“It’s a vacation spot for the wealthy,” Eli said with an amused tone. “This isn’t like Sea Breeze. No condos just upscale coastal houses to rent. It draws a much different crowd. No drunk teens driving by yelling at each other through their sunroofs or rolled down windows. I like it.”
“There are condos . . . just not like your condos. These are small and in two story buildings. Like that one there,” I pointed to what I was talking about.
Eli laughed. “That’s not condos. You’ve seen the twenty story buildings in Sea Breeze I’m talking about.”
I agreed it was very different, and he wasn’t even on the elite side of Rosemary Beach. That was secluded from the tourist. Kerrington Club was the beginning of the private area. I didn’t want to take him there. Not yet.
“Lila Kate!” I heard my name and paused to glance around. Then I saw the red Mustang that Jace Montgomery had gotten for his high school graduation this year. I waved at him.
“Wrong side of town, babe. You lost?” I ignored the fact an eighteen-year-old called me “babe” simply because that was just Jace. He was kidding. He was always happy, and I’d known him since his birth. I’d gone to the hospital with my parents when he was born.
“I moved here,” I told him as he pulled his car to a stop beside us.
“You moved to the town center?” he asked incredulously.
I nodded. “Yep. Jace this is my friend, Eli Hardy. Eli, this is Jace Montgomery.”
Jace shot him a brilliant white smile. “Nice to meet you, Eli.”
“Same here,” Eli replied.
Then Jace looked back at me. “You’re seriously living here?”
“Yes, Jace. Above the building where I will open my dance studio.”
Jace’s eyes went wide. “Damn that’s awesome. Last I heard, you’d skipped town and Cruz had gone after you. At least that was what Blaze said.”
“I’m back. Decided to start my life here.”
He nodded. “Sorry about your grandmother. I wasn’t in town when it happened. That’s why I didn’t come with my folks.”
“Thanks. That’s okay.”
He smiled over at Eli again. “Keep this wild one straight. Y’all have a good night. I’ll leave you to it.”
“Bye, Jace,” I said. He spun his wheels in response and headed back to the other side of town.
“He’s eighteen. That’s the only excuse I have for him,” I told Eli when he was gone.