After pushing herself for so long to advance her career, Marlow was enjoying the slow pace of life on the island. “I could get used to this,” she said to Aida and Claire as they sat down for a very late breakfast on the top deck of the main house. They’d gotten up at nine and done yoga on the beach before showering and changing their clothes. She was wearing a gauzy white sundress with flip-flops; Aida and Claire were both wearing shorts.
Aida added some cream to her coffee. “It’s heaven here. I don’t know how you ever left it in the first place.”
“My parents didn’t really live here when I went off to college. We just spent summers on the island, and the occasional Christmas or Thanksgiving. My father was so busy with his various roles, and so was I. I never even considered living here year-round.” Truth be told, she was a little envious that Walker had made it his permanent residence.
“Are you seriously considering it now?” Rosemary asked as she came out of the house with a plate of homemade snickerdoodles to offer them for dessert.
“No,” Marlow replied as she helped herself to a soft, warm cookie. Today was her actual birthday, so she was still getting well wishes and goodies. “Not really.”
“Why not?” Aida asked. “You could open a boutique in town like I’m planning to do in LA.”
“I don’t have any interest in opening a boutique,” Marlow said.
“Why not open a law practice?” Aida pressed. “Maybe business would be slow enough that you could tolerate the negativity in smaller doses.”
“That’s a good idea.” Claire hadn’t said much so far this morning. She’d wished Marlow a happy birthday, like everyone else, but she seemed mostly absorbed in her own thoughts. “As idyllic as it seems here on Teach, people get divorced everywhere.”
“But we’d both be sad if you left LA,” Aida said.
“If I moved here, you’d just have to come out and visit me every couple of months,” Marlow told them. “Or move here, too. You could open your boutique in downtown Teach instead of LA. And Claire could work at the tennis club until she was ready to open her own yoga studio again.”
“Do you think we’d be able to make a living?” Aida asked.
“Tough to say,” Marlow admitted.
Finished with her meal, Aida rocked back while she also enjoyed a cookie. “Would you ever consider it, Claire?”
Claire used her fork to stir her eggs, which she’d hardly touched. “I don’t know. There are plenty of tourists who might be interested in doing some yoga. But it’d definitely be a risk. And I’m not sure I can handle another business failure.”
Marlow didn’t hold out much hope that her friends would join her if she moved. After the year they’d had, neither of them was very big on taking risks. Of course, they didn’t have the same level of security she had, thanks to her family’s wealth. “It’s something to think about, I guess.”
Hearing the door open, they all looked up as her mother led Walker out onto the deck.
“I hope there’s some cookies left, because Walker deserves a treat after moving that heavy armoire in the attic. Thanks to him, I can now get to the rest of the memorabilia I’ve collected over the years.”
Marlow straightened in her seat. “You called Walker while he was at work?” she asked, taking immediate note of his uniform.
“He’s on his break,” her mother assured her.
“Still, you could’ve asked me to help with the armoire,” Marlow said.
Eileen shrugged off her words. “It would’ve been too heavy for you. It took both Walker and Reese to budge the darn thing.”
“Is Reese coming for cookies, too?” Aida asked.
“I invited him, but he had to leave for work,” Eileen replied.
Marlow had a difficult time looking away from Walker. When he’d first stepped out onto the deck, his eyes had flicked her way, and his gaze had quickly run over her body, which was something he didn’t do to Aida or Claire. But then he didn’t look at her again. After the requisite birthday wishes, he kept his attention on her friends, who were more than eager to visit with him, while he had a few cookies.
“I’ll let you ladies get on with your day,” he said after about five minutes.
“You’re leaving so soon?” Aida’s voice was filled with disappointment. “I’m not sure if you play chess, but if you do, we need someone who can beat our birthday girl.”
“You beat me,” Marlow said, scowling at Aida.
Aida rolled her eyes. “You weren’t even trying that time.”
Marlow was surprised she’d noticed.
“I love chess,” he said, “but—”
“But she’s tough,” Aida broke in. “We know that. So we’ll understand if you don’t want to take her on.”
Obviously, Aida remembered how competitive Walker was. His eyebrows shot up at the challenge, and his gaze finally cut back to Marlow. “I can beat her.”
The confidence in his voice suggested he might really be able to do it. They’d played as kids, and she hadn’t always won, but that was a long time ago.
