“Hey, you’re…” She snapped her fingers together, a collection of colourful bangles jingling on her arm. “You’re that girl who was dating Brock Silvers.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Lily replied. But then she realised her Aussie accent was probably a dead giveaway. “Uh… y’all.”
You sound about as Southern as Nicolas Cage did in Con Air.
Which was to say, not at all.
The older woman narrowed her eyes at Lily, not buying her cover even a little bit. “I saw you on that mornin’ show, so don’t you try to fool me. I loved Brock in Wave of Love. Such a brilliant film.”
“Yeah, it was,” Lily replied with a sigh.
She would know, of course, since she’d written it.
Wave of Love was where she and Brock had first met. It was almost a story worthy of its own romantic tale—handsome Hallmark star on the rise and the shy, bookish writer. After a few false starts, a streaming service picked up her script after she’d been in LA for almost a year, and it swept Lily along in the magic of her big breakout moment as a screenwriter.
She’d met Brock at a cocktail party not long after they’d cast him in the lead role—although they didn’t start dating right away. But she’d been instantly attracted to his bright smile and drawling Southern accent. Turned out the bright smile and accent were both fake—courtesy of a great dentist and his high school drama teacher—and all the promises he’d made thereafter were fake, as well.
But she didn’t figure that out for a while. By the time the movie came out the following year, Lily was already head over heels for Brock. They’d started dating and the industry had taken notice. They’d been called, ‘The Power Couple of Romance,’ and after Wave of Love released to massive numbers, everything had been looking up. Right until the moment Brock got down on one knee, tricking Lily into bringing a shaking hand to her mouth in front of an audience of thousands, as he sucker-punched her with the words…
Will you break up with me?
Bastard.
“Anyway, I’m sure you’ll find someone else,” the woman said, nodding. “I mean, he won’t be as good as Brock. But we can’t all be winners, can we?”
Lily ground her teeth together. Was this a cruel preview of what would wait for her at the wedding? People speculating about whether her relationship with Brock was nothing but a publicity stunt from the beginning. Everyone assuming she’d been batting above her average with a guy like him. The conclusion that her humiliation had been inevitable.
And then, because it was clear the universe wasn’t done toying with her emotions, Lily saw a man she’d hoped never to see again. Not Brock. Possibly the only man in the world she wanted to see even less than her ex.
Sean Hutcherson.
He’d been her teenage fantasy. The tall, dark and handsome protagonist of her daydreams. The ultimate Mr. Off-Limits. The thinly veiled hero of every swoon-worthy romance she’d ever written.
Including Wave of Love.
Now, with his low-slung jeans, fitted black hoodie, piercing silver-blue eyes, and his jaw dusted with dark stubble, he was even more deliciously unpolished than she remembered. He had a magnetism that wrenched every gaze in the vicinity.
Sean ensnared her attention like a rabbit in a trap. It was his eyes—the almost colourless blue left no trace of a doubt that this man could bring a woman to her knees.
Look away before he—
A smile curved Sean Hutcherson’s lips as his gaze locked straight onto Lily. The universe, it seemed, was not done toying with her yet.
Sean Hutcherson stepped off the QANTAS Boeing 737 in LAX with only one question on his mind—why on earth had his best mate decided to have his wedding all the way on the other side of the world?
Fourteen hours in a flying tuna can was legit torture.
His poor assessment of the experience probably had something to do with the fact that he’d spent the better part of those fourteen hours wedged between a guy who chewed through several bags of pretzels like he was crushing rocks with his back teeth, and a woman who fell asleep against him without even asking permission.
Now, Sean wasn’t the guy who got too fussy about preserving his personal space—after all, as a bar manager he was used to dealing with folks who’d left inhibition behind five beers ago. But being trapped like that for so long had made him feel claustrophobic. Frankly, once he’d completed his return flight back to Melbourne after the wedding, it would take a certified miracle to force him onto a plane for that long ever again. After wandering around the sprawling terminal, trying to find his connecting gate, he’d determined there was nothing that could possibly be worth the hassle.
Nothing at all. Except maybe…
A smile curved his lips.
Well, well, well.
“Miss Lily Dunn.” He hoisted his carry-on bag higher on his shoulder and walked straight over. “If it isn’t Patterson’s Bluff’s most famous export.”
“Sean,” she replied tightly. “Fancy seeing you here.”
It had been over ten years since he’d last seen her and somehow she’d changed completely and yet not at all. The key things were still the same—glossy black-brown hair that made her look like a walking shampoo commercial, wide brown eyes framed by thick lashes, and cheekbones so perfect they could make a sculptor weep with joy.
She’d lost the braces and chunky-framed glasses, and her petite frame had filled out with delectable curves, but it wasn’t any of those things that truly caught his attention. It was the haunted look in her expression that Sean didn’t remember ever seeing before. Lily had always been the girl with dreams gleaming like stars in her eyes, with her vision for the future clutched tightly in her fist. Now she looked… lost.
Only she wasn’t. He knew exactly where she was going, because it was the same place as him.
“I was hoping I’d see you,” he said, pausing in front of her. All the seats at the gate were full.
“I’d never miss my cousin’s wedding,” she replied. Though, for someone who made a living with all things romantic, she didn’t exactly seem excited by what lay ahead. “I couldn’t let her down like that.”
“Oh, I know. But all I hear about you is that you’re in high demand—one box office hit after the next.”
She snorted. “I wish that was the case. Nobody escapes having a flop or two in their career.”
It certainly didn’t seem like anything about her life was a flop. Sean had seen every one of her movies and thought they were all great. He’d even gotten a little misty-eyed a time or two, not that he’d ever admit it aloud.
Who said blokes couldn’t watch romantic movies?
“Well, it looks like this wedding will be somewhat of a reunion for you,” he said cheerfully, slipping his bag off his shoulder and dropping it onto the ground. “Should be fun.”
“I thought you were familiar with my feelings regarding fun.” She nailed him with a pointed look. “What did you call me in high school? Oh, that’s right. The ‘Antithesis of Good Times’ and the ‘Dark Angel of Tediousness.’ Remember that?”
He raked a hand through his hair, letting out a self-deprecating chuckle. “Uh, yeah. I do have a vague recollection of that.”