Josh rolled out of his hotel room bed in Cape Hope Friday morning with jetlag after a round-trip whirlwind for business. He’d managed to land another account, but it wouldn’t be enough to save his company. He really needed that multimillion-dollar deal. He was tired of scraping by month to month to keep the lights on in a building he wasn’t even there to work in half the time.

“You ever call Lily?” Allen asked as he sat in his bed wiping the sleep from his eyes.

Josh shook his head. “I figured she didn’t want to hear from me. I’m hoping after a few days of giving her some space she’ll be more amenable to talking about the project.”

“You mean you turned tail and ran when you started thinking about her as more than just a business arrangement.”

Josh rubbed his hand through his hair as if every strand on his head stood up in agreement. “We’re talking about our company. If we don’t land this deal, everything we’ve worked so hard for will be gone.”

“I know that, but I also know you, man. You can’t handle seeing someone suffer.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

Allen tossed the covers off. “You don’t want to make her work on something that she’s struggling with, yet you want to save your business. It’s a tough position to be in.”

Josh threw on his running shirt. It was time to de-stress. “I don’t even really know the girl.”

“You keep telling yourself that,” Allen said.

“I’m gonna go clear my head.” Josh grabbed his keys and headed for the door.

The sun hadn’t peaked over the horizon yet, but the moon was still bright in the sky. He drove through Cape Hope and didn’t stop until he reached the end of the main road. He pulled into a public beach parking lot and made it down to the shore before the first hint of sunlight. The roar of the ocean was soothing. He didn’t even want to listen to music while he ran, so he left his earphones in the car. Instead, he listened to the surf, the beat of his feet on the sand, the rhythm of his breathing. He ran and ran, farther and longer than he had in years, but still the fog wouldn’t clear from his mind. Maybe if he spent a little more time with Lily he’d be able to nudge her toward creating the new image his client had requested and help her heal from whatever that guy did to her at the same time. It could work.

He slowed and took a long breath of the fresh morning air then looked up to find the cottage above the sand dunes. Instead of making his way across the sand to the rickety old porch, he continued down the beach, knowing at this hour Lily was probably already out at her favorite spot.

With renewed determination and a plan, he managed to find the strength to run a little further. At the sight of Lily on the beach, he felt relieved. After his disappearing act, she probably wouldn’t want to see him, but out here she couldn’t hide from him. He trotted up to her, but she didn’t look up, her focus fixed on her sketching.

“Hey there.”

“Does it work on all the girls when you play games?” Lily asked.

Josh squatted in front of her. “I wasn’t playing games. I had business.” Her brow furrowed, and he instantly wanted to pull those words back into his mouth. “Uh, let me rephrase that. I had another account to deal with, but I could’ve called. I didn’t because I had the feeling you needed some time to think it over.”

Lily’s hand paused. “Better.”

“Allen says that I want to get you to do this job for us to save our company, but that I don’t want to hurt you either. He says I left so I didn’t have to face you while you were working on something that brought you pain.”

“What do you think?” Lily asked, her tone unreadable.

“I don’t know.” He saw her flinch and knew he was busted, again. How did she always know when he was lying?

She put her pencil down and looked up at him. “Yes, you do. Just like I know why I’m not sketching my normal life art with emotion even though I didn’t want to believe it.”

The sun rose higher in the sky, beating down on the back of his neck. “Why don’t we talk about it over coffee? A local showed me this great spot.”

She smiled. “Actually, I have a better idea. Where’d you park?”

“At the end of the peninsula.”

Lily tilted her head, her blonde hair falling over her cheeks. Highlighted by the morning rays, it looked even more golden. He brushed it back behind her shoulder. “You’re not lying?” she asked.

“Nope.”

“That’s like seven miles from here. You ran that far by sunrise?”

He offered his hand. “Yep, and I’m afraid now you won’t want to sit next to me while we drink coffee. I need a shower.”

Lily took his hand and stood up. He was rewarded with a whiff of lilies. “I tell you what,” she said. “Why don’t we walk back to the cottage and I’ll drive you to your car? You can go shower, I’ll finish up that blasted painting, and we’ll meet up this evening. We’ll talk about the project then.”

“Deal.” He shook her hand.

She gathered her art supplies and scooped them into her arms while he retrieved the blanket. He only hoped he was making the right choice. He couldn’t sacrifice his entire future and all the hard work he had put into building his company just because he liked a girl. What was he, sixteen?

They made their way back to her house, and by the time she dropped him at his car, they had worked out a time for Allen and Josh to be at their home to take them to Ray’s on the Bay.

“I’ll see you in a few hours,” Lily said as she pulled to a stop next to his car. “If you show.”

“I’ll show.” He offered her his most reassuring smile.

“Sure. We’ll see what you decide. Right now you’re still arguing with yourself.”

He stared at her for a moment then asked, “How do you do that?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. I guess I tend to study faces so much I notice when someone is lying, or thinking about something.

“Have you always been able to do that?”

Lily’s mouth drooped into a sad frown. “No, someone taught me how. That same person also showed me that some people can hide their true intentions.”

In that moment, he wanted to find the man who had broken Lily and deck him. Maybe Allen was right. He really did like this girl, despite barely knowing her. But not enough to sacrifice his company. No way. Wouldn’t happen.