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Lauren
Reunion: a meeting between people who have
been separated for some time
Lauren parked her mother’s car and walked down to the boatyard.
It was still early and she’d left everyone else asleep. She’d been awake since one o’clock, which would have been six in the morning in London. It had been weeks since she’d arrived on the Vineyard, and still she wasn’t sleeping. The moment she closed her eyes her mind started to race. Her chest felt as if it was being squeezed by metal bands and panic rushed down on her like the tide.
First Ed, then the money, leaving London, her mother selling The Captain’s House—
Lauren breathed deeply, trying to find the calm that used to come so easily.
The early morning sky was cloudy, the sea a gunmetal gray. Her coat, which had felt perfectly adequate for chilly coffee mornings in London, was woefully inadequate against the cold bite of the wind that slapped at her face and tugged at her hair. She turned up her collar, wondering if she’d ever feel warm again.
After everything that had happened lately, one more thing shouldn’t have had an impact but when Mack had told her about the beach incident she’d felt physically sick.
Part of her was relieved Mack had confided in her, but she knew that for Mack to be so open with her given the current rocky state of their relationship, she must have been very shaken up.
And no matter how much she didn’t want to see Scott Rhodes, she owed him her thanks.
On the other hand, maybe it was crazy doing this to herself.
She was already halfway back to her car when she saw his pickup bouncing down the uneven dirt track toward her.
He’d already seen her so it was too late to run.
She was conscious that it was just the two of them, alone on this cold morning, and felt as guilty as a woman contemplating an affair.
I’m sorry, Ed, I’m sorry.
And then she remembered that Ed was the reason she was back on Martha’s Vineyard.
If it weren’t for him, she wouldn’t be standing here now, waiting to talk to her ex-lover.
Ex-love.
She’d loved Scott so much she hadn’t been able to see further than the end of her feelings.
Her heart accelerated as Scott slammed the door and strolled across to her.
A dog bounded toward her, tail wagging. She might have felt nervous except Mack had talked about the dog nonstop.
It had surprised her to learn that Scott had a dog. Surely a pet was a commitment?
She stooped to stroke the animal, which gave her an excuse not to focus on the man, although she’d already seen more than enough.
He’d filled out. Shoulders wider, chest bigger. Different in every way to Ed, who had grown up pampered and indulged by a doting mother. Scott rarely talked about his past, but he’d said enough. The legacy of his hard upbringing was visible in the way he chose to live his life. He kept himself fit and ready for anything. He was self-contained and self-reliant.
Scott Rhodes needed no one.
And yet he’d understood her as no one else had before or since.
She straightened and forced herself to meet his gaze. The past, blurred and muted over time, sharpened into focus.
The dangerous crackle and snap of chemistry hummed to life inside her.
She tried to shut it down, but looking at him was all it took for her to feel herself begin to unravel. She’d held it together since the fateful birthday party, battling each obstacle that had come her way, dealing with life, teetering on the edge of a deep pool of emotions but too scared to allow herself to tumble in case she couldn’t pull herself out again. But now all she wanted to do was fling herself against him. She hadn’t felt safe in a while, and she knew those powerful arms would make her feel safe. She knew they’d make her feel other things, too, which was why she didn’t step forward.
