25

The moment Walker woke up, he stretched out one arm, hoping to find Marlow in his bed, but she wasn’t there. Lifting his head, he squinted against the light streaming in through the French doors while searching for evidence that she’d ever come.

There was none.

What’d happened? Had she lost the key to his place? She could’ve knocked.

He rolled over to get his phone from where it was charging on the nightstand beside him. He hadn’t received any messages from her since before she’d gone into the attorney’s office...

Why wouldn’t she let him know she was okay at least?

Concerned, he sat up. He didn’t have to work until midnight. Brody had graveyard this weekend, but he’d asked Walker to trade with him—he had company from out of town—and Walker had been more than happy to agree, since he’d assumed it would give him the morning with Marlow.

He was tempted to call her, but it was only seven thirty. If she’d gotten in late, he didn’t want to wake her. Maybe she and her friends had had too much to drink and decided to get a hotel in Miami. Or they’d partied so late she’d been too exhausted to come over once she finally got home.

He hoped it wasn’t anything more serious.

He texted his mother, since Rosemary was the only person at Seaclusion who was usually up this early.

He shoved a hand through his hair while he waited. If Marlow was there, he could go back to sleep. If she wasn’t...

South Beach could be dangerous. He didn’t want to think about what might’ve happened if she wasn’t home, so he scrolled through the news on his phone, trying to keep from imagining the worst, until his mother got back to him.

He let his breath out in relief. Okay. Thanks.

What’s going on? his mother asked.

He was definitely in the deep end. But he couldn’t seem to avoid taking the risk he was taking, not when it came to Marlow. So he pretended to be in perfect control. I’ve got it, Mom. Don’t worry.

Claire kept looking over her shoulder to make sure no one she knew was coming up from behind. Last night, as she and her friends had stumbled sleepily into the guesthouse, she’d told them she planned to comb the beaches for shells after she left the racquet club this morning, and that it might take all day, and, thankfully, neither one of them had expressed any desire to go with her. That meant she had the whole day to herself, and because she’d borrowed a bike, she had transportation, too. Marlow had offered to let her take one of the cars, but she hadn’t wanted anyone waiting anxiously for her return. And she’d felt that was less likely if she didn’t have the Jeep or the Tesla.

The address Dutton had provided was, fortunately, on the other side of the island. It took longer to pedal there than she’d figured, but she was relieved that he wasn’t closer. Aida or Marlow could still run into him somewhere. But at least they wouldn’t be likely to pass him when they were pulling into or out of Seaclusion.

Claire felt an odd mix of emotions as she located the small beachfront cottage and coasted down the drive. Thanks to a plethora of tropical shrubs and trees, which had grown up along the periphery of the property, it felt secluded, and that enabled her to relax—slightly.

She got off the bike and walked it onto the lawn, where it couldn’t be seen by glancing down the drive, and hurried to the entrance.

“Finally!” Dutton said, throwing open the door as soon as she knocked and scooping her into his arms.

She’d anticipated being more excited to see him. She’d been absolutely heartbroken since everything went wrong. That was why it had been so difficult to refuse his calls, and she’d ended up succumbing to his many entreaties to forgive him.

But being here, like this, didn’t feel quite right, either. She wasn’t convinced they’d be able to get beyond the damage he’d caused. And it felt weird to meet him here on the island. He was divorced, but the need for secrecy made her feel that what she was doing was wrong. At the very least, she was being a bad friend, and she hated that.

“I’ve missed you so much,” he murmured into her hair.

His embrace was warm and familiar and felt a bit like coming home. For someone who’d never had the nuclear family she’d craved, it was tempting to ignore her reservations. But there was something missing—something that had been there before that was now gone.

Trying to ignore it, she told him she’d missed him, too. But as soon as the words were out of her mouth, he began to grope and kiss her with deep, hungry kisses, heavy on the tongue, and she knew she’d have to speak up or they’d wind up in bed.

“Dutton, no,” she said, pulling back and moving his hands away from her breasts.

“Why not?” he asked, clearly frustrated. “I’m dying to make love to you again. And there’d be nothing wrong with that.”

In her mind, there would be. He was the one who’d betrayed Aida before. Now he’d put her in a position to do it. “I’m just...not ready.”

She was relieved that he didn’t make a big deal out of it. “Okay,” he said. “I understand. We’ll take it slow.”

As soon as he backed off, she felt almost weak with relief, which she considered a strange reaction. “Thank you.”

“I came here so we can have some fun together,” he said, reiterating what he’d promised on the phone, even though she had no doubt he would’ve taken her to bed if she’d allowed it. “To get to know each other all over again—without the baggage of the past year.”

