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Logan frowned at her. ‘But you hate tidying up, and—’
‘Logan, shut up,’ Evanna said gently, interrupting him and pushing a plate of chicken into his hands. ‘Stop being so controlling. I’m sure Kyla knows whether she needs an evening at home or not. Why don’t you just eat my chicken? Don’t let Kirsty grab it—I’ve done something different for her.’
Kyla mentally blessed Evanna for her tact and then blushed slightly as she felt Logan’s searching gaze on her face.
He knew.
She could tell by his face that he knew, and she gave a faint smile and a shrug.
Her brother was very astute about other people’s problems, she mused, just not about his own.
When was he going to notice that Evanna was perfect for him?
Ethan returned to the picnic rug and handed Kirsty to Logan. ‘She loves the water.’
‘Of course. She’s a local. She’ll swim like a mermaid by the time she’s four.’ Logan grinned. ‘Just like her Aunty Kyla.’
‘I was three.’
‘And you were always leaping off the rocks into the water. “Keep an eye on your sister Logan.”’ Logan gave a wry smile as he mimicked his mother’s voice. ‘You had no sense of danger.’
‘You can’t live your life looking over your shoulder.’ Kyla finished the food on her plate, careful not to look at Ethan. She wanted to swim but not now. Not while he was there. She’d go back to her cottage, wait for them to finish the picnic and then come down later. ‘I’m off.’ She jumped up and brushed the crumbs from her jeans. ‘Thanks, Evanna, that was delicious. Logan, I’ll see you tomorrow. Don’t forget to phone Mum later. She keeps missing you when she calls and she wants to chat about the arrangements for Aunty Meg’s birthday.’
Ethan was watching her. She could feel him watching her and she forced herself to cast a casual glance in his direction and smile.
‘Bye, Ethan.’ She felt as though her face was going to crack. ‘See you tomorrow.’
Walk, Kyla, walk. And no looking back.
There are other men out there, she reminded herself as she made her way across the sand to the cottages. Nice men. Uncomplicated ones.
And one day she was going to meet one of them.
CHAPTER SEVEN
ETHAN hesitated by Kyla’s back door, knowing that he shouldn’t be there. But how could he stay away? She was avoiding her family and he was the cause of it.
She didn’t want to bump into him.
Gritting his teeth, Ethan lifted a hand to knock on the door, but at that moment she wandered into the kitchen. And saw him.
She’d obviously just come out of the shower and was wearing a pair of tiny shorts and a skimpy top, and her hair fell in damp, curling waves over her shoulders. Her feet were bare and her legs long and lightly tanned.
Their eyes held for a long moment and he wondered fleetingly whether she might just ignore him.
But then she walked over and opened the door. ‘Is something the matter? I was just going to bed.’
Bed? She looked like that to go to bed?
Ethan felt his blood pressure rise several notches and suddenly he wished he’d left this visit until the morning. Everything that needed to be said could have been said in the harsh light of day when she was wearing a navy uniform.
Not that her navy uniform did anything to disguise the tempting curve of her bottom.
‘Ethan?’ she prompted him with a frown. ‘What’s the matter?’
He pulled himself together. ‘You’re going to bed? It isn’t even nine o’clock.’
‘I’m tired.’
