Reaching the front door of the bar, he rammed it open, propelling out into the night air. Looking left, he didn’t see her. Looking right, he saw her figure huddled up against the building next door, her shoulders heaving with sobs.
Coming up from behind, he stood close and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back against his chest. He didn’t say anything for a few moments, just laid his cheek in her silky hair and held her close.
“I don’t know that I can do it,” Lily was the first to speak.
“Do what?”
“Be your girlfriend.”
Zac remained silent.
“Women literally throw themselves at you, Zac. How am I supposed to deal with that?” her voice grew more distraught with every word.
“Lils, you won’t be dealing with it. You asked me to make you two promises and the first one was easy for me to make, to be true to you. I don’t want anyone else. I have no interest in finding anyone else. Growing this thing that we have makes me happier than I can ever remember being. You’ve gotta see that, feel that. What happened in there, Lily, that is not going to be happening in our future. Most of those people in there only knew me as some guy who may have had girls but never actually had a girlfriend. Everyone now, and in the future, who meets me is only going to know a guy who is crazy in love with his girlfriend.”
“Was she your girlfriend?” Lily remained stiff in his arms.
“No. Her name is Britt. And I didn’t treat her very nicely.”
“Well, she clearly didn’t seem to mind.”
“Lily, Lily, Lily,” he sighed, “let’s go back in there and set the world straight. It’s time for everyone to meet my girlfriend. I want to hang out with you, Lizard and Brian and fuck everyone else.”
It occurred to Zac that between Lily’s mother, Colby Phillips and Britt Logan, he was really being tested. Feeling as if the way he responded was being viewed under a microscope, he realized that he was probably the scientist peering into the viewfinder, and that the way he comported himself was truly of more importance to him than anyone else.
“C’mon, you.” He turned her around to face him. “Don’t look sad. You’re not the one who needs to be sad here.”
“No?” her tone as defiant as ever.
“No,” he was shaking his head and smiling, “you’re the one I fell in love with.”
They weren’t three steps inside the bar when Zac heard a familiar voice, “I thought your ass was banned from here, Moore.”
Face-to-face with the person responsible for his expulsion, Zac inwardly laughed. I AM being tested, he mused.
“Prescott Lodge,” Zac hit him with a full blown Moore smile, “our paths cross again.”
“Well, that’s rather unfortunate,” the shorter man goaded.
“No, not really,” Zac corrected. “Let me buy you a beer.”
The shock on Prescott’s face was worth the price of admission. Expecting to start a bar brawl with the tall, built blonde, a cold brew was the last thing he thought he’d be wrapping his fist around.
“Lily, this is Prescott Lodge, the guy who did me the biggest favor in my life. Prescott, this is my girlfriend, Liliana Castillo.”
Prescott muttered a hello to Lily and then, “How’d I do you a favor?”
“Leaving here was the best thing that could’ve happened to me. I spent some time overseas, did really meaningful work over there, came home and finished my bachelor’s, got into a great grad school program and the best thing of all, this gorgeous lady came into my life. So, thanks, man.”
Speechless for a moment, Prescott finally asked, “So, why are you back here?”
“To see Liz and Brian graduate,” Zac’s tone was stating the obvious.
“Oh,” was all Prescott could say.
“Well, great seeing you, man.” Zac clapped him on the back and he and Lily were off through the crowd back toward the pool tables.
“So you think I’m gorgeous?” Lily’s brows were knit, as they negotiated through the packed bar.
“Gorgeous, sexy, smart, funny, intense, mine.”
She squeezed his hand on the last word.
“Now let’s let the rest of the world know, I am unavailable.”
And though most women that he’d met throughout his life had figured out that Zac Moore was unavailable, this was the first time that was due to the fact that his heart had finally become available.
