Page 25 of Can't Fight the Moonlight

"I should go, too," Lizzie said. "I'll walk back with you, Justin."

He was surprised at her words, but he could hardly say no.

"You're leaving, Lizzie?" Keira said, disappointment in her eyes. "It's early. Hannah isn't even here yet."

"Tell her I'm sorry I missed her, but I'll see you tomorrow at the inn's happy hour, right?"

"I'll be there," Keira said. "In fact, I'm going to bring someone. I should probably talk to you about that."

"That's fine. The more the merrier."

"But—"

"We'll talk tomorrow," Lizzie said, cutting off Keira. "Have fun everyone."

After a round of good-byes, they left the restaurant.

When they stepped onto the sidewalk, Lizzie let out a breath. "It feels good to be outside. It's not so noisy."

"I thought you like noise and action."

"I do, but I also like quiet." She paused, giving him a speculative look. "So, were you really born to be wild?"

He laughed. "No, I think I was born to be boring."

"I haven't seen boring yet. Impatient, annoyed, driven, a little isolated, yes. But boring? No."

"That's how you see me, huh?"

"It was before you decided to rock and roll it out on the stage."

"Maybe your first impression was wrong."

"I'm thinking it might have been," she admitted. "Are you glad you joined the party?"

"Yes. Your friends are great, very down-to-earth, friendly, welcoming. Well, most of them anyway. I don't know what was going on with Chloe and Kevin or your brother, but they were not in the best moods. Is there some kind of love triangle?"

She frowned at that question. "Chloe and Adam got really close while Kevin was on his last deployment. He was pretty much gone for eighteen months straight. But my brother respects their marriage. And I don't believe he has ever acted inappropriately, but there's a part of me that thinks he might be in love with her, and I don't see that ending happily. She's taken. She has a baby with Kevin, and she's been with Kevin since she was a teenager. I think they're just going through a rough patch."

"Have you talked to Adam about it?"

"God, no. My older brother does not discuss his love life with his sister."

He nodded. "I probably wouldn't, either."

"I just don't want him to get hurt. But what can I do?"

"Nothing. He's his own man. And you should stay out of it."

"I agree, but it's difficult for me to do nothing when people I love are hurting."

"He seemed more pissed off than hurt to me."

"Men always act angry when they're hurt. I think it's some kind of defense mechanism. I bet you do it, too."

He thought about that and realized she was right. "Maybe occasionally."

She gave him a knowing look. "Probably more than occasionally. Anyway, what do you think of Whisper Lake so far?" She waved her hand toward the street.

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