The note was from Glynnis. Lily didn't know how she'd missed it but that wasn't the issue. What mattered was Glynnis's specific request that Lily tell Zach where she had gone, with whom, and why.

Poop, poop, poop, poop, poopl Why was that her job?

But there was simply no help for it; she had to honor Glynnis's wishes. Hating not only that necessity, but the knowledge that Zach was going to blow it all out of proportion, she girded her loins and went looking for him.

She didn't quite do the cha-cha upon discovering he wasn't home, but it was a near thing. Well, that's a crying shame , she thought insincerely, and dug a package of phyllo dough out of the fridge to make herself a nice veggie turnover to go with that apple chutney she'd made the other day. And after lunch , she decided, I really should hit the real estate agents .

When the back door rattled open a short while later as she was still eating, however, she sighed in defeat, knowing she could kiss a clean getaway good-bye. Rats.

Zach closed the door behind him and looked at Lily, who gazed back at him calmly for a moment before returning to her lunch. Like yesterday, she was dolled up right down to the spike-heeled shoes on her feet—this pair open-toed and blue to match her top, which she had no doubt chosen to match her eyes. He watched her rosy lips close around a bite of something with a wonderful fragrance, and jerking his gaze away, he looked at the steam rising off a flaky pastry-looking thing full of wild rice, vegetables, and what looked to be cranberries. His stomach immediately protested that a single piece of peanut-butter toast was no kind of breakfast for a grown man. "I'll say this for you, lollipop. You sure can cook."

"Yes, I can." She hesitated, then jutted her chin toward the stove. "There's another one in the oven, if you'd like it."

She didn't have to ask him twice. He grabbed a plate, singed his fingers grabbing the goodie out of the oven, then got a fork from the drawer and poured himself a glass of milk. Carrying everything to the table, he pulled out a chair and sat down across from her. She passed him a little bowl of some spicy-smelling sauce with chopped apples in it, and he dumped a spoonful on top of his turnover. Before he dug in, though, he shot her a suspicious glance. "Why are you being so accommodating all of a sudden?"

"For exactly the reason you think," she said with a shrug that had him struggling not to watch the resultant jiggle of her breasts. "To soften you up, of course." She waved at his plate. "Don't let it get cold."

Knowing he wasn't likely to get more than that, he took a bite. One taste was all it took, and he was a goner. "Damn," he breathed when he came up for air half a turnover later. Forgetting who he was dealing with for-an instant, he gave her a genuine smile. "This is good ." He immediately forked up another bite, savoring the rich textures and the flavors that exploded on his tongue.

"So was my nefarious plot successful?" Lily asked when he finished. "Did my cooking turn you into Mr. Mellow?"

"Yep." And surprisingly, it was true. He'd spent the morning atCampPendletongetting the South American contingent situated for their training program, and he was now officially on leave. Add to that a stomach full of exceptional food, and he really did feel pretty damn mellow.

"Good." Lily passed him a sheet of paper that had been folded in half.

"What's this?" He took it and shook it open. Recognizing his sister's handwriting, his eyebrows furrowed. Then he read it, and his head snapped up. He didn't like the sound of this at all, and he pinned the curvy little blonde sitting across the table in his sights. "Okay, spill it."

Lily drew a breath and then released it in a long sigh. "The reason that Glynnis isn't here is that she's gone up toWashingtonstate… to meet her fiance's family."

Zach reacted every bit as badly as Lily feared he would.

He cursed succinctly as he pushed to his feet with such force his chair tumbled over. Slapping his hands on the tabletop, he leaned his weight on his splayed fingers and thrust his face forward until they were nose to nose. "I don't believe you, lady. You've known exactly where she is all this time and you're just now getting around to telling me?"

They were so close she could smell the chutney on his breath, hear the clicking pop of his TMJ joint as his teeth clenched and unclenched. His tension was contagious, but she forced herself to meet his furious eyes serenely. "I only just discovered the note."

"So if you hadn't found it, you wouldn't have ever told me?"

