Page 59 of Marriage is a Shore Thing
“What about inside?”
“None.” Joanna fingers the petals of a tangerine flower on the vintage sideboard table.
Van keeps finding flowers somewhere to fill that mason jar. I should tell him thank you. I should be writing him opuses of gratitude for everything he’s improved in my life, not fighting him every second of every day. But there’s always this slight twinkle in his mesmerizing gray eyes when I push back that tells me he enjoys our teasing repartee as much as I do.
“Good,” I say before filling Joanna in on the details from Sean’s report. “Though, I’d like to wait until my ankle is better before trying to retrieve the ring.”
“Oh, of course.” She frowns at my throbbing ankle. “Are you managing okay?”
“She’s the most disgruntled patient I’ve ever had.” Van grins from his position leaning against the closed front door.
I give him a death glare. “Lucky for you, I’ll be out of your hair soon.”
“You’re driving her, right? To volunteer at OWRC?” Joanna asks Van.
“OWRC?” Van says, not taking his eyes off me.
“Oceanside Women’s Resource Center. It’s a women’s shelter on the mainland.”
If I hadn’t already been locked into a stare-down with Van, I might have missed it. I might have missed the flicker making his eyes look almost blue. I certainly wouldn’t have seen his chest rise in a slow inhale or how he rubs his knuckles over his heart.
“How—” I clear my throat as I snap my gaze to Joanna. “How do you know about that?”
“Oh, honey.” She pats my arm like I’m a small child. “Everyone knows about that.”
“They do?” I try to keep the pitch of my voice level—I really do—but it comes out all squeaky.
Joanna chuckles. “Wilks Beach is a wonderland of surf, sand, and everybody knowing everybody’s business. When you first moved here and kept so much to yourself, people were worried you were one ofthosemainlanders, especially after everything that scumbag did to Noah and me. To all of us.”
After the fallout of finding out about my father’s double life, I threw walls up so high they grazed the moon. Whenever I was in town, I was all barbed spikes and poisoned glares. Of course the locals wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to hurt Joanna or anyone else.
“I don’t remember who kept tabs on you.” She squints at the new lighting fixture. “Bex? Jonas? But once they found out you were volunteering to help women escaping terrible circumstances, we knew you were trustworthy.”
“I—” My brows pinch. “I, um…”
I can’t really be upset with the people of Wilks Beach doing their due diligence when I’ve done it several times since being blindsided.
A slight blush pinks Joanna’s cheeks. “I told everyone not to mention it because I figured you wanted your privacy.”
“It’s just something from my pageant days I didn’t want to give up,” I tell her, almost shocking myself with my honesty when I’d usually fall into silence. “I started volunteering because I neededsomething that looked good for the judges, but I enjoy helping other women to see the strength in themselves.”
It’s something that fills my heart.
Joanna hugs me carefully, making sure not to bump my ankle. “Good people volunteer because they want to help, not because they want others to know about their good deeds.”
“They also help retrieve family heirlooms even if they could get arrested,” Van pipes up from over Joanna’s shoulder.
I narrow my eyes at him as she leans back, framing my upper arms. “On that note, I don’t like the idea of you doing this by yourself.”
“I won’t be alone. Stacy will be in the house at the same time as cover.”
Joanna wrinkles her freckled nose. “I still don’t like it.”
“Don’t worry, Joanna.” Van sends her a wink when she glances his way. “I’ve got a plan.”
twenty-five
Geneva
