“Rose?” He ran a shaky hand through his hair. Fuck! It would be his 4th great-grandmother, walking in on him practically fucking Lilo in the hallway. Just fucking perfect! “I thought you were in Carmel…”

Rose looked past him. “Oh…”

From the corner of his eye he saw Lilo nervously rearranging her clothing. “I’m sorry.” Her voice cracked. She looked at Rose, then back at him. “I need to go.” She dashed past him to the stairs, running up to the second floor.

“Lilo!”

But she didn’t stop.

“I guess I came at a bad time,” Rose said.

“You could say that.”

12

How could she have been so stupid?

Lilo shut the door to the guestroom behind her and lifted her suitcase onto the bed. She rushed into the en-suite bathroom, and grabbed the few things she’d unpacked earlier, tossing them back into the suitcase.

Blake had a girlfriend! His stunned words had confirmed as much. I thought you were in Carmel. Apparently he hadn’t expected her home this early. So he’d thought he could mess around while his girlfriend was out of town. Damn it! He was just as bad as every other man. Only Morgan West wasn’t like that, because she’d written him differently: at least Morgan never committed to one woman and let his various bedmates know that he wasn’t exclusive. He didn’t lie.

Well, technically Blake hadn’t lied, he’d simply forgotten to tell her that he had a girlfriend. A very beautiful one at that. She looked no older than twenty-five and was as stunning as any model. Blonde, petite, delicate features. And a British accent. Clearly, Blake went for blondes. Maybe a few days without his girlfriend had made him randy. Maybe he’d needed to get a fix from another blonde, and she’d been the willing victim.

How could she have let herself go like that? She’d been about to undress him, throwing all caution to the wind. A few more minutes and she would have been sleeping with a complete stranger, a man she knew nothing about. A man who was cheating on his girlfriend.

A knock at the door made her stiffen.

“Lilo, please, we have to talk.”

She scoffed. She had nothing to say to him. “Don’t worry, I’m leaving. Tell your girlfriend—”

The door opened, making her spin around. Blake stood there, his eyes immediately darting past her to the suitcase on the bed, his surprise evident.

“You can’t leave.” He marched into the room and closed the door behind him.

Instinctively she took a step back, the back of her legs bumping against the bed. “Please tell her I’m sorry. If I had known…”

“You think Rose is my girlfriend?”

“She shows up here at five in the morning and calls you luvvie.”

Blake had the audacity to chuckle. “Rose is English. She calls everybody luvvie. Or dear.”

“Please don’t make any excuses. It’s embarrassing enough. I shouldn’t have kissed you…”

He shook his head, a smile on his lips. “There was nothing wrong with what we did. I wanted it as much as you did. And more. I still do.”

At his last words, she shivered. “Stop!” She pointed to the door. “Your girlfriend is down there. How dare you say these things to me?”

“Rose isn’t my girlfriend. She’s my cousin.”

Lilo frowned. “Cousin?” She didn’t believe it for a second. What cousin stopped by at five in the morning and didn’t even ring the doorbell? She shook her head. “Your cousin visits you at this time of night?”

“She’s helping me decorate my house. She found some antique barstools in Carmel that she wanted to bring over.”

“At five in the morning?”

He shrugged. “She gets very excited when she has a find like that and couldn’t wait to show me.” He stepped closer. “You might not believe me, but you’ll believe Rose. Or do you really think my girlfriend would lie to you and pretend she was my cousin?”

Of course no girlfriend would do that. “No, but—”

He put his finger over her lips, lips that still felt swollen from his passionate kiss.

“Come downstairs with me. We’ll clear this all up. I’m sorry that I came on so strong. But I wanted to kiss you from the moment I saw you in Hannah’s flat. And I’m not an impulsive kind of guy. And just so you know: I would never have kissed you if I were in the relationship with another woman. I don’t play the field. Not anymore. Life’s too precious to waste it on things that mean nothing.”

She noticed how his eyes homed in on her lips, and saw him swallow hard.

“I’d rather spend my time differently.” He smiled. “What I felt when I kissed you… that’s something that only happens once in a million times.”

She sucked in a breath of air.

He clasped her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers. “Now come and let me introduce you to Rose. Curiosity must be killing her by now.”

Lilo had no choice but to go with him as he led her down the stairs, not letting go of her hand until they’d reached the hallway, where Rose was waiting for them.

The young woman smiled at her, stretching out her hand in greeting. “I’m Rose, and please, let me apologize. If I’d known that Blake wasn’t alone, I would have never barged in like that.”

Lilo shook her hand. “I’m sorry I gave you the wrong impression…”

“Oh, luvvie, please don’t apologize. I’ve known this guy here all his life and he can be a bit much to handle. Let’s just blame him, shall we?”

“Thanks a lot, Rose,” Blake threw in.

Lilo stumbled over something in Rose’s words. “You mean you’ve known him all your life? Not his. You’re clearly younger than Blake.”

“Oh, yes, of course, dear.” She made a dismissive gesture. “Now I’ll get out of your hair in a moment, but I have two barstools in my car, and I’ll need a hand with them.”

“I’ll take care of that. Give me your keys,” Blake offered immediately, as if glad to escape for a moment.

Rose tossed him the keys, and a moment later he stalked outside into the dark, and Rose turned back to her.

“Well, that gives us some time to get to know each other.”

Lilo nodded and shifted from one foot to the other. “I’m sorry, I just have to ask. He said you’re his cousin, but you don’t look alike at all, and your accent is British.”