“Yes. The music. Terrible.” Lyle might be a genius, but some aspects of his operation could stand some refining.
Noah and Lily both leaned against the railing, wind and sun in their faces as the boat approached Key Marly, a dot of an island straight ahead, a thick stand of tropical trees and foliage atop a sliver of silvery sand. Noah couldn’t help but fantasize about Locke and Locke moving away from high-rises and into resorts. He could imagine an office on the beach, where he could take his laptop outside whenever he wanted, curl his toes into the sand and set up shop on a lounge chair. The best of both worlds. Of course, if he was working, he could only imagine it with Lily there, perhaps sitting right next to him, where they could discuss work and they could enjoy each other’s company as much as they did now.
But could there be more between them? Could that dream scenario include things like love and romance? In his head, he wasn’t sure. He wanted to see himself like that, but his mind refused to make the leap. The whole thing seemed like nothing more than a fantasy. The risk of their romantic involvement was too great. Forget that his own brother and sister didn’t trust him not to break her heart, Noah didn’t trust himself. He knew that panicky feeling he got when things started to get serious. He had no idea how to ever ward it off and Lily deserved better.
“It’s so ridiculously beautiful.” Lily peered down at the water as it rushed by.
Noah watched her instead, unable to keep from noticing how sexy it was when she tucked her hair behind her ear to tame it. You’re so beautiful. He wanted to say it. He should say it. But he couldn’t toy with her heart. He couldn’t explain later that yes, he’d meant it, but he wasn’t capable of following through. “It really is, isn’t it?”
“I can’t wait until we get there and I can take off these shoes and run around in my bare feet and stick my toes in the water.”
“We’re supposed to have our own plunge pool if you want to cool off.” He suspected how ill equipped he was for the moment when he’d first see Lily in a bathing suit, but he couldn’t take the suggestion back now.
“I vote for both ocean and pool if we can.”
“I couldn’t agree more.”
A few minutes later, the boat pulled up to the Key Marly Resort dock. A line of uniformed bellmen were on hand to take their bags. At the end of the gangway, Mr. and Mrs. Hannafort were waiting. Even from a distance, Lyle Hannafort was an imposing man. He was about as tall as Noah, who was six feet three inches, but Lyle’s broad frame was nearly twice as wide. He had a bowling ball bald head and a dark mustache. Lyle’s wife, Marcy, was hardly five feet tall, and slim. With a thick mane of raven hair and her signature bright red lipstick, in many ways Marcy made just as much of an impression as her husband.
Noah and Lily were so excited to get to their cabana that they were first off the boat. He took her hand as they traversed the wood-planked surface, but her enthusiasm had turned to trembling. He leaned closer and whispered in her ear, inhaling a heady mix of her sweet perfume and ocean air. “We’re in this together. It’ll be okay.”
She smiled up at him, sunglasses glinting in the sunshine, and squeezed his hand a little harder. “The dynamic duo.”
Lyle Hannafort held out his hand to shake Noah’s. “Nice to see you, Noah. Is this the young lady I’ve heard about?”
Noah didn’t particularly like the idea of presenting Lily as if she were some sort of prize, but that seemed to be what was warranted. “Yes, Lyle, I’d like you to meet Lily Foster, my fiancée.”
“Good to meet you, Lily. This is my wife, Marcy.”
Marcy glommed right on to Lily, grabbing both of her hands and craning her neck to make eye contact. “Lily, darling, I am so happy to meet you. Let me see that ring. I heard about it in the newspapers, you know. Lyle showed me the picture. We were so glad to hear your happy news. I told Lyle that I really hoped that awful tabloid story about Noah wasn’t true. I’m so glad to know they were just spreading rumors.”
Noah wanted to hate that this had all started over a misunderstanding, but the truth was that if it hadn’t happened, Lily would be home right now and he’d be attending this wedding stag while he watched his siblings carry on with their happy coupled lives. Every time he looked at Sawyer and Charlotte, he wanted to think that it meant he could find that kind of partner someday, too, but it felt too much like confirmation that two of the three Locke kids had cheated their family’s marital curse and he’d better not press his luck.
“Mrs. Hannafort, that was not the real Noah. I hope you know that.”