Page 86 of Can't Fight the Moonlight

"Of course. I'm glad we'll get a chance to talk before the big picnic."

"You have some questions," Noah said, meeting her gaze. "You want to know if our reunion will last."

"Now that you mention it, I am curious. Last night was rather dramatic."

"That's my fault," Alice said. "I didn't really expect Noah to answer that door. I thought it would be a stranger. I would apologize for disturbing him and then I would go downstairs and get a cab. But there he was."

"And then I was on the ground," Noah said dryly. "I've never passed out before."

"It was scary," Alice said. "Not just for me, but also for your friend."

Noah's gaze sobered. "I feel bad about Patty. She said she understood, that she'd always known I was waiting for Alice, but I fear I might have hurt her."

"I feel badly about that, too," Alice said. "I should have just tried to find you, to call you, but I just had this crazy idea that the eclipse this week was the moment we would reconnect."

"You were right."

"Because you were here," she said, meeting his gaze. "I didn't deserve your loyalty, but I'm so grateful. I feel so blessed." Alice turned to Lizzie. "Did Noah tell you why I disappeared all those years ago?"

"He said you had a family emergency and that you'd come back when you could. He just didn't expect it to be this long."

"My husband had a car accident while I was in Whisper Lake. When I got back to Paris, I found out that it had occurred on his way to the airport," Alice explained. "He'd been rushing to make a plane to the US, to Denver, actually. He had realized I was slipping away from him, and he wanted to get me back. But it was a terrible accident. He was in a coma for weeks and then he had damage to his brain and his spine. I couldn't leave him like that. I felt partly responsible, because if I hadn't stayed in Whisper Lake, if I hadn't had the affair with Noah, maybe he wouldn't have been hurt. I nursed him for almost eight years. When he passed away, I thought it was too late." She paused. "But when I heard about the eclipse last month, when I realized it could be seen from Whisper Lake, I thought it was a sign. Maybe it wasn't too late."

"I told you I'd be waiting when the time was right," Noah reminded her.

"I hoped you would be, but I didn't expect it. You should have moved on. You should have loved someone else. Perhaps you were starting to this week, when I arrived."

Lizzie watched their exchange with complete and utter fascination, not really sure what she thought. She felt badly for Patty, who had fallen for Noah. But this reunion was too romantic for words. Their love had lasted a decade without contact, without knowledge of each other, only a certainty that one day, someday, they'd be together.

"I liked Patty, and we had a good time talking together. I was thinking I might need to let go of you and move on," Noah admitted. "That's me being as honest as I can be, Alice."

"I understand. You can still go after Patty."

"No. The second I saw you, I knew you were the only one for me, Alice."

Alice's lip trembled. "Oh, Noah, I don't deserve you."

"Sure you do. Most people think I'm nuts," he said lightly.

Alice smiled. "I can't believe you would wander the inn, looking for me every time you came."

"I can attest to that being true," Lizzie cut in. "He was unwavering in his certainty that you'd come back, Alice."

"I'm sorry it took so long."

"We have no more time to waste on being sorry," Noah said. "We have now. That's all we need. The past and the future don't matter. Just this moment."

Noah's words made Lizzie think about Justin, about the now that they were having or could be having, and suddenly, she was very eager to get to the lake.

"Let's go," she said. "I don't want you to miss the picnic."

* * *

Lizzie's beach picnic was a big hit, Justin thought. He just wondered where she was and why she wasn't enjoying it with her guests. They had two long picnic tables tucked under some tall trees about twenty-five yards from the water's edge. The guests were mingling happily, as if they'd been friends for years and not just random people staying at the same inn. He had to admit that Lizzie had a talent for making her guests feel like they were family.

But she was the head of that family, and she should be here. It seemed to be taking forever for her to arrive with Noah and Alice. Hopefully, there was nothing wrong with that duo. He'd thought the man was a fool for hanging on to his dream woman for so long, but Noah had proved him wrong. He'd believed in Alice, and she'd come through. It had taken ten years, but they had a second chance.

He saw a group coming through the trees, but he frowned when he realized it wasn't Lizzie.

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