Something to Believe In (2 page)

Her tone was innocent enough but the concern beneath the
innocuous query smacked of trepidation. Lilah withheld her annoyance, knowing
her sister’s concern was coming from an honest place but it raked against her
raw nerves all the same.

“I’m just wondering... Thought maybe I’d go with you,” Lora
added, trying to offer a plausible excuse.

Lilah gave her sister a knowing look. “You haven’t been
interested in going out in years but suddenly you want to spend a night out on
the town?”

“That’s not true,” Lora protested, going so far as to seem
wounded. “I didn’t have time to go out before...now I do.”

Lilah sighed. It was pointless to argue. Lora wasn’t going to
admit she was being overprotective. “I was thinking of going to the Rush Tide.
There’s going to be a live band tonight. Reggae.”

Lora tried not to wrinkle her nose but Lilah knew her sister
hated reggae almost as much as she hated jazz. Finally, Lora gave up on the
false smile she had frozen in place and broke down to admit, “No, you know I
hate reggae. Gives me a headache.”

Lilah smiled and glanced away, privately relieved. It wasn’t
that she didn’t love her sister, but since the whole embarrassing incident
happened a few months ago, she’d been trying to get her head on straight and so
far, she was succeeding. But when her sisters handled her with kid gloves, it
made her want to do something recklessly stupid. And Lilah knew that wasn’t a
healthy impulse.

“All right, Celly is taking the night shift then?” Lora asked,
and Lilah nodded. “Okay. Well...have fun and be safe. Are you meeting friends at
least? I hate the idea of you going out alone. I know you don’t worry about
this, but there are freaks out there. It’s not the same island we grew up
on.”

“You worry too much,” Lilah said, but the dark, pained look
Lora flashed gave away her guilt. Somehow Lora thought she was responsible for
what Lilah had done. It didn’t matter how many times Lilah assured her nothing
she’d said or done had been part of her thought process the day she’d walked
into the ocean and tried to drown herself, but it didn’t matter. Lora shouldered
that guilt nonetheless. Lilah sighed, hating how everything had changed. She
almost wished Lora would just snap at her and stop acting like a neutered
dog.

“Yeah, I’m meeting Stacy at the bar for hot wings before the
show,” Lilah lied for Lora’s sake. Maybe if she thought she was meeting up with
friends she’d lose that perpetually worried frown line creasing her forehead
whenever they talked.

“Oh, good,” Lora said, openly relieved and breathing easier.
“I’m glad to hear it. Okay, well, have fun and be safe out there.”

Lilah nodded. Watching as Lora walked away, she wondered if
there’d ever come a day when everything would be normal again.

Likely not.

Her family was suffering from a psychic scar that she created
and she didn’t know how to fix that. Dr. Veronica said time would help but Lilah
was afraid she’d broken something intangible and there would be no going back to
what once was.

And a part of her was okay with that because to go back to what
it was like before would be to return to those dark days of endless insomnia and
the suffocating cloak of sadness that dragged on her shoulders each day.

A delicate shudder followed the thought. No, she thought
fiercely, anything was better than that, even if it meant fielding her sisters’
overprotective questions and putting up with their worried expressions each time
she sneezed or wasn’t smiling.

She took a sip of her iced tea just as a tall, lean but
well-built man walked into the lobby. His expensive Teva sandals and equally
expensive sunglasses gave him the air of someone accustomed to fine things, even
on vacation. While Lilah would ordinarily steer clear of such a self-important
ninny, a smile warmed her mouth as if she was helpless to prevent it. For the
first time in months, Lilah felt the faint tingle of attraction. It’d been so
long since she’d felt anything remotely resembling attraction that at first she
didn’t recognize the feeling.

The man walked to the desk with a lazy gait, alternately taking
in the surroundings and Lilah in turn. It appeared by his widening smile that he
appreciated both.

“Welcome to Larimar,” Lilah said brightly. “Do you have a
reservation?”

“Not yet,” he said, his New York–accented voice sending goose
bumps rioting up and down her forearm. He removed his sunglasses and leaned into
the counter, his brown eyes gazing at her with such impish playfulness that
Lilah immediately smiled in return as he said, “Here’s the deal, seems my hotel
double booked my reservation and I need a place to crash for a few days. I asked
around and the locals said Larimar was a pretty nice place. I can see they
weren’t lying,” he added, openly flirting with her. “What’s your name,
gorgeous?”

