Because of Lila

  roll of her eyes. She turned around leaving the door open and walked back into the living area. Jilly was there playing with her toys and watching some show where a little girl was a toy doctor—or it looked like that anyway.

  Larissa walked over and sat down on the sofa.

  “Eli!” Jilly cried out with glee when a commercial came on. She ran over to hug my leg. I bent down and picked her up.

  “Hey, squirt,” I said then kissed her head.

  “Hey,” she replied giggling and curled against me. Then just as quickly, she squirmed to get down and went back to her toys.

  “Want to know how you got home?” Larissa asked.

  I wanted to know more than that.

  “Or what happened after our third dance,” I said.

  Her eyes went wide. Then she burst out laughing. “You’re kidding me, right? You weren’t that bad off!”

  “It wasn’t my best night. Started out being frustrated with life. Drinking away the shit things had turned out with Micah and Jimmy. Then I saw her walk in and acted. Thought the no-women rule was dumb and moved over there. I regret it now. Trust me. My head is still pounding.”

  Larissa was curled up on the sofa with her cup looking amused. “Well, she was one you wouldn’t want to forget. Beautiful, but so proper it was funny. You were taken with her.”

  I knew all that. “Tell me what I don’t remember. Not a recap of what I do.”

  Larissa sighed. “Well, okay. You danced a lot more than three dances. Then you left. You dropped your keys off with me because I insisted. You told me y’all were going for a walk on the beach. You were gone two hours. Then you came back when I was walking out after closing. I drove you home then had Micha drop your truck off. That’s it.”

  That’s it? “We left to go walking?”

  She nodded. “Yep. That’s it. She got in her Land Rover and drove away. That was it. Shame, too. She was one you’d want to keep. But her tag was a Florida one. She’s not from around here.”

  I leaned my head back to rest on the chair and closed my eyes tightly in frustration. “Rosemary Beach, Florida to be exact. Want to know how I know that? Because I had breakfast with her this morning at Bliss and Nate’s. She’s Nate’s friend. Passing through on this road trip adventure she’s on. She owns a gun, too.”

  “No way!” Larissa said sounding excited. I didn’t lift my head to look at her. “Oh, my God! You just walk into breakfast this morning not knowing, didn’t you? Does Bliss know about last night?”

  She was acting like this was a book and she needed to know the next chapter. I sighed. “No, I didn’t know. Walked right in and ‘bam’ there she was. I told them we had met last night. That’s all. She barely spoke to me or looked at me. I need to know what I did to make her act that way,” I looked up then. “And she was as damn perfect as I thought she was when I was drunk. How is that? I thought she’d have some terrible flaw that my drunken vision was missing. But nothing. Just like I remembered.”

  Larissa giggled. “This is epic. Damn, I mean dang,” she quickly corrected herself then looked to see if Jilly had been paying attention. Jilly had already been kicked out of daycare for cursing. It was frowned upon to tell the teacher you didn’t want to take a fucking nap. It was cause for dismissal. Larissa was working on cleaning up her three-year-old’s language.

  “The killer was I think Bliss was trying to set us up.”

  Larissa smiled over her cup. “She was a little late for that.”

  “Yeah, and Lila—who they called Lila Kate—she didn’t say much at all. Made it real clear she hadn’t enjoyed the night before nor did she like having breakfast with me.”

  “You mean she dropped the polite, proper thing?”

  “Oh, no. She had that going on. She just didn’t speak to me unless forced.”

  “Ouch.”

  Ouch wasn’t what I was thinking. More like what the hell did I do?

  “So you have no idea what we did when we walked? Where we went?”

  “I was working—you know my job? Serving drinks?” Her sarcasm wasn’t lost on me.

  “Maybe I can get her alone, and we can talk?”

  “She staying in town that long?”

  That part sucked. “No.”

  Larissa shrugged. “Then let it go.”

  If only I could. I didn’t want to let it go, and I didn’t want to let her go. Even if it was obvious I’d have to do both.

  I gave Jilly another hug, but she was more interested in the dump truck that the little girl was fixing on television. I thanked Larissa and headed for the door.

  “Please tell me if you see her again,” Larissa called out. “I gotta know what happens next.”

  I rolled my eyes and closed the door behind me. That gave me a little more info, but now that I knew I left with her, I wanted to talk to her. What happened in those two hours had to do with why Lila didn’t like me today. If I’d crossed a line or something I needed to know. Apologize. Shit. Do something!

  Cruz Kerrington

  WHEN MY DAD calls me into his office, it is never a good thing. When he wakes me up at six in the motherfucking morning to inform me we have a tee time at six-thirty when he knows I hate golf, it’s even worse. Golfing with Woods Kerrington meant he was going to talk to me. For eighteen goddamn holes.

  My mother was awake with a cup of tea in her hands looking at her computer screen while standing at the bar when I walked into the kitchen. She lowered her cup and smiled. “You look bright and chipper this morning,” she said sarcastically.

