Something to Believe In (8 page)

CHAPTER ELEVEN

T
HE
NEXT
FEW
DAYS
PASSED
by in a blur as everyone
pulled double shifts to keep Larimar flowing on an even keel, which was no small
feat given how many bad days Pops had been having. Lilah knew it was because
Celly’s disappearance had thrown off his routine but Lora stubbornly refused to
simply set things right with a much needed sit-down with the older woman. Lilah
checked on Celly each day to make sure she was doing okay, but also to try and
persuade her to return, but Celly was as stubborn as Lora and both refused to
budge.

The only upside to an otherwise irritatingly frustrating few
days was that Lindy was flying in that afternoon.

In fact, Lindy and her newly adopted gang were all coming. It
would be good to see Carys, Lindy’s eleven-year-old soon-to-be stepdaughter who
was a Bell in sheep’s clothing. Lilah had never met a child so similar to Lindy
in spirit and attitude than that towheaded precocious girl and Lilah loved every
sassy bit of her.

As excited as she was to have her twin home for a few weeks,
Lilah was not looking forward to the family meeting on the schedule.

They’d been putting their collective heads together to think of
a way to make Larimar more profitable in a short time frame and they’d been
hitting brick walls.

Sure, they’d made the IRS payments—by the skin of their
teeth—but that wasn’t a way to sustain the resort in the long-term.

Which was exactly why Lora always had dark circles under her
eyes; she worried enough for them all.

Yet, they still didn’t know how to save Larimar.

And that scared them spitless.

The very idea of losing their foundation was enough to make
them
all
lose their marbles.

“What time is Lindy’s flight?” Lora asked, checking her phone
for the daily schedule.

“Noon,” Lilah answered. “I’m picking her up at the ferry at
one-thirty.”

“Good. Hopefully she won’t be too jet-lagged to have the
meeting tonight.”

“I’m sure she’ll soldier through,” Lilah said wryly. If Lora
had changed since falling in love, Lindy had, as well. In fact, before Lindy had
met and fallen in love with Gabe, Lindy had been a bit of a... Well,
flirt
is a mild term. Lilah loved her twin to death
but Lindy had always been a wild child. Now she was settled and more mature with
a kid no less and she was loving her new role as if she’d been born to it. Which
was downright
Twilight Zone
-ish.

But if changes were to be made, Lilah supposed these were the
good kind to make.

She wondered wistfully what kind of changes love would make to
her. Immediately—and unwelcome—Justin’s adorable mug jumped to mind and she
frowned. Fall in love with Justin Cales? An admitted playboy who was here today
and gone tomorrow? Not bloody likely. Her gaze drifted to the pile of paperwork
that needed filing from the previous day’s checkouts and she sighed. Who had
time to fall in love? Not this chick, that was for sure.

So why did her gaze inadvertently search out glimpses of Justin
around the resort? Admittedly, her heart did a little happy dance when she saw
him now and then as he went about his business. She tried not to notice that he
didn’t smile or wave when he went by. She tried not to take offense when he
plainly seemed amenable to her suggestion that they remain casual.

But she’d be a liar if she didn’t admit that she wished he’d
ignored her refusal and simply pursued her anyway.

Well, it was a woman’s prerogative to be fickle, right?

Another deep sigh escaped and she fought to shake off the
melancholy she felt creeping toward her like an unwelcome shadow. A yawn
surprised her and she rubbed at her eyes. She hadn’t slept well last night. Too
many worries, too many thoughts crowding her brain. At first she feared the
insomnia was returning but after yoga on the beach, she felt far more centered
and balanced and the worry dissipated.

But the yearning for someone she couldn’t have simply wouldn’t
abate no matter how many times she drew deep calming breaths and stretched her
muscles until she was as loose as a fatigued rubber band.

So when Justin happened to pass by, wearing board shorts that
accentuated his lean, narrow waist and showed off way too much golden skin, she
couldn’t help the hello that popped from her mouth.

Which was mistake number one.

* * *

J
USTIN
WAS
DOING
A
BANG
-
UP
job ignoring Lilah’s presence every day, purposefully striding past her without
so much as glancing her way as he went about his day exploring the island and
enjoying his forced vacation, but the minute he heard his name on her lips, his
feet took over and he spun around with a silly jump in his heart.