What the world did find out very quickly was that Zac Moore was taken and his eyes were not wandering.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Summer after Graduation
Ocean Beach, Fire Island, NY
Zac walked the boardwalk path toward the village. Lily had an hour left until quitting time, so he figured he’d just hang out in the bar at Maguire’s and keep her company until her shift ended.
The restaurant was still packed when he got there, all the weekend people filling it to capacity. Negotiating his way through the crowd, Zac slipped behind the bar where Lily was agitating a metal shaker, getting it ready to fill a martini glass.
Giving a playful tug on her long braid, she tipped her head up for a kiss and then, without missing a beat, tapped a Guinness, and handed it to Zac. Grabbing the frosted mug with his right hand, his left slipped up the back of her short skirt, to find a surprise she had waiting for him.
With his eyes wide, he gave her an approving look. Her smile back was smug. She knew he’d be dying for the next hour.
Down at the other end of the long teak and brass bar, his sister, Holly, was picking up drinks for her table. “What do you think you own this place?” she called to her brother, commenting on his comfort at coming into the restaurant and just slipping behind the bar for a drink.
“Didn’t you hear,” his tone was dead serious, “Dad bought it.”
Almost dropping her tray, Holly’s mouth hung open, until she saw the smile on Zac’s face. “Cretin,” she muttered, her nickname for her younger brother, and turned to go deliver the drinks to her table.
Finding a stool on the patron side of the bar, he sat down to enjoy his beer. “You know I almost believed you for a second,” Lily smiled as she uncapped a pair of Coronas. “I could see your dad buying this place.”
The family’s favorite restaurant in Ocean Beach, Maguire’s was their weekend staple for lobsters, steamer clams and family celebrations. Managed by Holly’s boyfriend, Aiden McManus, both Holly and Lily were working there for the summer, while Zac spent his days teaching tennis to summer residents.
“Did your father buy this place?” Aiden came up behind Zac.
Zac and Lily broke into laughter. The look on Aiden’s face was pure shock.
“No,” Zac continued to laugh, “at least not yet.”
“Is he looking to?” Aiden needed details. Was he going to be working for his girlfriend’s father?
“No. I was just fucking with Holly. But it would totally be something my father would do. If you ever want him for a boss, just mention it. Get an idea like that in his head and he won’t let it go.” Zac looked pleased with himself that he’d pulled one over on his sister. Turning to Aiden, “If you really want to fuck with her, tell her you’re concerned about dating the boss’ daughter.”
From the other side of the bar, Lily gasped. “Zac, that is mean.”
Taking a sip of the frosty Guinness, Zac continued to wear his cheeky smile. Chuckling, “Yeah, that was a good one.”
Walking back home under the stars after her shift’s end, Lily commented, “They really do look different, don’t they.”
Pulling her closer, under his arm, “Yeah, they really do. There was something about them there.”
“It was magical, wasn’t it?” Lily looked up at him for corroboration.
Bending down, he placed a soft kiss on her lips and nodded with a smile.
Reaching the house, they walked up the path through the black pines to the front door. A driftwood carved plaque to the right of the door read, MooreHaven, a name that
truly fit the waterfront home.
“Let’s go sit out on the deck,” he suggested.
Crawling into a hammock together, they watched the night sky and listened to the waves crashing to shore.
“I think the stars here are pretty magical, too.” He picked up her braid and brought it to his nose, deeply breathing in her Piña Colada scent.
“I remember our first night when you asked me to go for a walk. I wanted you to kiss me so badly. I’ve always been really terrible at letting guys know that I’m interested in them and I kept thinking, ‘He doesn’t know how much I want him to kiss me. Why won’t he kiss me?’” She laughed, “I wondered if you felt that energy between us or if I was just imagining it.”
“No. You weren’t imagining it.” Turning his face to her, “I wanted to kiss you. I had just had the best day with you and I was riding on a high. You gave me so much hope.”
“Hope?” She searched his eyes.
