I grew up on that."

"Really?"

Brian paused. "No, not really. We didn't eat too well when I was a kid. The closest we came to boiled dinner was wiener water soup."

She'd read his file and knew that his childhood hadn't been easy. But it was different hearing the story directly from him. She sensed what it cost him to open up. Brian Quinn, with all his charm and good looks, did not like to appear vulnerable, especially to her. "What is that?"

He grinned. "My family didn't have much money and so we had to make the food budget stretch. If we had the money for hot dogs, then we'd boil them up for dinner and save the water. The next night, my brother Conor would take the water and throw in carrots and potatoes and celery and catsup to make a soup. He wasn't much of a cook, but we learned to like wiener water soup. With Wonder Bread."

"You said your brother Conor did the cooking."

"My da was working and my ma wasn't around. She left when I was three years old." Brian hesitated, as if he wasn't sure whether to go on. "My family came over to the U.S. from Ireland when I was just a baby. I was born there, but I don't remember any of it. What about your folks?"

He'd turned the conversation deftly away from himself, but Lily didn't mind. She could at least give him something in return for his honesty. "They live in Wisconsin," she said. "I grew up in a small town there."

Brian blinked in surprise. "You're a small town girl? How did you end up in Chicago?"

"While I went to college at Northwestern, I interned for DeLay Scoville. They liked me and hired me after I graduated and I've worked there ever since."

"And Boston? How did you end up here… with me?" Brian asked.

Lily met his inquisitive gaze straight-on. "A real estate developer in Chicago hired us to handle his public relations. I was the account manager. He had a little bit of a scandal and I helped minimize the media coverage of it."

"So, you could say you came to Boston just for me?" Brian murmured, reaching out to touch her face. He rubbed her lower lip with his thumb, then stuck his thumb in his mouth. "Mustard."

Lily felt a warm flush creep up her cheeks. "You never give up, do you," she murmured.

"In my business, persistence is a virtue." His gaze locked with hers for a moment and Lily was certain he was about to kiss her. She'd already decided that she wouldn't resist. It was no use. But then Brian glanced down and pulled another sandwich out of the bag and unwrapped it. "You know, if you want a real New England meal, I should take you to a clambake."

"No dates," Lily warned.

Brian sighed. "This is getting old fast. Why not? I don't have anything to hide from you. And I don't care what you hide from me. We're a perfect match."

"No, we aren't."

"We felt pretty perfect that night in the limo," Brian said.

"You shouldn't base anything on that night," Lily said. "That was just… lust. Sex. Nothing more." Though she'd said it before, this time it sounded so cold and calculating. Even if it was just lust, it was incredible, toe-curling, mind-numbing lust. The kind of lust a woman dreamed about.

"You were just using me, right? Any old guy would have done the job. Hell, if I hadn't come along, you'd have invited that… what was he, an insurance salesman? You would have invited him for a ride."

"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."