She lifted her chin. "Your sister is an adult, Taylor. It isn't up to me to tell you her business. If she'd wanted you to know, she would have said so—and considering what a control freak you are, I wasn't exactly bowled over when she didn't." She gave him a level look. "As it turns out, you're still a control freak, but apparently one she wants kept informed, so here's the scoop. The young man's name is David Beaumont. They met when he was down here on business, and they're driving up to his home inWashingtonstate so Glynnis can meet his family. Then they plan to get married." A corner of her mouth crooked up in a faint smile. "I'm sure you'll be invited."

"The hell you say." Pushing off the table, Zach straightened and glared down at her.

"Then again, maybe not, if that's going to be your attitude."

"Hell, yes, it's my attitude. Damned if I'll allow some two-bit hustler break my baby sister's heart!"

"For Pete's sake!" She stared at him in exasperation. "You haven't even met David. He loves her!"

"Loves her money, you mean."

"No, Rambo, loves her . I've seen them together, and—" She found herself abruptly talking to thin air when Zach turned on his heel and strode from the room. She followed him to the den, where he was flipping through an address book.

He made a sound of satisfaction and picked up the telephone. Seeing her standing in the doorway he gave her a smug smile. "I knew I could trust Glynnis to jot down his 'cell phone number." He punched out the numbers.

Then the smile dropped away and he banged down the phone. "Shit. Out of the service area." He shot her one of his my-wish-is-your-command looks. "What's theBeaumonts' phone number?"

"I have no idea. The only thing Glynnis gave me was his address."

He dialed information, and she watched his face turn grimmer yet as he tried unsuccessfully to talk the operator into giving him an unlisted number. He then reached for the yellow pages, pausing only long enough to glare at her. "I want that address," he snapped. "I'll book a flight toSeattlefor now, but I expect the exact address in my hand before I leave."

The impending air-traffic controller's strike popped into Lily's mind. She opened her mouth to tell him about it, then pursed her lips closed. As if he'd believe her anyway. But judging by his language when he slammed down the phone a short while later, she'd say the strike was no longer imminent.

"The hell with it," he suddenly declared. "I'll drive." He looked at her. "Get me that address."

"Yes, master," she said as he stalked away—presumably to go pack for his trip.

As she headed down the hallway to her room, Lily fully intended to get Zach his address, and then get the heck out of his way. The threat he posed to Glynnis and David's wedding plans was none of her business. Glynnis was a big girl; if she was old enough to get married, she was certainly old enough to stand up to her brother regarding her choice of husband.

This is actually a good thing for me, she assured herself as she tried to remember in which box she had just packed her address book. Heck, it's a reprieve, extra time to find a new place to live without Mister Personality breathing down my neck .

She pushed aside the guilt that tickled the edges of her conscience. She and Glynnis had hit it off, and she truly thought David was good for the younger woman. But Glynnis's problems with her brother were her own, and none of Lily's.

"Lily!" The impatient shout came from outside, and she crossed the room to snap open the shutters. Zach stood on the parking apron outside the garages, glaring up at her window. As soon as he saw her, his hand slapped down on the roof of a black SUV with tinted windows. "Hurry up with that address!" he yelled.

Irritation shot through her as she stared down at his hard, belligerent face. He really was a bulldozer. She thought again of Glynnis and the fragile happiness she'd had the past couple months with David. He was wonderfully gentle with her—and the two of them would be no match at all for Zachariah Taylor. It was a crying shame, really. True love was hard enough to find without GI Joe roaring around smashing everything apart.

She glanced at her open suitcase and made a decision. Probably the worst decision of her life, but one she knew she would follow through on just the same.

"Oh, poop!"

Chapter 5

ZACH DRUMMED AN IMPATIENT TATTOO AGAINST the top of his Jeep. What the hell was keeping Lily with that address?

He was too edgy just to stand around cooling his jets this way; he had to act before his sister made a mistake it might take her years to recover from. Realizing Lily had wiggled her way into Glynnis's life had been bad enough. But he didn't even know how long his sister had been gone, and the lost time that little golddigger had cost him by keeping Glynnis's news to herself could well make the difference between him getting to Beaumont's house in time to stop this farce or not.