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Popi gave her a puzzled look. “We have enough staff to handle the job.”
“I know. I just need him kept busy for the morning. That prospective buyer is flying in.”
“Oh. Okay. No problem.”
“Thank you so much.”
“Any time. I’m always here for you.”
That was the truth, and another reason Lea so desperately wanted to stay on the island. But what was she willing to do to make that happen?
* * *
Something was up with Lea.
He was certain of it.
The following day, Xander was bothered by something Lea had said the previous evening. She’d tried to get him to go with Popi to the other side of the island to set up for a jungle-themed wedding reception. Normally he’d have volunteered, but after working on the island, he’d learned a lot and he knew the staging crew wasn’t shorthanded. In fact, he’d more than likely get in their way rather than be of any help. So what had been Lea’s purpose for the request?
She’d brought it up again that morning, but he’d told her he already had plans. And that was no lie. He was working on his surprise for her. Or was that it? Had she figured out what he was up to?
He mulled it over for much of the morning and then decided she didn’t know because she would have said something. Lea was up to something—something that she didn’t want him to know about. And for the life of him, he couldn’t get the thought out of his mind.
With the nursery well underway, he decided to meet up with Lea just to make sure everything was all right between them. He headed toward her office where she spent a lot of her day. It seemed strange to him that living on this sunny, beautiful island she would be stuck inside much of the time. If his office was here, he’d make sure he was mobile. He’d take his laptop and spend as much time working outside as possible.
He really could imagine himself working here. This place and the people that lived and worked on the island felt more like a small, close-knit community than business associates.
As he walked toward the office, he considered inviting Lea to lunch. But it should be something more than lunch at one of the cafés. Perhaps they could get their lunch to go and have it down along the beach. The more he thought about it, the more the details came into focus.
He was almost to the office when he saw Lea exit the building, but she wasn’t alone. There was a woman with her. They were talking and laughing. When the woman turned so that he could see her face, he came to a complete standstill.
Stasia?
What was she doing here?
He immediately knew the answer. His little sister was here to check out the woman who was going to have his baby. Stasia had to make sure Lea was good enough.
He shook his head in disbelief. His sister had crossed the line. He could just imagine her interrogating Lea. He was going to put a stop to it—
“Xander, there you are.”
He didn’t want to stop. He didn’t want to talk to anyone but his sister. But he recognized the voice. It was Popi.
He paused and turned back. “Can we talk later? I was just about to—”
“It’s really important. There’s an emergency.”
He searched her face to see if she was being serious. And by all accounts, Popi did look worried. “What’s wrong?”
“There was an accident this morning. It’s Joseph. I think he broke his leg.”
“Is that why I heard the helicopter?”
“Not exactly. They delivered a visitor and were on standby when the accident occurred.”
He didn’t have to ask to know that his sister was the one to fly onto the island. Stasia wasn’t wasting any time vetting the new woman in his life. But in the end, he supposed it wasn’t all bad as the helicopter was already on the island, saving lots of time getting Joseph to the hospital.
“What can I do to help?”
“There’s still lots of work to be done and I’m looking for any able bodies to help. We’re running out of time.”
He glanced over his shoulder to where he’d last seen Lea and his sister. They had moved out of sight. Confronting Stasia would have to wait.
And so would the nursery that he had just about finished. He hadn’t even been sure that he’d be able to pull it off with Lea sleeping at the other end of the hallway. But by some miracle, he’d been able to get most of the sawing and hammering done while she was at the office.
