Till There Was You by Lilliana Anderson, Wade Anderson Page A

I’m single and my measurements are—”
    “Stop right there.” He held up his hand and grinned, shaking his head at the way she so readily spouted out all that information about herself.
    “What?” she asked, all fake innocence. “I saw you checking out my rack earlier.”
    The blush crept up his neck and burned both his cheeks. Never had he been more glad for the full beard that hid the telltale change of his skin tone.
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he lied through his teeth, rolling the window down a little for Shade to stick his head out, while at the same time, thankful for the cold breeze as it stole some of the heat from his cheeks.
    Lily giggled. “Okay, your turn now.”
    Watching Shade enjoy the wind whipping past, Linc tried to compile a list similar to Lily’s in his mind, figuring there was no harm in giving her some basic information. She’d probably just discover it herself anyway. So, Linc took a deep breath and prepared himself to give someone more knowledge about him than anyone else in the country had.
    “Okay. I’m older than you—”
    Lily interrupted with a laugh. “Come on, you can’t lead with that. That’s non-information. You have to give me your real age.”
    Shaking his head good naturedly, he took a breath and started again. “I’m thirty-four.”
    “See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”
    “Do you want me to keep going or are you going to keep interrupting me?”
    Suppressing a laugh with her hand, Lily apologized. “I won’t interrupt again. I promise.”
    Linc tried again. “As I was saying, I’m thirty-four, six-two the last time I checked. I’m an ex-smoker. I too prefer steak, although I like it with eggs and thick cut chips. Favorite drink—ice-cold Coke while floating in a pool. I’m an only child. My parents are still alive. I’m unemployed, although at the moment, I prefer to think of myself as a caretaker of the Plowman’s cabin. I’m...” He hesitated over the next part. Something about calling himself a widow didn’t sit right with him. For some reason, he didn’t want that to define him, even though it was exactly what he was. Telling himself to keep the information basic, he decided to go with, “I’m single, since I know you’ve been wondering, and my measurement is...” He stopped there deliberately, leaving the rest of the sentence hanging in the air, causing Lily to groan in response.
    “Oh, come on, finish the last part.” She glanced at him. “Unless it’s really small, of course.”
    Laughter burst past his lips despite his efforts to keep it contained. There it was—the sound he’d forgotten. It felt good to be laughing again.
    “See, it’s good to have friends, now isn’t it?” Lily commented as they pulled to a stop in front of Linc’s gate.
    “Is that what we are?”
    “Yeah. It’s exactly what we are,” Lily informed him, cutting the engine, then hopping out to open his door for him as he picked up Shade and carried him to the house.
    “Um...” Linc stopped in front of the door and wondered how he was going to manage twisting the handle with the heavy dog in his arms.
    “What’s up?”
    “Can you open the door for me?”
    “Sure thing.” A wide grin appeared on Lily’s face as her hand wasted no time diving into his pocket to grope around while searching for a set of keys.
    “Enjoying yourself there?” Linc asked, eyebrows raised.
    “Yep.” Lily grinned, then Linc cleared his throat.
    “The door is unlocked, Lily. I just can’t turn the handle.”
    Stilling, Lily’s eyes lifted to meet his. “Oh,” she said, a blush creeping to her cheeks as she removed her hand from Linc’s pocket.
    “Besides, my keys are in the other pocket.”
    Lily turned the handle and pushed the door open. “Well, I take back my ‘really small’ comment then.” Linc could see her trying not to laugh as he inclined his head to tell her she could go inside.
    “You’re letting me in your house this