"Good game," Jake said.
"You, too." He stepped back as the next two teams lined up.
"Sorry, Justin," Chelsea said. "I was definitely the weakest player in that round."
"I was right there with you."
"Whereas I was great," Lizzie said with a laugh, and then exchanged a high-five with Jake. "You weren't bad, either," she told her partner.
"That was fun. Who needs another beer?" Jake asked.
"I do," Chelsea said.
As they wandered away, Lizzie gave him a happy look. "Did you have fun?"
"I would have had more fun if I won."
"Jake is one of the best cornhole players in Whisper Lake."
"I got that feeling. And I'm more than a little out of practice."
"You held your own."
As she looked up at him, he had to fight the urge to put his arms around her and kiss her. But it wasn't easy.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"It's been too long since I kissed you."
Her eyes lit up. "We said later…"
"I'm thinking later could be now."
"I can't leave my guests."
"I know."
"But…"
"There's a but?" he asked hopefully.
She checked her watch. "It's almost time for the eclipse. When it goes dark, anything could happen if you're in the right place at the right time."
"Good point. Then you better get used to me being glued to your side."
"I'm okay with that," she said, sliding a little closer to him.
He wanted to throw his arm around her, but Chelsea and Jake had returned.
"How's business going?" Jake asked Lizzie.
"It's good this week," she replied. "What about you?"
"A little slow. Waiting for the heat to kick up a notch, so we can get more people on the water. But that probably won't be for another month. I have been running some kayaking tours this week. I got two new boats. You guys should try them out—on me, of course."
"Not me. I'm not a lover of boats that require me to work at moving them," Chelsea said with a laugh. "But I'm sure Lizzie will take you up on it."
"Maybe next week if things slow down," she said. "I do like getting out on the water."
"What about you, Justin?"
"I'm leaving Sunday."
"Where are you from?"
"San Francisco."
"Love that city," Jake said. "Well, if you're free tomorrow, let me know. I have some open slots in the afternoon."
"Tomorrow I will be going to my grandparents' vow renewal ceremony."
"Oh, you're Marie's grandson," Jake said. "I didn't know that."
"You know my grandmother?"
"Sure. I took her and Ben on a guided hike last summer when they were here. Those two have more energy than people half their age."
"That's true." His gaze drifted to his grandparents, who were surrounded by their new friends. He'd never had the same ease at fitting into a group. He'd never been all that interested in meeting new people, but his grandparents were perpetually curious about everyone who came into their presence. Sean had been like that, too. He was sadly probably more like his parents, who were only extroverts when it involved their work. He frowned, not wanting to ruin this day by thinking about them at all.
"There's Brodie," Chelsea said, drawing his attention away from his grandparents.
"I want to talk to him, too," Jake said. "I'll catch up with you two later. Nice to meet you, Justin."
"You, too," he said, having a hard time disliking such a friendly guy. But as they left, he heard himself say something he'd never expected to say. "Have you and Jake ever gone out?"
Lizzie looked at him in surprise. "No. We're friends."
"Is he single?"
"Yes. He's very popular with the ladies."
"Not with you?"
"Why do you care?"
"Just curious. You seemed friendly."
"Because he's my friend. He's also a fellow business owner. We help each other out when we can. He's been great at showing my guests a wonderful time on the water or in the mountains, whatever they want to do."
"Okay. Whatever."
She smiled. "I like that you're jealous."
"I'm not jealous. If I want something, I just get it for myself."
"Does that mean you don't want me, or you do?"
"You are a little more complicated than I'm used to," he admitted.
"So are you. I really didn't want to like you, but I couldn't stop myself."
"I'm glad you didn't."
"I just wish we had more time. The days are passing so quickly. But we still have later…"
He smiled back at her. "Which may not be too long from now. It's getting darker."
"You're right," she said, turning her gaze toward the sky.
The crowd around them seemed to hush as the light began to dim.
It was a bit of an eerie feeling to have the daylight vanish so quickly—to have no moon, no sun.
And in the following darkness, Lizzie's hand slipped into his, and he found her mouth with unerring accuracy. They didn't need light, not when they had each other. He kissed her with the longing that had been building within him all day. He kissed her with a feeling of urgency, a desire to slow down time, to keep them together as long as he possibly could.
And she matched him kiss for kiss, her desire as palpable as his own. He could feel her heart beating against his chest as their bodies pressed together. And his own pulse raced in return as they clung together, sharing a passion that seemed almost overwhelming. And then the light began to seep back into the day.
She pulled away, giving him a breathless look, her lips pink and puffy from the onslaught of his mouth, her eyes bright and sparkling, and full of promise, a promise he wanted to take advantage of. But the sun was coming back out, and they were no longer alone in the intimate darkness. The party was back on.
"Lizzie," Shay called, waving to her from the other side of the picnic table.
"I'll be back," she said.
He nodded, thinking maybe it was just as well she was moving away. He needed a minute to get his head together.
But he wasn't going to get that minute, he realized, as his grandparents approached.
"That was so fun," his grandmother said. "Wasn't it?"