“Lilah,” she answered. “And yours?”

“Justin—” there was the slightest of pauses “—Cales.”

Nice name. It rolled off the tongue like a fine wine. “Well,
Mr. Cales, you’re in luck. We happen to have a bungalow open. It’s the prettiest
one, too,” she confided. “It even has an open-air shower big enough for two.”
She met his stare boldly, not caring that she was flirting shamelessly. Lindy
would’ve been so proud.

His grin deepened, revealing the cutest dimple she’d ever seen.
He was gorgeous, no doubt about it and she wouldn’t mind getting to know him
better. Those dimples alone should be against the law. It’d been a while since
she’d had anyone to cuddle with. She didn’t care for the term
boyfriend.
She much preferred to consider her love
interests as friends, though not
friends with
benefits
because that just sounded wrong. Besides, life was too short
for labels anyway. Lora’s voice in her head reminded her of one of the rules: no
fooling around with the resort guests, and Lilah’s mood dampened slightly.
Although, Lindy broke that rule and it seemed to have worked out fairly well for
her.

Technically, this guy would only be their guest for two
days.

After that, he was fair game.

“I don’t think I can resist the temptation of an open-air
shower big enough for two,” Justin said with mock seriousness as he handed her a
platinum credit card. “Does it come with room service?”

She offered a throaty laugh, unable to stop flirting. There was
something about him that drew her and she had no interest in fighting it. Dr.
Veronica said she needed to start interacting with people outside of her comfort
zone. Well, now seemed like the time to give that a try.

“Your room key, Mr. Cales,” she said. “Enjoy your stay.”

He accepted the key and grinned as he shouldered his bag.
“Something tells me I will.”

And something told her, she was going to make sure of it.

CHAPTER TWO

J
USTIN
FOUND
THE
BUNGALOW
and let himself in. It
smelled of coconut and lavender and he half wondered if the cute receptionist
smelled nearly as good. He had definitely caught the vibe from the slender
blonde that she was game for a little fun if he was interested. And he was
definitely interested. She’d been just the right kind of woman for his tastes,
willowy with bee-stings for breasts, and doll-like blue eyes that a man could
get lost in for hours. Oh, yes...just his kind of woman.

He did a quick wander around the bungalow and found it more
than adequate for his needs while he waited for a room at the Worchester. There
was a bohemian charm to the place even though it wasn’t like one of those
eco-friendly hotels he’d seen on Discovery Channel where everything was made
from hemp. He made a beeline for the open-air shower and, just as Lilah had
promised, it was certainly big enough for two, especially for him and a certain
blonde.

He jumped onto the bed and tested the springs, noting with
satisfaction that they were silent as the grave, which would certainly be
appreciated when he put those springs to use.

He pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it to the floor
with a mild groan. The balmy air of St. John felt like a moist blanket wrapped
around his lungs and it was taking a bit to get used to. The moment he’d stepped
from the plane in St. Thomas he’d been gobsmacked by the humidity. As a native
New Yorker, he knew a bit about humid weather but this was taking things to a
new level. A clap of thunder surprised him and he popped to his feet to peer out
the wide window. Dark clouds boiled on the horizon, looking ominous and
foreboding. Damn, that storm rolled in quick. A flash in the sky followed the
noise and he frowned. So much for going to the beach to cool off. He’d done a
little checking before arriving and it was supposed to be the drier season, but
apparently he’d brought the rain.

He fished his phone from his shorts pocket and dialed his best
friend, Keenan Lincoln. It was about three in the afternoon in New York, which
meant Keenan was probably still lounging in his pajamas, nursing a nasty
hangover.

“Hey, man, how’s paradise?” Keenan asked in a sleepy tone when
he picked up. Justin could almost picture Keenan kicked back in his favorite
chair, trying to shake off the previous night’s drinking binge, as he slowly
returned to the land of the living.

“Hot and humid,” Justin answered, frowning as rain started to
hit the flagstones. “And wet.”

“Wet? Isn’t it supposed to be the dry season?”

“I’m not sure there is a dry season in the tropics. But yeah,
it’s supposed to be less rainy. I guess.” Since he didn’t call to chat about the
weather, Justin got to the point. “I want you to come down here and help me tear
up this quaint little place. We’ll put a New York stamp on every hot chick from
here to St. Croix. What do you say?”