“Yeah?” he queried, knowing he should’ve pretended not to hear
her and kept walking. Damn, did she always have to look so beautiful? It was
like staring at an angel who had fallen to earth or something. He didn’t even
have the right words to describe how she took his breath away, only that he went
to sleep thinking of her, spent the evenings dreaming about her, and spent way
too much time trying to find new and inventive ways to avoid being around her.
And yet, when he had the opportunity to move to the Worchester, he’d canceled
his reservation.

Smooth move.

But there was something about Larimar that spoke to him, and it
didn’t have everything to do with Lilah. There was an energy in the resort that
resonated within him, made him feel right at home in spite of having never been
there before.

He wasn’t normally a woo-woo type of guy but there was a real
sense of family at Larimar that he knew he wouldn’t find at the Worchester.

Maybe it was because his dad was being such a royal prick that
he found comfort in someone else’s family, if even peripherally, but he liked
the vibe at Larimar and he wasn’t leaving until his vacation was over.

All he had to do was, somehow, stop hoping for a little
attention from the cute blonde who was tipping his world upside down.

“So what’s on your agenda today?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Beach, water, rum. In no particular order, of
course.”

“Of course,” she said, smiling. “Did you have a chance to check
out The Wild Donkey?”

“To eat boiled bananas? I confess, not really high on my
desirable list, but I did get a fresh fruit smoothie from that guy in the plaza.
You’re right, it’s pretty damn divine. Who knew fruit could be so good, right?”
He should’ve grinned and waved goodbye, keeping it as casual as she said she
wanted it, but now that he was talking to her again, he couldn’t bring himself
to walk away. The natural light in the foyer picked up the sun-kissed highlights
in her blond hair, giving a halo effect that only made her look more ethereal
than she already did in his mind. “Got a lot on your plate today?” he asked.

She nodded, excited. “My twin sister and her family are flying
in today. I’m picking them up at the ferry.”

“You’re a twin,” he said, surprised and a little intrigued.
“Identical?”

“No, fraternal. And we couldn’t be more different.”

He wasn’t sure the world could handle more than one Lilah
running around anyway. How pathetic was it that he wanted to fish for an
invitation to go with her to pick up her sister? Very. And because of that, he
kept his mouth tightly sealed. A guy had his dignity.

“I noticed you’re still with us,” she said brightly, switching
directions. “I would’ve thought you might’ve moved to the Worchester by
now.”

“I like it here,” he said with a shrug. “Besides, I think I’m
in love with the outdoor shower. If I didn’t run the risk of freezing my balls
off, I’d have one installed at my place in upstate New York.”

“You have a place in upstate New York?” she murmured, then
remembered, “Ah, that’s right. Private school kid.”

“Says the girl living on a tropical island at a five-star
resort,” he teased.

Her cheeks colored a bit as she laughed ruefully. “It’s not
quite the same but I get your point. However, looks can be deceiving. We’re not
rich by any means.”

Justin cast a speculative look around the surroundings, then
said, “Well, it looks like you’re doing all right just the same.”

“We are,” she agreed. “So...have fun at the beach. Lift a glass
for me while you’re out and about.”

He took that as a sign it was time to make his exit gracefully
but he was enjoying himself too much to listen to the voice in his head.
Besides, it’d been days—almost a damn week, actually—since he’d been with Lilah
and he was jonesing for a fix from his island girl. The question was, how to
convince her she needed the same...

But logic told him that with her twin sister flying in, Lilah’s
attentions would swing toward her family. He was an only child so he didn’t have
those kinds of attachments. Sometimes he wished he’d had a brother so his father
would’ve split his single-minded focus between two targets. Alas, Justin was the
bearer of all those good intentions as his mother would say.

Good intentions, my ass. More like
fulfilling an ego stroke.

He dodged the direction of his suddenly dark thoughts and moved
away from the counter. “Have fun with your sister,” he said, smiling.

She returned the smile and nodded. Justin turned and walked
away, his step decidedly lighter as he realized with a triumphant grin that he’d
seen disappointment lurking in his beautiful islander’s eyes. His grin deepened
as he formulated a plan to destroy her resistance. By this Friday, he’d have her
in his arms again.