"Very cool. I've never been outside during an eclipse."
"It wasn't night or day, it was just in between," his grandmother added.
"He gets it," his grandfather put in. "And you're stalling, Marie."
Justin got curious at his grandfather's words. "Stalling about what?"
"There's something I need to tell you," his grandmother said. "I should have said something before now, in fact."
"Is something wrong?"
She exchanged a quick look with his grandfather. "I wasn't completely honest with you, Justin, and the reason I wasn't was because I didn't know if it was going to happen. I didn't think it was worth upsetting you. But now." She frowned as her phone buzzed.
"What?" he prodded, as she read the text.
"Oh, dear," she said. "They're already here. I didn't think they were coming until tomorrow."
"Who's here?" he asked, his heart sinking. He could see the answer in their faces. And then he heard footsteps behind him. He did not want to look. And then he heard her voice, followed by his.
"Justin?"
Chapter Nineteen
Justin still didn't turn around. Instead, he glared at his grandparents, feeling incredibly betrayed. "You said my parents weren't coming."
His grandmother gave him a look of apology, but it didn't begin to dent the rage growing within him. Finally, he turned his head, seeing the two people he had loved and hated for most of his life.
His mother was a tall, slim woman with short, dark hair and blue eyes. His father was also tall, but broader and stockier. His once brown hair had turned to silver, and his blue eyes were closer to gray today. In his mind, they were monste
rs. They were cold. They were uncaring. They were dismissive. He hadn't seen them in three years and their last meeting had lasted about fifteen minutes before he'd taken off.
Today, he didn't think it would last that long.
The tension between them drew the attention of the group from the inn. The friendly chatter dimmed. He saw Lizzie out of the corner of his eye walking toward them.
He didn't want to ruin her party. So, he wouldn't.
"This isn't happening," he told his parents and grandparents. "I'm leaving."
"You can't go," Marie pleaded. "We need to talk—all of us."
"There's nothing to talk about. You told me they weren't coming."
"I didn't know if they would," she said. "I wasn't sure until today. And I didn't think they were coming until tomorrow. I told them there weren't any rooms at the inn. Lizzie, did you give them a room?"
At his grandmother's question, his gaze swung to Lizzie, and the bottom dropped out of his world as he saw the guilty look in her eyes.
"You knew they were coming?" he asked her, shocked by that realization.
"I wasn't sure," she said. "And I didn't give them a room."
He didn't care about the room. But he did care that she'd kept their arrival a secret. Even after he'd told her about Sean, about his parents, about how they'd let him down, she'd kept silent. "You should have told me," he said, hearing the icy cold tone in his voice.
"Justin—"
"No."
He cut her off by turning his back and walking away. He stormed through the trees, hearing footsteps behind him.
Lizzie caught up to him in the parking lot. "Justin, wait," she begged.
"How could you keep that a secret?" he demanded.
"I honestly didn't know if they were coming. Your grandmother mentioned it a couple of days ago, but she asked me not to tell you. At the time, I didn't know anything about your past."
"But you knew last night, and you still didn't say anything."
"I was going to, remember? I said I had something to tell you."
He shook his head. "Here's the thing, Lizzie. This is why you shouldn't get so involved with your guests. Why did you promise my grandmother anything? Why are you in the middle of my personal family life?"
"I was just trying to keep everyone happy."
"You can't do that. You can't please everyone. You need to start running your business like a business instead of like a family. It's no wonder you're in such financial trouble. If you spent more time paying off your bills than making up goodie bags you can't afford and getting involved in the personal lives of your guests, you might not be drowning. Why are you even involved in my grandmother's secrets? It's ridiculous. It's not a learning disability that's making you fail, it's your inability to be professional, to just run your damn business and not mess up other people's lives."
She paled at his harsh words, and he felt a momentary regret, but there was so much anger burning within him, he couldn't stop it from coming out.
"I trusted you," he added. "I told you things…" He shook his head, his lips too tight with rage to say any more."
"I know, and I'm so sorry."
"I need to get out of here. I drove my grandparents here in their rental car. Can you get them back to the inn?"
"Yes. But can we talk—after this is over?"
"We don't have anything to talk about. Good-bye, Lizzie."
"You can't disappoint your grandmother. She needs you at the ceremony tomorrow."
"She has her son and her daughter-in-law. They'll have to do."
He walked away, not interested in hearing anything else she had to say. He felt like the very few people in his life who he trusted had all betrayed him. And he hadn't felt this shockingly alone in a very long time.
He got in the car, slammed the door, and then drove to the inn. He ran up the stairs to his room and started throwing his things in his suitcase. But when he finished packing, he didn't quite know what to do.
His grandparents would be forever hurt by his departure. And even after this stunt, he still didn't want to cause them pain. Maybe his parents would leave now that they knew he wasn't interested in talking to them. Why they'd come all this way, he couldn't even understand. It wasn't like they'd ever made family occasions. Why this one? Why now?
He looked down at his packed suitcase. He should leave. But he didn't have his own rental car. If he took his grandparents' vehicle, he'd leave them stranded. Not that they didn't deserve it. And his parents could give them a ride back to the airport when they left.
