Page 38 of Can't Fight the Moonlight

"I didn't disappear. We kept trying to set something up, and it didn't happen, and we decided to get in touch if we were ever both free, and that's where we left it. What about you? When was your last relationship?"

"Two years and ten months ago."

"That's rather specific," he said, curious about the shadows moving through her eyes.

"I remember specifically because we broke up when I decided to buy the inn."

"What happened? He didn't want to move to Whisper Lake?"

"That was one reason. But it was more than that. We met when I was working at a hotel in Denver. He actually became my manager when he transferred in from Los Angeles. We never should have started anything because he was only going to be there for three months and then he'd be taking a permanent position in New York. But I decided not to think about that. And as the time passed, and he suggested I move to New York with him, I thought maybe I would. But then I found out the inn was for sale, and I realized I could have my dream."

"But you couldn't have him, too."

She shook her head. "No. There was nothing for him here. He had much bigger dreams. He tried to talk me out of buying the inn. He showed me all the ways I was going to fail. It was a little hard to take. I suppose he was trying to give me good advice."

He winced, thinking he'd been trying to give her similar unwanted advice only a short while ago.

"But," she added, "I didn't want to hear all the reasons why I couldn't do it. I wanted to hear why I could. But he didn't believe in me. Anyway, he went to New York, and I came here. I think we're both happier. But sometimes I still hear his voice in my head, all the doubts he raised, especially when things like the furnace break, and I wonder if he was a little bit right." She shrugged, then got to her feet. "Anyway, that's my story, and I should get back to work. I can't fix the heat, but I have other things to do." She paused. "I learned my lesson, Justin. I don't start things that can't be finished, not anymore."

He slowly nodded, then stood up. "I get it. Too bad."

"I'm sure you'll survive."

He met her gaze and smiled. "I'll survive, but I'm still sorry."

"I don't think I've ever met anyone as direct as you."

"I don't play games. That's why I could never be like Noah. I would have hunted Alice down and told her how I felt and then I would have known. I would have moved on."

"Maybe Noah can't handle the truth as well as you can. Some people have softer hearts."

"I can't argue with that. My heart hardened a long time ago."

Curiosity ran through her gaze. "I've been telling you a lot of stories, but one of these days, you're going to have to tell me at least one of yours."

"I'm not that interesting."

"I doubt that. But I need to get a shower and then go downstairs."

Thinking about Lizzie in the shower made him realize that he needed a shower, too, and that it needed to be cold. Because talking to her had only made him want her more.

She flushed a little as their gazes met. "Don't picture me in the shower," she warned.

"Too late," he said with a grin, as he headed down the stairs behind her. They might want different things, but they also wanted each other. And he wasn't ready to give up on making that happen.

Chapter Seven

Lizzie hadtrouble not picturing Justin in the shower. He'd looked hot in jeans and a T-shirt with his wavy brown hair, broad shoulders, and extremely fit body. She couldn't imagine there was an ounce of fat on him. He liked to be in control of every situation, and she suspected that covered diet and fitness as well.

She didn't know why she was so attracted to him. His cockiness should be irritating. His directness should be unappealing. His devotion to his job and his electronics should be a red flag that he was not the man for her. But then she thought about the way he'd kissed her with passion and purpose and almost deliberate restraint as if he were afraid to release the floodgates.

She shared that fear. Just kissing him had made her lose track of where she was, who she was, what she was doing. Having sex with him would be an off-the-charts distraction.

It would probably be amazing, and it had been a long time since she'd experienced amazing, but then it would be over. And she had enough self-awareness to know that she probably wouldn't handle that well. So she turned the water temperature to cold and was shivering by the time she stepped out of the shower. But it took only a few moments of the inn's rebellious heating system to put her back in the hot zone.

She slipped into a summer dress and sandals, grabbed a sweater for when she went outside, and then headed downstairs. The furnace guy said he'd be there at one, which was still two hours away. After checking on the guests, making sure that Victor would be able to man the front desk, and would be able to let in the repairman if she ran late, she left the inn and slid behind the wheel of her Prius.

She needed to pick up a few items for the cocktail party, and she also wanted to check in with Chloe at the Blue Sky Café. She hadn't liked what she'd seen the night before, and Chloe had not returned any of her texts. She decided to stop there first, then run to the market after that.

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