She wasn’t sure if he was referring to his marriage or the hurt he’d caused. She wanted to believe it was the latter, but she didn’t question him to find out. It was too important that they start out on the right foot. “Sounds good. How was your flight?”

“Long and boring. But the island’s gorgeous. What should we do first?”

Since she didn’t want to be seen in public with Dutton, Claire was going to have a hard time suggesting activities as the days passed. But for today, she had the ocean. “We’re right on the beach. Let’s go swimming and explore for seashells.”

“Great,” he said. “But I’m starving. We should grab some breakfast first.”

With Aida and Marlow sleeping, Claire thought it was probably safe to visit a restaurant. She pulled up Yelp on her phone and purposely chose a quaint-looking café on this side of the island.

It was noon, according to the digital clock on her nightstand, and yet Marlow pulled the covers up and tried, yet again, to fall into the oblivion of sleep. She would’ve stayed in bed indefinitely. She wanted to do whatever she could to avoid—or postpone—the reckoning ahead. She’d ignored a number of calls and texts from Eileen, but her mother was determined enough to check on her that she made her way over to the guesthouse. Marlow knew Eileen had come because she could hear Aida saying she wasn’t up yet.

Walker had to be wondering what was going on with her, too. He’d also sent her a message to see if she was okay. She’d seen it when she got up to use the bathroom an hour ago, but she hadn’t been able to bring herself to answer him, either. And she had no idea what she’d do if and when she ran into Rosemary. She was so hurt and angry she was afraid she couldn’t trust herself to behave with any restraint.

“Marlow?” Her mother, who knocked briefly to announce her presence, opened the bedroom door.

As soon as Marlow saw her hobbling in with her cane, she squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to stop the tears. The time had come. She had to face her mother and tell what her father had done. She couldn’t put it off any longer.

“What’s going on?” Eileen asked. “I’ve been calling and texting and...” She let her words drift off the moment she caught sight of Marlow, who scooted up against the headboard as her mother sank onto the bed beside her. “You’ve been crying. What is it?”

Marlow cleared her throat so she could speak. “I have bad news,” she managed to say.

Eileen’s expression grew stoic. “Regarding the meeting with Sam?”

“Yes.”

“What is it? Are we out of money? Because I have plenty of cash on hand, and—”

“The money’s still there,” Marlow broke in. “Well, most of it, anyway.”

Eileen stiffened. “What do you mean?”

Once again, tears slipped down Marlow’s cheeks. She’d hoped to be partially recovered—at least enough to explain what’d happened as gently as possible—before she tackled this conversation. But it was still too soon. “Twenty percent is going to Reese,” she clarified.

“To Reese?” her mother echoed. “And...Walker?”

“Nothing to Walker. Just twenty percent to Reese.”

Her mother sat as still as a statue while she attempted to make sense of Marlow’s words. “Why not Walker?” she asked carefully.

“Because Walker belongs to Rudy.”

The blood drained from her mother’s face. “What are you saying?”

She’d already guessed the truth. Marlow could tell, so she merely confirmed it. “That Reese belongs to Dad.”

Eileen didn’t make a sound, but one delicate hand rose to cover her mouth.

“I’m sorry,” Marlow said, nearly choking on a sob.

Eileen turned to stare out the window, and Marlow couldn’t even guess what she was thinking. Was she remembering certain details from the past that might confirm this? Grappling with how to accept it?

Probably both.

“Are you okay?” Marlow asked.

Her mother met her gaze. “I won’t give him a damn penny. I won’t let Rosemary get away with what she’s done. We’ll...we’ll demand a paternity test.”

What she’s done. Marlow noticed that Eileen hadn’t addressed Tiller’s culpability. Did she think Rosemary had tricked him into her bed? Used her difficult situation to play on his sympathy? Had she done that? Marlow wondered. “There’s already been a test, Mom. It came back positive. Sam has it in Dad’s file.”

This came as a more obvious blow than the news before it, or maybe her mother was simply crumbling under the pain of it all, because she gasped and slumped over, as if she was struggling to remain in an upright position.

“Mom,” Marlow said, alarmed.

Eileen managed to straighten, but Marlow could see the effort that required. “Excuse me,” she muttered as if she were a complete stranger, then used her cane to pull herself to her feet.

“Where are you going?” Marlow asked in surprise.

“I...I need to rest for a few minutes,” she mumbled and shuffled down the hall, where she said a few polite words to Aida as though her whole world hadn’t just collapsed.

Then the door shut behind her, and there was nothing but silence.