Glancing at his watch, he realized it was past six. He doubted he could get to Denver and get on a plane back to San Francisco tonight. However, he could spend the night at a hotel by the airport. He could put Whisper Lake in the rearview mirror.
But he wasn't just leaving his parents and his grandparents; he'd also be leaving Lizzie.
Anger ran through him again at her betrayal. He shouldn't care that he was leaving her, that he'd never see her again, but he did…
Lizzie took a few minutes before returning to the beach. She was still shaken by what Justin had said to her. A part of her knew he'd lashed out at her because he felt like she'd betrayed him. But his words had cut deep. He'd taken the things she was most insecure about and thrown them in her face. She was in financial trouble and maybe if she had spent more time looking at cold hard facts instead of making up picnic boxes and goodie bags that she couldn't afford, she wouldn't be on the edge of disaster. She also couldn't refute the other facts he'd thrown at her. She had gotten too involved with his grandparents. She had made a promise she shouldn't have kept. And she had broken his trust.
Of course, she hadn't realized his parents would show up early or even at all, but she'd had a chance to tell him the night before, and she hadn't. She'd selfishly wanted to hang on to him for as long as possible. But now he'd been blindsided, and he was as angry with her as he was with his family.
When she finally walked back through the trees, she saw that Justin's parents and grandparents had moved away from the rest of the group and were having a private conversation at another picnic table. She didn't want to interrupt. She could see emotions were flowing. But there was also a part of her that wanted to walk over there and yell at each and every one of them. Didn't they realize their secret plan had hurt Justin?
"Lizzie," Chelsea said, walking over to her, concern in her gaze. "Are you all right?"
"I'm not the one who was hurt."
"I don't really understand what's going on, but I'm guessing it has something to do with Justin's parents."
She nodded. "I can't tell you the story, but there's a lot of anger between them. Marie wanted to heal the family by forcing them all together, but that was a bad idea. And the worst thing is that I knew about it. Marie told me it might happen and asked me not to tell Justin. I went along with it, but I should have told him."
"It wasn't your secret or your responsibility."
"He confided in me last night. I had a chance to tell him. I didn't take it. I thought he would leave immediately, and I didn't want him to. How selfish is that?"
Chelsea gave her a sympathetic look. "You really like him, don't you?"
"I wish I didn't. Now, he hates me." She felt like her heart was breaking.
"He might be angry, but he does not hate you. In fact, I think he's quite fond of you. He couldn't take his eyes off you earlier."
"That was before this." She let out a breath. "I was stupid to get involved with him. Even putting all this aside, he was going to be leaving on Sunday. His life could never be here. And mine can't be anywhere else."
"I feel like we had a similar conversation last year when I thought Brodie might be moving to LA or I might be going to Nashville, and my very wise sister told me not to let geography get in the way."
"This is different."
"Is it? If you want to be together, one of you has to compromise."
"There's no compromise to be made now. There's not
hing. Justin is furious. And I understand, because he really opened up to me, and I let him down. I'm sure he's already on his way to the airport. He's gone, Chelsea, and I have to accept that."
"What can I do?"
"Nothing." She squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. "This is still a party, and I am still the host, so I need to mingle and make sure everyone is having a good time."
"Can you really do that?"
"I have to do it. This is business, and I shouldn't be mixing business and personal."
"But you always mix business and personal. That's why the inn is so special."
"Well, I might need to change that."
Her sister frowned. "I don't like what I'm hearing."
"I can't help that. And I can't talk about this now."
"All right. I'm going to take off then. But call me later—anytime. Or come by. You can always spend the night at our place, if you want to get away from the inn."
"I'll be fine." She gave Chelsea a hug and then walked over to the picnic table, forcing a smile onto her face. "Who's ready for dessert?"
At the chorus of ayes, she got Victor and Shay to help her pass out angel food cake topped with strawberries and cream. She took a tray holding the last four plates over to Marie and Ben and Justin's parents.
"Thank you, Lizzie," Marie said, as she handed out the dessert. "I'm sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have involved you."
She gave her a tense smile. "Justin took your car back to the inn. If you need a ride, I can take you in my SUV."
"We'll go with Grant," Marie said, waving her hand toward her son. "You all didn't officially meet. Katherine, Grant, this is Lizzie Cole. She runs the inn."
"Hello," she said, trying not to let her feelings show. She hadn't had a great impression of Justin's parents last night, and she had even less of one now.
"We didn't mean to make a scene," Katherine said. "But with Justin, everything gets very dramatic very quickly."
"Justin is probably the least dramatic person I've ever met," she couldn't help saying. "But when he's cornered and blindsided, he's going to come out swinging." His parents seemed taken aback by her comment. She turned to Marie. "I'm sorry I promised to keep your secret. I didn't know anything about the situation with Justin and his parents and his brother. But he filled me in on the family history last night. I thought about telling him then, but I didn't. I made a mistake. So did you. This wasn't the way to handle this."
Can't Fight The Moonlight (Whisper Lake Book 3) Page 21
