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CHAPTERTHREE

“You want me to do what?”

“You heard me.” Emmett stared at his ex-fiancée and smiled. It was rare that Emmett asked his ex for much, even though they had a decent relationship. It had taken them a while to get to this point, and if anyone in Lighthouse Cove would understand Trinity’s situation, it would be Melinda—only Emmett wasn’t going to tell her, which made this tricky.

“You’re lucky I even have anything. Who is this woman to you anyway?” Melinda asked as she fluffed one of the pillows that belonged to the lounge chairs by the pool. This house had one of the best views on the inlet. It had been in Melinda’s family for three generations, and her mother had turned it into a bed and breakfast after Melinda’s father went to prison.

It felt weird to be back at the bed and breakfast. It had fourteen bedrooms, sixteen bathrooms, and two state-of-the-art kitchens. The southern beach décor was impeccable, and there was always a waitlist to get a room in season.

“No one.” That was the truth. “I don’t even know her.”

“Then why am I comping her room for as long as she needs it if you’re not involved with her?”

Emmett contemplated telling Melinda right off the bat who Trinity was and why she needed the room. Melinda was one of the smartest people he knew, and she’d likely figure it out eventually. Of course, Melinda probably wouldn’t be too bothered by it. But her guests might be. So, if he told her, she might say no to Trinity staying at the B&B.

Better to ask for forgiveness later.

“Because I’m asking you as a favor.”

“You’re fucking her, aren’t you? If you are, it’s about damn time you got yourself a girlfriend.”

He laughed. “If that were the case, she’d be staying at my house and not here with you, because that would be weird.”

“This place has a view. Your place, not so much.” She waved her hand across the deck toward the inlet that let out to the ocean. A large boat cruised by as it made its way toward the open water. “I can see you wanting to impress a lady at the same time flaunting a new relationship in my face.” She stuck her nose in the air and tried not to smile, but her teasing tone wasn’t lost on Emmett. It was nice that they had been able to put their painful breakup in the past. He would always have a special place in his heart for Melinda, and at the end of the day, all he wanted was for her to be happy.

“What’s to flaunt when you have Chad?”

“Chad’s away on business for the next week,” she said with a pouty face.

“He’s traveling a lot again?”

“I know that traveling comes with his job, and that’s never going to change. I have to accept it because he loves what he does. It makes him happy.”

Two things had driven a wedge between Melinda and Emmett.

The first one had been his job as a police officer. There were so many things she hated about it. It was dangerous. Stressful. He worked with his family. The hours.

She hadn’t liked anything about his career.

It was why she and his brother’s ex-wife used to get along so well. However, she had supported him and never asked him to quit. She just complained. It was nice to see she’d stopped doing that with Chad.

It just showed that, in the end, they really weren’t as perfect for each other as they thought they were.

And then there was the baby thing. The second Melinda had found out that Emmett couldn’t give her a child of her own, she was out the door. Okay, it hadn’t been that fast, but she wanted a child, and adoption wasn’t even on the table. Though that wasn’t entirely true either.

But that was the direction Emmett would have preferred to go in.

Too many children needed to be loved.

He and Melinda couldn’t see eye to eye on the subject, and they had drifted apart. Or maybe they’d both checked out. Her biological clock was ticking, and Emmett had been feeling a tad sorry for himself.

And, at the end of the day, and with how quickly she and Chad had fallen in love, Emmett knew they’d made the right decision by breaking up.

“I mean, we’re trying to get pregnant, and his trips are making that impossible in one way. But it’s making it possible financially, so it’s all a catch twenty-two.”

“Too much information, Melinda,” Emmett said, but there it was, the reason for the extra crankiness. Melinda wanted a baby, and she wanted it yesterday. “But since you brought it up, and I’m not the man in your life, I’m going to say something to you.”

“I don’t need a lecture.”

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