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“Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Windsor.”
“It’s nice to see you home, Mrs. Windsor.”
“We’re happy to have you back.”
“You look lovely, Mrs. Windsor.”
I smiled and thanked them but almost tripped when Hazel emerged from the shadows. Her lips turned down as she inspected us, her gaze traveling to our entwined hands. “Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Windsor,” she said stiffly.
Bryce smiled at her, and I followed suit. But Hazel looked anything but friendly as she watched us exit the house. I could still feel her eyes on us as we hopped into one of the golf carts and drove across the lush grounds, the grass still wet with morning dew.
“Your brother’s dog is being delivered today.” Bryce didn’t sound happy about it. “The breeder’s meeting Dale in Bar Harbor.”
Noah was going to besoexcited. “That’s nice.”
“It wasn’t nice—it was a contractual term, remember?” He glanced at me. “Do you evenlikedogs?”
I shrugged. “I’ve never had one. What about you?”
“We had a Black Lab when I was a kid. Blitz. He was a good boy.” Bryce looked thoughtful as we sped across the lawn. “He was my mother’s dog, she loved him. He actually died the week after her.”
“I’m sorry.”
He didn’t respond as Gene Windsor’s enormous mansion came into view. Its gray-stone face was flocked by well-manicured shrubs. The home was regal in the morning light, the quintessential New England ocean-front mega-estate.
My stomach tied itself in a knot. I wasn’t looking forward to seeing Gene. “So… How are things between your father and Daphne?”
Bryce snorted. “She’s having his friend’s baby. His assets are about to be frozen. They aren’t exactly in a good place.”
“But they’re living together, I heard?”
“They have to. They’re putting on a show for the board and the public, just like everyone else.”
“You mean, just like us.”
“They’re nothing like us.” Bryce frowned as he maneuvered the golf cart onto the motor court. It had never occurred to me before, but why the heck did they have motor courts and cars on the island? Everywhere we went, we took a boat. Or a golf cart.
Bryce still looked sour; for all the money he was paying me,I supposed I should help lighten things up before we went inside. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask… Why do you guys have driveways?”
He laughed. “For our trucks and other toys. Haven’t I shown you my jeep?”
I arched an eyebrow. “Youhave a jeep?”
“Yes. I only take it out once a year, but I have it.”
“For what? Are there even any roads on the island?”
“There’s one.” Bryce sounded a bit defensive. “And the jeep’s foroff-roading. So we don’t even need a road.”
“Hmm. I don’t exactly see you as the off-roading type.” I didn’t see him as a dog person, either, but I kept that to myself.
“Well, I’ll have to prove you wrong about that,” he sniffed.
“Fine.”
His brow furrowed.“Fine.”
We were quibbling, but it felt so normal that it made me happy. He parked the golf cart, and before I knew it, Bryce was at my side, helping me down. “Don’t want you to wrinkle that fancy outfit.”