  “Ugh,” I grunted and went to make coffee from the machine. I hated the nasty shit, but I drank it when I was forced to get out of my bed before the damn sun.

  “There’s no hot cocoa in there. Zander drank it all. I need to go to the grocery store today.”

  “Coffee works,” I muttered.

  She had the nerve to chuckle. My mother wasn’t soft and sweet. She hadn’t been given a daughter. She’d been given three sons, and she held her own with us. As dainty as she looked she could scare the shit out of you if she snapped. Needless to say, none of us ran over our mom.

  “Want a muffin? I made some fresh yesterday. Had to use up the blueberries before they went bad.”

  That made this morning a little better. But only a little. “Yes, please,” I said wondering how I’d missed those when I got in last night. I normally could tell by the smell of the place when I got home if mom had been baking. I’d proceed to case the place for whatever she’d made.

  She placed a plate in front of me with two muffins on it. “He just wants to spend time with you,” she was trying to reassure me.

  “Then why can’t we spend time doing something I enjoy too. At a much later hour?” I grumbled.

  “Because he has a job and it’s time you took your own job more seriously.”

  My own. Meaning working under my father at the club. Going to meetings and learning the ropes. I had one more year of college then it all got real. I wanted to make my year last because my future didn’t sound that exciting.

  “Whatever,” I replied before taking a bite. I braced myself to get slapped on the back of the head for that one word. It didn’t happen, though. Instead, Dad walked in dressed and looking happy to be awake.

  “Take that to go. We need to leave,” he told me then went to kiss Mom. “If Zander isn’t up by eight call me. I told him yesterday that he was in charge of cutting the grass today.”

  We didn’t have much grass. The backyard was the beach. But cutting the grass didn’t just mean cutting the grass. It meant doing all the other yard shit that he wanted done. You’d think we could hire a damn landscaper, but no. Dad said he had three sons he wasn’t paying to get shit done that we could do.

  “I’ll get him up if he doesn’t,” mom said with a smug smile. That would involve ice. I know. She’d tossed some in bed with me before when I wouldn’t budge.

  Dad chuckled. “For his sake, I hope he gets up.”

  I took my sec
ond muffin and cup of coffee and headed for the door.

  “Y’all have fun,” Mom called out. As if that was possible.

  Dad followed me out the door. “Get in my car. No need for you to drive.”

  That wasn’t good. This meant he was going to keep me busy doing shit all day. I would be stuck there. Unless I used a club car to give me a ride home. But then he’d find out about that in seconds. Damn.

  I went to his silver SUV and climbed into the passenger side. He got in, and we drove in silence. Thankfully. I drank my coffee which tasted like ass and ate the muffin. I wish Mom had given me three. The drive to the course was only minutes.

  Just when I thought we were going to get out of this thing without any conversation, he paused before getting out of the vehicle. “I don’t want to see my son fucking again on a security camera. Got that?”

  Shit. I looked up at the clubhouse in front of us. I’d been drinking and forgot about the new security cameras inside. Wincing I climbed out and tossed back the rest of the coffee then left the cup behind.

  “Your mother doesn’t know. We aren’t naive. We know you have a sex life. I just don’t want to see it nor should our employees have to see it. That was embarrassing.”

  “Look, I forgot about the cameras. They’re new. I was drinking and forgot.”

  He walked over to me and once he used to tower over me. I thought he was the tallest most powerful man in the world. Now we were eye to eye, and I was still fucking intimidated. His scowl didn’t help ease me either. “You’re not a kid anymore Cruz stop acting like one. Grow the fuck up. Now.”

  “Hot damn, I get to watch a good ole ass whoopin’, and I don’t have any popcorn,” Grant Carter interrupted us. Dad continued to glare at me. He didn’t stop because his friend had arrived.

  “Morning, Grant,” Dad said when he finally turned toward him and let me out of his threatening stare.

  “I thought this was a friendly game this morning, but seeing as Junior is here and he hates golf, there’s gonna be some excitement.” Lila Kate’s dad was rarely serious. He was the easiest going of my dad’s close circle of friends. He was absolutely nothing like his uptight daughter.

  Another car door slammed, and I moved my attention back to the parking lot. Rush Finlay was headed our way. Nate’s dad was here too. What the hell? I looked back at my dad. “So this isn’t some sick way to punish me?” I asked trying to figure out what was going on. If he wasn’t going to ride my ass the next few hours then why were we here?

  He cocked one eyebrow. “Oh no. It’s punishment. For you. Not for me.”

  I realized then what was happening. Sneaky bastard. He planned on making my morning hell, and he’d have witnesses to make it more entertaining for him. Twisted man.

  “Damn,” I muttered, and he laughed then.

  “Junior is in trouble,” Grant told Rush.

  “What did he do this time?”

  “I had the unfortunate pleasure of watching my son fuck on camera.” Dad gave me another dirty look.

  “What?” Grant asked as his eyes went wide and he grinned ear to ear.

