Secrets Between Them. C.J. Carmichael

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СКАЧАТЬ door next.”

      Nick seemed surprised, but quickly nodded. “Sure, that wouldn’t be—”

      “I was joking! You’re a paying guest. I don’t want you doing the chores around here.” She tried to transmit a reproachful message to Annie, but her aunt was still gazing adoringly at Nick. The old woman’s face actually broke into a beam when he took her arm and asked her to lead him to the problem.

      Jennifer’s father grabbed his cane and followed.

      I love my family, Jennifer reminded herself, as she made her way to the kitchen. It was the largest room in the house, and included an eating area where breakfasts were served every morning at eight.

      Jennifer had scones for the tea, clotted cream from a nearby dairy and homemade peach-blue-berry-lavender preserves. She put on the kettle for tea, then set out her mother’s china.

      She was slicing a lemon, when she heard someone enter from the hall. Not recognizing the uneven gait of her father, or her aunt’s characteristic shuffling, she figured it had to be Nick.

      “Finished with the toilet already?”

      “It needs a new seal. I’ll have to go to a hardware store for supplies. Your father is helping your aunt mop up the floor. He said to tell you they’ll be in shortly.”

      Nick slipped behind the island that separated the kitchen from the seating area. Guests didn’t usually stray into her territory, and Jennifer felt her shoulders tighten with the awareness that he was watching her.

      “Can I get you something?” she asked, hoping he would take the hint and sit down.

      “No, thanks.”

      Instead, he gravitated to the collage of photographs and postcards on the near side of the fridge. After studying them for about a minute he asked, “When were you in Europe?”

      “Six years ago.” Jennifer couldn’t resist checking over the collection, too. After so many years, you’d think some of the pleasure would have worn thin. But no, just one glance at that photo of her and Simone at the Café Liberté, and she could feel the exciting buzz in her stomach that had stayed with her for the duration of that once-in-a-lifetime trip.

      “You look like you were having a good time.”

      “The best.” For three weeks she’d had no one to look after but herself. Simone had let her set the agenda, and they’d hopped a train for a different country on the smallest of whims.

      “Who’s your traveling companion? You know, she looks a little like—”

      “Simone DeRosier? Yes, that’s her. She used to spend her summers here on the island.” Mentioning her friend, Jennifer grew cautious. She was used to visitors being curious about Simone, and Jennifer had learned long ago to be discreet.

      “Really. You knew Simone DeRosier?”

      “We were friends, yes.”

      “And what’s this?”

      Nick pointed out another photograph, a group shot of the forget-me-not gang the summer before high school graduation.

      “Just my friends.” Again, she felt a shot of nostalgic warmth. They’d had so much fun in those days. In many ways, those summers together had been the best days of her life.

      “I recognize Simone. And this man next to her. I remember him from the papers. Isn’t he the guy that—”

      “Yes,” Jennifer said, before he could put the rest of his thought into words.

      “It’s kind of spooky to see them standing next to each other like that.”

      When she’d found out the truth about Emerson, Jennifer had felt the same way. She’d put that photograph aside for a while. But after some time had passed, she’d realized that she didn’t want to wipe out her memories.

      Yes, Emerson had turned out to be a monster. But once he’d been their friend. She wanted to remember the good things about him, not the bad.

      The kettle began to whistle and Jennifer turned from the mementoes of her former life to pour the water into the pot. “This needs to steep for five minutes. If you’d like, I could show you your room now.”

      Nick’s eyes were on her, and the magic she’d felt earlier began to build again. Attraction. Interest. Sexual awareness.

      Then his gaze drifted back to the corkboard. “I’m in no hurry. I’d like to hear more about your trip. And your friends. Do you have more photographs?”

      She laughed. Did she have more? There was a whole box full in the attic. “I was always the one lugging the camera around. But you need to get settled after your long trip. I’m sorry things were so chaotic on your arrival. My family can be a little much at times.”

      Nick smiled at her and she was suddenly experiencing that breathless thing again. He had to stop looking at her this way. It was…unnerving.

      “Your suitcase?” she asked, breaking the moment.

      Nick’s smile turned rueful. “In the back of the Rover. I’ll go get it.”

      She led him back to the entrance then waited while he retrieved his luggage—one very large suitcase and a briefcase that looked as though it contained a laptop computer.

      “Up these stairs… Are you okay with that suitcase?”

      “Sure. Michele did tell you I was planning to stay for a month?”

      She couldn’t meet his eyes as she replied, “That won’t be a problem.”

      At the landing she turned left, away from the other two doors. “We have guests staying in both these rooms but they’re out exploring for the day.”

      “Where’s your room?”

      People often asked her this, and yet the question felt intimate coming from Nick. Again, she felt too self-conscious to look at him as she answered, “We have three bedrooms on the main level. One’s an office, then my father and I each have a room.”

      She opened the door to the suite, which had been added a few years ago. “I hope you’ll be comfortable. It’s very private up here and you have your own bathroom.”

      Nick stepped over the threshold, but instead of inspecting the solid wood furnishings or admiring the good-quality cotton bedding, he focused on her.

      “Don’t apologize for your family. I like them. And I didn’t mind about the toilet. Really, I’m glad to help.”

      He sounded sincere and kind. Considering his looks and his fantastic build, it seemed too good to be true.

      There had to be a catch. He probably had a girlfriend—or several—waiting for him at home.

      “Let me know if you need anything. And if you’d like some tea, you know where to find it.”

      “I’ll be right down. But I do have one additional СКАЧАТЬ