Nodding, “Yeah, hope.” He looked up at the sky for a moment, “I didn’t think I was capable of this, of having this kind of intimacy with another person.” Looking back at her, he admitted what had long haunted him, “And I didn’t think I deserved it.”
Lily stared at him for a long moment. “That breaks my heart,” she whispered, her voice choked with sudden tears.
“C’mere.” He pulled her on top of him. As their lips met, he took her face in both hands. “I love you, Lily,” he said into her lips, his tongue claiming all that he cherished, all that he loved.
Breaking from their kiss, she smiled down at him, “Do you love me enough to give me a foot massage?”
“Hand me those tired dogs.”
Flipping the other way on the hammock, Lily presented her right foot. “Oh, that feels good,” she moaned, as he kneaded her tense muscles. “Do it harder in my arches.”
“Damn, I really am a good boyfriend,” Zac bragged jokingly, as his thumbs pressed firmly into her arches. “You have such pretty feet.” Lifting them to his mouth, he softly kissed the area just worked by his thumbs, then grazed it with his teeth.
Gasping, “Oh my God, that’s hot. What are you doing to me?” Lily threw her head back.
Lifting her leg, he continued to massage her foot, following his fingers with his soft lips and the tip of his tongue.
“Oh God, you are killing me, Zac.” She was somewhere between a moan and a giggle.
Running his hands slowly, reverently, up her slim ankle to her shapely calf, he lifted her leg a little higher.
“Baby, baby, baby,” he stopped and smiled at her, his fingers slowly inching up her thigh, caressing its length, “how did I forget?”
Laughing, “I was wondering that myself.”
“Bet that was pretty hot knowing you were commando working in the bar tonight.” His eyes were smoldering.
“Very hot, especially once you knew it.”
“Liliana Castillo, you continue to surprise me,” his lips had just trailed past her knee on their journey up her thigh.
“You once told me to always wear skirts for you,” she smiled, running her fingers through his thick locks of ocean tousled hair. “Damn, I really am a good girlfriend,” her words more of a gasp as he reached his destination.
Tenacity was one of Lily’s strong suits. He loved that about her. Except when he was on the receiving end of it.
“I don’t want to spend two years apart.” Her big, soulful eyes looking like she was in dire pain.
“We’re not going to be apart.” Zac shook his head.
“I’m going to be in Maryland and you’re going to be in California. That is apart.”
“But we’re still going to be together, Lils. I know you keep thinking it’s going to be like last time, but it’s not. Last time we weren’t together. Now we are.” Zac stopped and picked up a shell and tossed it back into the ocean. “Last time, you thought I didn’t love you. Now you know I love you.” Slinging his arm across her shoulder, he pulled her in close to him as they continued to walk the beach toward the village of Ocean Bay Park.
“I just want to be together, Zac.”
“I know, babe. And we will. It will go fast, trust me.”
Looking up at him, “Two years is a long time. A lot can happen in two years.”
Shaking his head, “Do you think I’ll find someone else?”
“It could happen,” she countered.
“It’s not going to happen. I made you a promise. I love you, silly girl. And you could find someone. Some hot shot neurosurgeon resident who drives a Maserati that could blow away my little Audi TTRS.”
Looking up at him, “It’s not going to happen.”
Bending down to kiss her, “Right. It’s not going to happen. How many chicks do you think I’d take a bullet for?” he kidded.
“Probably any damsel in distress.”
Laughing, “Come on, we both know I’m too selfish for that.”
“You’re not that person anymore, Zac.”
“What person?” he looked at her quizzically.
“The selfish guy. You know you’re not him anymore.”
Shaking his head, Zac thought for a moment before answering, “I’m sure he could be easily resurrected if the situation required.”
“With me?” Lily looked alarmed.
“Never with you, Lils. I’d die for you and I would seriously fuck up anyone who tried to hurt you.”
Lily’s arm tightened around Zac’ waist as they continued to walk.
