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“‘Took you long enough,’” he said, slapping his knee. I choked on my laughter. Even Wolfe chuckled in the corner, the sound a near rumble in his chest. “I nearly fainted on the beach. Moira has always been a woman who knows what she wants.”
“That’s lovely,” I said, and meant it.
“We’ve been together ever since. Three kids and a handful of grandchildren.” His sigh this time was content. “A beautiful life, indeed. What about you, Avery? You have a family?”
The words brought me up short. The fault line in my heart yawned wider, pulling the tissue apart.
“No,” I murmured. “Nothing like that.”
The cheery atmosphere between us dipped. Tommy’s smile fell. Wolfe sat up straighter in his seat.
“My parents are lawyers,” I explained. “They were—are—always working. I don’t have any siblings. Not particularly close to the rest of my family, either.”
“Alone?” Tommy asked horrified.
“Yes,” I confessed, and the word took something out of me.
“Avery.”
“It’s fine.” I blinked back my tears. “I came here to maybe find myself again.” Embarrassment made my face warm. “New York has nothing for me. Not anymore.”
“Nothing like the folks of Bracken Bay to set you straight. And your ghost?”
Wolfe’s head whipped around, mouth parted.
“What about him?” I managed, trying not to stare a hole into the space Wolfe occupied.
“Did you find him?”
“I did.”
“And?”
My grin came slowly. “I think we’ve worked out a truce.”
“Is that what you want to call it, Avery?” Wolfe asked, words so deep they sank into my spine. “A truce?”
What else would I call it?
He must have read the words in my eyes because he sat forward. The cat hissed again, leaping off the chair at his sudden movement.
“I’m glad,” Tommy said, but his voice began to fade.
It was just Wolfe and I, locked in that strange stare.
“I like this,” Wolfe murmured. “You can’t talk back. Can’t fight me.”
I narrowed my eyes at him and he scrubbed a hand over his mouth, eyes dancing.
“A truce,” he repeated, shaking his head like it was the most offensive word I could have ever said. “A truce.”
My heart began to race, kicking against my ribs until I thought I’d be sick.
“Dinner is done!” Moira called.
Tommy hefted himself up from his seat and offered me his hand. “Shall we?”
I took it, allowing him to pull me to my feet.
