Page 17 of A Very Un-Shakespeare Romance
“Say hi to that cat for me.” Sheila smacked her butt playfully—so not regulation. “That tracking device on its collar saved us.”
They’d peeled off from following the O’Connors when they’d gotten onto the main road taking them into the Outer Banks. At night, there weren’t many cars on the local roads, and Lily hadn’t wanted them to get suspicious. If they’d slowed down, they might have seen the Massachusetts plates on their vehicle, and Robbie was a cop—trained to notice such things. Besides, they’d needed to find a place to stay for the night and kickstart the paperwork needed to run an operation in another state. Two days later, she and Sheila had acquired a green Ford Taurus with Carolina plates they’d rented locally along with their strategically located rental house. With their cover stories in place, she didn’t see any reason the O’Connors would suspect anything.
“You’d better get going on that yoga of yours,” she told her partner. “We want to make sure Billie notices you right away. In case you’re wrong about their types.”
“I’m not.” Sheila grabbed her new sea foam blue mat and rolled it out as they slid the patio door open and walked across its length, one bigger than Lily’s current apartment. “I think I’ll bend over so he can see my ass. People are wrong about the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. For some men it’s all about the ass.”
She didn’t dignify that with a response as she flipped her sunglasses down and trotted through the sand to the beach. God, she couldn’t fault the view. They could only speculate about why the O’Connors were in this house on the Outer Banks, but Lily was betting Tara had arranged it. From the side windows of their rental, she could see into their house, and it looked very cozy for a bunch of bachelors. Theirs was similar—a bright home full of windows and decorated with beach themes and sayings. It was shades better than the flea-infested motel she’d stayed in two months ago the last time she went undercover, and truthfully, she loved the light and the space.
Billie O’Connor caught sight of her first. She knew he was thirty-seven—one year younger than Sheila—the second of the O’Connor kids, owned two mechanic shops in Southie, and had never been married. His driving record was somehow free of speeding tickets even though he owned a number of classic hotrods.
He grinned with male appreciation the second he sighted her. He nudged Tim, who’d just turned thirty, was the seventh kid of the eight, and had surprised her by being a nurse in a retirement home. That explained the more quiet and sensitive demeanor they’d seen on his social media compared to his other brothers. Robbie was still soothing Cassidy, bouncing in place in black swim trunks that showcased a very fit physique. Many cops his age didn’t keep in shape, but it seemed he did, and honestly, it was hard not to admire his body.
“Hey, neighbor!” Billie called, bringing her attention back to him. “I saw that we had someone move in this morning, and I must have the luck of the Irish, since you look like an angel sent from heaven.”
Oh, he laid it on thick. Tim rolled his eyes while Robbie’s gaze locked with hers. She felt a blip in her stomach as their eyes met. His were a deep, piercing blue. Attraction? Okay. She could work with that. “Not an angel. I have to say that’s the best sandcastle I’ve ever seen in real life. Did you make this?”
She directed her smile toward Reagan, who was quietly watching the scene in a mermaid-colored swimsuit that shimmered in the sunlight. “Yes,” she answered shyly, tucking her chin to her shoulder, “but I had lots of help.”
Cassidy’s crying shuddered to a halt as the little girl swung her head toward her sister’s voice. Lily regarded the curly-haired cherub with the wet streaks on her cheeks. Despite looking so unhappy, she looked adorable in her pink swimsuit with purple flowers. “Oh, sweetie, you look like you’ve cried yourself out. What’s the matter?”
The little girl started whimpering immediately, turning into Robbie’s shoulder. His large hands cupped her protectively. “She might need another nap.”
“She just had a nap,” Reagan said, digging in the sand with a red plastic shovel. “And she never cries like that unless something is wrong.”
Robbie’s face darkened as he patted Cassidy’s back. “Got any ideas for cheering her up, Reagan?”
She shook her head. “I gave her my Barbie to play with and that didn’t help.”
“Maybe it’s her tummy.” Lily ventured closer, aware of Robbie’s eyes following her every move. “I’m a speech and language therapist, so I work with children a lot. What did she eat today?”
“Our favorite,” Reagan offered, jumping up and coming over, clearly past her initial shyness. “Chicken nuggets. And Cassidy ate like twenty of them.”
Robbie cleared his throat as his mouth tipped up rather adorably. “She’s exaggerating.”
She gave an answering smile, sensing he didn’t want her to think badly of him. He jostled the little girl as they watched each other. Suddenly the hot moist air seemed to steal her breath. Tough and tender—a killer combination.
“Yeah, but she stuffed them in her mouth so fast Tim had to tell her to slow down or she’d puke,” Reagan said in a rush.
“Maybe it’s just a tummy ache, then,” Lily said, sharing a conspiratorial smile with Reagan. “When one of my students has one, there’s this point I massage. Would it be all right if I showed you?”
Robbie’s brow furrowed. “Ah…”
Trust was hard for him, and she imagined his protectiveness was off the charts given the current situation. “I promise it will help her.”
“You want to feel better,” Reagan said, gently touching her sister’s little foot. “Don’t you, Cassidy? Sometimes my mom massages her tummy.”
“Well, I’m only going to massage the fleshy area between her thumb and forefinger.” She cast another glance at Robbie, knowing he was sizing her up. “But only if you feel comfortable.”
She was aware of Billie and Tim watching the scene from their place in the sand. Obviously, Robbie was the lead decision-maker here. “If you think it will help,” he said after another long look, one that made her heart race faster. Because when he looked at a person, hereallylooked, and she hadn’t been prepared for the intensity.
Stepping closer to take Cassidy’s hand put her near enough to feel the heat radiating from his body. She could smell the sand, the surf, and something that was all man on him. God, it was potent, so potent her belly tightened. Her gaze took in his rippled muscles before she drew herself back. “Here, sweetie. Let’s see if this will help.”
As she massaged the soft impression slowly, Cassidy studied her with big blue eyes, clearly mesmerized. Lily was aware of Robbie’s regard as well, and she hoped he couldn’t see her pulse beating in her neck. Cassidy lowered her head slowly to Robbie’s chest, and Lily had to fight off another wave of attraction as his muscles flexed from reflexively tightening his grip on her.
“She seems a little calmer,” Robbie said quietly.
“Yeah, she is.” Reagan looked at Lily with a pinch of awe in her eyes. “That’s amazing. I’ll have to remember how to do that when she has another tummy ache. She gets them a lot.”
