Page 13 of Stuck With the Billionaire Grump

He shrugs nonchalantly. “Here and there. I worked for a small marketing firm in Portsmouth for a while, then went down to New York to see if the big city suited me.”

“Did it?”

“Not really. Technically, I still live there, but I’m thinking about moving soon.”

“Oh? Where to?”

Eric grins. “Wherever the wind takes me, Lucy.”

“And did the wind take you here to Mermaid Shores?”

“Kind of. Well, actually, I’m not supposed to be here.” He offers me a wicked smile. “Do you want to know a secret?”

I can’t help laughing at that. Eric has such a playful nature that it’s totally effortless to be around him. He was the same when he was a teenager, if even more wild. It’s one of the reasons why I was so determined to kiss him that summer.

And the other reason… I’d rather not dwell on that.

“I love secrets,” I tell him.

“Good, because it’s juicy. See, I’m here for a wedding, and I’m definitely not crashing, but I do think my presence will be unexpected, because…”

And then Eric launches into an elaborate story that has my jaw on the ground for the entire walk to Gigi Lee’s house.

As he tells it, Eric wasn’t just in town that summer twelve years ago because his family decided out of the blue to vacation in Mermaid Shores. The truth is, his mother brought them here in an attempt to smooth over a broken bridge with Mrs. Cromwell—Elijah’s mother.

Because Eric’s mother is apparently Elijah’s aunt. On his father’s side.

Everyone knows that Elijah’s father left before he was born. Mrs. Cromwell was seven months pregnant when he left for a lobstering trip and never returned. Not because he died at sea or anything dramatic like that, but because he was a flighty idiot who couldn’t handle the pressure of impending fatherhood. All the locals praise Mrs. Cromwell about how incredible she was at being a single mother.

The point is, Elijah hardly knew anything about his father and knew nothing at all about his father’s family. He didn’t even know he had an aunt on that side of the family. Not until Eric’s mother brought them to town twelve years ago and tried to patch things up with Mrs. Cromwell, hoping to introduce her nephew to Mrs. Cromwell’s kids. Hoping to bring the cousins together.

“At the time, I didn’t know anything about it,” Eric tells me. “Neither did Elijah. It’s crazy, isn’t it? I mean, we hung out quite a few times and we didn’t even know we were related.”

“Why didn’t your mom say anything?”

He shrugs. “I think she was nervous that Elijah’s mom would tell us to get lost. Or something like that. Honestly, I don’t even really know the details of what happened. My mom isn’t the most personable of people, so she probably didn’t approachMrs. Cromwell in the best way. I don’t know. From what I understand, they got into an argument, agreed to never speak to each other again, and that’s why our vacation ended earlier than expected.”

We round the corner of Pepper Lane, where the Lees have lived for my entire life.

“And now you’re here?” I ask. I don’t remember an Eric Ascott being on the list of wedding guests when we ordered the invitations. Maybe Elijah snuck him in there at the last minute.

“I reached out to Elijah a couple years ago,” Eric explains, “after I found out the truth about our families. I didn’t really expect him to respond, but we’ve been keeping in touch. My mom is still timid about the whole thing, though, so I didn’t tell her I was invited to the wedding. Even my sister doesn’t know, but I don’t think Natalie would care anyway. She’s still as self-centered as she’s always been.”

“Wow. So, Elijah has a cousin. Two cousins, I guess.”

Eric grins. “We don’t look alike at all, do we?”

Elijah is a few inches taller, and Eric is stockier. They have different hair, different eyes, and different personalities entirely. Still, I guess there is something in the shape of their jaws and the particular curve of their noses that speaks to a shared ancestry.

“Not really,” I admit. “Maybe a tiny bit, if you really look for it.”

We stop at the Lees’ front gate. Eric shoves his hands in his pockets.

“Well, anyway, it’s good to see you, Lucy,” he says. “And it’s cool to know you’re the maid of honor. I can’t believe I’m only now putting it together that Elijah’s bride is your cousin. We’ll be seeing a lot of each other over the next few days, I suppose!”

“Yeah…”

Is he flirting? Do I want him to be? Does it matter?

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