Page 45 of An Island Summer
Meghan rubbed her temples. “I don’t think so,” she said, his suggestion bringing her back around to the thought that the hope she was holding onto, for this to end up being something more than it actually was, might just be her own fantasy. But what ifshewas right? “Toby, I think he’s telling the truth.”
“Meghan, you’ve dealt with this for a few days, but I’ve dealt with it for years,” he said gently. “You’re taking this one tiny illusion and building it into more than it is. He’s unwell.”
“I barely knew my grandmother, and he might have known her,” she pressed.
“Yes, he may have known her, but that doesn’t mean you’ll get any kind of factual information from him about her. He thinks you’re an actress from the 1950s, remember?”
“What if that’s the only thing he’s gotten wrong?”
Toby blew air through his lips, clearly thinking. “It just doesn’t make any sense.”
“How did he know these things?” The question was just as much for herself as it was for Toby.
He pursed his lips and shook his head as if appeasing her and not really planning to hear her out any further, almost as if he were terrified to hear any more. She wondered if it was out of fear that his grandfather wouldn’t be the man Toby had grown up thinking he was, or was it because the rumors were true…?
He ran his fingers through his hair and then looked her straight in the eye with surrender. “Could you please stop this? There’s no way it could be true, and you even hadmewondering at times. But I can’t deal with the distraction of it anymore.” He rubbed his face, looking exhausted.
Why couldn’t he deal with it? She had no idea why this would prick a nerve, but it clearly had and, suddenly, she considered everything from a different point of view. She’d let the romance of the island and Tess’s rose-colored-glasses perspective of things cloud her judgement. What if she really was standing there, outside a sick man’s room, with a guy using his grandfather’s money? That would certainly be more probable.
“I wonder if youwantit to seem crazy,” she said, testing the waters.
His face crumpled in confusion. “What?”
“You want it to seem crazy so I’ll leave it alone, but I can’t find a reason why other than… I have to know. Is it because you don’t want anyone interfering in your plan?” There. She’d put it out there.
“What plan is that?” he asked slowly, clearly trying to figure out her angle.
“Your plan to use Rupert’s money to fund the inn so you can sell it. That’s what people are saying.”
His head cocked to the side, his brows pulling together, his lips falling slack. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Tell me that’s not what you’re doing.”
He seemed taken aback, looking at her in a new light, as if someone had clicked on a blinding light above them. The romance of the night washed right off him in an instant and, for a split second, she didn’t want to move past this moment for fear they would never return to the place they were in on the dance floor just a little while ago.
“That’s not your concern,” he said in almost a whisper, the words emerging from a heavy weight that had come over him.
So, the rumorsweretrue…She scolded herself for dreaming when she should’ve been more level-headed. Suddenly, she found herself on the verge of tears, refusing to believe that this could be her reality. She wanted to run back to Rupert and demand that he tell her that it was not all a fantasy. “I’m going back in,” she said, her words breaking on her emotion.
Toby gently took her arm, thoughts evident on his face. “Maybe it isn’t the best idea.”
Meghan had to do everything she could to be sure that she hadn’t misread things. There were too many coincidences… She pulled away from him and pushed open the door to Rupert’s room.
“I think Audrey went home,” she said as she entered, blinking to clear her tears and leaving Toby in the hallway.
“Well, it is late,” Rupert told her.
“Would you like to go outside with me?” she asked, suddenly wondering if taking him out of his room would get him talking more. He’d been so animated when they’d first met him at the restaurant.
“That’s not a good idea,” Toby said, loping in. “It’s dark outside.” But Rupert was already getting out of bed and slipping on his shoes.
“That’s okay. Rupert can take my arm so I don’t get lost.” She gave Rupert a wink, making him smile. “You’re welcome to come with us, Toby.”
“I’m definitely coming with you,” he said, his shock from their conversation in the hallway still clear, as Meghan hooked her arm in Rupert’s.
They made their way out to the main lobby, Toby stopping only briefly to tell the front desk their plans, and then walked outside. They stood on the sidewalk leading to the parking lot of Rosewood Manor and Rupert tipped his head up toward the inky black sky, the stars glimmering above them like a galaxy of diamonds, his bottom lip wobbling. “Stars,” he said. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen the stars.”
“You sure are chatty tonight,” Meghan said with a laugh, her absolute delight overtaking her. “You’re still with us, aren’t you?” she leaned into him and asked.
