Page 59 of Can't Fight the Moonlight

"You should be careful, Justin. Once Whisper Lake gets in your heart, it's impossible to let go."

"But I will let go," he promised, knowing deep down he was talking about her as well as the lake. "Because my life can't happen here."

Her smile faded. "I know. But, hopefully, you'll have some lovely memories to carry with you."

"I'm sure I will," he said, wishing that wouldn't be the case. But he had a feeling that Lizzie would be a difficult woman to forget.

* * *

"This is going to be something I will always remember," his grandmother said, as he walked down Adams Street with her Thursday afternoon. After getting back from the lake, he'd worked for a couple of hours and then met his grandmother for lunch. She'd told him then that his grandfather wanted another nap after his sleepless night, so it would be just the two of them going antique hunting.

He'd really wanted to beg off, but he hadn't been able to crush the happy light in her eyes. So here he was window-shopping, probably one of his least favorite things in the world to do. He didn't even like shopping for his own clothes, much less trying to find treasure in what always appeared to be someone else's trash.

"We haven't found anything you've liked so far," he reminded her. "So don't get carried away."

"Oh, it's not about what we find; it's about you and me doing something together. I can't remember the last time. Can you?"

He wished he could. He wished he could say it hadn't been that long, but aside from a few dinners on various quick trips through Los Angeles in the past several years, he hadn't spent much time with her, and certainly not time like this.

Realizing she was still waiting for an answer, he said, "We can make up for some of the lost time today. I just hope Grandpa will feel better soon."

"Oh, he'll be fine. He just gets a little sneezy this time of year. How was your sail this morning? You haven't said anything about it."

He could see the gleam in her eyes, but he was not going to give her the satisfaction of thinking her little plan had worked. "It was fine. The lake was great."

"And Lizzie is wonderful, isn't she?"

"She's very nice," he agreed. "And very generous to step in for you."

"I hope she had a good time, too. She's always so busy when we come to stay at the inn, running around like a madwoman. She actually reminds me a little of you sometimes."

"I do not run around like a madwoman," he said lightly.

She grinned. "No, but you do work too much."

"I love working. It's what I do."

"It is what you do, but you're more than a job, Justin."

"It doesn't feel that way. I'm the company and the company is me. Eric is, of course, in there, too."

"But you're the driving force. I just want more for you, Justin." She paused on the sidewalk. "I know it's important for you to be successful, to have control over your life, to never have to worry where your next meal is coming from, but there is more to life than money."

"It's not just about money. I'm building a company that improves lives. That's what drives me."

"I do understand that. I just see the years flying by. You're thirty-two, almost thirty-three. You haven't introduced me to anyone in years. You never seem to have time for relationships. Do you really want to be alone?"

"I'm very comfortable being alone," he said, meeting her gaze. "You should know that."

"What I know is that having a partner, someone by your side, is what life is about. You can have all the success in the world, but if you don't have someone to share it with, then that success came with too big of a cost. When you're old like me, you'll appreciate the people in your life far more than anything else."

"Is that why you set me up with Lizzie?" he asked, enjoying the guilt that flashed through her eyes.

"Well, I worry about her, too. She also works too much. But she does make time for fun, and I think you should, too."

"I have fun, Grandma, but Lizzie is a small-town girl, and I am not a small-town guy."

"Oh, you can live anywhere. Isn't that what you always tell me? That technology makes the world a very small place?"

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