“Sounds fun,” Keenan said, though there was a definite catch to
his tone that puzzled Justin. If anyone was down for some wild debauchery it was
Keenan Lincoln. The man had partying down to an art form. “Listen, man, I gotta
be honest with you... Your old man doesn’t want me following you to St.
John.”

“Excuse me?” Justin said.

Keenan sounded uncomfortable as he said, “He said something
about you needing some alone time to think things through and I don’t know what
that means but he was real serious about you not having your friends with you.
He was pretty clear on that score.” Keenan paused, then said, “Your old man was
real mad about that tabloid story, huh?”

“You could say that,” Justin grumbled. “What did he say to
you?”

“He... Well, you know your dad... He’s got some serious
connections and I sure as hell don’t want to end up in his crosshairs. My old
man would shit a brick if he found out I’d done something to piss off Senator
Cales. That’s just plain stupid, you know?”

Yeah, he knew, Justin thought bitterly. In other words, his
father had strong-armed his friends into staying away. That son of a bitch.

“Screw him,” he said recklessly, anger clouding his thinking.
“What’s he going to do? Ruin your career? You don’t have one. You’re just like
me, highly educated for zero purpose and you like it that way. Who cares what
some self-important politician told you to do or not do.”

“Yeah, easy for you to say. And eventually, I’m going to have
to get a job. My old man is getting tired of my antics and he’s making some
serious rumblings about me growing up and taking care of my affairs. And
frankly, if that’s the case, I don’t want to shoot myself in the foot over this.
It’s not worth it, man.”

What was the world coming to when Keenan passed up the
opportunity to thumb his nose at an authority figure? Hell, that had to be a
sign of the Apocalypse.

Keenan tried to smooth Justin’s ruffled feathers. “Hey, so
you’re being forced to party alone. That never stopped Justin Cales, right? You
can find a good time at a funeral, my brother,” he joked, but Justin wasn’t in
the mood to laugh. He was too pissed. He’d figured if he was going to vacation,
he wanted his usual crew to vacation with him. He’d been looking forward to
tearing it up Caribbean-style with some New York flair. But no...his father had
known that’d be exactly what he’d do and had taken steps to suck the fun out of
his plan.

He had half a mind to call up the obnoxious prick and tell him
to stick his vacation up his tight ass but self-preservation won out.

“I’m sorry, man,” Keenan said, sounding as if he felt wretched
about bailing on him like a puss. “I hope you understand.”

“Yeah, no worries,” Justin said, but there was a definite edge
to his tone that he couldn’t hide. “Take it easy, man.”

“C’mon, don’t be like that,” Keenan said. “I feel bad enough as
it is that we got snapped by the paparazzi. Maybe if that damn picture hadn’t
run, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“Maybe,” Justin agreed, but in his heart he knew it was
bullshit. His dad had been quietly fuming about his lifestyle for months. The
tabloid picture had simply been an accelerant for his father’s plans. Anger
percolated deep inside at being forced to dance to
Senator
Cales’s
tune. “I’ll send you some Caribbean rum, so you know what
you’re missing.”

“Sounds good,” Keenan said, but Justin could tell Keenan still
felt like a rat for leaving him high and dry. Selfishly, Justin was glad.
Whatever happened to fraternity brother loyalty? Apparently, it had its
limits.

“Hey...try to have fun. I mean, how bad can it be? You’re on a
tropical island, right?”

“Yeah,” Justin said. “It’ll be fine. It’s just nice to have a
wingman, you know?”

“You, my brother, have never needed a wingman. Go tear it up. I
expect to hear wild tales of total debauchery when you return. Do something
that’ll really piss off your dad. Kinda like one last hurrah!”

Justin smiled, warming to that idea. “That’s a thought with
merit.”

“All right.” Keenan yawned. “I’m about two cups short of my
usual coffee infusion... Catch you later, Cales.”

“Later, Lincoln,” Justin said, and clicked off. He tossed his
phone to the bed and stripped. If he wasn’t heading to the beach just yet, he
could at least rinse off the travel grime. He stepped into the open-air shower
and started the water. Before he could step into the spray, the heavens opened
up and the rain poured down.

He hoped this wasn’t an omen for his life now that the senator
was in control.

He had one month left of life as he knew it.

He wasn’t about to waste it.