Page 3 of Destined For Forever

It certainly didn’t seem like anything about her life was a flop. Sean had seen every one of her movies and thought they were all great. He’d even gotten a little misty-eyed a time or two, not that he’d ever admit it aloud.

Who said blokes couldn’t watch romantic movies?

“Well, it looks like this wedding will be somewhat of a reunion for you,” he said cheerfully, slipping his bag off his shoulder and dropping it onto the ground. “Should be fun.”

“I thought you were familiar with my feelings regarding fun.” She nailed him with a pointed look. “What did you call me in high school? Oh, that’s right. The ‘Antithesis of Good Times’ and the ‘Dark Angel of Tediousness.’ Remember that?”

He raked a hand through his hair, letting out a self-deprecating chuckle. “Uh, yeah. I do have a vague recollection of that.”

To say he had been a bit of a shit in his younger years was putting it mildly. He’d embraced teenage rebellion with open arms, using it as a cover for all the bad things that were going on at home—his mother’s drinking, his father’s persistent absenteeism, the feelings of utter inadequacy with looking after his little sister, Zoey.

And Lily, with her pretty dark hair and gold stars, had represented everything he would never have—good grades, career prospects, a future. Now she was some hotshot Hollywood screenwriter, and he was pouring beers at the same old dive bar where he’d been working for the last ten years.

So, things had turned out exactly as he’d predicted.

“Antithesis is a good word, though. You wouldn’t want to bet against me in Scrabble. I bet I could even keep up with a wordsmith like you.”

Lily looked amused, in spite of herself. “I bet you could.”

“And look who’s laughing now,” he said, gesturing to her. “You’re the globe-trotting success story.”

She was engaged to some actor. The guy looked like the human personification of a Ken doll with his overly-styled blond hair and a square jaw. He even had one of those butt dimples in his chin.

The guy didn’t strike him as Lily’s type.

Yeah, because you still think you’re her type? Dream on.

“We’ll be commencing boarding shortly for American Airlines flight 9243 to Boston.” The speakers crackled and Lily pressed her free hand to her temple, squeezing her eyes shut like she had a headache. “If you require extra assistance boarding, please come forward now.”

Lily already had her boarding pass out, her foot bouncing with agitated energy. She was wearing a pair of white sneakers and blue jeans that looked soft and worn in. They hugged her thighs to perfection. On top, she wore a simple white T-shirt and had a puffy black coat tucked under one arm. Her hair spilled down around her shoulders and an LA Dodgers baseball cap cast a shadow over her face.

A disguise? He’d spotted her right away. She’d always had that effect on him—drawing his eyes like a magnet. There was also the teensy fact that he’d found out from her cousin, the bride-to-be, which flight she would be on, so he could book accordingly.

But he would neither confirm nor deny it.

“What?” she asked, looking at him warily. “Have I got something in my teeth?”

Sean shook his head. Nevertheless, she pulled a makeup compact out of her bag and checked for herself. “I had a bagel before and those bloody poppy seeds get everywhere,” she muttered. “But they’re too good to resist.”

“I couldn’t quite bring myself to eat the unidentified yellow rubber things they called eggs on the breakfast menu,” he replied, wrinkling his nose. “Although I appreciated the mini packet of Tim Tams. That was a nice touch.”

“Oh, Tim Tams!” Lily’s eyes lit up. “I swear, it doesn’t matter how many amazing things I eat here, I’d still give my firstborn for a pack of Tim Tams.”

“The originals?”

“Psssh. Double-coated all the way.” For a moment she smiled at him and it was genuine and bright, but then something inside her switched off and the light dulled. “Anyway, I should probably get ready to board.”

With a small wave, Lily went to line up at the boarding kiosk. Dark hair trailed down her back, swishing right above where her jeans hugged her backside to mouth-watering perfection.

You know better than to lust after a woman like that.

There was “out of his league” and then there was Lily Dunn. She was in a category all of her own. Had that stopped him thinking about seeing her for the last few weeks? Uh, nope. Because “knowing better” and “doing better” were two totally different things. Besides, he had some questions for Lily.

Questions like why, when he watched Wave of Love, did it feel like he was watching a movie about his life? And why, when he’d tried to contact her about it, had she ignored him? Or why, when he knew a woman like her and a guy like him would never work, did he still dream about her?

Okay, so maybe that last question was more for himself.

Logically, he knew their lives had nothing in common. They were on totally divergent paths. Heck, if commercial space travel was a thing, he wasn’t even sure they’d be on the same planet. Besides, he’d made the mistake of fooling himself into believing they could be together once before. And how had that turned out? A moment of hope quickly dashed.

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