His sister was a pro, Alec decided. She could talk her way into anything. Audra was struggling to keep up with the fast chatter and even faster changes of topic and even if she’d been ordered by Lilly to keep Alec at bay, lively and garrulous Jojo would make her forget any such directive.
“Getting out…” Audra repeated.
“Yes.” Jojo beamed. “We were hoping we could persuade Lilly to join us today to—”
“Lilly?”
Shit, something in Audra’s expression made Alec go on alert. “Yes,” he said, not able to help himself. “Lilly—”
“The two of us had so much fun together yesterday,” Jojo said, stepping over him with another warning in her eyes. “I thought she might like to…uh, go on a pub crawl with some of us tonight.”
Audra’s brows drew together. “Oh, I’m sorry, but Lilly can’t—”
A preemptory knock on the door had them all turning in that direction. Audra crossed the floor then turned the knob to reveal a tall man, tight-end sized, whose shoulders nearly filled the space. Fog must have been settling in, because wisps of it curled around him. Alec thought he looked vaguely familiar.
“Con!” Audra called out, moving in to hug the man. “I didn’t expect you until tonight.”
That’s who it was, Alec thought. Con Montgomery, Audra’s brother. They’d met briefly at the rehearsal dinner. Now the other man stepped into the bungalow and dropped a leather duffel to the floor. As his gaze swept the area, his brows rose at the sight of Alec, then it settled on Jojo.
His sister appeared stunned, staring too, then her eyes dropped to her lap. Her shoulders hunched as if she was hoping to hide.
Concerned, Alec started for his sister, but he was interrupted by Audra who introduced her brother to him again. The two men shook hands. Connor shot a second glance at Jojo, who seemed to have wandered to some inner distant land, and when Audra made that introduction as well, Jojo barely acknowledged it with distracted murmur.
Con Montgomery didn’t seem affected by the near-slight, but he didn’t approach Jojo either, standing very still on his side of the room.
Alec didn’t have time to figure out the electric undercurrents, not when Lilly remained out of sight and out of reach. From the ensuing small talk between the newcomer and Audra, he figured the other man had come to stay for the weekend. Good. Lilly could use the help uplifting her best friend. But why wasn’t she emerging from her room to greet the man?
Looking toward Jojo, he tried urging her to retrieve the conversational ball. She’d been talking about a pub crawl, hadn’t she? When she remained lost in her own head, Alec cleared his throat.
Only Audra looked his way.
To hell with it. “I’m here for Lilly,” he said. “I want—”
“That’s right.” Audra nodded. “A pub crawl tonight. But I’m afraid Lilly won’t be able to join you.”
Damn. Audra had indeed been ordered to play defense. “Look—”
“She’s going back to LA,” the blonde said, and there might be sympathy in her expression. “This afternoon.”
Lilly sat in a chair on the other side of the car reservations desk in the resort lobby, her jean-clad right knee jumping. Placing her palm there, she forced it to still and glanced toward the portico, willing her rental to appear.
Her packed bags sat beside her, ready to be stowed, but a thick afternoon fog was moving in fast. The drive back to LA would be both treacherous and torturous if she was forced to maneuver through thick pea soup.
May Gray, they called it. More like May Gravy.
SoCal spring was ever changeable, she thought. Just yesterday at this time, she and Jojo were skipping in the sunshine, flitting from boutiques to bars.
At the thought of Jojo Thatcher, guilt gave her a hefty pinch. She hadn’t said goodbye to the other woman.
Or to Miranda and Vic Thatcher, who had been so kind and inclusive.
Then there was Alec. No way had she wanted to see him again, though. She’d said her piece, explained the world according to Lilly Durand, and he’d let her go.
It was a relief. Now she could drive home, hit an ATM, then head over to her aunt and uncle’s apartment. She hadn’t called back to make any promises to Frank, but she was convinced this was the best strategy.
Give them the money they wanted, get them off her back.
A little voice nagged that until she said no there’d be ever more demands, and she occupied herself by arguing with it. A single woman had only so much energy with which to tackle life. If she took the easiest path—the one of least resistance—when it came to this hindrance, she wasn’t going to beat herself up about it.
That she occasionally took to punching her pillows…
“Lilly.”
For a moment she ascribed it to her continuing inner conversation. But when her name was said again, she glanced around.
Alec. Her heart climbed into her throat and she felt her cheeks go hot. He looked relaxed in a pair of jeans and long-sleeved white T-shirt, advertising a surf competition. His handsomeness appeared more austere than usual, his jaw smoothly shaved and his cheekbones casting shadows. His dark eyes watched her, alert and hyperaware, as if he was attempting to count her pulse beats.
It was his sister Jojo, however, who had said her name.
“Lilly, what are you doing?” the other woman asked now.
“I was going to text,” she said, focusing on Jojo’s face, trying to calm herself despite Alec’s serious regard. “When I got back to LA.”
“You’re leaving? But we have the big party tomorrow night,” Jojo protested. “You have the smokin’ dress.”
It sat in its garment bag, draped over one of her suitcases. She gestured to it. “I’ll find occasion to wear it some other time.” Lie. “I have to get home tonight, though. They’re bringing a car around for me any minute.”
Jojo shot a quick glance at her brother,
