Page 23 of Can't Fight the Moonlight

Brodie grinned. "I thought the same thing."

"Me, too," Zach said. "Talk to us when you've been here a week."

"I didn't come here to change or reinvent or heal. I just came for a wedding. Maybe if I was looking for something else, I'd find it, but I'm not." He didn't know why he felt the need to tell them that so forcefully. Perhaps because their words scared him just a little. He only liked change when he was in complete control of that change. Anything else brought back a feeling of helplessness from his past that he never wanted to experience again. Seeing the thoughtful looks coming back at him, he felt a little too exposed, so he refilled his beer mug and then passed the pitcher to Zach. "Might as well finish it off. Looks like we have another two coming," he added, seeing Kevin heading to the table.

"Who needs another drink?" Kevin asked, setting the pitchers down on the table. "And where did everyone go? Where's Chloe?"

"I think she went to the ladies' room," Chelsea said.

Kevin nodded and sat down, wincing a little as he did so.

"Still feeling that knee?" Brodie asked.

Kevin shrugged. "It's fine. Everything is good. I keep telling Chloe that, but she wants to make problems where there aren't any." He stopped talking. "Sorry, I don't know why I said that." He poured himself a full glass and drained half of it in one long swallow. Then he stood back up again. "I'm going to find Chloe. I know she's on the phone. She can't trust anyone with Leo, not even my parents."

As Kevin left again, Chelsea let out a sigh and shook her head. "I want to help, but what can we do?"

"Nothing," Brodie advised. "Kevin and Chloe have to work out their own life." Brodie looked at Justin. "It's a long story."

"You don't have to tell me," he said, realizing he was getting very caught up in the lives of Lizzie's friends.

"Kevin is on medical leave from the army," Chelsea put in. "He went through a rough time, and while he's been back almost ten months now, he's still not fitting into his old life."

"My father always had a hard time when he was home in between deployments," Zach put in. "I see a lot of my mother in Chloe. But Chloe has her husband back. Hopefully, he'll realize that being home with her and his son is where he needs to be and where he wants to be."

"Looks like the girls are up," Chelsea said, drawing their attention to the small stage where Keira, Lizzie, and Gianna were standing in front of a microphone.

As the women began to sing, Justin realized one thing very quickly—they were good, especially Lizzie, who was front and center. While she'd expressed reservations about singing, she didn't look at all uncomfortable. And in the glow of the stage lights, her beautiful face, framed by a cascade of silky brown waves, hit him like a sucker punch. He had to force some air back into his body, shocked at his reaction to her.

But who could resist that laughing, inviting smile, or the way she moved her hips with the rhythm of the song? It felt like she was looking right at him—singing Whitney Houston's hit, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody."

And damn if he didn't feel like dancing with her.

Not just dancing. He wanted to kiss her mouth, run his hands along her curves and through her hair. And then he wanted to get even closer.

He told himself to look away. Better yet, he should get up and walk away. He didn't need to get tangled up with a small-town innkeeper with a cheery personality and a heart of gold. They wouldn't be a good match at all. She was emotion; he was logic. She was warmth; he was cold. They were complete opposites.

But he couldn't quite get himself to move…

Chapter Five

Justin was still tryingto pull himself together when Lizzie returned to the table. She gave him another dazzling smile, and he had to shove his hands into his pockets, so he wouldn't do something crazy like grab her and kiss her in front of her friends and her family. The impulsive idea was completely out of character for him. He really needed to get a grip.

"What did you think?" she asked, as she sat down next to him. "Did we sound better than a bunch of squealing cats?"

"Hey, set the bar a little higher," Keira complained.

"You sounded great," he told them all.

"And you're probably just being nice," Lizzie said.

"I'm not really known for that."

She tilted her head, giving him a thoughtful look. "It's not a bad thing to be known for. I'm nice."

She was many more things than nice, but he wasn't going to get into that.

"Where is everyone?" Lizzie asked. "Chloe, Kevin, my brother?"

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