  “The security cameras are new. I forgot,” I said annoyed.

  That got loud roars of laughter from both Grant and Rush. I stalked off ahead of them not wanting to listen to their jokes about this. I’d be mocked the entire eighteen holes.

  “If that is all this is about, give the kid some slack. Isn’t like you didn’t have your share of pussy all around this place when you were his age. Hell, we all did.” Grant was trying to take my side.

  I glanced back to see what Dad would say.

  “Your daughter is finished with college. She’s left to find her path. She’ doing something. Achieving something. She has goals. Ambition,” he argued.

  I was still stuck on the Lila Kate being gone bit. Where did she go? When did she leave? That didn’t sound like Lila Kate at all. She was always up her parents’ ass, doing what they wanted. I probably wouldn’t have even fucked Chanel in that clubhouse and gotten caught on video if I hadn’t been fighting off my attraction to Lila Kate. She messed with my head.

  “She’s a girl,” was Grant’s argument.

  “That’s not a good excuse,” Rush added. “Phoenix is giving me hell. Girls aren’t easy because they’re girls. You just got fucking lucky because Lila Kate is exactly like her mother.”

  She had left town? And Grant was okay with this?

  “Who went with her?” I asked trying to get back to what was important here.

  “No one,” was Grant’s response.

  “You just let her take off on her own?” I asked wondering if he’d lost his goddamn mind. He’d always been so overprotective.

  “She’s a grown woman. She’ smart,” was his defense

  “She’s at Nate and Bliss’s right now,” Rush added.

  She was in Sea Breeze. She hadn’t gotten far. “Where she going next?”

  “She’s not making sex videos in the clubhouse that’s for damn sure,” Dad drawled.

  No. She’d never do that. Lila Kate wasn’t that kind of girl. She also wasn’t the kind to run off like this. Alone. But then she’d only gotten as far as Alabama. There was a good chance she’d come back home. Probably would. But . . . what if she didn’t?

  Lila Kate

  BLISS HAD NICE friends. But I didn’t expect anything less. Today was fun. Enjoyable. I was glad I went. Now I needed to focus and decide where I would head next. Bliss had gone to the library where she worked to check on some things. I had decided to stay behind do some planning.

  With the warm breeze, a towel to sit on, a notepad, and my iPhone for research, I sat down on the sand facing the water. My sunglasses shaded the sun, and it was peaceful. It felt like home. The part I loved. The warmth, sound of the waves, sand between my toes—things I had grown up with, and they’d always be a part of me. Wherever I ended up.

  Making notes I was torn between going through Birmingham and visiting my friend or to keep going until I reached Nashville. Enjoy the city some then head on to the Smokey Mountains. It was either that or head west to Louisiana. I’d never been to New Orleans. That could be exciting. Traveling alone might not be very smart though.

  “Mind if I interrupt?” the voice startled me, and I lifted my gaze to see Eli. I didn’t think he’d come around again after this morning. At least I had hoped he wouldn’t.

  I wanted to say, “Yes, I do mind,” but my manners wouldn’t allow that. “I guess not.”

  He sank down beside me and sat on the sand. I didn’t offer part of my towel. If he was going to make us do this, then he was going to get a sandy bottom.

  “Breakfast was interesting,” he began.

  “Yes,” I agreed.

  He gave a soft chuckle. “You were the last person I was expecting. I was almost convinced I’d made you up in my mind.”

  That was ridiculous. “Get drunk like that often?” I asked just to be snarky.

  “Never. Rarely. I’m sorry I was last night.”

  I bet he was sorry. “I can imagine.”

  He didn’t say anything for a few moments. I studied the notebook in my hand.

  “After the third dance . . . I, well, things go black. I remember nothing.”

  He was reminding me again how forgettable sex with me was. Great. Just what I wanted to discuss. I wasn’t sure I believed that anyway. How did one just black out?

  “You’re not going to tell me what happened are you?” he said when I didn’t respond.

  I shrugged. “Nothing really. We walked. You stumbled a bit. I sobered up from my brief buzz, and then I left you with your aunt.”

  If he didn’t remember it, then I wasn’t going to give him a recap. It would be my secret.

  “That’s it?” he asked.

  “That’s it.” I wasn’t a liar. I avoided looking at him when I confirmed the lie because I knew my expression would give me away.

  He sighed. “Then why do I get the feeling you hate me for something? T
he girl I remember from last night was friendlier.”

  Not going to answer that either. “You were drunk. You don’t know if I was friendly or you just thought I was.”

  He smirked then. “You went for a walk on the beach with me. That’s pretty damn friendly.”

  He had a point. I lifted my gaze to meet his, and was honest about what I was willing to be honest about. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again. Last night was my first time alone in a bar. It was my first time dancing with a stranger and drinking with one. I thought it was a memory I’d have, not something that I’d have to face at breakfast the next morning.”

  “I was surprised but happy to see you when I walked in. I’d regretted not getting your number. It was like I had a second chance.”