Now that was a goal worth shooting for.

CHAPTER TWELVE

L
INDY
B
ELL
,
SOON
-
TO
-
BE
Lindy Weston, had
butterflies in her stomach, which had begun fluttering around her midsection
somewhere over Florida. By the time their plane had landed in St. Thomas, Lindy
was fairly certain she might need to throw up.

She missed her sisters and the island so much that it was
always like this when she came to visit but this time felt worse than usual.

“You okay?” Gabe asked, reaching over to gently rub her hand.
“Do you need some ginger ale or seltzer water?”

“I’m fine. I’m just excited to see my family and eat Celly’s
cooking.”

“I do miss those boiled bananas,” Gabe agreed, settling back in
his seat.

They flew first-class so there was plenty of legroom for the
long flight, which was nice, but there was no getting around the fact that the
flight always felt as if it took years from her life. Carys, her future
stepdaughter, was accustomed to the long flight, having made this trip with
Lindy several times, and was entertaining herself with a plethora of electronic
gadgets.

Lindy had long since lost interest in the magazines she’d
brought and was anxiously awaiting their landing. It’s funny, before Lilah’s
momentary lapse of sanity, she’d go months without seeing her twin because she’d
been living in Los Angeles doing the actress thing and couldn’t always afford
hopping a plane to return home.

But now, it seemed that spending time with her family was the
most important priority.

Maybe because sometimes at night, she relived that moment when
Lilah sank beneath the waves and in her nightmares, Lilah’s fine silk blond hair
slipped through her fingers and she drowned. Her chest tightened as the breath
seemed caught in her lungs and Gabe’s reassuring touch brought her back to the
here and now. “Are you sure you’re okay? You seem on edge,” he remarked,
concerned.

“I am a little,” she admitted. “I just feel as if something big
is in the air and it makes me nervous. I mean, that’s how it’d felt right
before...”

None of them liked to talk about Lilah’s suicide attempt. The
words always seemed like poison in their mouths. But the fact was plain and
stark. Lilah had tried to drown herself. If it hadn’t been for Lindy...

“Hey,” Gabe said softly, snagging her chin gently. “Everything
is going to be fine. Lilah is fine. The last time you talked she was doing
great. There’s no need to borrow trouble where there isn’t any, right?”

She allowed a reluctant smile. “You’re right. She’s fine. I’m
just...I don’t know...feeling weird. I’ll be fine as soon as we get to
Larimar.”

Gabe smiled and settled back again to close his eyes for a bit.
God, she loved that man. How she ever got so lucky was beyond her but she wasn’t
about to second-guess fate’s benevolence. She followed Gabe’s lead and closed
her eyes. With any luck, she’d catch some z’s and before she knew it, they’d be
in St. Thomas.

* * *

L
ILAH
SQUEALED
WITH
OPEN
JOY
as soon as she caught sight of Lindy and her
gang disembarking from the ferry in Cruz Bay. She didn’t waste time and simply
ran to her twin sister and hugged her tightly.

Gabe wore a grin as he waited a safe distance while the sisters
squealed and danced and hopped up and down in each other’s arms, because he’d
been witness to this scene many times since becoming a part of the Bell
household.

Not to be left out however, Carys ran and wiggled her way
between Lindy and Lilah, her high-pitched squeals only adding to the decibel
level.

Lilah pressed a kiss to Carys’s forehead when they were
finished hugging. “Have you grown again?” she exclaimed, knowing Carys loved it
when Lilah fussed over her. “I’m fairly certain you are a few inches taller
since I saw you last.”

“It’s possible, she’s always insisting on new clothes,” Lindy
teased. “A trip to the mall is always an expensive one.”

“Hey, I
am
growing,” Carys
insisted, looking to Lilah. “You just said I looked taller, right?”

“Absolutely,” Lilah agreed wholeheartedly, giving Carys’s chin
a gentle shake to emphasis the point. Carys rewarded her with a blinding smile,
which Lilah returned. She loved this kid. “How was the flight?” she asked as
they started walking to the Jeep.

