Page 6 of Must Have Been Love

You’d like to find out though.

I blink that thought away. Because that voice sounds way too much likeher, and she was fucking infuriating. Beautiful, poised, and extremely fucking annoying. Not my type at all.

And yet if I close my eyes, I can still see her behind my lids. That wet hair stuck to her face, those white clothes clinging to her perfect curves. I try to push that image away, because even a few minutes in that woman’s presence tells me she’s trouble with a capital ‘T’. And something I don’t need is trouble.

“Is everything okay?”

My sister’s voice brings me out of my dark mood. She’s sitting in the backseat, next to Ayda. My six-year-old daughter is asleep, and has been since we left the hotel earlier. Autumn – my sister – volunteered to come with us while I drove into town to check on a few business arrangements. This rain has made everybody feel antsy. I think both of them needed to get out of the house, along with Barney, the huge Irish Wolfhound that is Ayda’s shadow. He’s currently curled up in the back of the car, snoring.

It was only when I drove by that I noticed the lock open on The Salty Dog door. We’ve had trouble there, since Wayne passed. Kids breaking in to drink from the optics, visitors from the mainland camping out and making fires in the center of the room.

And yeah, it’s not mine yet, but it will be. And I protect what’s mine. I don’t want the place burned down – I just want to own it.

“Everything’s fine,” I say tersely.

“Who was in there?”

“Nobody important.” I start up the car, but I can tell by the way Autumn shifts in her seat that my answer hasn’t satisfied her. My twenty-six-year-old sister is nosy as fuck. Honestly, my whole family is.

As the oldest of six, it’s always been my job to protect them. And sure, Asher, Wyatt, and Zach are grown men – as tall and as strong as I am – but Autumn and Eden are always my top concern, along with my daughter.

Even if Autumn is married to my best friend, she’s still my responsibility.

I back out from the parking space and curse when a car screeches to a halt behind me. Fuck it, I wasn’t looking and I always look.

I always do everything right. It’s how I’ve gotten to where I am in life.

“Be careful,” Autumn murmurs. I look back to check that they’re both okay. Barney, Ayda’s wolf of a dog – is lounging in the trunk, his head perched on the back of the seat like he’s standing guard. The sudden jolt has woken Ayda up. Her lips purse as she looks around, trying to work out where she is.

And all I can think is thatmaybe this is the day she says something.

But no words escape her lips. They haven’t for the past year.

I turn back around to pull out onto the road and head back to the hotel. I have more meetings this afternoon, and Autumn has offered to watch Ayda for me. I have a babysitter on call for when Autumn and my best friend Parker aren’t available, but I prefer my daughter to be looked after by family whenever possible.

By the time I park outside of the hotel the rain has eased a little. Enough for us to make a run for it to the huge oak door that leads to the Liberty Hotel. Autumn holds Ayda’s hand, the two of them running through puddles like it’s actually fun to get wet, Barney chasing them with delight because at heart he’s a working dog. Ayda gives a silent giggle and my jaw tightens, because her inability to speak is my fault.

I lost control of her mother. I almost lost Ayda. And now she’s lost her voice.

“I’m going to be a few hours,” I tell Autumn. “Then I’ll pick Ayda and Barney up. Is that okay?”

My sister gives me a beaming smile. “Of course. I have a commission to work on, she can help me with it.”

Autumn is an interior designer. She used to be based in New York, but since she and Parker got together, they both moved here. They live in the refurbished lighthouse on the edge of the hotel grounds. About a ten minute walk from where Ayda and I live in the Captain’s House that’s been in our family for generations.

I’m still getting used to being based here on Liberty permanently. It’s a slower pace of life, but a protected one, too. I know – or at least I usually do – exactly who’s coming onto the island. I nearly lost Ayda once and I’ll be damned if anybody gets close enough to her without warning again.

That’s why I’m so pissed about Wayne’s daughter turning up without me knowing. For a second her image flashes behind my eyes. The white top and skirt that had turned translucent and clung to her body. The vivid ink that covered her bare waist, curling up her side. And that fucking lip stud.

I hate lip studs.

So why am I imagining what it would feel like against my tongue?

Christ, I need to get laid. I run the palm of my hand over my face. That’s easier said than done on Liberty.

I stalk past the reception staff who call out a hello, through the double doors to the private area where there are two apartments and a business suite, at the back of which is my office. I push the door open and stride in, yanking the plush leather chair from beneath the oak desk before sitting down on it. I look at the three monitors on my desk that are always on, showing the NASDAQ, the S&P 500, and the Dow Jones.

A quick glance tells me not much has changed since this morning as I hit the call button on my phone that connects directly with my lawyer.

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