“You think so?” Marlow said.
A sexy grin curved his lips. “As long as you don’t take forever to decide on each move, we might have enough time to find out.”
Being the boss probably meant he could stretch his break a bit, but she didn’t want to get him in trouble. “I’ll get the board.”
Walker knew what kind of IQ he was dealing with. He couldn’t help being slightly intimidated; he hadn’t been put forward two grades in school. But he loved chess and often played on his phone to relax after work, or with Reese, who was pretty good himself. And Marlow had let him start, which gave him the advantage.
He began with his favorite open—1. e4; she countered with the Sicilian Defense.
At first, Claire, Aida, his mother and Marlow’s mother stood or sat nearby, watching them. But as the minutes ticked away, they became distracted and began to talk and move about the deck, checking back every once in a while to see who was ahead. Walker was pleased with the way he was playing. His strategy seemed to be unfolding exactly as he wanted it to. But while he deliberated over one particular move, Marlow began to slip her fingers between his on the hand he had resting next to the board.
He glanced around to see who might be watching them. He was surprised she’d touch him like that in front of the others. But no one was paying attention. Claire had spotted a turtle on the beach and drawn everyone to the banister to see it.
“Are you trying to distract me?” he murmured to Marlow.
She cocked her head to one side. “Maybe. Is it working?”
“Definitely.” Especially since he couldn’t see how this type of contact had anything to do with the friendship she claimed she wanted—the friendship they’d just started last night.
“Would you rather I stopped?” she asked.
The others were streaming back, so when he said no, it was more of a challenge to determine if she’d be willing to let them see what she was doing. He didn’t think she would. He assumed this was just between them. Off the record. Nothing that came with any kind of consequences or commitments.
But she didn’t remove her hand.
“Looks like you’re having fun.” Aida was obviously referring to their holding hands. But even then Marlow didn’t withdraw.
“There’s nothing like being back on the island,” she said.
Forcing his mind back to chess wasn’t easy. He was losing track of his strategy because there was another game going on at the same time—one he found far more interesting. He hated himself for loving Marlow, but who was he kidding? Nothing had changed.
He finally moved his bishop and watched her as she considered her next chess move. When she started to slide her queen to the far right, he knew she wasn’t sincerely trying to beat him.
“Don’t you dare let me win,” he growled.
She gave him a sheepish look before changing to her knight, and the game waged on. It was taking longer than he’d anticipated. He was so afraid he’d make a mistake that he was the one who had to deliberate for several minutes before each move.
Luckily, he won in the end. Although it hadn’t been easy, he couldn’t be too proud of himself. He wasn’t certain she’d tried her hardest.
“Was that your best game?” he asked skeptically as the others congratulated him for beating their champion.
“I didn’t lose it on purpose,” she said.
“But you didn’t do your best. Why not?”
“I’ll try harder next time.”
He checked his watch. “I’d like there to be a next time, but I can’t play anymore right now.”
“Tonight, then?”
Whatever she was doing, he was falling for it again—falling for her. But she’d never acted like this, had never shown so much interest in him. Sure, they’d had sex, but this was different. This was in full view of her friends and both their mothers. That seemed to insist it was genuine. “At my place?” he said.
“Sounds good.”
“Can I take you to dinner before that?” The words came out before he could stop them. Here he was, asking her out, even though he’d promised himself he never would.
Although he expected her to come up with some excuse to turn him down, she didn’t. “Sure.”
Claire and Aida gaped at each other. So did their mothers. But he ignored their reactions. He was afraid to trust Marlow, and yet it felt as though he was finally getting a chance at what he’d always wanted. “I’ll pick you up at seven?”
“I’ll be ready.”
Although he knew he was pushing his luck, he lifted her chin and bent to brush his mouth lightly over hers, just to see if she’d allow it.
And she did.
Still holding her chin, he studied her in confusion after pulling away. But when she blushed and smiled, he couldn’t help smiling back. “See you then.”
“What was that all about?” a shocked Eileen demanded after Walker left.
Marlow could see Rosemary standing as still as a statue in the background, holding the last of the dishes she’d brought out for brunch. She didn’t say a word, but the same shock radiated from her. Marlow didn’t think Walker’s mother liked her that much, not when it came to any type of romantic relationship with him. Rosemary didn’t trust her to treat him right, and Marlow couldn’t blame her.
