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She turned her phone back and frowned at it for several seconds before putting it away. “No. Not necessarily.”
“Why do you ask?”
She didn’t seem as though she wanted to answer the question, which he found odd. “I was just curious.”
He was finished with the food she’d brought and had to get back to work, but he wondered why she’d wanted him to see that picture. “Doyouknow that girl?”
“No. I’ve never seen her before in my life.”
“Then why is she on your phone—in your photos?”
“I just thought...maybe she was from around here.”
“I haven’t lived on the island for very long, don’t know a lot of people. But Honey’s been here for fifty years, ever since she got married. You might ask her.”
She nibbled on her bottom lip. “Since I don’t know Honey, that might seem weird.”
“Then send that picture to me. I’ll ask her.”
“That’s okay...”
“You don’t want her to see it?”
She seemed to consider the question—and go back and forth on it—before ultimately saying, “I guess. Just...don’t show it to anyone else.”
He studied her, seeing the worry in her eyes. Something about this photograph troubled her.Why?“What’s going on? Where did you get that photograph?”
She shook her head. “Never mind. Just...forget about it,” she said and put his empty plate and silverware in the picnic basket. “I’d better get back.”
Remy called while she was walking to the house, so Ismay put the picnic basket on the ground near the stairs to the front door and veered off to walk along the beach, picking her way through the debris left by the storm. “Hello?”
“You’re not going to believe this,” he said.
She couldn’t help but tense. “What?”
“Bastian is staying for at least a week.”
She stopped and turned toward the sea. The surf was so tranquil it was difficult to believe it had ever been so rough. “It’ll be just him and me for seven days or more?”
“Sounds like it,” he replied. “I called my mom, but she said he needs the break.”
“In what way?”
“As a stress-reliever, I guess.”
“From what you’ve told me, he doesn’t have much to stress out about. It’s not as if he could lose his job, or won’t be able to pay his rent, or—”
“That’s exactly what I said to my mom. But she said we can’t judge—just support.”
Ismay began rubbing her left temple. This trip wasn’t turning out to be anything like she’d envisioned. “I see...”
“But it’s a big house,” Remy said, his tone conciliatory. “I don’t think he’ll get in your way.”
Get in her way? He’d already gotten in her way. He’d made Bo feel he’d taken advantage simply because she’d convinced him to stay where it was warm and dry. She’d had to change rooms to accommodate Bastian, and now she was usingthatcloset. She’d had to hurry to make breakfast before Remy’s brother came back down so she could do it in peace—without him baiting her in one way or another. But how did she explain that to Remy?Hecould say terrible things about his brother—and had—but she couldn’t. That would never be wise, not if she planned on becoming part of the family. After all,blood is thicker than waterwas a saying for a reason. “Right.”
“So...you’re okay with it?”
What choice did she have? Unless she wanted to leave and fly clear across the country—back to LA, where he was too busy studying to spend any time with her, or to Utah, to stay with her own family while they were going through the nightmare of what was happening to Jack—she was stuck. If she went to Utah, Remy would just want her to come back out again once he arrived. She couldn’t afford to do that. He’d probably offer to pay for it, but she was careful not to let him do too much. It didn’t feel right. Her father had always been a stickler about paying her own way, because it was the right thing to do and it meant she wouldn’t have to feel indebted to anyone. “Of course.”