“Long but uneventful. Last trip, the turbulence over Florida
freaked me out. I thought we were going to land in the Everglades and get eaten
by crocodiles,” Lindy answered with a shudder. “Glad to be home, though. What’s
new? I haven’t heard from you in a few weeks. Anything up?”

Lilah heard the faint fear in her sister’s tone even though she
tried to mask it with a lighthearted smile and it hurt that she’d caused that
worry. If she hadn’t tried to kill herself, Lindy wouldn’t have thought twice
about a few absent phone calls. She gave Lindy a knowing smile. “Everything is
fine. More than fine, actually,” she said, immediately thinking of Justin. “I’ve
just been busy that’s all.”

Gabe nudged Lindy. “See? I told you. No need for worry.” To
Lilah he said, “I thought your sister was about to drop out of her play she was
so anxious to return to Larimar. Somehow I convinced her not to, but the plane
ride was not only long, I think she bit her nails clean off.”

At that Lindy hid her fingernails behind her back with a
sheepish smile. “It’s a twin thing, I guess. I was on edge for some reason. Are
you sure there’s nothing going on?”

Lilah weighed the possibility of sharing her feelings about
Justin but as she glanced at the trio, she realized it was a private
conversation if she were going to have it at all. She trusted Lindy but she
worried that Lindy would side with Lora and start warning her off from dating.
And frankly, Lilah didn’t want to hear it parroted at her from all angles. “Will
you stop worrying?” she said, allowing a hint of exasperation to leak into her
tone. “I’m fine. What’s wrong with you? What happened to my devil-may-care twin
sister?”

“That’s my fault,” Gabe said. “I made her all civilized and
responsible when I asked her to be my wife.”

“And my mom,” Carys chimed in. “She even makes me eat
vegetables.”

Lindy laughed. “It’s true. I’ve turned into a suburban
housewife and the ceremony hasn’t even taken place yet.”

Lilah grinned, then whispered to Carys, “Lindy never ate her
vegetables unless they were slathered in cheese. Grams said with as much cheese
as she ate, she’d never be able to go to the bathroom again.”

Carys giggled and Lindy glared at Lilah for sharing secrets but
it was all in fun and it felt so good to joke around like they used to in the
old days.

But Lilah had forgotten to mention one crucial detail, one that
was immediately noticed the minute they walked into the lobby of Larimar.

“Where’s Celly?”

Carys’s question seemed to echo off the travertine tile floor
and Lilah turned to Lora who was manning the front desk.

Lora’s mouth pinched with irritation and perhaps guilt as she
sent Lilah a dark look for not preparing them before they arrived. “She quit,”
Lora said brusquely but forced a smile for everyone. “But we’re all still here.
Welcome home!”

But it didn’t feel like home and Lilah knew by the crestfallen
expression on Carys’s face and the shocked expression on Lindy’s face that this
issue was not over no matter how Lora hoped it would be.

No...now that Lindy was home...Lora was going to get a fresh
earful.

And Lilah couldn’t say that Lora didn’t deserve it.

* * *

H
EATH
HUGGED
L
INDY
AND
C
ARYS
and shook Gabe’s hand, but even as it was a
happy moment, the undercurrent of tension was palpable between the sisters. He
withheld a sigh. He supposed some things would never change.

“How about I man the desk while you girls catch up?” He tossed
keys to Gabe. “Bungalow number two is ready for you.”

Gabe, sensing the undercurrent as well, took the hint. “C’mon,
Carys, let’s get settled in and maybe rinse off some of the travel dirt.”

“That’s what the beach is for, Dad,” Carys said, but followed
her dad just the same.

Gabe had just cleared the lobby when Lindy started peppering
Lora with questions.

“What do you mean Celly quit? How could this happen? She loved
it here. We were her family.”

Lora ground her teeth and actually snapped. “Well, apparently
she was just an employee because she didn’t have a problem walking out on us
when we needed her most.”

“That’s not true, Lora,” Lilah chimed in, scowling hard. “You
can’t tell a half-truth. You have been treating her like an outsider since the
day you returned and then you went and rearranged her space when she had a
system that was working quite well.”

“A system,” Lora scoffed. “It was chaos. Who knows how many
clients we’ve lost due to that mess.”

