“I appreciate your concern, but I’m absolving you of that duty.”
“She told me you might need someone you could trust. She asked me to watch out for you. So, here I am, watching out for you.”
Emily met that lazy, interested gaze and decided no normal, sane woman would be foolish enough to put her trust in a man like him. You might as well hand over your heart and say “stomp on this.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I don’t need anyone to keep an eye on me.” In fact, people keeping an eye on them was the last thing she needed.
She was all that stood between Lizzy and a media hungry for a story at any cost.
They reminded her of vultures, swooping down to strip the last pieces of flesh from a carcass.
Lana was dead.
Surely that should be enough for them. Why did they need to unpick her life? There had been a constant parade of stories in the press. A catalog of salacious details that one day Lizzy might read.
If Emily could have found a way of destroying all of it, she would have done so.
Ryan stepped closer, his voice low. “Tell me what the trouble is, and I’ll fix it.”
She wondered how it felt to be that confident. It didn’t seem to occur to him that there might be something he couldn’t fix.
“It isn’t trouble as much as a change in circumstances. Brittany was exaggerating.”
And she was going to kill her.
“She said you’d push me away.”
She wasn’t just going to kill her; she was going to kill her slowly. “It was wrong of her to put you in this position. I’m sure you’re a busy man, so you should get on and do whatever it is you do, and I’ll—” She’d what? Carry on messing up parenthood? “I’ll be fine.”
“I made her a promise. I keep my promises.” He gave a disarming smile. “And on top of that, I’m scared of Brittany. Apart from the fact she’s an expert in Bronze Age weaponry and has an unnerving fascination for re-creating daggers and arrowheads, I remember what happened when someone stole her sea glass. I don’t want to be on the wrong side of her temper.”
She eyed those broad, powerful shoulders, noticing that his biceps filled out the arms of his shirt. She was willing to bet there wasn’t much that scared him.
“Aunt Emily?” Lizzy tugged at her hand. “I’m hungry.”
She saw Ryan lift an eyebrow and knew he’d filed the information that she was an aunt, not a mother.
“We’ll buy some food. You can choose the things you like.” Because she had no idea what the girl liked.
“Harbor Stores is the best place for that. And don’t miss the bakery next door. They sell the best cheesecake I’ve tasted outside New York.” He broke off as an elderly lady crossed the street toward him. The face was lined and the hair was white, but there was no missing the twinkle in her eyes.
“Ryan Cooper, the most eligible man on the island. I was hoping I might bump into you.”
“I was hoping the same thing.” He was all charm as he reached out and took her arm. “All ready for tonight, Hilda?”
“I might have a problem with transportation because the doctor told Bill he shouldn’t be driving for a few weeks.” She looked at him hopefully, and Ryan didn’t disappoint.
“What time are you planning on leaving? Seven?”
“Perfect. Will you drop me home afterward?”
He laughed. “You think I’m in the habit of leaving my date stranded?”
“You’re a good boy, despite all the rumors.” She patted his arm. “I hear all sorts of stories about all-night parties at the Ocean Club, but I try not to listen.”
Boy? Startled, Emily looked at the stubble that darkened Ryan’s jaw and the lazy, sleepy eyes. She saw nothing of the boy in him, only the man. She wondered what the rumors were.
Women, no doubt.
With a man who looked like that, it had to be women.
“You’re talking about Daisy’s twenty-first birthday party. It didn’t last all night, but it’s true that the sun was coming up.”
“I heard she was wrapped like seaweed around the Allen boy.”
“Is that right?” It was clear that if he knew, he wasn’t telling. “If anyone else needs a lift tonight, let me know.”
Emily liked the fact he wasn’t prepared to reveal someone else’s secrets.
As someone currently guarding a big secret, it reassured her.
Hilda glanced around and then stepped closer to him. “This month’s book was a shocker. It was Agnes’s choice.”
He looked amused. “You don’t surprise me. My grandmother enjoys shocking people.”
“True. I still remember the time she hired a nude model for our drawing class.” The woman’s face wrinkled into a smile. “We had better attendance that night than any other night in the history of our group. We had to paper over the windows to stop people peeping through the glass. This book was a step up from that.” She noticed Lizzy and lowered her voice. “There were naked people and spanking.” She gave him a knowing look, and Ryan’s eyes gleamed.
“Now I’m thinking I should join the group.”
“You can’t do that. No testosterone allowed.”
That would rule out Ryan Cooper, Emily thought. He was surrounded by a force field of testosterone.
“This is Brittany’s friend Emily,” Ryan said easily. “She’s staying at Castaway Cottage, and this is her niece, Lizzy.”
Hilda studied Emily closely. “I remember you. You’re one of Kathleen’s girls. You used to spend the summer here. You and the pretty blonde girl.”
Emily hadn’t expected anyone to recognize her. “Skylar.”
“Kathleen talked about the three of you all the time. ‘Hilda,’ she said, ‘those three are as close as sisters. They’d do anything for each other.’ You were the quiet one.” Hilda transferred her attention to Lizzy. “You’re going to love Puffin Island. You should take a boat trip to see the seals and the puffins. And don’t forget to visit Summer Scoop. Best ice cream in Maine and all organic. What’s your favorite flavor?”
Lizzy considered. “Chocolate.”
Emily felt something stir inside her.
Everyone knew the right way to talk to a child except her. They were easy and natural, whereas she used the same tone she used when presenting to a board of directors.
Miserably aware that she was only a few hours in to a responsibility that was going to last a lifetime, she watched as Ryan helped Hilda back across the street. If they were going to escape, this would be the perfect time.
She could walk to the store and do what she’d planned to do, stock up the cottage.
“Aunt Emily?” Lizzy was clutching the bear so tightly it seemed unlikely the stitching would survive.
Emily looked at the white knuckles and the lost expression on the child’s face.
She didn’t know anything about fairy wings or teddy bears, but she knew this.
She crouched down in front of Lizzy. “It must feel strange for you, being here without your—” cook, nanny, cleaner, mother? “—the people you know around you. It’s strange for me, too. It’s a new life for both of us, and it’s going to take a little while before it feels normal.” She didn’t