He’s right we’re not like anyone else. What’s happening between us changes everything. Our families have been adjacent for so long. They’ve built a town, feuded, made slow progress towards reconciliation, and in us, they unite.
Perhaps I’ve always been his. Perhaps the circumstances of our lives have been leading us to this point all along, even when we were far apart, even when I was furious at him for interfering with my life. Now I can’t imagine being without him.
One thing is left–I need my uncle back. I need him to tell me how he got that book and what he knows about the disappearance of Victor Petrova. I need him to help me clear Hana’s name, or protect her.
My brow furrows, and I sit up in the bed trying to figure out a way to make it happen when the large wooden door opens. My frown melts into a smile when I see Hutch standing there in jeans and a gray Henley holding a mug of coffee.
“Not disturbing you, I hope.” His low voice soothes my insides, and I rearrange the pillows so I can lean back against them.
“Are you bringing me coffee in bed? I feel like a princess.”
A sexy grin reveals straight white teeth, and he sits beside me, passing over the mug. “I watched how you prepared it at Steamy Beans.”
“Mmm…” I sniff the warm brew. “Is there cinnamon in it?”
“No cinnamon.” His voice is gentle, and his large hand covers my bare foot as I take a sip. “Do you like to ski?”
I tilt my head to the side. “I’ve only ever snow skied.”
“It’s a beautiful spring day. We’re going to the lake. Get dressed, and I’ll run you by your uncle’s to grab a bathing suit and Hana. Let’s go.”
A smile splits my cheeks and in spite of everything, it feels kind of perfect. “Okay!”
Setting my mug aside, I throw back the covers and hop out of bed.
“The sun feels so good on my skin.” Hana leans back on her elbows on a towel, closing her eyes behind dark, oversized shades.
We’re on a long, wooden pier watching Pepper being pulled behind Hutch’s glistening, polished-wood speedboat. It’s a gorgeous craft, slicing through the dark waters with hardly a bounce. Dirk is at the wheel beside his brother who’s watching their little charge. Scar is behind us, keeping watch from the picnic area farther up on the bank.
“It always feels so good after a long winter.” I’m considering the metaphor to our lives as I finish applying sunscreen to my chest. My hands are covered, so I lean over to rub the excess on her pale skin. “You’ll burn if you don’t reapply.”
She sits up fast, blocking me with her hand and laughing. “Okay, Mother Hen, I got it.”
I pass her the bottle before leaning back in the lounge chair I’ve placed beside her. She’s wearing a tiny, white-lace bikini that’s only a few shades darker than her pale skin.
By contrast, my olive skin is already bronzed. Still, I have a wide-brimmed hat, and I’m covered in sunscreen from head to toe in my high-waisted black two-piece.
“Look at me, Hana!” Pepper yells, waving her hand so hard she almost loses her balance. My sister erupts with laughter when the little girl lifts one of the giant waterskis, crying, “One hand and one foot!”
Hana drops the sunscreen and grabs her camera off the towel, snapping photos. “Do it again!” she yells, and I grin as I watch them.
Hutch agreed to back off his judgment that my sister is a “bad influence,” as long as I promised to keep an eye on Hana’s extracurricular activities. So far, so good.
“She’s amazing. Pure joy.” Hana looks down at her camera, sliding through the shots. “I’ve never known a kid to be so athletically inclined. It’s like she can do anything.”
“I love how close you are.” I’m quiet, watching her as she lifts the device and takes more shots of the men in the boat, and the little girl sinking into the water as they slow. “She really looks up to you.”
“I don’t know if that’s true.” Dark blue eyes meet mine before returning to the camera. “We have a lot in common. We both lost parents when we were young. We both come from these super-rich families…”
“That’s about as far as it goes. Pepper goes to public school, she gets dirty, she’s never even been to New York.”
“She’s also really thoughtful, and sensitive. Just because she’s playful, people don’t realize she can be hurt, too.”
Her voice is quiet, and an ache is in my chest. I know Hana is sensitive. I see it in her art, and I know it’s what provokes her self-destructive behavior.
“You were hurt pretty bad at her age.” I say it quietly, like I’m approaching a wounded animal, waiting to see if she’ll engage or shut down as usual.
To my surprise, she answers. “I was a little older than her.”
“Not much.” I hesitate, hoping I don’t go too fast. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to make it stop.”
“No one could stop him. He was stronger than everyone.” She leans back, lowering the camera.
Her words conjure the image of a small child, a little girl, told by a dark monster she’ll never escape him, no one can save her.
“Somebody was stronger than him. He’s gone now.” I study her eyes, closed behind her dark shades, and she doesn’t flinch.
She’s calm as the lake before we launched the boat and disturbed the waters.
“Hana?”
Her dark eyes open slowly and turn to me, too wide, too round.
Still, she gives nothing away. “One less predator.”
The boat cruises up, and I’m still watching her for any show of emotion–fear, hesitation, satisfaction. I get nothing.
“Who’s ready for a burger?” Dirk calls, steering them closer to the pier while Hutch reaches for a post to toss the rope around.
“Me, me, meeee!” Pepper’s voice is loud, and Hana turns away.
“You’re always hungry!” A huge smile breaks across my sister’s face, and she jumps up to grab Pepper’s hand as she skips across to the wooden planks.
I exhale slowly, disappointed that we were so close. Then my eyes flicker to the flex of Hutch’s muscles as he ties up the boat. He’s in swim trunks and a tee, and I picture us swimming in the lake, our bodies sliding together in the cool water, trunks sliding lower, bathing suit bottoms gone…
His eyes lift to mine, and a wicked grin curls his lips. He hops up on the pier and walks straight to where I’m sitting, placing both hands on the arms of my chair and leaning close.
“You’d better stop looking at me that way or I’ll have to take you somewhere private.”
“I’m ready when you are.”
He leans closer, sealing his lips to mine and giving me a quick taste of his tongue. He’s salty and smells like coconut from the sunscreen, and I reach up to cup his scruffy cheeks.
“Okay, keep it PG, people.” Dirk teases us as he thuds past us on the pier.
Exhaling a laugh, Hutch reaches for my hands as he straightens. I let him pull me up, grabbing the white cotton cover-up off my chair as I follow him to where Scar already has burgers going on one of the outdoor grills near the picnic area.