Page 62 of The Pretender

Not the most romantic thing she’d ever heard, but okay. She was actually a little disappointed, but tried to hide it. “Fair enough.”

He put a hand under her chin and held her gaze. “Or I wasn’t until you.”

“Well, that’s better.” She lay her head back down, hiding her smile from him. “Just wait until you get your strength back.”

“How about now?”

She kissed his chest. “Now works.”

Chapter 17

The next afternoon, Harris stood with Gabby and Damon near the front porch of the main house. They’d eaten lunch and stayed outside for as long as possible to let the smell of smoke clear. Now they had a meeting. Gabby just didn’t know it yet.

She’d just announced her intention to clean up the shed following the fire. Harris didn’t volunteer to help because he knew they had other plans. Just as he thought it he saw two heads poke up from the bottom of the hill near the boathouse. Two men, one young and one old. Both unknowingly under surveillance.

He nodded in the direction of their guests. “We have company.”

“Who could be...” She spun around to look and her smile faded. “Oh, no.”

Just then Stephen and Craig came into view. Stephen wore his usual dark suit. Craig was explaining something that had Stephen nodding. Mostly, Harris noticed the small suitcase. He sure as hell didn’t think this meeting would extend to an overnight visit, so he had no idea what that was about.

“He’s here about the fire,” Damon said.

“You don’t need to pretty it up.” Gabby crossed and uncrossed her arms. She’d morphed from the vibrant, confident woman last night to unloved niece in less than two minutes. “You mean he’s here to blame me for another mess.”

Harris didn’t care why they showed up now. He just wanted both men on the island for a short time. “It’s convenient.”

She looked him up and down with a strange look on her face. “Do you know what that word means?”

“Sometimes people think they’re collecting information when really they’re subtly being interrogated.” That was the reason Harris and Damon had the conference call with Stephen early this morning. The reason he left the DC office he practically lived in these days as rumors of an impending divorce swirled around him and arrived in record time. They’d specifically asked him to come and check the property before the reconstruction phase started.

From the way Gabby rolled her eyes she looked less than impressed with Harris’s response. “No offense. But neither of you are what I’d call subtle.”

Damon put his hand against his chest in mock pain. “That hurts.”

“I can be very charming,” Harris said at the same time.

She broke out the eyeroll for a second time in less than a minute. “That’s not the same thing.”

Stephen and Craig reached them. Neither smiled. Harris guessed Craig had been fine until he had to walk and have a conversation with Stephen. That man sure did know how to suck the life out of a party.

“Gabrielle.” Stephen provided that less-than-cheerful greeting before nodding to Harris and Damon.

“I thought you preferred to go by Gabby,” Damon said.

Her gaze did not wander away from her uncle. “Which is why my uncle called me Gabrielle.”

Harris decided to take control of the introductions. “Craig, you know everyone, right?”

“I do.” Craig’s gaze shifted to the house. “Are you guys okay?”

Harris was about to answer but Gabby jumped in first. “We got lucky.”

Stephen made a sound somewhere between a snort and a scoff. On him it sounded refined and extra annoying. “I’m sure luck had nothing to do with it.”

“Now, that’s a lack of subtlety,” Damon mumbled under his breath.

“Excuse me?” From the red face to his refusal to give his niece eye contact, Stephen looked ready to blow.

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