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“Does our resident Secret Service agent have the abs of a man half his age?”
Sunday laughs. “Cheese biscuits it is.”
* * *
The windows are all thrown wide open, and the sound of laughter comes from the kitchen as Sunday walks through the open front door and into Ruby’s house at five-thirty that evening.
“Hello!” Sunday calls out, carrying her basket of cheese biscuits with both hands.
“In the kitchen, Sun!” Ruby shouts back.
Gathered around the marble island are Harlow and Athena, who are chopping vegetables and making a dill sauce, respectively, and Banks, who is sitting on a stool with a bottle of beer in one hand.
Sunday stops short. “Oh,” she says, trying to snatch back the grin on her face before it disappears completely. She cranks up the wattage and smiles at all of them, letting her gaze rest on Banks. Normally she’s not the least bit shy, but something about this man just makes her feel flustered and like a teenage girl with a crush. “Looks like security has gotten lax here on old Shipwreck Key,” Sunday jokes, setting her basket on the counter. “Any crazy person could just walk in off the beach and into your house, Rubes.”
Ruby is holding a spatula in one hand and she spins around to look at Sunday. “Well, any crazy person just did!”
Banks slides off the stool. “Ma’am, do you want me to go sit out front? I probably should.”
Ruby turns on Banks now, letting the spatula flail around in the air. “No, no, no. We’re having a family dinner here, and that includes you. Besides, you’re about an inch from being dismissed from your post entirely, given the fact that Shipwreck Key is about theleastdangerous place on the planet.”
Banks looks concerned. “Ma’am, for your safety—“
Ruby cuts him off. “My safety isn’t really in question. I feel very settled here,” she says, walking around the kitchen as she opens and closes drawers, searching for something. The sound of the waves crashing on the beach comes in through the open windows, and through the kitchen doorway Sunday can see the long, gauzy dining room curtains billowing in on the ocean breeze. “I’m not afraid at all.”
“Hey, Mom?” Athena says, licking a drip of dill sauce from the side of her hand as she mixes it in a bowl. “Do you think maybe part of the reason why you don’t feel afraid is that Banks is so good at his job?”
“Ding, ding, ding,” Sunday says, chiming in as she realizes that Ruby is threatening to send the most gorgeous man on the island back to D.C. “The man is good at his job, Rubes, so let him do it.”
Ruby tips her head from side to side as she considers this. “I’m just feeling more and more like I’m getting to the point where I don’t need a security detail. If I had somewhere to travel and I thought I needed it, I could definitely hire someone, but keeping Banks tied to this tiny island when he’d probably rather be free to go where he wants, live how he wants, and maybe find a date seems a little selfish, doesn’t it?”
Sunday shoots daggers at Ruby with her eyes.My god, what is she doing?! Sunday thinks.Trying to send my imaginary boyfriend back to Washington to find a date—does she want me to pounce on him? Beg him not to go? Wait…maybe I should.She’s eyeing Banks as he looks at Ruby, clearly trying to assess whether or not she’s serious.
“Ma’am, I just want you to know that I’m extremely happy here,” Banks says. He clears his throat. “There are far worse security details than this one, and you and I have been together for a long time. If I may say so myself, you won’t find anyone to look after you the way I do.”
Ruby’s face softens. “Oh, Henry, I know that. You’re the best at what you do, and I’m not really dismissing you. I’m just thinking ahead to the future. I still think letting the girls’ security go was a wise choice. Having all three of you here was overkill, and Corbin and Eldrick are both young and really needed to be doing something more exciting.”
Harlow pouts just enough that it’s visible. Sunday knew from the things that Ruby had told her that Harlow had nursed a little crush on Eldrick, her own Secret Service agent, and that she’d occasionally said suggestive things about secretly dating him just to get the President’s goat. When Ruby had ultimately decided that one agent on the island was enough, Harlow had been upset to see Eldrick—who’d been with her during the bar shooting she’d survived in New York—get on a boat to head back to Washington.
“Well, I’m not young, and living on the beach suits me just fine. No need for more excitement, more stress, or a bigger dating pool.” His eyes skim the kitchen, snagging on Sunday so briefly that she isn’t even sure that it happened. “In fact, I would argue that I probably have the best gig going of any agent I know, so if you would kindly keep it down about how much you don’t need me anymore, then that would be great, thanks.”
Everyone laughs at his unexpectedly sarcastic delivery.
“Hey,” Ruby says, handing Sunday a tray with crackers and cheese spread. “Why don’t you grab a drink from the fridge and you and Banks head outside. Enjoy the view for a couple of minutes while the girls and I finish up in here.”
Sunday takes the crackers and blinks at Ruby like she’s trying to send her a message in Morse code. “I could help you,” she offers, stalling.
Ruby walks over to the fridge, pulls out a little individual can of Prosecco, pops the top, and thrusts it at Sunday. “Here, wine in a can. Go.” She widens her eyes at Sunday and jerks her head at the porch.
Banks waits for Sunday to sit in one of the Adirondack chairs, then sinks into the one next to hers. She’s set the plate of crackers on a low wooden table between them. He leans over and picks one up, dipping it in the wedge of soft cheese before taking a bite.
When the silence between them seems like it’s gone on for a year, Banks finally speaks. “Does it make you nervous that I nearly saw you naked on the beach, ma’am?”
“Sunday,” she reminds him. “And no—that was actually amusing. What makes me nervous is how much I want it to happen again.” The words are out of her mouth before she even knows that they’re climbing up her throat. Sunday puts a hand to her lips in horror. “Oh my god.”
Banks gives an uncharacteristic laugh, and it’s so loud that Sunday turns to him in surprise.
“That was maybe the last thing I expected you to say,” Banks admits, shaking his head in wonder. He gives the ocean a long, hard stare before speaking again. “But I’m not going to lie to you, Sunday, it’s crossed my mind a time or two.”
