Page 72 of Can't Fight the Moonlight

"What did you think of him?"

"I was a bit intimidated by his tattoos, but he was the sexiest man I'd ever met. I was twenty-two years old and he was only six months older. My parents didn't like him at all. And he was traveling a lot. It shouldn't have worked, but it did. We made it work. We were too in love not to. We got married five years after we first met, and we were together for twenty-six years after that until he passed away. That was eight years ago." Patty took a breath. "I didn't think I'd ever meet anyone who could make me feel love again. But Noah did that. I don't know how, but he did. I guess I should be grateful for that. Now I know that I have the capacity to love someone else. If it's not Noah, maybe there will be another man."

"I think there will be," she said, with a reassuring smile.

"But my point for you, Lizzie—if you like Justin, don't let him get away. Break down his walls, be a little pushy, don't take no for an answer. Give love a chance."

"It's not love. It's probably just lust."

Patty smiled. "That's not so bad, either."

She grinned. "Thanks, Patty. I came here to make you feel better, and you turned the tables on me."

"I always wanted a daughter, but kids were not in the cards for me. It's nice to give someone younger a little advice, even if you don't take it."

"It was good advice. I think you would have made a great mom."

"Thanks. I'm going to go to bed and try to get some sleep before I leave in the morning."

Lizzie got to her feet. "Can I offer you one piece of advice?"

"I think that's only fair."

"Don't leave without talking to Noah. Whatever happens with him and Alice, you need to say good-bye, and I think he does, too."

"I'll consider it. I just feel a bit foolish."

"If you were being a fool, so was he."

She left Patty's room and walked down the hall, pausing by Noah's door. She could hear the murmur of voices, but she couldn't hear exactly what they were saying. It was sad that Noah's dream coming true had hurt Patty, but she had to admit there was something incredibly moving about his reunion with Alice. Ten years had passed but neither one had forgotten the promise they had made to each other. That was something.

When she got to the stairs, she hesitated once more. She could go to Justin's room, or she could return to her apartment. Before she could question her decision, she jogged up the stairs and knocked on Justin's door. Her heart was beating out of her chest. She hoped she was making the right choice. A minute ticked by. She couldn't hear any sound coming from within the room. She knocked once more. No answer.

It was only eleven, but maybe he was asleep. He probably hadn't thought she'd come back. It had been almost two hours since she'd left him. She waited one more moment and then walked away, telling herself it was just as well. She'd probably just avoided a huge mistake, but she couldn't shake the disappointment that followed her down the stairs.

* * *

Justin had just turned off the light when he heard her knock. He knew it was her, even though she didn't say anything. And there was a very big part of him that wanted to answer that door, but he'd spent the last hour convincing himself that he should stay away from her.

Sitting up, he stared at the door, heard the second knock. Dammit. He really wasn't good at being noble, at trying to protect someone's heart. But Lizzie was different.

And then he heard her footsteps as she moved down the hall.

His heart was racing, but she was gone. He'd let her go because he didn't want to have regrets or for her to have any, but right now that's all he was feeling.

He laid back down, staring once more at the ceiling, at the slight beams of moonlight creeping through the parted curtains.

Lizzie had looked so pretty in the moonlight when they'd been at the lake, when they'd been on the roof. But she'd also looked pretty in the daylight, running up the hills with him, sailing across the lake, the wind in her hair, the sun on her face.

He closed his eyes, wishing he could forget her, but her image still floated through his brain. He stopped fighting it and just let himself remember her smile, her laugh, the way she played with the end of her hair when she was thinking, the kindness in her eyes when she'd dealt with Patty, the laughter and joy she had with her friends, the sexy, sultry look she'd given him right before they kissed.

The images flew around in his head. He couldn't stop them from coming so he didn't even try. If he couldn't have her, maybe he could just dream about her. Perhaps that would be enough.

Fifteen minutes later, it wasn't enough.

He got out of bed, turned on the light, threw on his clothes, and headed down to the first floor.

He knocked on her door, and a moment later, she answered.

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