Page 65 of Can't Fight the Moonlight

"They are great role models for love," she admitted. "And Justin is very sweet to them. He took his grandmother antique shopping today. She was over the moon about it."

"It says something about him if he's willing to shop with his grandmother."

"Yeah, it does," she said. "So, are you dating anyone?"

"No. I just haven't connected with anyone in a while. I've had a couple of dates, but they've just been boring. And I feel like I keep saying that." Hannah frowned. "Maybe I'm the one who's boring. Do you think it could be me?"

She laughed. "You are not boring, Hannah. You just haven't met the right person."

"Sometimes I think I need to move to a bigger city."

"Really? I'd hate to see you leave."

"I love living here, but maybe it's too small for me."

"It's growing every day and the new medical center is nice."

Hannah smiled. "Don't worry. I'm just having an off day. I'll probably never go anywhere, except to the next booth. I want to try a different wine." She finished off what was left in her glass as they headed next door.

For the next hour, they looked at art, drank wine, and ate mini quiches, veggie sticks and too many cheese squares to count. It was nice to be with her sister and her friends. Lizzie felt more relaxed than she had in a long time. But that ease evaporated when she saw Justin. He was standing next to his grandmother, who was trying on an embroidered sun hat. He smiled at his grandmother with great affection, and it touched Lizzie's heart.

Justin said he didn't do love, but she could see love in his gaze now. He had a relationship with his grandparents, but he didn't seem to want any other kind of relationship, and she couldn't help but wonder why. He didn't want to talk about his parents, and Marie had implied that there were problems between Justin and his parents, but she'd never said what the problem was. It felt like it was something deep, something dark, that affected the way he looked at love. Or maybe she was making too much of their estrangement.

Justin could just be a man who didn't want to commit to a woman. It wasn't like she hadn't met that kind of man before. He didn't have to have a secret, although she still thought that he did. She wondered if they got closer if he would tell her.

But getting closer was a bad idea, she reminded herself.

On the other hand…

Justin suddenly turned his head and caught her eye. A smile slowly curved his lips, and her heart flipped over in her chest.

She gave him a brief smile, then turned away, pretending to join the conversation between her sister and Keira, but she had no idea what they were talking about. Her entire body was humming with excitement and a feeling of recklessness. She couldn't look back at Justin. She couldn't let him see what he was doing to her.

"Are you all right, Lizzie?" her sister asked, giving her an odd look.

"Yes," she said. "But I have to get back to the inn. I just remembered something I need to take care of."

"Now?" Chelsea quizzed, a speculative look in her gaze.

"I thought we were getting dinner after this," Keira put in.

"Sorry. You guys have fun. I'll catch up to you tomorrow." She tossed her empty plastic glass into the recycle bin and left before they could ask her any more questions.

But it wasn't really their questions she was running away from; it was Justin.

Chapter Thirteen

Justin got backto the inn around nine after having dinner with his grandparents. When they headed upstairs to their room, he moved toward Lizzie's office. There was no one at the front desk, and her office was empty as well. He walked down the hall to her apartment and knocked on her door, but no one answered. As he returned to the lobby, he ran into Noah.

Noah gave him a smile and said, "Hello."

"How's it going?" he asked.

"It's all right," Noah said.

"Have you seen Lizzie by any chance?" Considering how often Noah walked the grounds, he was probably the best person to know where Lizzie might be.

"I have," Noah said. "She's up on the roof deck. It's one of her favorite places. I often see her up there late at night when she finds a little time for herself."

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