Aida pulled out a chair and plopped down beside her. “Did I just see Walker kiss you?”
Claire sat on the other side. “If you didn’t,” she said to Aida, “we’re somehow having the same dream.”
Now that Walker was gone, Marlow regretted being so obvious. She was the one who’d started this. What had gotten into her? She could’ve been more discreet. There were other ways of showing interest, of letting him know that maybe she did want to explore the possibility of a romantic relationship with him. After all, they’d had sex without letting anyone know about it.
But Reese had caught her in Walker’s sweatshirt last night. She had no doubt he’d say something to Rosemary eventually, and then Rosemary would likely mention it to her mother.
Bottom line, after the disappointment she’d felt last night, she hadn’t been able to stop herself. It was that simple. He’d been so circumspect while trying to move their relationship safely into the “friend zone,” and that had turned out to be a surprising letdown.
“Why are you all making such a big deal of it?” she asked, attempting to play it off. “Walker and I have been friends since I can remember.”
“Friends don’t kiss each other,” her mother said.
Marlow waved her words away. “It was barely a peck.”
“That’s true,” Aida agreed. “And yet it was one of the steamiest kisses I’ve ever seen.”
“Especially the part where he gazed into your eyes afterward,” Claire added, pretending to swoon.
Marlow could feel her face burning. “Stop!” she said and risked another look at his mother.
Rosemary immediately glanced away from her and carried in the dishes.
After Marlow and her friends left to go to the public beach that had all the music and vendors, Rosemary texted Walker. You know better than to get involved with Marlow.
And you know better than to get involved with Dad, came his response. I haven’t had the chance to talk to you about it, but I’ve been meaning to remind you of what it was like when you were with him before.
Your father has changed, she wrote back, returning to that same old argument, because she hoped—and believed—it was true.
Maybe Marlow has, too.
And maybe she hasn’t.
His response came back immediately. Seriously? I’m thirty-six. You’re going to warn me away from getting involved with someone?
She tiptoed down the hall to double-check that Eileen was still napping, then hurried out to the deck and down the stairs to the beach, where she called her son.
Walker answered on the second ring. “Don’t do it,” he said before she could say anything. “I’ll look out for myself—thank you very much.”
“I’m just...scared for you,” she admitted.
“I could say the same right back to you.”
She sighed. Obviously, Reese had been talking to Walker. “Your father’s been trying to get back with me for months,” she said. “He’s established a bit of a track record, at least. This thing with Marlow...it’s brand-new. She just got here a week ago.”
“Every relationship has to start somewhere.”
“But you’ve been saying for a while you want a wife and children. I don’t think Marlow’s remotely interested in those things.”
“It’s just a date,” he said.
She squeezed her forehead while moving the sand from side to side with her feet. He didn’t understand. She had a strong argument for why Walker couldn’t get involved with Marlow, and it went beyond what she was saying to him now. There was something he didn’t know, something she needed to tell him.
She just...couldn’t—not without bringing everything else crashing down.
Dinner with Walker was every bit as enjoyable as Marlow had expected. He took her to a seafood place called The Conch House, where the host sat them at a table overlooking the water. She’d never eaten at this particular restaurant and was happy to take Walker’s suggestion of the conch chowder as her first course and some stone crabs for her main meal. He ordered seafood ceviche as an appetizer, which he shared with her, and gator-and-shrimp jambalaya for himself.
While they ate, he didn’t bring up the past. He didn’t mention their brief kiss on the deck, either, even though he had to be wondering how the others had reacted after he left. She got the impression he wanted to start over, forget about their history and simply enjoy the evening, which was easy enough for her to do. He told her stories about his job, some of which made her laugh—like the one in which he was helping to train a rookie in Miami and they went out on a robbery call. The rookie got so nervous when the guy who’d held up the liquor store began to run away that he accidentally tased Walker instead. Walker said he hit the hot concrete like a felled tree, and the crook got away.
“That must’ve been embarrassing,” she said.
He offered her a bite of his jambalaya, which she accepted. “It was,” he said. “Imagine having to tell the liquor store owner why you couldn’t get the dude who’d just robbed his store.”
She laughed. “Do you know if that rookie is still on the force?”
“He didn’t last long. Wasn’t cut out to be a cop. He also wrecked a squad car when he accidentally hit the gas instead of the brake and rammed into a cinder block wall. That spelled the end for him.”
