Chapter 19

Lisa squealed as she saw Riley’s red hair bobbing through the crowd. Of course, she was easy to find because her rockstar boyfriend was a head taller than everyone, wore dark sunglasses, and had a security detail clearing a path for them.

“Riley,” she called, and her friend broke toward her. Lisa laughed at the same time she cried a little bit, hugging her best friend.

Summer had fully arrived on the island, and tourists streamed past them at the airport. “Oh, don’t cry,” Riley said, wiping her own eyes. “We’ll be here for a month, and it’s going to be so great.”

“Yeah, except I still have to go to work every day,” Lisa said. Evan Garfield approached, and Lisa shook his hand. “Let’s get to the office and get our meeting over with. I’m just so happy for you two.” Her voice broke, and she ducked her head away from the newly engaged couple whose wedding she was going to plan.

Just six short months until Riley and Evan’s beach wedding, and Lisa was determined to make sure every single detail was absolutely correct.

She hugged them both, and they left the airport together. She wanted to lounge by a pool with someone bringing her a cold drink as she told Riley about her relationship with Cal. Of course, that had been over for almost six weeks now, but Lisa couldn’t stop thinking about him. She hadn’t been out with anyone new, and she didn’t even want to see someone else.

She wasn’t sure how or when Cal had reached right into her chest and stolen her heart. She wasn’t sure if she loved him or not. She knew how to set an alarm and get up on time. She knew how to feed her dog, make coffee, and drive to work. She knew how to order pretty papers and pick out the perfectly pink petals for a ceremony.

Her friendship with Deirdre had broadened, and she’d actually been very helpful in understanding a little bit more about Cal and what he was going through.

Riley linked her arm through Lisa’s, and her loneliness these past few weeks faded a little. Riley had a ton of stories about the places she’d been, the things she’d been doing for Georgia Panic, and she somehow knew Lisa didn’t want to talk.

So Riley did, all the way to Your Tidal Forever. The reunion there was epic, as Lisa had made sure everyone knew Riley and her new fiancé would be coming in. Sunny had ordered sandwiches and cake, and several of their distributors and contractors had come in.

One of those contractors would’ve been Cal Lewiston, and Lisa had been sure to put his invite on Deirdre’s list so she wouldn’t have to contact him. Not that she expected him to show up. Sure, he knew Riley, but they weren’t the best of friends.

Cal had other jobs, and even when he had built something for Your Tidal Forever over the past six weeks, he hadn’t interacted with Lisa.

She had kept in touch with Sierra, and whether Cal knew or not, Lisa wasn’t sure. She’d asked Sierra to tell her father, make sure their communication was okay, but she’d never followed up with the teenager.

She also knew Cal checked his daughter’s phone, so unless Sierra was deleting their text string, Cal would know about the conversations whether Sierra told him explicitly or not.

The lobby of Your Tidal Forever had been decorated with white and yellow balloons, streamers, and all of the refreshments. When Lisa entered, everyone started cheering, and Riley stood there and cried until Charlotte rushed over to her.

“You guys are too much,” she said.

“Oh, you would’ve done this for any of us coming back,” Shannon said, and Lisa had to agree. Riley was the ultimate queen in keeping details and appointments and making sure everyone who walked through the door felt like royalty.

She mingled about, and Lisa stepped over to the refreshment table to get herself a piece of cake. This party wasn’t unlike the spring company party from a few months ago, and Lisa flashed back to the feeling of being an outsider she’d felt among that crowd by the pool.

Maybe there was someone else here she could get to know better. Make a new friend. Maybe another of their contractors was single and looking for a date.

She found a spot halfway behind Sunny’s desk, a safe spot she could watch the party as she sipped her soda. The festivities wouldn’t last much longer, and then she’d steal Evan and Riley away from their friends. Business would go back to normal at Your Tidal Forever, and Lisa would take notes with Charlotte and Sunny, detailing everything Riley wanted for her own wedding.

A stab of jealousy hit her heart, no matter how hard she pushed against it. She loved Riley and had always wanted her to find a man like Evan. Problem was, she wanted her own version of Evan Garfield too. A man who was her own personal rockstar.

Her phone buzzed against her leg, and she pulled it out of her pocket to check it. It was the height of the summer wedding season after all, and she did have four upcoming weddings before September.

But the message wasn’t from a bride. She sucked in a breath as she read Cal’s message—do you want to dance with me?—and immediately looked up to find him.

No one was dancing here the way they had been at the pool, but Lisa’s pulse didn’t care about that.

She also couldn’t find Cal, and then suddenly someone moved, and there he stood. Only a few feet away, he took two steps and took her drink and her phone from her.

He finished her soda and set the plastic cup, along with her phone, on the desk beside her. “So?” he asked. “Did you get my text?”

Cal had just gotten his hair cut. His sexy beard was neatly trimmed, and all Lisa could do was drown in the depths of his dark blue eyes.

He inched closer to her, completely cutting off her view of the rest of the party. “I’ve been attending my grief meetings again,” he said, his voice quiet enough to make Lisa lean forward to hear him. “I’m feeling so much better, and I’m hoping you’ll be available for dinner tonight.”

“Tonight?” Lisa asked, surprised her voice worked at all. Her mind whirred through her schedule, and she was pretty sure she was supposed to hang out with Riley that night.

“Let me know, okay?” Cal backed up a step and then another, expanding her world again. He returned to her and leaned down, pressing his lips to her cheek. “I hope you can make it,” he whispered, his voice delicious and soft, for her ears only.

She stayed against the desk as he fell back again, and when he turned and left, her eyes landed on Riley’s. Her friend abandoned the conversation she’d been having with Hope and came straight toward Lisa.

Lisa looked at the cup on the desk and back to Riley. “Who was that?” she said in half a hiss and half of a normal voice.

“Cal Lewiston,” Lisa said, still a little shocked at how different he’d seemed. More confident. More sure of himself and sure of what he wanted. More…ready.

She smiled at Riley, and added, “Okay, look, I know we were planning dinner tonight, but he just asked me out, and I didn’t tell you, but I dated him a little bit ago, and I really like him.” Lisa knew she was talking too fast, but Riley would be able to keep up. Her eyes sparkled, and she nodded.

“You go right ahead,” Riley said. “I’ll be here for a month, and there will be plenty of time for you to tell me all about him.” She glanced over her shoulder as if Cal would still be standing there, but Lisa knew he wasn’t. “Because, wow.”

“It’s Cal,” Lisa said, a burst of laughter coming out of her mouth next. “We’ve worked with him for years.”

“Sometimes the stars just need to align,” Riley said. “I can’t wait to hear about it.”

Lisa couldn’t wait to tell her. But at the moment, she also couldn’t wait to see Cal again. She grabbed her phone and sent him a quick text.

Yes.

“Okay, let’s go plan your wedding,” she said to Riley, another squeal coming out of her mouth. This time, it was for Riley—and for her date with Cal that night.