“HOW DID YOU put all this together in eight hours?”
Garrett looked around the fenced-in backyard of his childhood home, hoping he remembered the names of all the people his mother had invited for this homecoming s’mores party, as she called it.
“The neighbors understand how happy I am to have you here,” Alice Dawes explained with a watery smile. “Even if it’s just for one night.”
“I promise I’ll stay longer on the return trip.” Garrett wrapped an arm around his mother’s shoulders. As a single mom, Alice had done her best and always made Garrett feel loved and wanted, even if his deadbeat father hadn’t given a damn about either of them. When he’d left for Hollywood, he promised her that he was going to make it big for both of them. She deserved to be taken care of after working so hard to support him.
He’d sent her and his aunt on a Caribbean cruise, Alice’s bucket list vacation. But the black hole of partying and excessive spending drained the money he made from the book and movie before he could truly set her up for life. He still received royalties, but when his second book failed, so did his dreams for a long literary and showbiz career.
“You have a beautiful home, Mrs. Dawes.” Lily’s sweet smile eased the ache in Garrett’s chest. Did she realize her effect on him? Could she tell he was on the verge of losing his composure? He mentally kicked himself in the teeth for the list of mistakes he’d made that had destroyed the life he thought he wanted.
“Call me Alice,” his mother said, reaching out to pat Lily’s cheek. “I’m so glad you needed a ride and my son was available to give you one.”
“Me, too.” The blush that stained Lily’s cheeks pink made awareness dance across his skin.
“I’m going to get another bag of marshmallows for s’mores.” His mom gestured to the kids surrounding the fire pit on the back patio.
Garrett rocked back on his heels as she walked away and tried to be subtle about checking out everyone who’d come to welcome him home.
“This is not what you had in mind,” Lily said, taking a step closer to him.
He sighed. “It’s making me rethink my commitment to sobriety.”
“Garrett, no. You can’t—”
“Sorry,” he said, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. “That was a bad joke. I’m using inappropriate humor to defuse my anxiety.”
She tipped her chin, her knowing gaze assessing him. Her eyes were the color of the deep moss that grew on the trees in the forest behind the house. She’d taken a shower when they got to his mom’s, and her hair was still damp on the ends. He wanted to run his fingers through it.
“I’m four years sober, Lily. Trust me. If I could stay clean in LA, I’ll be fine at a backyard picnic.”
“Your mom is so proud of you,” she murmured, her smile wistful.
He nodded. “Despite all the ways I’ve screwed up. I don’t deserve that kind of love from her or from my aunt.”
“Of course you do.” Lily’s eyes flashed. “Everyone deserves love.”
His mouth went dry. He’d never experienced anything quite like the way Lily Wainright made him feel.
“Can I show you something?” he asked.
“Sure.”
Without overthinking it, he took her hand, lacing their fingers together, shocked but elated when she didn’t pull away.
He whistled sharply and Chloe, who’d been sniffing around the buffet table most of the night, trotted over.
“Will it upset your mom if you leave the party?” Lily asked as he led her through the gate that led to the woods.
“Her friends saw me. They know I’m alive and not a drug-addicted bum in southern California. Mom will be thrilled.”
“That’s a problem with small towns,” she said with a sigh. “People latch onto something and don’t like to let go. I’m sorry if the attention bothers you.”
He squeezed her fingers. “I didn’t expect all of this, but I’m glad for it. With one fell swoop, we got all of the business of people seeing me again out of the way. It made my mother happy, and that makes me happy.”
Chloe yowled and galloped after a squirrel running into the forest.
“That dog makes me happy,” Lily said with a laugh.
The animal barked and lifted her paws onto the trunk of the tree where the squirrel had retreated. The small woodland creature squawked from a branch, making Chloe bark even more frantically. “Not exactly the world’s greatest hunter,” Garrett observed.
Lily laughed harder and the sound flowed over him like warm honey.
“Here we are,” he murmured as they moved into the canopy of elm trees. The temperature had dropped a few degrees, making it a perfect late summer evening.
“It’s a fort.” Lily let go of his hand and moved toward the structure that had meant so much to him through most of his childhood.
“I wasn’t sure it would still be here. Max Campbell and I built it the summer between fourth and fifth grade. We hooked up wagons to the backs of our bikes so we could transport the lumber.”
“Did you have a club name or secret handshake?”
He shook his head as he opened the door and peered in at the dusty interior. As a kid, the woods and this clubhouse had been his sanctuary. It was empty of the books and trinkets that had filled it back then, but he remembered every detail of the hours he’d spent there. Revisiting it now was an unexpected gift, especially with Lily at his side. “No, but I have an idea for a new series built around a clubhouse in the woods. Think Stranger Things meets WarGames.”
“I like that mash-up.”
“I’d like it if I could meet a deadline, even if it’s self-imposed at this point.”
“You can do it.”
“How is that those four words sound so convincing coming from you?”
She looked up at him through her long lashes. “Because I believe in you.”
Emotion rippled through him, a seismic shift that seemed to make the walls he’d built around his heart crumble. He cupped her face and touched his lips to hers. She tasted like sugar and felt like heaven.
When he would have pulled back, trying to rein in his desire, she wound her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss. Their tongues met and melded, and he drew her closer until their bodies pressed together.
Suddenly he was knocked off balance as Chloe ran headlong into his legs. The dog barked and circled, rearing up on her back paws like they were playing some game that she wanted in on.
Lily lifted two fingers to her mouth, as if she couldn’t believe what had just happened between them. Garrett’s brain scrambled for purchase as he tried to stave off the rising tide of feelings rolling through him. He wasn’t great with emotion and had no idea how to handle himself in this moment.
Two days from now, he’d drop Lily in her small North Carolina town and head back to his hollow, lonely life in California. Getting involved now would only complicate things. Part of his recovery and subsequent sobriety hinged on keeping his world simple and straightforward.
The woman standing before him was neither of those things.
“Sorry,” he said automatically. “That was a mistake.”
Her mouth formed a small O as hurt flickered in her eyes. She lowered a hand to scratch Chloe’s ears, and Garrett tried not to notice the way her fingers trembled.
Then she gave him a flippant grin that was so different from one of her real smiles. “Don’t let it happen again, buddy,” she said with a tinkling laugh. Even that sounded phony, but he didn’t call her on it.
Let them both pretend the kiss hadn’t meant anything. It would make saying goodbye easier. At least that’s what he told himself.