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But she had a feelingshewas part of the reason he’d come to the island. She just didn’t understand what he was after...
She’d chosen to go to the public beach, since it was farther from him. But even the public area was almost deserted. That didn’t bother her, though. In her current frame of mind, she preferred to be alone. Remy had called to see how she was doing, but it was a perfunctory call—one made out of obligation—and, as usual these days, he’d been in a hurry to get off. That final part of his board exams. She understood his need to study, but she couldn’t help the nagging feeling that she was just something he’d collected along the way and now took for granted.
She zipped up the windbreaker she’d worn over her swimsuit, figuring she could take it off if the weather warmed up as the day progressed. She wouldn’t be getting much of a tan this summer if it was going to be as cold as it had been. But she had bigger worries. Leaving her bag where she’d spread out her towel, she carried her cell phone as she walked along the beach.
It was good to be out, regardless, she told herself. It beat being stuck in the cottage during that terrible storm—or staying there and trying to avoid Bastian. She’d been tempted to stop by Bo’s to see how he was doing before coming to the beach. But she knew it was sort of odd that she wanted to see him so soon. It was just that he was her only friend while she was here.
Her phone dinged, signaling a text. She hoped it was from Remy and that he’d say something so sweet and conciliatory she’d be able to let go of some of the resentment that was building up inside her. But it wasn’t Remy; it was Jack—at last.
I’ve decided to come.
Stunned, she stopped walking. Did he mean to Mariners?
Instead of texting back, she called him, and this time he picked up.
“You’re serious?” she said.
“Totally,” he replied.
“When can you come?”
“If I’m going to cut out of here, I might as well do it right away, when it’ll have the biggest benefit.”
“As in...this week?”
“As in...as soon as I can make the arrangements. I’ll stay in a hotel, if I have to.”
But he wouldn’t be able to afford a hotel on Mariners. A cheap hotel was three hundred dollars a night, and with Bastian at the cottage, she didn’t dare do anything as presumptuous as have her brother join her there.
She thought of Bo and the neighbor Honey. He’d indicated there was a possible opportunity for Jack to house-sit, but she needed to confirm. “I’ll figure out someplace for you to stay. Just...get on a plane. I can meet you at the airport.”
Silence.
“Jack?” she said.
She heard him suck in a long breath, as if he were finally able to breathe after an extended period of finding it difficult. “That feels good,” he said.
She was confused. “What feels good?”
“To know if I make this jump, my big sister will be there to catch me.”
“Of course,” she said. “Always.”
But she was afraid she might have trouble living up to that promise. After they disconnected, she hurried back to where she’d left her stuff, balled up her towel, shoved it in her beach bag, and called an Uber.
Bo was repairing the roof when a car pulled up at the end of his drive. He watched as Ismay got out and hurried across the lawn, her long shapely legs bare beneath an oversized white sweatshirt, her feet in matching flip-flops. She also had her hair pulled up into a ponytail, a colorful beach bag slung over one shoulder and sunglasses resting on top of her head.
She looked good. Too good for a guy who hadn’t been with a woman in so long. He’d had a few encounters after he got out of prison, when he was looking for someplace to belong. But that was before he made his way to Mariners. He didn’t dare do anything here that might create complications. If he allowed anyone to get too close, it could threaten the secret he guarded, and ultimately mean he’d have to leave the island and the safe haven he’d found here.
Even if he didn’t have to keep everyone at arm’s length, the last woman he could ever get involved with would be his employer’s son’s fiancée.
But Ismay not only looked like everything a man in his position would dream about, she acted so happy and eager to see him, with her wide smile and bright eyes, that he couldn’t help feeling something he’d rather not feel—a measure of excitement to see her, too.
He’d been too friendly with her, he realized. He needed to back away...
“Hey, what’s going on?” he asked, standing.
She shaded her eyes with one hand as she looked up at him. “I just talked to Jack.”
