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I sat back. “You are really good at chess.”

“Are you surprised?” she asked.

“I’m not actually.”

“One of my foster homes had a chessboard and a broken TV.”

“So I got hustled,” I deadpanned.

“Am I the asshole?” She batted her eyes at me.

“No. It was a privilege to see you work.”

She laughed and I folded the board in half just in time for our food.

After breakfast we went to the falls. An hour later I drove her home. I didn’t want to drop her off. It didn’t feel like we’d gotten enough time, but to be fair the whole day wouldn’t have been enough time.

When we got to the mansion, I walked her to the dock, where Maddy was waiting in the pontoon.

Emma and I stopped on the lawn just short of the beach. “So you work the rest of the week?” I asked.

“Yeah. I work the next four days straight. Orientation tomorrow, then right into it the day after.”

“So I won’t be able to see you at all? Can I have lunch with you maybe?”

“I never know when I’m getting my lunches. But that’s sweet that you want to.” She smiled up at me. “It was a very nice date. Can I make a request for the next one though?”

“Of course.”

“Can I meet your dog?”

I smiled. “Absolutely.”

She reached up and gave me a hug. When she broke away, she paused for a moment like maybe I’d kiss her. I was supposed to kiss her, but it didn’t feel right just yet, especially with Maddy standing there watching. But when Emma’s eyes flickered to my lips for a split second, I started to consider it anyway. Then she glanced over my shoulder and sucked in a breath. I turned to see what she was looking at.

A yacht was pulling up to a slip in the dock, a woman waving from the bow.

“Oh my God…” Emma whispered.

“What?” I asked, looking back and forth. “Who is that?”

A long, disbelieving pause. “That’s my mom.”

CHAPTER 9

EMMA

I watched in disbelief as the yacht docked.

Maddy was already off the pontoon and running toward me across the beach. She skidded to a halt in front of me, still catching her breath from the sprint. “This bitch,” she managed.

Justin stood next to me. “You didn’t invite her?”

“No the fuck we did not,” Maddy said, glaring over her shoulder at Mom getting off the boat.

Amber was in a flowing white-and-peach chiffon summer dress with a slit up the thigh. Her long brown hair was down, she had on a floppy wide-brimmed hat and huge sunglasses. She was carrying a bottle of champagne in one hand and her sandals in the other, dangling off the tips of her fingers. She was beaming, running toward us across the beach, kicking up sand. “Emma!” She laughed.

Despite my shock and the lasers I could feel coming out of Maddy’s eyes, I smiled. Mom…