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       CHAPTER TWO

      TANYA FACED THE bar and fought to keep her feet still as nerves tumbled inside her despite her resolve that she had as much right to be in the Seascape as the next person. The dulcet tones of Enrique Iglesias thumped a sexy salsa beat from the speakers dotted around the restaurant, the air heavy with heat and the prospect of a good weekend. She’d chosen Friday to arrive at the Cove so she would have the entire weekend to settle in at her sister’s vacant apartment and be free to start on her brand-new office, come Monday.

      Now the decision seemed foolish. Maybe arriving on Monday would’ve been more sensible so people wouldn’t have such a buoyant mood about them.

      Tanya exhaled. Who was she kidding? The people in Templeton were buoyant Monday through Sunday. Wasn’t that part of what had annoyed her about the place? Wasn’t that what her mother always said, that the people here were fake? Well, whatever was true, the one thing Tanya could be sure of was, sooner or later, she would have no choice but to face questions.

      “Well, this is a surprise.”

      Tanya turned and smiled. Here goes nothing. “Hi, Caroline.”

      Caroline’s gaze was wary, her strained smile not quite reaching her eyes. “You’re back.”

      Foreboding knotted Tanya’s stomach, but she lifted her chin. “I am. How are you?”

      “Better than you, by the look of it.” Caroline frowned. “You’ve lost a lot of weight since we last saw you.”

      Tanya glanced down at her shirt. “I’ve...been working out.”

      “Well, don’t let Marian see you. She’ll be stuffing you with pastries from now until Christmas.”

      Tanya smiled. “Ah, the famous Marian.”

      Caroline grinned. “That’s right. She wasn’t in the Cove when you were, was she?” She leaned forward. “Well, she’s sitting right over there and curious as hell who you are.”

      Tanya turned and met the narrowed gaze of a woman she guessed to be in her midsixties. Unease lifted the hairs at her nape and Tanya swallowed. Sasha had warned her...but still the determination in Marian’s gaze couldn’t be denied.

      Tanya swiveled around. “Uh-oh.”

      Caroline glanced toward the restaurant doors. “Are you visiting? You do know your sister’s moved away, don’t you?”

      “Of course. I’m here for me, not Sasha.”

      Caroline raised an eyebrow. Said nothing.

      Tanya cleared her throat and battled the urge to walk out of the restaurant. Caroline’s expression was clear. She still considered Tanya the same selfish, egotistical person she was before. No doubt everyone else would too...including this Marian Cohen character.

      Tanya straightened her spine. “So, how have you been? You look great.”

      Caroline shot a glance over Tanya’s shoulder a second time. “Thanks.”

      Resisting the urge to look behind her, Tanya waited. She had to do this. Caroline and Jay were only the first of many who would surely ask why she was back and for how long. Her mother had warned her how hard it would be to convince people she wanted so much more now than just a high-flying banking career. Her previous hunger for money and power had bruised a few egos and broken some dreams. She had a lot of making up to do.

      Somehow, she would find a way to prove to the people who remembered her that she no longer bulldozed through everything and everyone who got in the way of her ambition. She’d changed. Her mistakes and their consequences had altered her beyond anything anyone might assume they saw on the surface.

      Tanya cleared her throat. “Look, I’m back for good if my plans for my new business work out, so—”

      “New business?” Caroline raised her eyebrows as she met Tanya’s gaze. “In Templeton?”

      Tanya frowned. “Yes. What’s going on, Caroline? Do you really have that much of a problem with me being here? I know I upset a few people in town, but I thought you and I—”

      “We’re fine.”

      “Then why—”

      “Is it just a drink you want? Or shall I grab you a table when one becomes free?” Caroline shot yet another anxious look toward the door. “Unless you want to try somewhere else? I think it’ll be a while before I can seat you.”

      Something wasn’t right. Tanya remembered Caroline greeting friends and strangers with the exact same warmth. The Caroline Tanya knew broke her back seating anyone and everyone who came into the restaurant.

      “I’ll wait.” Tanya turned to see what was constantly snagging Caroline’s attention and making her jumpier than a cat being stared down by a hungry canine.

      Her heart stopped.

      Liam Browne’s unwavering gaze locked on hers and Tanya’s heart turned over. Slowly, he stood but made no move toward her. Her stomach knotted, even as instantaneous attraction stole into her blood. If possible, he looked stronger, more handsome and even more quietly capable than he had eight years ago. Age had enhanced, rather than diminished, his dark, serious looks. The addition of his dark-rimmed glasses, longer hair and clean-shaven jaw made her fingers itch to touch him.

      This was bad. Really bad.

      She snapped her gaze from his and slid from the stool. “I think I’ll try another restaurant, after all.”

      Caroline nodded, her gaze soft. “Might be for the best.”

      The hint of sympathy in Caroline’s voice brought the smallest hope of a lifeline that forgiveness might not be the impossibility Tanya feared. She forced a smile. “Well, I hope to see you again soon.”

      “I’m sure you will.”

      Hitching her bag onto her shoulder, Tanya approached Liam, trepidation ricocheting through her. What choice did she have but to talk to him? If she walked out without a word, things would only be harder the next time they met—and there would most definitely be a next time in a place as small as Templeton.

      His shoulders straightened beneath his crisp white shirt as she neared. The music seemed to grow in volume, the beat matching her footsteps and the banging of her heart. When she was a safe distance away from him, Tanya stopped. “Hi.”

      His crystal-blue gaze bored into hers, his jaw tight and his mouth a thin line. The burning stares of the other patrons pricked at her skin, making her want to turn and face each of them down.

      When СКАЧАТЬ