Kate Hoffmann - Brian

So, for now, he and Lily were at a standoff professionally and at a crossroads personally. Maybe after their first date, he'd finally have a clue. Brian beeped his horn and Lily turned to look his way. He stepped out of the car and waved and she came running up. Considering their last encounter in the sound studio, he wasn't sure how it would be between them. But as she came closer, a smile curved her lips.

"Hi," Lily said.

"Hi. Are you ready?"

"I am. But I'm not sure for what."

He circled the car and opened her door for her, grabbing her bag. Before she got inside, he slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her toward him for a quick kiss. She didn't resist, instead tipped her face up and kissed him back. This was how it was supposed to be, he mused. Easy and familiar. By the time he drew away, Brian felt as if they'd smoothed out the difficulties between them, at least for the day. He tossed her bag in the back seat and jogged around to his side of the car.

"Where are we going?" Lily asked, once they'd pulled into traffic.

"It's a surprise," Brian said. "But we're going to have fun, I promise."

"I'm glad you called," Lily murmured. "I wasn't sure you would. I wanted to tell you again how sorry I was for what happened."

Brian shrugged, then reached over and wove his fingers through the tendrils of hair at her nape. "No talk about work today."

"All right," Lily agreed. "So what do you want to talk about?"

"Let's not worry about that," Brian said. "I'm sure we'll think of something."

The drive passed quickly and as Brian suspected, they didn't have any problem finding something to talk about, though he was much more preoccupied with studying her beautiful face than making conversation. Lily chatted about trying to find something to occupy her free time in Boston and Brian suggested things she might try. He didn't suggest his first choice, that she spend every free minute in bed with him. Although he thought it was probably the most valuable use of her time-and her body-Lily probably wouldn't appreciate such brazen talk on their first date. By the time they crossed the Congress Street bridge, he'd nearly convinced her to try sculling lessons on the Charles.

"Sculling lessons," she murmured. "I could do that. I'm really good on the rowing machine at my health club."

Brian pointed out the window at the Children's Museum and the Boston Tea Party ship. "We're heading into Southie now," he murmured. "This is my neighborhood."

"You live here?"

"Not anymore. I have an apartment close to the station. But I grew up here."

"Can we go see the house where you lived? Is it still there?"

"Did I tell you about Southie?" Brian asked.

"I-I just read the report."

"Maybe I should read the report," he teased. "I wouldn't want to repeat something you already know."

"I thought we weren't going to talk about work," Lily said. "Although it will probably be a moot point before too long anyway."

"Why's that?"

Lily shrugged. "I'm thinking of turning this job over to one of the other people at the agency. I'm not sure I can be as effective as I should be."

"You'd leave Boston?" Brian asked.

She nodded. "I shouldn't have come to the station the other day. It shouldn't have bothered me that that story hit the papers." Lily paused. "But it did."

Brian stared out the street, unable to believe what he was hearing. Then with a soft curse, he pulled the car over the curb. "You don't have to leave," he said. "If that's the worst you're going to dish out, I can handle it."

"But I-"

He stopped her words with his lips, yanking her from across the car into a desperate kiss. The thought of her leaving Boston shouldn't have affected him at all. He shouldn't have cared. But he did-and he wasn't sure why. All he knew was that he needed to keep her close for now.

Brian reached up and smoothed his hand over her face. "You don't have to leave. Not on my account. Do what you have to do for Patterson, Lily. I'll understand. No hard feelings."

"You say that now, but it's still going to affect the way I do my job." She laughed softly. "Wait until you meet Emma Carsten. She'll have no mercy. By the time she's done with you, you'll be recommending Richard Patterson for sainthood."

"I thought we weren't going to talk about work," Brian murmured, his gaze fixed on her mouth as he ran his thumb over her lower lip. This was not how he wanted the day to go, caught in a debate about whether she'd be staying in Boston or walking out of his life for good.

"I'll stop talking about work, if you'll tell me where we're going on our… mystery date."

"Well, it involves food and water."

"That's it?" Lily asked.

Brian glanced over his shoulder and then pulled back into traffic. A quick left took them toward the waterfront. He'd been down to the Fish Pier a million times when he was a kid and knew the area well. Though his father offloaded his swordfish catch in Gloucester, the Mighty Quinn' s home port had always been South Boston with most of its regular crew coming from Southie.

"Over there is Commonwealth Pier. That's where all the excursion boats leave from." He found a place to park, then pointed straight ahead. "And that's the Fish Pier. Those buildings are almost a hundred years old. This used to be the center for the fishing industry, but not anymore. Commercial fishing has fallen on hard times. There's a plan to develop this area with luxury apartments and a park. Some folks want to leave it the way it is. For the fishermen and all the history."

"Is this the Wellston project?" Lily asked, sending him a suspicious gaze.

Brian shook his head. "No. But it might as well be. It's the same kind of thing. Developers are snatching up waterfront property all over Boston. To them it's just real estate. To the folks who make their living on the water, it's their life. Pretty soon you won't know there were even fishermen in this town." Brian paused. "And now, I'll get off my soapbox. You should be here early in the morning, about six-thirty. They have the fish auction. It's a lot of fun."

"I'd like to see that," Lily said. "Maybe we could go sometime."

They got out of the car and strolled toward the two long buildings that made up Fish Pier. An arcade ran along the street level and Brian remembered playing there as a kid, racing in and out while he and his brothers played tag. He grabbed Lily's hand and drew her toward the building's arch, pointing up at the carving of Neptune's head.

"Some people say that Boston was built by the codfish aristocracy. But there's not much money to be made in commercial fishing anymore. When my da realized that none of his sons were going to follow in his footsteps, I think he was disappointed. That's when he bought the pub." He paused, searching for a change of subject. "That's the No-Name over there. It's a real popular tourist spot now, but when I was a kid, it was just a place where the dockworkers and fishermen ate. They make really good 'chowdah.'"

"Chowder?"

"No, that's not the way to say it," he said with a chuckle. "If you say it that way, they'll know you don't come from Bahston. You have to make all your vowels very flat. After we pahked our cah we stopped at the bah for a bowl of Bahstan chowdah."

"Chowder," Lily repeated.

Brian grinned. "Not chowderrrr. Chow-dah."

"Chow-dahr."

Brian pinched her cheeks together. "Chowdah. No 'R'."

"Chowdah," she said.

"Very good." He pointed to a line of boats tied up along the pier. "We're going over there."

"We're going on a boat?" Lily asked.

"Not the Mighty Quinn. That's tied up in Gloucester. My brother Brendan just got married and Amy's father bought them a boat for a wedding present. Brendan wanted to take it on a cruise so he asked if we wanted to come along."