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“That’s right. And if you’re very good we’ll make some cookies for dessert.”
Isla turned to look at Meghan, her eyes dancing with delight. At least one person in her life was easy to please. She’d been so excited about sleeping over at her Granny and Gramps’ house she hadn’t stopped talking about it for days.
And if she was being honest, Meghan was excited, too. For the break more than anything. She couldn’t remember the last time she had the apartment to herself for more than half an hour. When she finished work tomorrow she planned to veg out in front of the TV with a Netflix series, with a pizza on one side of her and a pint of ice cream on the other.
Bliss.
“Hello sweetheart.” Her mother gave her a tentative smile. “Thank you for letting Isla stay.”
Meghan nodded. “She’s looking forward to it.”
“So are we.” She cleared her throat. “Your father wanted to talk to you. He’s in the living room.” Grabbing Isla’s hand, Meghan’s mom led her into the hallway. “Why don’t we take your bag to your room? I bought you a new book to read. I thought we could start it tonight.”
Meghan closed the front door behind her, as Isla ran up the stairs, her grandma bustling behind her. The living room door was ajar, so she pushed it open, seeing her dad sitting on his easy chair with the newspaper folded in his hands. He was wearing his reading glasses, a pen poised between his thumb and finger.
“Mom said you wanted to talk about something?” Meghan asked.
He put the paper down, gesturing at her to sit on the sofa opposite. “First of all, I wanted to thank you for letting Isla stay with us. I know we haven’t always seen eye to eye, but we love her very much.”
It was the closest he’d ever come to conciliation. “I know.” Her throat felt tight. Sure, she hadn’t had the kindest upbringing, but they treated Isla so differently. That was a good thing. “She’s been looking forward to it all week.”
“Your mom’s hoping you’ll let her come and stay every couple of months. That little girl is the apple of her eye. She lives and breathes for her.”
“I know she does.” Meghan smiled. “She’s a good girl.”
“And that’s thanks to you.”
Whoa. She wasn’t quite sure what to say to that.
“There was something else I wanted to tell you. A man knocked on the door on Tuesday asking questions about you.”
Meghan blinked. “What kind of questions.”
“It was a lawyer, I think. He wanted to speak with you. I told him you didn’t live here any more.”
“Did he say what it was in connection with?” She wondered if it had something to do with the shop. That was the last time she’d used anybody from the legal profession.
“I’m not sure. He left a card.” Her dad stood and walked over to the shining oak bureau on the other side of the living room, taking a small white business card from the pile of letters there. “He seemed very nice. I wondered if he had anything to do with Aunt Grace’s will. She’s going into the hospital next week and was talking about updating it. She always talked about leaving some money to you and Isla.”
He passed Meghan the card and she looked at it. “I guess I’ll give him a call.”
“Good idea.”
It was getting dark by the time she pulled into the parking lot of her apartment building. The pool area was closed and locked, and lights blazed from the windows of the tall white buildings, the occasional shadow of a person passing in front of the glass. The wind must have been blowing from the west, because she could hear the sound of the waves crashing against the shore. Tomorrow was forecast to be a bright sunny day, and she’d already asked all her staff to come in. The tourist season was well and truly up and running, and she knew they’d be run off their feet.
“Hey.”
She jumped at the sound of his voice cutting through the darkness. Rich was walking around the corner of the building, from the underground lot where he parked his car
. She’d been lucky enough to score a space on the surface lot, which made life a lot easier when she had things to carry.
His hair was damp, brushed back from his delicious face. He was wearing an old, washed-out gray t-shirt with a Nirvana logo on it, the words half peeled away, and a pair of dark sweat pants that hung low on his hips. Over his shoulder was a gym bag, his fingers curled around the handle.
Her eyes lifted to his and she felt her chest tightening. For a moment he said nothing. Just stared at her with those vivid blue eyes, his lips slightly parted, his brow pinched as though he was trying to work her out.
Meghan swallowed hard, trying not to think about the last time she saw him and that kiss that haunted her dreams.
“Hi.” She was almost breathless even though she hadn’t moved an inch.
