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With you, she wanted to add, but knew that probably wouldn’t sound right, given her relationship with Remy.
I don’t think Bastian would be hard to beat.
She chuckled at his response.Not for you.
You don’t give yourself enough credit. You’re a fast learner.
I’m a good loser. ;) But something tells me he wouldn’t be.
I’m guessing he’d be an even worse winner.
That was the worst thing Bo had allowed himself to say about Bastian, and it was a good point. She sent a laughing emoji. But then she felt guilty for talking about her fiancé’s brother in such derogatory terms and changed the subject.
What are you doing?
Reading
What book?
Crime & Punishment
She’d been expecting a carpentry book or something like that—even a crime novel—but not one of the old classics.
Are you kidding?
No, why? Have you read it?
I haven’t. Should I?
I would recommend it. It’s a drama, a thriller. Even has some romance. All set in the back alleyways of Russia during the 1860s.
Sounds irresistible.
Are you serious? If so, I can pass it along to you when I’m done, if you’ll turn it in to the library after. That’s where I got it.
She hadn’t been entirely serious. But why not give it a chance? She’d read a lot of the classics growing up but never that one.
Okay. I can do that.
Would be interested in hearing what you think.
We can discuss it after.
Her friendship with Bo was the only thing that was making her trip to the island tolerable. At least so far. She waited, hoping he’d say good-night. But she didn’t receive anything else from him.
With a sigh, she called her brother.
For the first time in his life, Jack had taken a sleep aid. It hadn’t beentoopowerful—he’d purchased it over the counter on his way home from the farm—so he hadn’t been sure it would work. But miraculously, it had. He fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow and didn’t wake up until the following morning at five thirty, his regular time, since he had to be at the farm at six o’clock.
He felt much better for a moment—clearheaded and free of pain. Then everything he’d been avoiding washed over him, and he groaned. Ashleigh’s leaving hadn’t just been a nightmare, as he’d hoped in those first few seconds of wakefulness. Living without her—being single and soon divorced—was his new reality.
He grabbed his phone half-hoping she’d tried to reach him. To take it all back. But she hadn’t. All he had was a missed call from his sister.
Ismay was worried about him. He felt bad that he hadn’t been more responsive. But he had to cope the best way he could, and that was what he’d been doing.
He checked the time on his phone again. It’d be seven thirty on Mariners. She’d probably be up, but just in case she wasn’t, he didn’t want to risk waking her. This was supposed to be vacation time, her chance to lounge around before starting her law practice.
He climbed out of bed, stood under the spray of a too-hot shower, then hurried to dress.
