The Redemption Of Lillie Rourke. Loree Lough

saw Lillie.

      And his heart beat like a parade drum.

      Her long auburn waves were chin-length now, and in place of her customary jeans, T-shirt and sneakers, she’d worn a gauzy calf-length skirt that billowed with every puff of the wind. She had on matching yellow shoes that looked like ballet slippers and a puffy-sleeved blouse with ruffles at the wrists. She still walked like a woman who knew where she was going, head up and arms swinging slightly. Marilyn Monroe–style sunglasses hid big eyes that couldn’t decide if they were brown or green, and if he knew Lillie, she’d applied a hint of shadow and just enough mascara to showcase those long lashes.

      “There,” Whitney announced, “got it. Finally!”

      He half ran to her side of the pickup and opened the passenger door. “First stop, jewelry store?” Taking her hand, he helped her to the pavement.

      Grinning, she pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. “All right, Jason, whatever you think best.”

      With any luck, Lillie hadn’t seen the kiss.

      With a little more luck, he’d figure out where that crazy thought had come from. Lillie was a part of his past. It had taken a while, but his life was on track again, and Jase aimed to keep it that way.

      “Thank you,” Whitney said.

      “For what?”

      “For helping me figure out what to get you for your birthday.” She shouldered her purse and smiled up at him.

      It took a conscious effort not to look into the flower shop, where by now Lillie and her dad were searching out just the right gift for Amelia.

      “My birthday isn’t until July.”

      “Oh, I’m not waiting that long. This old buggy of yours needs running boards. I’m five foot six, and I feel so short getting in and out of it.”

      “Ah. So my birthday present is really for you,” he teased.

      Lashes fluttering, Whitney said, “Can I help it if that’s the way you choose to look at it?”

      He followed her into the shop and breathed a sigh of relief when she marched straight up to the counter. Maybe he could talk Whitney into going to the florist in the Columbia Mall, too. That could work, especially if he suggested they grab a bite to eat while they were there.

      His relief was short-lived, thanks to the sudden nerve-racking thought that Liam might want to buy jewelry for Amelia, to go along with the flowers...and Lillie might go into the jewelry story with him.

      More determined than ever to talk Whitney into going straight to the mall, he leaned into the display case behind him. Whitney was asking for a new watch battery. She didn’t use her hands, like Lillie always had. Once, he’d asked if some Italian blood coursed through the Rourke clan. She’d responded with a thick-brogued, “Yer ears must be on upside down, Jase Yeager! M’bloodline is pure green, I tell you!” And he’d grasped her wrists, pulled her close and kissed—

      “What are you smiling about?” Whitney asked.

      Standing up straight, he crossed his arms over his chest and said, “Told you it’d take longer than ten minutes to change your battery.”

      “The woman isn’t sure it is the battery.” She glanced toward the doorway that led to the repair shop. “I hope they’re wrong. My grandparents gave it to me when I graduated from the U of M. I’d hate to think it’s irreparable.”

      The University of Maryland was his alma mater, too. He’d started on a degree in communications. His dad had pointed out that it would limit his choices in the job market, though, and as usual, the old man had been right. The BA in business had been instrumental in helping him organize and grow his mother’s company.

      “I’m sure they can fix it.”

      “I’m sure you’re right.”

      Standing close beside him, she rested her hip against his as she continued staring at the narrow doorway, arms and ankles crossed, just like his. Whitney had always been accommodating. No matter what he suggested, from restaurants to movies, from ballgames to staying home and watching old movies, she’d been agreeable. She was pretty. Hardworking and smart. He liked her. But...why couldn’t he feel something more for her, something deeper?

      She took his hand and aimed his forefinger at a bracelet, glittering under the bright overhead lights.

      “Isn’t that just gorgeous!”

      She’d been hinting that their relationship had passed from “just dating” to serious. But not nearly serious enough for diamonds, he thought.

      Jase grinned at her. “I suppose...if you’re into glitz and glam.”

      She moved farther down the display case, pointing out earrings, pendants and anklets that matched the bracelet. When she maneuvered toward the rings, Jase pretended to scratch an itch beside his nose as an excuse to let go of her hand, because she’d zeroed in on a square-cut solitaire, nearly identical to the one in his sock drawer. The one he’d given Lillie shortly after her release from physical therapy. The one she’d returned after he called her on the carpet for taking the guys’ money.

      Whitney continued examining the glass cases until she reached the presentation of men’s watches. “This one is nice, isn’t it?”

      He nodded, though he’d barely seen it. Jase was too busy remembering the night he gave the ring to Lillie...the week after her release from the PT facility and two weeks before her twenty-sixth birthday. They’d just finished a close-harmony rendition of an Eagles tune when he asked the audience to share in some good news...and held up the tiny blue velvet box.

      Lillie’s big eyes had grown round and wide as she stood, grinning and blinking under the spotlight. Then she’d grabbed the mic and faced the band. “I think he’s trying to tell us we’re doing ‘Blue Velvet’ next.”

      Jase smiled at the memory.

      Whitney rapped on the glass counter. “Jason? Would you ever wear a man’s bracelet, like this one?”

      “Nah,” he managed, his mind still fogged by the fond memory...

      Whistles and applause had filled Three-Eyed Joe’s pub. “Quit beatin’ around the bush,” the Muzikalees’ drummer said into his mic.

      “Ned’s right,” Spence agreed, playing a run on his guitar. “Pop the question why don’t you, so we can get back to work!”

      “What about a necklace?” Whitney wanted to know.

      “Nah,” he repeated, “I’m not much into trinkets.” He tried to focus on the thick gold chain, but what he saw was Lillie, opening the little box, smiling past glittering tears as she handed him the ring and waited for him to put it on her finger.

      “Yes,” she’d said matter-of-factly. Then, more emphatically, “Yes.” And standing on tiptoe, she’d nearly knocked him over with a powerful Lillie hug.

      When he kissed her, a patron yelled, “Atta boy, Jase! Atta boy!” And he’d barely heard the applause because—

      “Have you ever considered wearing an earring?”

      Jase shook his head, hoping to rid himself of those memories.

      “Well? Would you?”

      “Me? A pierced ear? Like a pirate?” He forced a laugh. “Have you met me?”

      Whitney laughed, too, then exhaled a feminine groan. “You are the most difficult man to buy a gift for!”

      “You know I’m not big on gifts.” He pulled her into a light hug. “Besides, a little bird told me I’m getting running boards this year.”

      She blushed prettily and would have kissed him if the clerk hadn’t said “Ms. Hendricks?”

      Whitney