I looked at Luke and winked at him. He could tell I wasn’t falling for Lucky’s bullshit lines.

“You know Lucky,” I said, pausing to turn around and face him. “Every time I look at you, I feel like I’ve died and gone to hell, so please do me a favor and back the fuck off so that I can go on with my day.” I smiled politely.

He looked at me for a moment with knitted eyebrows. Extending his hand to me, he said, “You are one awesome chick! Friends?”

I smiled and shook his hand. “Friends,” I said.

Sam and Luke both busted out laughing; then I looked over at Luke as he was shaking his head at me.

“What do you guys want to do?!” Luke yelled to everyone.

“I think I’m just going to lay in the sun for a while,” I said as I took off my top and shorts, revealing my bikini underneath.

“Hot damn!” Sam squealed as he ran towards me, picked me up, and ran to the water.

I yelled at him to put me down, but he just laughed and said he would, but not until we cooled off. We hit the water and he carried me out until the water stopped at our chest.

“Sam! You just wait!”

He was smiling at me, and suddenly, out of nowhere, someone had a tight grip around my waist and pulled me under the water. My heart started racing, but within moments, I was released and returned to the surface. When I turned around, Luke was inches from my face, smiling.

“You asshole! You scared the shit out of me!” I said as I splashed him.

“Watch your mouth, and I couldn’t resist! Please tell me you’re not mad.”

How the hell could I be mad at that face? He was having fun, and I’m all up for crazy, wild fun—at least I used to be.

“I’m not mad.”

“Good. Then let’s get out of the water,” he said as we swam back to shore.

Sam was standing at the shoreline with two towels. “Here, dry off, and let’s play some volleyball.”

I saw Gretchen waving to me as she sat in the sand, so I ran over to her.

“Look at you miss sexy thing in that teeny weeny bikini! You’ve gone and gave all the boys a boner!” she said in her fake southern accent.

I threw my towel at her and sat down; then I put my arm around her and laid my head on her shoulder. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Looks like you and Luke were having some fun in the water.”

“He found out last night about Johnny.” I sighed.

“What did he say?”

“He was shocked, but then he raved about him like he was some sort of God.”

“Lily, he was a god to a lot of people, and one of them happens to be Luke. How weird is that? You move here to start a new life, and you live next door to a twenty-seven-year-old guy who worships your dad.”

I lifted my head and gave her a dirty look.

“I’m just saying.”

Sam walked over and asked Gretchen if she wanted to play volleyball. She jumped at the chance; little did the boys know she was the captain of her volleyball team and star player. She grabbed my hand and told me to come on, but I really just wanted to lay back in the sun and relax for a while, so I told her that I’d play later. I looked around, and Luke was off to the side, talking to a group of people, and the volleyball game was about ready to start. I decided to wander the beach and take some pictures instead, so I put on my jean shorts, grabbed my camera from the bag, and headed down the beach. The sun was bright, the sand was warm, and the beach was filled with people enjoying a beautiful Saturday. I heard someone call my name, so I turned around, and Luke was running up behind me.

“Hey, where are you off to?” he asked as he caught up with me.

“I was just wandering around, taking some pictures.” I smiled.

“I know this great little area that has the best view that’s perfect for taking pictures. Come on, follow me.”

I followed him about half a mile down the beach. When we reached the area, I looked around. It was a cove with large boulders around one side, forming a small wall. There were a few sailboats in the water, but overall, there wasn’t anyone else around.

“If you climb those rocks over there, you’ll be able to get some great pictures looking out into the ocean,” Luke said.

I smiled as we walked over to the area. Luke climbed up first and then held his hand out to me. “I don’t want you to fall. These rocks are tricky, and you could slip.”

I took his warm, strong hand, and he helped me up onto the rock; then we climbed a couple more until we were at the top. Luke was right; this was a beautiful place to take pictures. I took my camera and began clicking. Luke was staring out into the water as I turned towards him and took his picture.

“I think I took enough pictures from this spot.”

Luke took my hand as we carefully stepped down onto each rock. Only when we reached the sand, did he let go.

“This is a quiet spot,” I said as I sat down.

“I come here when I need to think.”

“Think about what?” I asked.

“Life,” he replied as he stared out at the water. “There’s something that I want to ask you,” he said nervously.

I suddenly became nervous, and I had a sick feeling in my stomach. “Ok, ask away.”

“Why did you lie to me about your mom and sister being deceased?” he asked.

I felt a knot in my throat, so I closed my eyes. Did I owe him an explanation? Was I obligated to tell him everything? I stood up and grabbed my camera. “They’re dead to me,” I said as I walked away from him. He instantly jumped up and followed me.

“Lily, wait!” he called out to me.

He caught up with me and lightly grabbed my arm. “Please, don’t walk away from me.”

I sighed and stood there. Luke let go of my arm, and as I stared into his brown eyes, and he stared back into mine. I shook my head and pursed my lips. The last thing I wanted to do was dredge up the past, but I don’t think I had much of a choice.

“My mother and sister did horrible things, and as far as I’m concerned, they’re dead to me.”

“I read the article about you and your ex-fiancé. I’m sorry that happened.”

I took in a deep breath as I looked down. “Hunter’s an asshole, and my sister’s a whore. My mother knew they were fucking behind my back for a long time, but she didn’t say a word to me about it. She was going to let me marry that cheating bastard and ruin my life. Just because she stayed in a marriage where her husband did nothing but cheat on her, doesn’t mean everyone else wants that life. I hate them for what they did!”

Tears started to fall down my face. Luke stepped closer, and before I knew it, his arms were around me, embracing me, and letting me know everything was alright. My heart started racing. His arms were so strong. I wanted to push him away, but I couldn’t muster up the strength to try. My head was telling me to run, but my heart was saying it was ok.

“I had no idea that your mom knew. I’m sorry, Lily.”

I broke our embrace and looked at him. “Thank you, Luke. I moved here to start a new life and to forget about them as well as everything that happened. I’ll tell you more sometime over several drinks.” I laughed.

Luke laughed and put his arm around me. “Come on; let’s head back to the gang. They’re probably starting rumors about us.”

LUKE

As we walked back to the part of the beach where everyone had been playing volleyball, I couldn’t stop thinking about holding Lily. It felt right, and it scared me to think of us being more than just friends. My feelings were growing for her, and holding her the way I did to comfort her, intensified those feelings. Her warm skin against mine felt incredible, and it stirred up emotions that I haven’t had in a long time. We reached our friends as the volleyball game was ending; I saw Sam walk over to Gretchen and kiss her on the lips.

“Break it up, you two, or go get a room.” I smiled.