Page 73 of The Island Villa

“We haven’t seen each other for decades. But I was standing on the dock this morning—” she paused and then gave a brief smile “—enjoying the view. And he was in the boat. I didn’t know he was there. We got talking.”

Cassie studied her. “You weren’t really enjoying the view, were you?”

“No,” Adeline said. “I was trying to decide between screaming and swimming out to sea.”

Cassie nodded. This was becoming more and more interesting. “And he saved your vocal cords?”

“Something like that.”

“So you went for a trip in the boat, and he took off his shirt, and you took off your shirt, and suddenly life seemed a whole lot better,” Cassie offered. “And now you’re living happily-ever-after. The end.”

Adeline gave her a look. “We swam.”

“That must have been a treat. A visual treat at the very least. He has an incredible body.”

“Does he? I didn’t notice.”

Cassie grinned and put her laptop down. “Were you swimming with your eyes closed? He’s a great swimmer, isn’t he?”

“You’ve swum with him?”

“He was the one who taught me. He was seventeen, or maybe eighteen—I can’t remember. Just before he left the island to go to college. I was eight at the time, so don’t be jealous.”

“Why would I be jealous?”

“You wouldn’t be. I was teasing. But the two of you seemed to be having a good time.” She saw Adeline’s guarded look and felt a stab of panic. “I’m sorry. I’ll stop teasing. Please don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Shut me out. I hate it when you hide behind that barrier you’ve built.”

“I have a barrier?”

“Yes. It’s right there between you and the world and I’ve never been able to see over it, but the last few days you let me in.”

Amusement flickered in her sister’s eyes. “You found a door in my barrier?”

“I don’t know.” She thought about the way Adeline had smiled up at Stefanos. “Maybe your barrier isn’t as strong as you thought. But please don’t reinforce it. I’ve had a horrid morning and I need to dilute it with happy and uplifting things.”

Adeline put her bag down next to her and pulled her top over her swimsuit. “I assume that means you talked to our mother and it didn’t go well. I don’t suppose you were able to reason with her?”

“No. She kept saying that she and your father had both changed in the past two decades and that this was almost like a whole new relationship.”

“Well let’s hope so, given that the old one didn’t turn out to be such a success.” Adeline flipped her hair free from the neck of her top. “Did you ask her everything you wanted to ask her? Did she talk about your dad?”

“Yes.” Cassie hesitated. “She said all the things I would have expected her to say.”

Her sister looked at her. “But?”

What was she going to say? That there had been something not quite right about the conversation with her mother? It probably wasn’t anything. She was just being oversensitive and was looking for things that weren’t there. Overthinking. She did that a lot.

“But nothing.” Cassie tucked her legs underneath her. “How did your chat with your dad go?”

“About the same as yours with our mother from the sounds of it. We had a frank conversation, but no amount of logic or reason made him change his mind. Apparently, it’s my fault for not understanding, not his for behaving with an alarming lack of logic.”

Cassie felt a stab of anxiety. “I guess this wedding is going ahead then.”

“Seems that way.”

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