Page 33 of The Moment They Can't Forget

Lil had long blond curls, the greenest eyes, and flawless pale skin. She also had three sisters who had taught her, the youngest, how to look after herself. She might look like a doll but was far from it. It was possibly the first time Zoe had seen her dressed casually. She wore a short skirt and long-sleeved button-up shirt. On her feet were sneakers.

“Lil, this is my oldest brother, Sawyer, and third in line, Ryder. Guys, this is my friend from Chicago, Lilith Miles.”

Most women when they met Zoe’s brothers were awed by them, because, well, she guessed they were handsome, but there was the size of them too. Not Lil, however. She simply shook their hands and told them she was pleased to meet them, then turned back to Zoe.

“She’s hiding something, and if you can shed light on that, we’d be grateful, Lilith,” Ryder said, giving her a smile that usually melted women.

“My grandmother’s name is Lilith. Mine is Lil, and I’m sure she’d have told you if she wanted you to know.”

The cool tone had Ryder frowning. Sawyer, however, was grinning.

“How long are you here, Lil?” Zoe asked.

“A week, and the fact I came here and not a tropical island or somewhere with a lot of shops will tell you how much I missed you.”

“Here?” Ryder asked. “What is wrong with here?”

“What is this place?” Lil asked instead of answering Ryder’s question. She was turning in a circle, her nose wrinkling.

“What’s wrong with it?” Ryder was scowling.

“Ryder is turning this into a cafe,” Zoe said, happy to move on from the current popular topic of conversation—her, or more importantly, why she’d come home.

Lil walked around the space. She’d been working for Staddler and Harvey for two years by the time Zoe joined. Where she worked as an interior designer, Lil was more of a graphic designer. She had an amazing eye, however, and Zoe had often asked her opinion on something she was working on.

“I hope you’re using your sister’s expertise. She was one of the best interior designers at Staddler and Harvey.” Lil shot Ryder a look. His eyes were now slits as he glared at Zoe’s friend.

“I know what I want.”

“You’re a man. Of course you do. However, do you understand things like attention to detail, vision, and spatial balance?”

“Spatial balance,” Sawyer mused. “I haven’t heard that in a while.”

“It will be painted beige—and not a nice beige—and the furniture will be hospital grade,” Zoe said. “I shudder to think what he’ll put on the walls.”

“Fuck off,” Ryder muttered. “I know shit.”

“My life was so much better having three sisters,” Lil said, now heading for the stairs.

“Where is she going?” Ryder demanded.

“To investigate, and if you’re lucky, she will draw up some plans for you, and if you want my advice, I’d take them and help from me. Because we’re both good at what we do, even if your ego doesn’t want to let you believe that.”

Following her friend up the stairs with her brother cursing loudly behind her, Zoe felt lighter inside than she had in days. All the turmoil from sleeping with JD and decisions about what she was going to do with her life could be put on hold, at least for now.

Tomorrow, as they say, was another day.

Chapter11

He’d tried to put the call with Henry out of his head, but it wasn’t working. Was his father really dying, or was this just another ploy to get the oldest Hopper back into the fold? Get him to step back into the family business?

“I’m punching you if I hear another sigh, which will give you something more than whatever else you’re brooding over to think about.”

“Fuck you,” JD said to Sawyer, who sat on the barstool to his right.

The Dukes had driven to JD’s house, dragged him off the sofa, and brought him to the Rollaway for a drink. They said he needed a night out because apparently Cill, Nina, and Birdie had all complained about him being a bear. Even Jessie, his stylist, who usually no one could annoy, had agreed.

He was now seated on a barstool. There was the clink of balls hitting from the pool table and the roar of a game on the big-screen TV. He liked the place for what it was—a bar in a small town with one cherry-painted wall and another in emerald. It was always the roof that intrigued him, though.

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