“Poor guy,” she said, still chuckling.
“Yeah. I liked him, even if he did tase me,” Walker said. “At least he didn’t use pepper spray.”
She sipped some of the wine he’d ordered for them. “Pepper spray’s worse?”
“Much worse.” He lifted his glass. “What about you? You have to have some war stories, too.”
She dabbed at her mouth with her napkin. “I once represented a guy who wanted a divorce because his wife wouldn’t quit overfeeding their cat.”
Walker leaned forward. “Did you say overfeeding their cat?”
“I did. It was getting fat, and he was afraid she’d do the same thing to their unborn children.”
He shook his head. “You gotta be kidding me.”
“Nope. I also had a client who divorced his wife because she was sending money to some guy in another country she’d met on social media. She’d sent so much to help his fake ‘ministry’ she’d just about bankrupted them.”
“I think that would make me mad, too,” Walker said.
“Yeah. I couldn’t blame that guy. But there’s nothing funny about most divorces. That’s why I’m considering getting out of the business.”
“You’ve mentioned not wanting to get married.” He looked hesitant to continue but did anyway. “Do you not want children, either?”
She was extremely conscious that they’d had unprotected sex—twice. She didn’t think the chances of pregnancy were very high, but a possibility, however slight, was still a possibility. “I don’t know,” she said. “I haven’t made any decisions along those lines.”
Fortunately, he didn’t press her. He leaned back as the waitress brought them each a piece of key lime pie. They hadn’t ordered it, but Walker must’ve called ahead to tell the hostess it was her birthday, because there was a candle in hers.
“Happy birthday,” the waitress said and gathered some of the restaurant employees to sing to her.
Walker smiled as he looked on.
When it was over, Marlow said, “Thank you. This looks delicious, but I can’t eat another bite.”
“You have to at least try it,” he said. “Have a bite of mine and take yours home.” Walker pushed his plate into the middle of the table as the waitress went to box up the other slice.
“Wow, you’re right,” Marlow said after she’d taken a bite. “This is the best I’ve ever had, and I’ve had a lot of key lime pie.”
“They put sweetened condensed milk in it. That’s what my mother said, anyway.”
She mopped up the graham cracker crumbs left on the plate from her bite. “Speaking of your mother... I don’t think she’s too happy we’re out together. She’s always been kind to me—don’t get me wrong—but I can tell she’d prefer I stayed away from you.”
“Just ignore that.”
“She’s concerned about you.”
“She has her own problems to worry about.”
“Are you talking about the fact that she’s seeing your father again?”
“I wondered how much you heard when Reese came over the other night.”
“I heard the first part—while I was cowering in your bathroom.”
His teeth flashed in a grin. “Bad timing.”
“Had he come earlier, it would’ve been worse.”
The way he looked at her brought back the more intimate memories of that night. “No kidding.”
She picked up her glass to finish the last of her wine. “How do you feel about your parents getting back together?”
“I think my mom’s stupid to give my dad a second chance.”
She set her wineglass back down. “Maybe she thinks you’re stupid for giving me one.”
He put his credit card on the table for the waitress. “My mother and I don’t have to agree on everything.”
After dinner, when Walker brought Marlow to his house, he didn’t suggest they play chess, and neither did she.
They left a trail of clothes down the hall to his bedroom. He couldn’t wait to feel her naked body against his once again. Everything that’d happened since the last time they were together suddenly seemed like foreplay—it had created more and more desire, and now he was eager for the payoff.
“This certainly beats what we did last night,” she said as he rolled her beneath him.
Hearing a shred of truth in her words, he raised his head. “Hey, I bought you a unicorn cake.”
She grinned up at him. “I like this birthday present better.”
If only he’d known... “If you wanted this, all you had to do was say so. Instead, you confused the hell out of me with that ‘let’s be friends’ bullshit.”
She laughed at his response, then sobered as she moved the hair out of his eyes. “What I want most is for you to forgive me. Can I have that, too?”
How could he deny her? She’d owned his heart since he could remember. He didn’t know if they were friends or something more, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to ask—all it would take to ruin everything was to scare her—but he knew for certain that the answer to her question was yes. “You’re forgiven. There’s no way I could hold a grudge against you right now even if I tried.”