Page 43 of Can't Fight the Moonlight

"August. But it feels like we're already married, like we've known each other forever."

"Love at first sight?"

Brodie laughed. "No. Chelsea was not easy. But she was going through a lot of stuff that she had to deal with. And in some ways, I was too. We both came to Whisper Lake to start over, but it didn't go quite as we planned; it went better." He checked his watch. "I better get back to work. I'll probably see you at the inn later."

"I'll be there," he said.

After Brodie left, he tried to get back to work, but his concentration was once again lacking. A little before four, he closed his computer. He was eager to see Lizzie again. It had only been a couple of hours, but he found himself missing her, which was probably a better reason not to go back. He was playing with fire and it would be a lot safer if he put the matches away, as Lizzie wanted him to do. But he liked risk, and he liked her, so he was going to see what happened.

Chapter Eight

By four o'clock Wednesday afternoon,Lizzie thought she had everything under control. There was a repairman working on the furnace, and she'd managed to go at least an hour without thinking about Justin. It helped that she hadn't seen him all day. She had no idea where he'd spent his time, but it was probably somewhere cooler than the inn.

With the heat still raging, she'd decided to make her happy-hour cocktail party a margarita party. She'd set up a bar in the patio with three kinds of margaritas: plain, strawberry, and peach, thankful that the produce she'd picked up the day before had afforded her such a great offering of fresh fruit. They were also going to serve up lemon fizzes, thanks to the abundance of lemons. Naomi had made enough guacamole to feed an army, as well as homemade tortilla chips and a wide array of other appetizers.

While the outside temperature was only in the high sixties, she'd invited everyone to attend in shorts and flip-flops and, as perhaps the biggest irony of all, she had put her outdoor heaters on, so the patio temp would match the heat inside the inn.

Now, she was blowing up beach balls that could be batted around among the guests, while listening to the set of summer beach songs she'd put on the sound system. Hopefully, everyone would get in the spirit of the event.

As she finished one beach ball, she gave it a pat to send it across the yard. It hit Justin square in the chest as he came out the door. Of course, it would hit him, because every time he showed up, something went wrong.

But he caught it with a smile, and she couldn't help but smile back. He wasn't in shorts but a pair of faded jeans and a navy-blue polo shirt that only enhanced the blue of his eyes. Her heart skipped a beat as an electrical current flowed between them. She really didn't want to like him, but she did. Although, it bothered her that she couldn't seem to stop talking about herself when he was around, while he managed to keep his own personal stories locked away. She was starting to get more and more curious about his life. If she couldn't get him to talk, she might have to try to squeeze some information out of his grandparents when they arrived.

Having Marie and Ben at the inn would probably also provide a good buffer between them, and they certainly needed that.

"I feel like I'm in Margaritaville," Justin said as he crossed the patio.

"Jimmy Buffett will be singing that song soon," she said lightly, her gaze running down his hard, masculine body with great appreciation.

"What's the status on the furnace?" he asked.

"Are you still hot?"

"Stupid question," he said with a grin.

"He's still working on it, but he thinks he has an answer. He had to run out and get a part. He just got back, so fingers crossed. In the meantime, I need to get everyone drunk so they don't think about how hot they are."

"I usually get hotter when I get drunk."

"It's the only plan I have." She couldn't believe he could get much hotter than he was, but she appreciated his easygoing tone. "You're being pretty chill about all this. I thought you'd be complaining that you couldn't work in the heat."

"I spent most of the day at Harvey's."

"Ah, good choice. He has the best coffee and pastries. I'm glad you could work."

"Do you need any help here?"

"I need a couple of more beach balls blown up." She handed him one.

"So, you think I'm full of hot air?" he joked.

"You said it, not me," she returned.

As they shared a flirty laugh, the air seemed to sparkle around them, and little shivers ran down her spine. Then his gaze darkened with a promise she still wasn't ready to accept.

"I want to kiss you again, Lizzie."

She sucked in a quick breath. "We already agreed we're not doing that."

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