“No clients were lost. She had a system that worked and you
came along and pushed your nose where it didn’t belong and instead of
apologizing like you should, you’ve stubbornly refused.”

“Lora—” Lindy started but Lora cut her off.

“I am not going to stand here and let you two gang up on me for
making a hard decision. And for the record, I didn’t start this, she did. I am
her boss—”

“That’s the problem right there,” Lindy’s voice rose over
Lora’s. “She was more than an employee.”

“Says who?”

“Says us!” both Lindy and Lilah said with exasperation.

Lora stared and tears actually welled in her eyes but before
they could make amends, she turned on her heel and walked stiffly away. “Fine,”
she called over her shoulder. “You obviously love her more than your actual
sister. Please, by all means, do what you feel is right. I sure as hell don’t
have a clue, it would appear.”

Heath muttered an expletive. “Did you have to tag team
her?”

“We didn’t mean to,” Lilah said.

“But she’s plainly not listening to reason,” Lindy added. “How
hard is it to go see an old woman and say ‘I’m sorry’?”

“Out of the entire English language, you know those two words
are the hardest for your sister to say,” Heath said. “Cut her some slack. She’s
under a lot of pressure.”

“We all are, Heath,” Lilah reminded him. “Which is why we
shouldn’t be cutting off our nose to spite our face. We need Celly. Pops is a
wreck without her. She provided some semblance of routine for him and now, it’s
all out of whack and he’s deteriorating quickly.”

“How bad?” Lindy asked, her expression worried. “Worse than the
last time I was here?”

“Much worse,” Lilah answered sadly. “I think we’re losing him
much more quickly than we anticipated.”

“What does the doctor say?” Lindy asked.

“The doctor said structure is important, keeping a routine,
which is why it was so devastating when Celly left. We didn’t realize all the
things she would do for Pops because we were off doing our own thing but Celly
really kept things moving smoothly.”

Heath didn’t want to side with the sisters but there was a
certain level of truth to Lilah’s statement that he couldn’t deny. “We need to
get Celly back without making Lora out to be the bad guy.” When both sisters
simply stared at him, he threw his hands up and said, “Look, there’s gotta be a
way. They’re both being stubborn. End of story. I went out to her place and
tried to talk to her but she’s being as rigid as Lora so there are two sides to
this story.”

Lilah sighed. “Well, he’s right about that. I went out there,
too. She’s being a pill even though she wants to come back. I can tell.”

“Maybe a visit from Carys will change her mind. She dotes on
the kid,” Lindy offered.

“True,” Lilah said, nodding. “That might be the ticket,
actually. How about tomorrow?”

“Sounds good to me.”

Heath breathed an audible sound of relief. “I’ll be happy to
work on Lora if you guys can work on Celly. This feud has to stop. We have
enough on our plates. We don’t need to add this to the mix.”

Lindy stretched, relief in her expression. “Okay, now that’s
settled, I think I’m going to go change and hit the beach with the new fam if
that’s okay with you guys. We have that business meeting tonight after dinner,
right?” Heath nodded and Lindy sighed. “Then I definitely want some beach time
before that happens. Something tells me it’s not going to be pretty.”

Heath couldn’t agree more. Larimar’s fate seemed to be resting
precariously on too many what-if ledges.

To Lilah, he said, “I’ll take the desk if you want to hit the
beach with Lindy.”

“Thanks, Heath,” Lilah said, smiling. “I’ll take you up on that
offer.”

Heath watched as Lilah and Lindy walked in opposite directions
to their respective rooms and he wondered if Larimar was going to survive
everyone’s good intentions.

Hell, even he was guilty of grand plans and crappy
follow-through.

His gaze wandered to the gift shop that he’d hoped would be
Larimar’s salvation with his fused glass creations and was swamped by regret and
guilt.

The fused glass wasn’t selling badly, but it wasn’t moving as
readily as he’d hoped. After much discussion, they’d all agreed it was time to
return some tourist-friendly merchandise to the shelves to give the patrons more
options.

Talk about hopes and dreams crashing and burning.

Yeah, tonight’s meeting was likely to be as pleasant as a
sugarcane-flogging on wet skin.

But it couldn’t be helped.

Something had to be done.