“So don’t worry so much,” he said into her hair. “Two years will go really fast. We’re both going to be so busy with school. And nothing is going to happen to us. Have faith in me, Lils. Have faith in us.”
“I’m trying, Zac. I really am. I just hurt every day without you last time.”
“If I could get back every day from Brazzaville to Wee Burn, I would. But I can’t. I just have now and tomorrow to show you how much I love you. And I’m doing the best I can. Do you have any doubt that I love you?”
Shaking her head no, her French braid swayed from side to side.
Playfully, he tugged on her braid, tipping her head back, “Good. Just remember that, Pocahontas. Before you know it, we’ll be together forever.”
“So, I’ve been thinking,” they were walking back after her shift at Maguire’s.
“What have you been thinking?” Zac looked up at the star-filled night sky.
“I’ve been thinking I could withdraw from Hopkins and apply to the med schools at UC San Francisco and Stanford. Both are great med schools. I got into Hopkins which is number one for internal medicine, so I should be able to get into UCSF, which is number three and then Stanford, which is number ten, could be my fall back school.”
Zac stopped dead in his tracks and faced Liliana, putting a hand on each shoulder. “No,” he shook his head, his eyes boring into hers.
“We can be together. I can just go to med school out there.”
“How old were you when you first started dreaming of going to Johns Hopkins Medical School?”
She didn’t answer, but also didn’t break his gaze.
“I’ll bet you were a little girl. Am I right?”
Lily remained silent, continuing to stare into Zac’s eyes.
“You’re not giving up that dream, Lily. Trust me, that will come back and haunt us, time and again. It will eat at us and it will destroy us.”
“Zac, it’s not a big deal. The number three program in the country is still phenomenal.”
“UCSF wasn’t your dream, Lils. Hopkins was. Hopkins is.” How do I get through to her? he wondered.
“Maybe my dreams have changed. Maybe the little girl dreams don’t work for me anymore. Maybe I want you to be part of my dreams,” she was getting upset.
A couple was coming toward them on the path, and Zac ushered Lily to the side so that they could pass. Waiting for them to be out of earshot before he continued. “I am a part of your dreams.”
“We’ve lost so much time, Zac,” h
er eyes pleaded with him.
Pulling her in for a tight hug, he buried his face in her hair, taking in her scent. “I want you to try and look at it this way, OK. The time we were apart made us realize how real this was between us and getting over each other, well, that just didn’t happen. I know I love you, Lily, and no, I don’t know the future, but if I were a betting man, which I am, I’d bet I’m still going to love you two years from now. But I’m going to be loving you with a master’s degree from a prestigious program and on my way to being able to take care of you.”
“But I don’t need you to take care of me, Zac. I’m going to be well compensated as a physician.”
“I need to take care of you, Lils. I need to know that I can take care of you. That you can count on me.” He wondered if she understood it as they walked the rest of the way back to MooreHaven in silence. For as strong and capable as she was, he needed to be able to take care of her. He wanted to take care of her.
Berto and Marit Castillo were on their way to Zambia, with plans to fly back home in mid-August through Washington, DC, so that Marit could spend a few days helping Liliana set up the little condo she’d rented off the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. Marit wanted to make sure Lily was settled in and organized before classes began.
As first time guests out on Fire Island, they joined the Moores at their beach house for a few days of relaxation, before embarking on the long, exhausting journey to Lusaka, Zambia.
“I can’t believe my daughter is a bartender,” Berto confessed to Schooner Moore with a tinge of pride in his voice.
Schooner laughed, “Mine’s a waitress. She goes to MIT and slings clams in the summer.”
As they sat on the deck, enjoying the breeze off the ocean, “They seem happy, the kids.” Berto noted, referring to Lily and Zac.
“They are,” Schooner concurred. “I think they are really good for each other. They complement one another very well. Zac is crazy about her.”
“Do you think this is serious?” Berto knew that Schooner had spent a lot of time with them over the summer.
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